On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 3:10:40 -0800, Watson A.Name - Watt Sun, Dark Remover wrote (in message ):
See my post elsewhere in the electronics NGs about doing exactly that.
It would be interesting to correlate instrument serial numbers with chip failures. From what I hear, the -01 chip was unreliable. They redesigned it and rolled the instrument serial number base for the -02 version. They built a bunch of those.
Then some bean counter decided to sell the IC facility to MAXIM. Somehow, about the same time, the instrument serial number base got rolled again. MAXTEK still produced the -02 chip but lost the recipe and started producing unreliable chips again. I understand that the IC unreliability problems were not restricted to just this chip.
According to my sources, there's a serial number range in the middle where the chip reliability is much improved. I'll revise the webpage to make that more clear.
Mine's in that middle serial number range. Just sittin' on the shelf waiting for someone to come along and get a great scope. mike
mike wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@juno.com:
I'd also check date codes on the IC's.
I don't believe anything about "lost the recipe". Semiconductor processes are subject to variation,tolerances.They may have decided to take a 'shortcut' or 'improve' a step in the process,or had a bad batch of material.
The reason Maxim stopped making ICs for TEK is that they did not like making them in low volumes,and demanded TEK do a "last-time buy".That's why the entire 2400 line was killed off.
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