5 Oct
2009
5 Oct
'09
12:51 p.m.
Agreed for many parts of 1990s machines, but as for
1960s and 1970s
DEC machines in particular (the subject I know more about than
others), there are a few parts here and there that are getting
difficult to find without robbing them from other machines - Omnibus
buffers come to mind first, and certain parts from the -8/i and -8/L
era, like the 74H40 or the 7482. They aren't complete unobtanium yet,
but they are nowhere near as easy to find as they were 10 years ago.
Sure, some parts are getting _hard_ to find, but that's not the same as
'impossible'. Geting a replacement '95 shift register for an HP
calculator was non-trivial, but a lot easier than finding a part for a
1990's PC. There are of course many work-arounds if you don;'t mind minor
kludges -- one of the M-series boards in my RK11C has a dead-bugged
74LS83 (IIRC) replacing a dead 7482. Works fine. Things like that.
-tony