[Premium-Rx] ROM or EPROM losing its content

[Michael O'Beirne]

Dear Heinz,

Your posting is most appropriate.  Given the speed of semiconductor 
obsolescence, will any of our premier radios still be fully repairable in, 
say, ten years time?  Already the Plessey ICs for example (and many others) 
are complete rarities.

And yet our old tubed Collins, Hammarlund, Siemens and Racal gear will 
probably still be fully repairable since finding spare tubes and small 
components is (mostly) hardly a problem at present.

73s
Michael
G8MOB

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Heinz Breuer" <hbreuer at debitel.net>
To: <premium-rx at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2012 5:33 PM
Subject: [Premium-Rx] ROM or EPROM losing its content


> Hello,
> by definition a premium RX has a microprocessor which controls the
> operation. I wonder if anybody already started to collect the firmware.
>
> Not with any of my receivers but with other gear I occasionally noticed
> that an EPROM had lost a Bit or two after 30 years. Maybe it was not
> fully programmed to start with or any other failure. This may also
> happen to a ROM if something went wrong during production.
>
> I guess it is time to collect ROM and EPROM firmware before it is too
> late. All what is needed is a known good ROM or EPROM and an EPROM
> programmer with a PC interface. Just read out the ROM or EPROM and store
> it onto a harddisk or better two. Maybe even burn a couple EPROMs.
> Any volunteers within our community?
> vy 73 Heinz DH2FA, KM5VT
>
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