Chip collecting (was Re: Promoting Classic Computers ...)

From: Eric Smith <eric_at_brouhaha.com>
Date: Sat Nov 16 13:19:00 2002

"Sellam Ismail" <foo_at_siconic.com> wrote:
> loose chips in a tin can. We're talking about pillaging working
> boards for chips. If you're going to respond to a thread, at least
> respond

"Jim Kearney" <jim_at_jkearney.com> wrote:
> Sellam, I don't really think this happens very frequently.

Hard to say, but I think it happens fairly frequently. I was visiting
a DEC reseller in the vicinity of Chicago a few months ago, and he was
talking about selling a big pile of a particular DEC module to someone
for $50 each. Then he mentioned that the person only wanted one chip
from the board, so he was throwing away the rest. It's pretty clear
that the buyer wasn't using the chips for repairs -- I suspect they've
slowly been showing up on eBay. I was aggravated because this particular
module is very useful and not particularly easy to find. However, if
there wasn't a chip collectors buying up the chips, the intact modules
wouldn't be that expensive. The reseller said he formerly sold the
modules for only $15-20. At that price I could have bought a bunch of
the modules for spares for myself, and even made them available in the
future to other people who needed them, but I can't afford to do that
at $50 each.
Received on Sat Nov 16 2002 - 13:19:00 GMT