Spare Chips

From: William Donzelli <william_at_ans.net>
Date: Thu May 22 12:56:12 1997

> On the other hand, I got some old PCBs that had had the gold connectors
> cut off (for 'recycling' :-(), and I intend to at least remove the
> socketed IC's from those. They're mostly common 68000 stuff + ethernet +
> SCSI+ etc, but they are worth saving, and the boards are useless as-is.

An excellent source, and it removes the dilemma of scrapping a goodie.

> I'm always a little careful about buying chips at radio rallies
> (hamfests). They're the one thing I can't fix if they are defective, so I
> don't pay that much for them. On the other hand, I do buy up 2900-series
> chips whenever I see them - they are sufficiently rare to be worth
> grabbing.

I have had very good luck at the fests. Sure, some may be duds, but I
would wager that the number is probably less than 1 in 1000 (except for
SIMMs - there are at least a few scumbags out there peddling known
defective parts).

> Argh!!!

Sorry.

> Indeed. Most serious computer collectors keep all sorts of spares in their
> junk box. Would you believe a spare ASR33 motor (50Hz model), head stacks
> for a TU16, head assemblies for Northstar disk drives, DEC flip-chip
> cards, Anadex printheads, etc, etc, etc.

Same here. About two years ago I was helping clear out a warehouse and I
took home hundreds of cardboard bins, so some of the junk is actually
getting sorted!

> Don't forget the 2708 and the 3-rail 2716 (Texas Instruments).

Actually, just about any weird old chips should be grabbed. This includes
all of the families that are long since gone (300 series ECL, 700 series
RTL, 800 and 900 series DTL, 4000 series _TTL_, etc.).

There is a company that still produces these chips (I forget the name),
buying up the old masks as the original producers pull out. These new
replacements, however, are priced for the insane and the U. S. government.

William Donzelli
william_at_ans.net
Received on Thu May 22 1997 - 12:56:12 BST