Honeysuckle OD - sub for MA150

Jeff M.

New member
Since I don’t have any MA150 diodes, I was reading up on substitutes.
1n4148 and 1n914’s seem to be ok, but how about 1n4448?

…or to reword it, which of those 3 would be the better sub for the MA150, or are there any others I could use as a sub?


I can always socket them and try a few out, but I‘m checking to see if one is better than the others as a typical replacement.

 
The 1n914, 1n4148, and 1n4448 are functionally the same. They are different than the MA150, but either will work perfectly fine as a substitute.
 
I always come across these late. The MA150 is a little higher in Vf (about 1v) than your typical silicon clipping diode. They're also hard to come by and expensive when you do find them.

If you're out to build a no-expense-spared exacting replica, then it looks like you've got some eBay shopping to do at something like $2 a diode (ridiculous, btw)
 
BAV21 is available from Tayda and has a close Vf range. Slightly higher capacitance and ever so slightly slower reverse recovery time but it'd be what I'd try dropping into a socket personally
 
I just bought these for the Honeysuckle:

I saw those yesterday, but i thought they only had one based on the description on the main diode page:
“1 Piece of original MA150 Panasonic silicon epitaxial planar diode.”

Since they actually have a small supply, I might grab a few so I can compare the differences/similarities between these and the subs.
 
I saw those yesterday, but i thought they only had one based on the description on the main diode page:
“1 Piece of original MA150 Panasonic silicon epitaxial planar diode.”

Since they actually have a small supply, I might grab a few so I can compare the differences/similarities between these and the subs.
I'd be interested to hear your results, maybe I'll socket too. I'm not going to start mine for a couple weeks.
 
If you compare the If vs. Vf plot, 1N4148 is a pretty good substitute. It has a slightly different Vf, but unless capacitance or recovery time is critical to the sound, it should be a perfectly good sub.

1N4148 vs MA150 EDIT EDIT 3.png
 
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Those do look pretty close.

On a Peak DCA55, I measured a bunch of the 1n4148.
At 4.274If, it’s showing the Vf is coming in around .670V, give or take a few thousandths, so that matches up pretty close to the plot.
Eyeballing the plot, the MA150‘s Vf looks to be a hair under .700V at around the same If.

Interesting stuff!
 
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