Got it. But what exactly happens when the base is floating? Does it float at about this voltage (so that the noise voltage generated by the body pushes the B-E diodes into conduction on positive excursions)?
waht: yup, that's the circuit, with resistor replaced by an LED, and base kept open.
Bob S: Just tried what you suggested, and that worked! Now there is no glow when I touch the base of Tr1. Although- with the pulldown installed, shouldn't the current generated by the body antenna still...
I was trying a simple Darlington circuit with two Darlington-connected NPN transistors. There is an LED in the shorted collectors, connected to a 5V supply, and the base is open. The trivial objective was to see that when you touch two fingers to the base and the supply positive, the LED turns...