airmailed Posted October 25, 2004 Report Posted October 25, 2004 i just bought 2 sids on ebay, is there a quick and easy way to test them? i don't have a sid board built yet.. i'm wondering if theres some jiggery pokerey i can do with a multimeter?best wishesadam Quote
jdutcher Posted October 26, 2004 Report Posted October 26, 2004 just plug in the c64s that they come in and try a game Quote
airmailed Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Posted October 27, 2004 good idea... but they're new and un-c64-d...so the good news is that there are new sids on ebay right now..the not so good news is that they were £5 2 weeks ago.. and are now £10.. if lots of folk from here rush to buy them the guy will raise the price more i think.. he has at least 95 and is selling them very slowly... so everyone play it cool ;-) everyone who wants some that is... i think they will be around for a few months at leasti didn't actually get mine yet but can post again when they arrive Quote
Jurbo Posted October 27, 2004 Report Posted October 27, 2004 Damn, they are all 6581's... But that's great news for those who prefer it! :) Quote
airmailed Posted November 4, 2004 Author Report Posted November 4, 2004 i got the sids today.. i don't have any way of testing them but they look ok.. except one has a blob of white paint on it.. makes me wonder if they are new or have been ripped out of a c64 ;-)is a blob of paint normal? (i saw one in a pic on this site) Quote
bosone Posted November 4, 2004 Report Posted November 4, 2004 i think that the "paint" you see is a thermoconductive paste, it's normal Quote
arumblack Posted November 5, 2004 Report Posted November 5, 2004 It's normal, for a chip that was installed. I got some NOS 8580's and they where free of any thermal paste and look brand new ( as it should be). I would think that that chip had been installed in a c64. Quote
airmailed Posted November 5, 2004 Author Report Posted November 5, 2004 hmmm....well one has a blob on and one doesn't.. they are all packaged up as spares.. maybe i will inspect them more closely Quote
raphael Posted November 5, 2004 Report Posted November 5, 2004 i think that the "paint" you see is a thermoconductive paste, it's normal I've never seen any SID with a heat sink in a C64...If the paint is in the middle of the chip and if you can remove the "paint" easily by scratching lightly with your fingernail, it's heat-conductive paste. Otherwise it could be a mark of the chip manufacturer. I've seen such marks on several older computer chips. Quality assurance marks ??? Quote
moebius Posted November 5, 2004 Report Posted November 5, 2004 I've never seen any SID with a heat sink in a C64...It's the metal cover over the PCB, it's bend so it touches some of the chips on the board and transfers heat to dissipate from a larger area.Bye, Moebius Quote
smashtv Posted November 5, 2004 Report Posted November 5, 2004 Quality assurance marks ???That's my guess too. Very common on lots of 80's stuff, when companies used "chip clip" type test fixtures.I wonder if any of the C64 or SID history sites cover this?Best!Smash Quote
airmailed Posted November 5, 2004 Author Report Posted November 5, 2004 it's on one end of the chip.. not in the middle.. i think they probably are new but paranoia makes me wonder.. and i wouldn't be wanting to recommend this guy on ebay who's selling them if i thought he'd ripped them out of a c64 (he is advertising them as new and unused) Quote
arumblack Posted November 6, 2004 Report Posted November 6, 2004 If it is only on the edge I would think it is not thermal paste, or at least tht it had not been installed (or not properly). I would agree that it maybe could be some QA marking, but that's not too comforting either.I pulled a sid from a worjking c64 once , andhte thing seemed to work except the filter. Swapped in another, pulled from a dead c64, and it all worked fine. Havent had the time to switch my working modules over to 8580 to test my new chips ( hoping for the thanksgiving holiday to provide the time).Did you buy any extra? I made sure to in case some didn't work.( and if they all do, I build more!) I'd build the sid up to step a and test them. Quote
airmailed Posted November 6, 2004 Author Report Posted November 6, 2004 didn't buy any extras.. i have 2 so i'll just build one module and test both.. the guy has quite a lot (95 or so when i last looked) so i think getting them will be ok.. if not.. i think i'll make do with what i have Quote
Dave_Wheeler Posted November 7, 2004 Report Posted November 7, 2004 If you bought yours from the same guy as me be carefull.Pre-sale, nice as pie and very helpfull. Post sale, once I found that one of the three I bought was faulty, took 3 days to get a reply to my email telling me that sending him 3 emails was not the way to contact him and that he needed the item number etc. sent that earlier in the week and no reply at all. If anyone else is going to buy I suggest getting written confirmation that a faulty SID will be replaced before parting with any cash. I looked back through the feedback and it looks like there have been other dissapointed customers as well.You have been warnedDave Quote
airmailed Posted November 7, 2004 Author Report Posted November 7, 2004 i guess at this point it might be good to clarify if we're talking about the same person or not..this is where i got mine:http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3543&item=8136723028&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVWhow about you dave? Quote
Dave_Wheeler Posted November 7, 2004 Report Posted November 7, 2004 Hi Adam,Yep, same seller. Yours might be OK, maybe I was just unlucky :-(Also the item is listed as 6581R3. I got 1 R3, 1 R4 and 1 Rnothing If you are anywhere near Hampshire, will gladly test yours for you.Dave Quote
airmailed Posted November 8, 2004 Author Report Posted November 8, 2004 hi Dave..thanks for the offer, i have sent you a pm about testing the chips...as for getting your faulty one replaced.. i think it is worth writing to the guy in a few days, staying calm with him.. maybe sending the chip back by registered post (if it's knackered anyway then nothing to lose) with a note saying this one is faulty, i want you to send a replacement please.. something like that.. worth a go anywaybest wishesadam Quote
smashtv Posted November 9, 2004 Report Posted November 9, 2004 I don't think I would be willing to accept a chip packed like this, non-conductive plastic bags are a bad thing (anti-stat bags are never clear).Just imagine how much vibration happens during shipping, and how much of a static charge that does build. I know it's on a astat foam square, but that will just ensure that a static hit is taken by all of the pins at once.If these were actually new old stock replacement parts, they would be on a bug tray or other anti-static carrier, and he would not have several different generations (R2, R3, etc). These are likely pulls from scrap machines, but maybe packaged long ago and maybe not by the seller.Buyer beware indeed.That said, this guy's deal beats the hell out of shipping C64's and 1541 drives all over the planet, even if one of every two bought is dead you still probably won't evilbay a SID for less money.Best!Smash Quote
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