Strange ICs on eBay

[ben]

On 6/11/2016 4:03 AM, Peter Corlett wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 10, 2016 at 09:16:37PM -0400, Ali Fahimi, M.D. wrote:
>> Just wondering if anyone knows what these chips are for/from/etc.
>> http://www.ebay.com/itm/152124208945
>> Interesting look to them. I would say EPROM but the magnifying window is weird...
>
> Those look like "starburst" displays:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteen-segment_display
>
> The window is indeed a magnifying lens. I ass-u-me that LED technology was
> still a bit naff back in the 1970s and it was more practical to optically
> enlarge the segments than make a chip with physically larger segments. This
> compromise produced an odd visual effect, which is likely why it's not done any
> more.
>
>
Oddly, Jamco seems to have have found a bunch of stock of 7 segment 
displays somewhere and is selling them.
Ben.