Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!gatech!bloom-beacon!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!sjsca4!bach!jones
From: jones@bach (Clark Jones)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Batty monitors and cheap video
Message-ID: <1989Oct3.235613.15303@sj.ate.slb.com>
Date: 3 Oct 89 23:56:13 GMT
References: <1989Sep28.122217.26867@watcsc.waterloo.edu> <57732@psuecl.bitnet> <3863@blake.acs.washington.edu> <57950@psuecl.bitnet>
Reply-To: jones@bach.UUCP (Clark Jones)
Distribution: sci.electronics
Organization: Schlumberger ATE, Tempe, AZ
Lines: 41

In article <57950@psuecl.bitnet> peg@psuecl.bitnet writes:
>In article <3863@blake.acs.washington.edu>, wiml@blake.acs.washington.edu (William Lewis) writes:
>> In article <57732@psuecl.bitnet> peg@psuecl.bitnet writes:
>>>> Now, regarding a cheap lo-rez video input, a mech eng friend of mine once
>>>> told me of this thing called a RAMera....
>>>
>>    Nope, RAM chips work, and are cheaper. Less sensitive, no doubt, but
>> for normal room lighting it works. I described this to the
>> original asker of the question, but since it has sprung up in public here,
>> I may as well post...
>>
>>    Micron Technology used to, and hopefully still does, market the IS32
>> Optic Ram. This is a normal 32k RAM chip packaged with a quartz window like
>> an EPROM. This has two rows of 256x512 cells apiece, with a dead zone
>
>Okay, I stand corrected!  Sorry for being bull-headed!  I had never seen
>a RAM with quartz window, and I still can't see ripping the top off of
>an ordinary RAM--any way you do it is going to contaminate or destroy
>some of the chip.

Taking the lid off of a ceramic package with the solder-on lid is merely a
matter of practice using a vise and X-acto knife (_DON'T_ try it without the
vise as you _WILL_ remove some part of your anatomy!).  Most folks get the
knack by about the third package.  (Opening packages is important to the IC
manufacturers, as they want to do autopsies on returned chips to improve the
quality of future chips.)  As for the contamination objection, virtually all
chips have a "passivation glass" top layer that will protect the device from
ordinary indoor contaiminates (copier dust not included :-).  BTW, opening
a plastic package without damaging the chip requires some "interesting"
chemistry to get through the epoxy.  I'd opt for the slightly higher priced
ceramic package if I were wanting to open a "live" chip.

>Thanks for the daily humbling!

Always glad to oblige an Amiga user!  :-)

FYI, "in a former life" I worked for a chip manufacturer... now I work for
a company who's customers are chip manufacturers.  :-)

Disclaimer: The ideas expressed herein are mine and not those of Schlumberger
because they are not covered by the patent agreement!