"Zilog 6502" in _IEEE Computer_

At least with a valve you can look through the glass and see if it could possibly ne the right device (a rectifier and an output valve look quite different :-)). Not so with semicodnctors. I am told there are fake power transitors that when you crack them open the silicon die is much smaller than that in the genuine one. They will not stand the fuil Ic they are supposed to. And for ICs, I've heard that you might get any silicon die in a package with the right number of pins (or maybe nothing at all). I've found companies on the web that claim they can supply all sorts of old HP custom parts. My guess is that if I ordered , say, the ROM for an HP41 (which happens to be in an 8 pin DIL package), I'd get a 555 timer or similar with the right numbers printed on it. -tony