What to do with all these chips?

[HellasTechn]

Good day dear friends, happy Μonday !
Today I am posting something different for a change.
Over the past decade many different kinds of boards have fallen into my hands for salvaging chips. Whenever I was in the mood and had enough time I would strip them and list the chips ive removed. I now sit back and wonder. What am I going to do with all these?
Here is the list I have so far (in PDF). Any suggestions to build something with any of these components just for fun? For example ive builded a ram card a few years ago with a 256k static ram chip i found. here is a photo.
P.S.
I have alot more not listed so far

 

[Harald Kapp]

Hello Konstantine,
there are a few special chips (RDS decoder, radio Ic etc.) that might be fun to experiment with.
There are quite a few standard chips (e.g. 74LSxx) that are imho not worth looking at. These have more modern CMOS equivalents should you ever need one.
There are a few chips that seem to be useless today (e.g. the TEA1062) as the technology they were designed for is obsolete.

I used to keep magazines of high end chips (at the time) but I also regularly sorted them out after a few years: outdated, not worth the hassle, replaced by newer chips that are easier to handle. I keep a few chips in my storage, don't ask me why. Nostalgia?
I almost never really use them. Mostly when I require something I get it fresh. Spares me the possible troubleshooting because I never know which state these old chips are in.

When I look for a project, I usually try to get a project idea, then look for the required ingredients, not the other way round.

Cheers,
Harald

P.S.: I think Konstantine with a "K" is the correct transcription, not with a "C" as I used before? Just because I saw that "K." on your PCB...

 

[HellasTechn]

Thank you Harald.
Indeed at the moment i am desperate for a project idea.
By the way, sharp vision i see you have
My name in Hellenic language is Κωνσταντίνος, romanized: Konstantinos also known as Constantine. Either with a K or with C it is correct because in Hellenic language we spell K the same way as C is spelled in latin.

 

[Harald Kapp]

From the counters and BCD-to-7-segment decoders you could build a clock (not the most intelligent idea, I admit).
Use one of the pwm controllers for a switch mode power supply.
Use the FM radio chip to build a radio.
Make the clock control the radio so you have an alarm clock.
...

 

[HellasTechn]

1. Clock, not a bad idea.
2. Hmmm il think about it.
3.i dont have the coils needed but do have transformer wire. Also i dont know how to calculate a coil.
4.Alarm clock. No idea how to do that.

 

[AnalogKid]

Any time-of-day clock project is a good way to suck up lotsa TTL parts. For something different, consider a binary clock. Six columns of LEDs (on/off, red/green, whatever).

If in your pile of parts there are two analog meters, another variation is a meter clock: TTL counters > discrete D/A converter or stepped integrator > meter driver.

ak

 

[AnalogKid]

4.Alarm clock. No idea how to do that.

Basically, it is two sets of time-or-day counters, one for the display and one to hold the alarm value. The outputs of both counter strings drive the two sides of a bunch of magnitude comparators (7485 or equivalent). The A=B output from the comparators drives the alarm device.

If a basic clock is six counter chips plus control gating, an alarm clock is 18 chips plus much more control gating. Lotsa parts.

ak

 

[TCSC47]

Well, HT, at least you have made a list out of all your chips! One up on me!

 

[Col. Panek]

Same thing I do with piles and boxes of RF components and old test equipment. Store them until I find a use for them, or I move, whichever comes first.

 

[Wollowstone]

Some projects shown by Ben Eater, on You Tube, seems to use those chips. There are mostly related to building a computer on breadboards, and video card, etc.

 

[HellasTechn]

Wow. I will definetly check out Ben Eater on youtube !

Well, HT, at least you have made a list out of all your chips! One up on me!

And the list is growing

 

[bertus]

Hello,

You can also have a lot of fun with the books from Forrest Mims:
https://archive.org/search.php?quer...type:"texts"&and[]=loans__status__status:"-1"

An other book with a lot of circuits is the Giant handbook of electronic circuits:
https://archive.org/details/B-001-002-567/page/n6/mode/2up

Bertus

 

[HellasTechn]

Thank you bertus.
For the time being i have alot to "process" but i will eventually check them also
P.S.
This guy Ben Eater is amazing ! I wish they would teach us stuff like that (the way he does) at school.

 

[Wollowstone]

Thank you bertus.
For the time being i have alot to "process" but i will eventually check them also
P.S.
This guy Ben Eater is amazing ! I wish they would teach us stuff like that (the way he does) at school.

Yes, he often spots "a mistake" in the circuit (or a limitation, whatever...) and THEN add a correction. You learn not just to "weld" components on a printed circuit, but "how to debug" a circuit. Not often the standard way of doing things which are more like: "and here, a circuit which work", followed by "some" explanations. I like his last video where he explains WHY he is building a computer (a MAC like one) on ... BREABOARDS, even with the limitations and poor reputation of these breadboards.

 

[HellasTechn]

Right.
Well the breadboard is always the first step i take after i finish designing a circuit. If it passes the breadboard test then i continue designing the acual PCB.

 

[bertus]

Hello,

An other way for prototyping is the manhattan style prototyping.
In manhattan style prototyping, you can even mix though hole components with SMD.
I will attach some documents with information.

Bertus