Uploaded May 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
There's been lots of trash-talkin' the 1N34A from Schottkey diode fans, with claims ranging from it being almost as good as the 1N34A to being far superior. Let's put them head to head in a test to see which one is better.
Our referee, the oscilloscope, measures voltage over time, and not current. A diode rectifies current and not voltage. (The cheapest current probe for a scope is around $500, or just a little less than my best scope cost.) We won't see the current cut-offs, but rather how much output and how stable it is at crystal radio voltages and frequencies.
There's been lots of trash-talkin' the 1N34A from Schottkey diode fans, with claims ranging from it being almost as good as the 1N34A to being far superior. Let's put them head to head in a test to see which one is better.
Our referee, the oscilloscope, measures voltage over time, and not current. A diode rectifies current and not voltage. (The cheapest current probe for a scope is around $500, or just a little less than my best scope cost.) We won't see the current cut-offs, but rather how much output and how stable it is at crystal radio voltages and frequencies.
