[time-nuts] DIP Is Dead R.I.P

Perry Sandeen sandeenpa at yahoo.com
Sat Nov 8 19:47:24 EST 2014


List,
 
Wrote: The days of DIP parts are drawing to a close.
 
I was shocked, absolutely shocked, really, when I looked at
the latest Mouser catalog about the lack of PDIP I.C.’s.
 
That said, we are faced with a dilemma.
 
In all my HP test equipment I probably have 500 or more PDip
IC’s, so what to do to keep the equipment running properly?
 
My first two thoughts are to re-cap all the power supplies
and attempt to have greater cooling, especially in the notoriously hot 5370B
units. For them I've given thought to using external switching regulator
supplies or removing the heat sink and making it a separate module or external
dropping resistors.
 
Another choice maybe is to replace some of the original 74
series with LPS or similar later types to reduce internal instrument heat.
 
It may be time to get a number of *running spares* from
reputable Ebay sellers.
 
Perhaps all of the above in different proportions. I have
far, far too much money in HP test equipment just to sit and watch my units
fail one by one.
 
Regards,
 
Perrier


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