sanding off chip markings?

[Richard Henry]

2. In case of a nuclear strike against us, or equivalent catastrophe,
having a radio like this might come in handy. (Better than nothing at
all.)

What are you going to listen to?

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Hello Michael,


That would most likely bring the goons out. I doubt these things would
be good in terms of EMI. Come to think of it, I don't even have an MP3
player. Now I am feeling old...



Mine almost would lose tune when one of our dogs sneezed. When walking
through the hallway here it wasn't able to play the same station from
one end to the other. Pathetic. I'd take a classy old 6-10 transistor AM
radio. Much better and runs for days on normal batteries, not some
boutique coin cells.

I'll take my old analog Panasonic RF-B20 multiband over most of the
new stuff. 'Made in Japan' quality, good speaker, and it runs for ages
off of 3 AA cells if you don't crank the volume up too much. Wasn't
particularly cheap when I bought it 15-20 years ago, but it's been a
faithful companion since.

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/rfb20.html



Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[[email protected]]

Hello Michael,


That would most likely bring the goons out. I doubt these things would
be good in terms of EMI. Come to think of it, I don't even have an MP3
player. Now I am feeling old...

I got a Philips CD-MP3 player from Target about a year ago for $40. (I
simply refused to pay more than $40 for an MP3 player.) I like its
ability to read CD-RWs...

Wal-Mart currently sells the same CD-MP3 player for about $35. (At
least, the Wal-Mart in Dixon did, as of last Sunday...)

Mine almost would lose tune when one of our dogs sneezed. When walking
through the hallway here it wasn't able to play the same station from
one end to the other. Pathetic. I'd take a classy old 6-10 transistor AM
radio. Much better and runs for days on normal batteries, not some
boutique coin cells.

I can't stand those coin cells either. The one I got for 99c takes
AAAs.

Michael

 

[[email protected]]

What are you going to listen to?

Whatever comes up.

Once there was a blackout in my neck of the woods (about 2 years ago).
I turned on my laptop (powered by a 12V jumpstart battery, plus 110V
inverter, plus laptop switching power supply), fired up the dialup
connection, logged on to the news... seems like a transformer blew at a
substation. Whew. And here I thought the North Koreans were attacking
us...

Paranoid.

Michael

 

[Michael Black]

Hello Michael,


That would most likely bring the goons out. I doubt these things would
be good in terms of EMI. Come to think of it, I don't even have an MP3
player. Now I am feeling old...

I just gone one in April, I had a gift certificate so I figured I'd
see what the fuss is about.

Of course, if I showed what I had on it to someone from the MP3 generation,
they likely wouldn't know what the stuff was, which of course is my
reaction to what they likely have on their MP3 players.

What I'm amused/intrigued about is that the thing, a 512meg unit, was
a hundred dollars (but went lower a few weeks later), and I paid about $80
for 64K of RAM in 1984. I can remember when everyone wanted RAM or ROM disks
because they'd be faster than the then common floppy drive, but it never
seemed all that practical. Each time the memory got low enough in price
to be feasible, the software had grown in size to again make it
too expensive.

That seems to have reversed now, and one reason these things are so
cheap is because they are memory based and non of that mechanical stuff
that the tape players and even CD players required.

I paid $20 for a 256Meg compactflash card a few weeks ago.

I must say that the MP3 player does generate noticeable hash when I
get it close to an AM radio.

Michael

 

[Joerg]

Hello Spehro,

I'll take my old analog Panasonic RF-B20 multiband over most of the
new stuff. 'Made in Japan' quality, good speaker, and it runs for ages
off of 3 AA cells if you don't crank the volume up too much. Wasn't
particularly cheap when I bought it 15-20 years ago, but it's been a
faithful companion since.

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/rfb20.html

Those are good. My wife has a similar radio, I think from Siemens.
Probably with the same innards. My favorite is an old Sachsenwerk from
the early 50's with shortwave but, of course, you cannot drag that out
to the pool.

 

[Keith]

I just gone one in April, I had a gift certificate so I figured I'd
see what the fuss is about.

I have several MP3 players and just got a 1GB iPod Shuffle
yesterday as a memento for a project that was killed 18 months ago.
Other than it's made by Apple I have no idea what the connection is
though. ?:-/

Of course, if I showed what I had on it to someone from the MP3 generation,
they likely wouldn't know what the stuff was, which of course is my
reaction to what they likely have on their MP3 players.

Sure. Mine have talk "radio" on it (actually, downloaded MP3s).

What I'm amused/intrigued about is that the thing, a 512meg unit, was
a hundred dollars (but went lower a few weeks later), and I paid about $80
for 64K of RAM in 1984. I can remember when everyone wanted RAM or ROM disks
because they'd be faster than the then common floppy drive, but it never
seemed all that practical. Each time the memory got low enough in price
to be feasible, the software had grown in size to again make it
too expensive.

That seems to have reversed now, and one reason these things are so
cheap is because they are memory based and non of that mechanical stuff
that the tape players and even CD players required.

I paid $20 for a 256Meg compactflash card a few weeks ago.

I paid $20 (each) for a couple of Memorex $512MB USB sticks last
week. 1GB sticks were $30. One of my MP3 players plugs into the
car's accessory socket and takes USB sticks. Neat!

I must say that the MP3 player does generate noticeable hash when I
get it close to an AM radio.

So do mine. They have FM transmitters in them. ;-)

 

[Joerg]

Hello Michael,

Wal-Mart currently sells the same CD-MP3 player for about $35. (At
least, the Wal-Mart in Dixon did, as of last Sunday...)

Maybe some day I'll get one. But CD players are kind of large in
contrast to the old walkman (which was perfectly fine). Heck, we don't
even own a DVD player yet. The only reason why I might want one of those
would be to re-play photos in the living room. After we converted to a
wood stove there really isn't much space for a slide projector screen
anymore.

I can't stand those coin cells either. The one I got for 99c takes
AAAs.

Those are ok, kind of. I prefer to limit thing to only the two common
types, AA cells and D cells.

 

[Brian]

Those are ok, kind of. I prefer to limit thing to only the two common
types, AA cells and D cells.

I buy some of those $1 items for the batteries for our calipers and such,
MUCH cheaper than buying the batteries alone!

 

[Joel Kolstad]

Only by people that don't understand that it's a waste of time, as any
reverse-engineer worth their
salt will be able to figure out what the chip is in typically a few minutes.

Given that it's a $0.99 Chinese-made radio, I wouldn't be surprised if it
contains IC rejects that the IC manufacturer pawned off for next to nothing...
sanding off the tops so that their name brand wouldn't be tarnished.

 

[Brian]

I just gone one in April, I had a gift certificate so I figured I'd
see what the fuss is about.

Of course, if I showed what I had on it to someone from the MP3
generation,
they likely wouldn't know what the stuff was, which of course is my
reaction to what they likely have on their MP3 players.

What I'm amused/intrigued about is that the thing, a 512meg unit, was
a hundred dollars (but went lower a few weeks later), and I paid about $80
for 64K of RAM in 1984. I can remember when everyone wanted RAM or ROM
disks
because they'd be faster than the then common floppy drive, but it never
seemed all that practical. Each time the memory got low enough in price
to be feasible, the software had grown in size to again make it
too expensive.

That seems to have reversed now, and one reason these things are so
cheap is because they are memory based and non of that mechanical stuff
that the tape players and even CD players required.

I paid $20 for a 256Meg compactflash card a few weeks ago.

I must say that the MP3 player does generate noticeable hash when I
get it close to an AM radio.

Michael

Close out 1gig thumb drive was 30 at Wallyworld! I now don't know how I
lived without one! I do alot from home and need to transfer it to machines
in the shop, but I have satellite internet here in the boondocks and my
upload speeds stink at best. This little thumb drive sure beats the unsure
uploads (especially when big files are bigger than isp email allows and
bounce until you break them up into pieces).

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Given that it's a $0.99 Chinese-made radio, I wouldn't be surprised if it
contains IC rejects that the IC manufacturer pawned off for next to nothing...
sanding off the tops so that their name brand wouldn't be tarnished.

Alternately, perhaps they were manufactured with a counterfeit name on
them, intended for domestic use, and for the export market the
markings were removed so they wouldn't risk being stopped at one of
the borders they had to transit. All sorts of that kind of stuff going
on. Taiwan was like that not too long ago too.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Joerg]

Hello Brian,

I buy some of those $1 items for the batteries for our calipers and such,
MUCH cheaper than buying the batteries alone!

Check Mouser. You can buy coin cells for around 50c that cost $1.99 at
the local stores.

 

[Pooh Bear]

Hello Brian,


Check Mouser. You can buy coin cells for around 50c that cost $1.99 at
the local stores.

Ebay's good for batteries too.

Graham

 

[Joerg]

Hello Graham,

Ebay's good for batteries too.

As long as you can be sure about the source, remaining shelf life and so on.

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Hello Brian,


Check Mouser. You can buy coin cells for around 50c that cost $1.99 at
the local stores.

Local dollar stores carry a few common types of button cells, 5 on a
card for a buck, "Sunbeam" brand. Or Digikey has decent prices on
brand-name (Panasonic) button cells.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Pooh Bear]

Hello Graham,


As long as you can be sure about the source, remaining shelf life and so on.

The serious sellers actually quote the expiry date.

Graham

 

[The Real Andy]

A couple of weeks ago, I bought an FM radio from the 99 cent store
(Made in China).

I then decided to take it apart, to see what neat stuff was inside.

The first thing I noticed was a chip (microcontroller?) that had
scratches on top. After a closer look, it looked like someone took a
Dremel-like tool to sand off the chip markings.

Sounds like a good idea, to make reverse engineering tougher, but is
this standard procedure?

Michael

The best one I saw was in a VGA splitter. The manufacturer had mounted
the sandpapered IC upsidedown. To this date I wonder if the PCB
drafstman actually fucked up the layout or if it was some silly ploy
to help prevent reverse engineering.

 

[Michael]

Two additional reasons I bought it: (snip)
2. In case of a nuclear strike against us, or equivalent catastrophe,
having a radio like this might come in handy. (Better than nothing at
all.)

Michael

Yeah ... just like FEMA was better than nothing to the City of New Orleans. :-(

If you really want to be radio-prepared for a nuclear strike, maybe it would be
better to have a receiver that does not employ EMP-susceptible components, e.g.
one of the "trench radio" designs. But then ask yourself: would a nuclear
strike kill all the *transmitters* within my receiving range?

Maybe you'd like a geiger counter to go along with your trench radio. There's a
gorgeous one sitting in a pile of my stuff that will go to the landfill next
Monday.
"OCD item No. CDV-700
Model No. 6B
The Victoreen Instrument Co.
Cleveland, Ohio"

Lovely yellow-painted case. Even has the red, white, and blue Conelrad logo!

 

[Michael]

Hello Michael,


That would most likely bring the goons out. I doubt these things would
be good in terms of EMI. Come to think of it, I don't even have an MP3
player. Now I am feeling old...

I know all about that. I was shocked 2-3 years ago when my brother-in-law
mentioned that his daughter's portable CD player could play a music CD or a CD
of MP3 files. Land sakes! What'll they think of next?! Her's was Sony (read
"BIG bucks"). Today you can get a cheapo at W***Mart that does the same job. I
bought a G.E. for $13 (as I recall) last year because I'd be driving alone for
about 8 hours, need good tunes to keep my nerves settled on drives longer than 2
hours, and didn't want to juggle CD's every hour or so. I burned a CD-RW (yes,
the cheapo can also read re-writable disks) with MP3 files of favorite tracks
from my music CD collection. Contains something like 11 hours of tunes, yet is
not even half full. I'll be listening to it on another long drive next week.

(snip)