24 Apr
2009
24 Apr
'09
2:16 p.m.
On 24 Apr 2009 at 19:46, Tony Duell wrote:
Can you? I suspect the chances of finding the right
ASIC for a PC
motherboard, video card, etc is pretty remote. And I am told that if
you desolder a BGA device, you have to 're-ball' it before reusing it,
and the equipment to do that is even less common and more expensive
than the reflow oven.
It's even more frustrating when you're looking at some CPLD or PAL
that's gone south. You don't have the original part to reverse-
engineer, the manufacturer is unlikely to furnish a replacement or
even the programming for the part. Usually, this means that your
widget is junk.
In particular, the widget may not have been made by the outfit whose
name appears on it--and they may have no idea who the manufacturer
was or even if they are still in business.
--Chuck