822 or 951

[timelessbeing]

Hi guys. I need help identifying this transistor please. Also, what do the colour stripes signify?

 

[vtech]

Seems like I have seen the above numbering system before and can not quite recall it. 822 is the number and it is like an "inhouse" number designated to the specific brand product. 951 is the manf date(1st week of 1995) The transistor is very likely a general purpose NPN transistor such as 2N4401, MPSA06...etc. If I remember right, the color bands on the back was used to indicate the gain of the device and was mainly used in front end matching. (in this case 82)
You can always use a curve tracer to look at the actual characteristic of the device.
Was this part of an excess inventory?

 

[timelessbeing]

I can't remember where it came from. It's been in my collection for a long time. Radio Shack? In fact, second week of 1982 sounds more likely to be the date code. My multimeter confirms it's an NPN, and the gain is 260.

So by "inhouse" you mean a company other nation National Semi?

 

[ronsimpson]

The part is National but the number might be HP. A big company some times has their numbers put on the parts. "inhouse"