23 Sep
2010
23 Sep
'10
12:09 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-
bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Chuck Guzis
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 11:17 AM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: RE: DIP packages & the 555
On 23 Sep 2010 at 11:01, Ian King wrote:
I'm sure that's the explanation - but I have an odd sense of humor. :-)
My favorite story about the 555 has nothing to do
with its function,
but rather its form. I was working at an electronics store and a
customer came in with a desperate need for a 555 (a radio station was
off the air until the part was replaced in some critical circuit that
should probably have been redundant in the first place). I fetched
our *last* 555 from the warehouse and noted that, in addition to the
four legs coming out of each side, there was one coming out the end!
Of course, the jokes immediately started about the male version of
the
chip, and we were actually reluctant to sell our
'breeding stock' 555
and speculated on how it had escaped from the 555 ranch. But alas,
the customer really REALLY needed the part, and off it went.... I've
never seen another like it - although to be honest, I haven't
expended
much (any) energy in looking for one.
I wonder if this wasn't part of the leadframe that had missed being
sheared off. If you carefully inspect a few older plastic DIPs, you
can often spot the glint of the leadframe "tail" on the "bottom" end
of the DIP.
--Chuck