Slob
Experienced Member
i built a few boards about 20 years ago that demo'ed the 8008 and the 8080 with scrolling descriptions of the chips. I pulled these out of storage to look at while I was building new 4004 and 4040 hardware. They didn't seem to want to reset anymore. It turned out that although my wire-wrapping held after almost 20 years, the #$%#^$ cheap-az surplus pushbuttons didn't work anymore! I replaced them, and we are good again. So, this is a "retro-retro-computing" fix, I guess. Who could believe that simple board-mounted pushbutton switches could go bad? These weren't even from eBay. I had some free time back then and built a few more of these and sold them on eBay in maybe 2000 or so. If anybody who bought these is reading...IT'S THE PUSH BUTTONS!
Another problem I've run into is that my UVEPROM eraser is not erasing anymore. I have one of those incredibly cheap and dangerous models that you see on eBay, but it's at least 18 years old. I'm going to assume that the tube got "old", not from number of running hours, but from hours of existence! It seems very, very blotchy and the color is definitely not what it once was. I've ordered another tube (this time, a name brand), and we will see how it goes, if I don't kill myself. Those Chinese UVEPROM erasers are Undertakers Laboratories approved!
Another problem I've run into is that my UVEPROM eraser is not erasing anymore. I have one of those incredibly cheap and dangerous models that you see on eBay, but it's at least 18 years old. I'm going to assume that the tube got "old", not from number of running hours, but from hours of existence! It seems very, very blotchy and the color is definitely not what it once was. I've ordered another tube (this time, a name brand), and we will see how it goes, if I don't kill myself. Those Chinese UVEPROM erasers are Undertakers Laboratories approved!