jay@splut.UUCP (Jay Maynard) (02/05/88)
> >In article <2407@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>, lazarus@athena.mit.edu (Michael Friedman) writes: > >> On the true story front, would you believe an EPROM flash bulb? > >> I hooked up an EPROM upside down. A flash of light bright enough to > >> hurt my eyes came out the quartz window on the chip. > > > >So: we all wanna know! What was in the EPROM when you put it in right? True story: Once, I was working on a dedicated micro project. We were at the stage where we had to test program mode by burning a new EPROM (we were using Intel 2716s), stuffing it into the socket on the board, and seeing what happened. After one revision, I went to the test machine, powered it down, stuffed the ROM in, powered it up, and waited to see what it did. I realized that I'd put the ROM in backwards when it struck me that Intel didn't put power indicators inside their devices. The upshot? After a cycle of erase/fill-with-zeros/erase, the ROM worked perfectly. To my knowledge, it's still in service, 7 years later. (Followups to sci.electronics, and please edit the newsgroups: line; this isn't funny any more.) -- Jay Maynard, K5ZC (@WB5BBW)...>splut!< | GEnie: JAYMAYNARD CI$: 71036,1603 uucp: {uunet!nuchat,academ!uhnix1,{ihnp4,bellcore,killer}!tness1}!splut!jay Never ascribe to malice that which can adequately be explained by stupidity. The opinions herein are shared by none of my cats, much less anyone else.
brian@ucsd.EDU (Brian Kantor) (02/07/88)
I previously worked at a place that regularly sent out PROM upgrades to our customers. We wouldn't buy any brand of 2716 that wouldn't survive being installed backwards for a few minutes. Most brands would - they'd get hot and of course they didn't work when plugged in backwards, but take them out, turn them around, and they'd work just fine - and I seem to remember that all of them continued to work for years - at least, until the next revision or software change required replacing the PROM. We also tested samples to see if they'd survive being plugged in with the power on. Most did. The circuit was designed to take that too. Brian Kantor UC San Diego
wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (Wolfgang Rupprecht) (02/08/88)
In article <10@ucsd.EDU> brian@ucsd.edu (Brian Kantor) writes
about putting eproms in backwards. This reminds me of the
old adage about all the UV that you use to erase the eprom
being released when you plug it in backwards. ;-)
---
Wolfgang Rupprecht ARPA: wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (IP 18.82.0.114)
Freelance Consultant UUCP: mit-eddie!mgm.mit.edu!wolfgang
Boston, Ma. VOICE: Hey_Wolfgang!_(617)_267-4365ron@topaz.rutgers.edu (Ron Natalie) (02/08/88)
I've seen a similar thing - a little flash from the window when I put a 2764 in the programmer upside down. -Ron
koko@uthub.toronto.edu (M. Kokodyniak) (02/09/88)
You've probably heard of flash A-D converters. Well, an EPROM becomes a flash EPROM when plugged in backwards!
chun@pinot.zehntel.com (Wellington Chun) (02/10/88)
True Story: While I was in college getting my Electrical Engineering Computer Science (EECS) degree I had the option to select a a direction within the EECS department. That is, I could direct my studies toward hardware, software, power or semiconductor electronics. However hardware and software was by far the most popular. Anyway at a party, I was talking to this girl (probably a business major) and we got around to discussing our majors. When I told here I was a EECS major she asked quite seriously: "Are you hardcore or softcore?" Oh well, it was funny at the time. Wellington Chun Zehntel, Inc. ....!sun!zehntel!chun 2625 Shadelands Drive Walnut Creek, CA 94598 (415) 932-6900 Zehntel, Inc. ....!sun!zehntel!chun 2625 Shadelands Drive Walnut Creek, CA 94598 (415) 932-6900