Intel C8080A chip brings $565 on EBAY

From: Allison <ajp166_at_bellatlantic.net>
Date: Mon Nov 19 11:18:37 2001

Indeed, it may have been a mech sample.

I have DEC DCT-310s with ES written on them, they were actual
engineering samples for the VT240 team (near same time as Falcon
card develpoment). Mine came from when the Engineering junkbox.

Allison

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com>
To: classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Date: Monday, November 19, 2001 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: Intel C8080A chip brings $565 on EBAY


>I've got one pretty old MOTOROLA device, in a 40-pin DIP, the identity of
which
>is a complete mystery to me. In fact, I may have tossed it not long ago,
but
>all it said on it aside from a MOT date code was "Sample." Maybe it was a
>mechanincal ...
>
>Dick
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Allison" <ajp166_at_bellatlantic.net>
>To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
>Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 6:38 AM
>Subject: Re: Intel C8080A chip brings $565 on EBAY
>
>
>> From: John Galt <gmphillips_at_earthlink.net>
>>
>> >There's a rather small community of chip collectors.
>> >
>> >However, there are a few collectors who have been
>> >collecting for over 10 years now who have put togather
>> >pretty vast collections of literally thousands of chips.
>>
>>
>> My only concern is they may be collecting junk, IE: chips that
>> look good, may be rare but are DEAD/useless electronically.
>>
>> >It would be the same as if suddenly someone found
>> >two Intelec bit slice 3002 computers dated 1975 in a closet or
something.
>> >Sure, there might could be more, but if they were common, you guys
would
>> >have already seen one.
>>
>>
>> These were quite common and the basic chipset on an experimentors board
>> was around $495 in 1977. Most were used then relagated to the
engineering
>> junk box. So I'd presume when you say rare, your referring to actively
>> traded
>> survivors as SBC colltors like me may already have one (not yet!).
>>
>> >As far as the color, chip collectors refer to that color
>> >chip as "purple". If you look at it next to a normal
>> >"gray" CerDIP, you can see the difference. Besides,
>> >it would not have mattered had it been black. The fact
>> >is, it's not the white/gold color of a normal Intel
>> >C8080A. The printing on the chip is also somewhat different. My guess
is
>> >it's a late run C8080A that was
>>
>>
>> It's very late run ceramic. Ceramic for chip substrates only comes from
a
>> few
>> vendors one being a beer maker in the rockies a few in the far east and
>> Europe.
>> It was part of the reason why ceramic parts were more expensive and also
>> a near must if the part was required to pass tests for hermetic sealing
>> (military,
>> space or other high stress apps).
>>
>> Ceramic aging/dating:
>>
>> Starting with the 1960s ceramic was white.
>>
>> early White
>>
>> examples were
>> early military Flatpacks(RTL/DTL/TTL)
>> 1101, 1103 ram
>> 1702 eprom
>>
>> first brown parts I'd seen were 2708s
>>
>> brown (light)
>> later dark brown
>> Gray
>> Gray with brownish cast
>> Gray with purplish cast
>>
>> Those were the most common. Eproms were generaltionally in the common
>> ceramic of the time.
>>
>> Allison
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
Received on Mon Nov 19 2001 - 11:18:37 GMT