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The OA79 is a germanium based diode. This conducts in the forward biased direction at ~0.3Volts. Silicon diodes Conduct in the forward biased direction at ~0.6 or 0.7 volts. If you are wanting to detect weaker signals a germanium diode is a good choice. Nowadays we have good quality low price transistors that can amplify weak signals and the difference between the diodes is not that important in many circuits. Silicon is a very common material so is cheaper than germanium
Modern circuits = Good Pre-Amps = Less detection needed.
Older Circuits = Pre-Amps not so good = Better detection needed.
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