Just a quick bit of advice for all you hardware hackers out there.

When you've designed a board around a 65C22 VIA, and the PCBs have arrived from China, and you're screaming at the malign gods of electronics because the damn thing's not working ... well, try checking that you haven't accidentally installed a 65C02 instead of the 65C22.

This is what I learned today.

You're welcome.

_________________
I like it when things smoke.
Blog – Zolatron 64 project

Oh, those DIP40s, they all look so similar!

_________________
http://WilsonMinesCo.com/ lots of 6502 resources
The "second front page" is http://wilsonminesco.com/links.html .
What's an additional VIA among friends, anyhow?

And the writing on them is so small. And my eyes are so old…

_________________
I like it when things smoke.
Blog – Zolatron 64 project

get a white marker or label printer and just put the short name in big fat letters on it, like "c02", "c22", "816", etc.

I don't know how y'all store your chips, but I have the same aging-eyes problem. So, I use a Sharpie to write the chip number on the anti-static tube. Now, that always doesn't help once they're pulled, but I've also taken to using a magnifying visor (like a jeweler) to double-check things against the silkscreen and putting the chips on anti-static foam in chip order.

Rich

_________________
Rich Cini
Build Master and maintainer of the Altair32 Emulation project
http://cini.classiccmp.org
http://altair32.classiccmp.org

I can definitely not blame you on this one! I can't read the part numbers on chips anymore without putting them under a very bright light and using my magnifier. When I store chips I keep them in the plastic tubes with nice large and high-contrast labels printed on my little label printer. But that only helps if the chip is still in the tube. (I am really bad about putting things away...)

Quite. Most of my chips are in component racks. But I have a box for stuff related to my 6502 project. There were 3 40-pin DIPs in a piece of anti-static foam. One I knew to be a 65C22N. Another was a clearly readable R6522. I assumed the other must be some kind of 6522. Not having my illuminated loupe to hand, I employed that other handy tool - squinting. I could just make out an ‘S’ in the position I needed it to be. Confirmation bias.

As it happens, I’ve just taken delivery of a fine-tipped paint pen, specifically for marking ICs. Just haven’t got around to using it yet.

_________________
I like it when things smoke.
Blog – Zolatron 64 project

_________________
http://WilsonMinesCo.com/ lots of 6502 resources
The "second front page" is http://wilsonminesco.com/links.html .
What's an additional VIA among friends, anyhow?

My solution.



I have one at either end of my bench.

_________________
Bill

_________________
x86?  We ain't got no x86.  We don't NEED no stinking x86!

I too have one of those arm lights (not an ARM light ), it helps immensely but I've found it's not quite bright enough sometimes. Been thinking about replacing it lately. I also have have one of the head-mounted light/magnifier units and that one I find to be better, but a bit uncomfortable to wear for long periods.

_________________
x86?  We ain't got no x86.  We don't NEED no stinking x86!

Among the batch number, speed rating and packaging information, there is only one digit of difference between 65C02 and 65C22. And with new-fangled surface mount options, the problem isn't your failing eyes. The writing really is getting smaller.

_________________
Modules | Processors | Boards | Boxes | Beep, Beep! I'm a sheep!

Mine are LED too, but not adjustable. Plenty bright though.

_________________
Bill