BC549C Lead Extensions for Future Amplifier Projects

With the emergence of printed circuit board technology, component leads have been getting shorter in length. However, with the screw cup system, long component leads are required and modern transistors such as the cheap BC549C transistor have very short leads. In addition, I needed a solution whereby I could remove the transistors quickly without having to unscrew the terminals, and although soldering extension leads is possible, I wanted a method that would minimize soldering.

My solution was to adapt some of the wires from a breakout ribbon cable. If you have a Raspberry Pi, then you might be familiar with Raspberry Pi GPIO Connectors & Cables. This cable has female sockets, which are just the right fit for the transistor leads. The plug ends of the breakout cable will not go to waste, as they could still be useful for breadboard projects.

The great thing about this system is that you can try out different transistors to see if a cheaper equivalent works. There are many schools and scout organisations where they need to buy in bulk, and therefore if you can get around 100 general-purpose transistors for a fiver, then that is very good value. This site does not have a checkout; because I care very deeply about the cost of educational materials being cheaper for whippersnappers.

I decided to give the whippersnappers three BC549C transistors together with their leads extended. With these, they can make simple one-transistor amplifier experiments.

I am very thorough, because if a job is worth doing, then it should be done properly; hence, I even tinned the wire ends.

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