old(ish) computers for sale

From: Russ Blakeman <rhblake_at_bigfoot.com>
Date: Mon Dec 7 15:15:48 1998

Yeah those LED's with a 9v or bigger battery are always good to keep in
your back pack for starting campfires, you just have to steer clear
while they shed the outer jacket (g)

Eric Smith wrote:

> > [shrapnel-emitting diode]
> >
> > What about the Heat Emitting IC?
>
> Those are entirely too common, in my experience.
>
> The most bizarre thing I've seen along these lines, however,
> was the light-emitting EPROM.
>
> One day I noticed that:
>
> 1) My Apple ][ was acting somewhat flaky.
>
> 2) The 80-column video card, a Videx Videoterm, was getting
> rather warmer than usual.
>
> 3) There was light coming from the video card.
>
> I put the card on an extender, and determined that the
> source of light was the firmware EPROM! There was an arc
> between two of the bond wires. The EPROM was a 2708 EPROM,
> which you will recall used three power supplies, +5, +12,
> and -5V.
>
> Amazingly, the EPROM was still completely functional,
> as the 80-column card was working fine. But it was
> pulling the Apple's 12V supply down to about 8V, which
> was causing other things to flake out.
>
> I replaced the EPROM, and unfortunately I didn't think to
> save the arcing one.
>
> Just at a guess, I'd imagine that the spectra of light
> emitted by the arc probably included enough short-wave
> UV that the EPROM would eventually have erased itself.
Received on Mon Dec 07 1998 - 15:15:48 GMT