Thanks! Is there anything special about this chip? Just wondering if there is any reason that it got turned into a keychain. I know very little about electronics but 1977 seems quite early for a memory chip?
It's late by then, a good portion of a decade had passed since the first RAM ICs had come along, and that may even be too short a time.
But, there was really rapid growth, as the companies geared up and demand increased. I didn't look up the IC, but something that was around in 1973 would hardly be useful by 1977, because more memory was desired and it was available. So the only reason someone would want a 256 by 1 bit RAM from early on was either to replace an IC in an existing unit, or for novelty/historical reasons.
In the "early" days, novelty items were made of of defective devices' things like tie tacks, pendantes, etc.
Since I had access to fairly large numbers of defective devices, I used to make little animals out of them by soldering them together. For example, I would solder two 14 DIPs together to make alligator jaws. These in turn would be soldered to a 40 pin ceramic DIP which was the body. And then you get the picture, other suitable components for the tail and legs. But that was in the late 70's, early 80's.
Today they would be banned because they would have LEAD solder in them! Jeesh!
and , by now, YOU have lead/antimony/tin/arsenic/ and who knows (mercury) from the soldering fumes in YOUR head!
despite my cautious use during my formative years ( many many years ago) it was not uncommon to hold the solder in my teeth as a substitute "panavise" and inhale the fumes as i assembled god knows what ever into a miracle invention.
and to pour the curious liquid mercury from a tip-switch around in my nubile porous skinned hand to amuze myself.
no problem, no worries, and no warnings from those teaching me about the electronics either! WOW, and i actually have survived. even at some diminished capacity beyond the effect of the gallons of beer.wine,jack daniels, Graves Grains and whatever during my college and after times, office parties and gatherings, weddings and other.
then there's the years of following the exhausts of countless Tetra ethyl added gasoline powered vehicles during slow slow slow pileups on the freeways, and the tons of soot from truck, power plants, and clear cut/burn farmers.
and we worry so much about our childern? sorry folks, it's just getting WORSE!
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