23 Apr
2012
23 Apr
'12
2:01 p.m.
On 23 Apr 2012 at 19:10, Tony Duell wrote:
Since it's not for anyone's use by my own, I figure a tube of PICs is
about the right amount of backup. I still have new bipolar PROMs and
RAM as well as all sorts of chips that I'll never find a use for, at
least in the replacement sense, not to mention doodads such as tunnel
diodes.
If I had to design a replacement, I could even do it with discretes--
assuming that the local shop even knows what a junction transistor is
at that point. Assuming, at that point, that I still have my
faculties. If not, I won't care anyway.
--Chuck
At less than
USD$1.00 for a PIC, it's hard to rationalize on a faint
possibility. It works.
And that sums up what I hate about most modern stuff...
If you add the '38, OK, you multiply the overall cost by 2 or 3 times.
But you get a deivce that when it gets zapped, can be repaired by
finding a '38 in the junk box,or in the local electroncis shop and
about 5 minutes of soldering. As opposed to having to find a PIC
(which the local electronics shope probably doesn't stcok), then
having to get the ROM image from somewhere, and having to program it.