--- Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com> wrote:
> Actually, there was a DIPP package for many of the DRAMs. It was a
> single-in-line-looking version of the DIP, except that all the pins were on
> one side and they were staggered in their alignment.
I have several classic machines that use them, the Amiga 3000 included.
> These were most often referred to as ZIP's, though I don't know why.
Zigzag Inline Package
> The package was somewhat popular for about 5 years, after which it fell
> into disuse.
They were more fragile than DIP DRAMs (I've broken several pins off over
the years), but they did provide much better RAM density over DIPs. If
you wanted 4Mb of RAM with 256K parts or 16Mb of RAM with 1Mb parts, the
board space for DIPs was enormous.
What really killed ZIPs wasn't just the fragile nature of the pins, it was
the rise of SIPPs then SIMMs, once the custom sockets became available. You
get ZIP-like memory density with very few customer-acccessible interconnects
to go wrong.
I have a pile of 1Mx1 ZIPs that I don't need (I got a bag of mixed chips
and pulled all the 256Kx4's for my A3000). Does anyone out there need
some 70 or 80ns 1Mx1 ZIPs? I also have a few *massive* ZIPs that I think
are video memory of some kind. I'll have to look up the part number.
-ethan
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Received on Fri Apr 16 1999 - 10:45:59 BST