Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!ncr-sd!sagpd1!jharkins
From: jharkins@sagpd1.UUCP (Jim Harkins)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Zap, fry, and sizzle
Message-ID: <648@sagpd1.UUCP>
Date: 23 Feb 90 23:40:36 GMT
References: <799@gold.GVG.TEK.COM> <804@gold.GVG.TEK.COM> <1990Feb23.041918.27178@utzoo.uucp>
Reply-To: jharkins@sagpd1.UUCP (Jim Harkins)
Organization: Scientific Atlanta, Government Products Div, San Diego, CA
Lines: 23

In article <1990Feb23.041918.27178@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
>On a tamer note, a friend of mine once discovered what happens if you
>plug an EPROM into an EPROM programmer rotated 180 degrees.  He reports:
>"the little light under the quartz lid goes on -- briefly".  You didn't
>know EPROMs had lights, did you? :-) :-)

Actually, when I was a tech on a production line I once had a problem with
a CPU card.  I put it on an extender, then poked around for a few minutes with
a scope probe.  I then looked over at the EPROMS and the little chips of silicon
were glowing cherry red.   We were short on EPROMS so I just popped the puppies
out, turned them around, and turned the board back on.  Worked fine, got
shipped, and I never did find out how long they lasted in the field.

Note I was not working at Scientific Atlanta when this happened, and I like
to think this company is more interested in quality control than the other
one was.


-- 
jim		jharkins@sagpd1

"I've found by and large that when the flu gets you, the best thing to do (other
 than go to bed, which is boring) is to go conquer something." -Jerry Pournelle