Re: possible sun3 chips, trying to ID

Wow, several good responses in my inbox.  I'm posting back to the list
just to tie things together, I hope no one minds.

On Wed, 9 Jul 2003, Curtis H. Wilbar Jr. wrote:

> None of this looks like Sun3 to me.... Sun usually smatters sun specific
> roms, PALs, etc with sun part #s... nothing there is a sun p/n.

Yes, the lack of any Sun numbers put me off as well when I first saw the
chips.  FWIW the first batch, arranged in pairs, were manufactured by AMD,
copyright 1988.  The other stamped print beneath the labels was more
cryptic.

Also, Curtis has offered to accept these chips and gave me his address.

> Don't suppose your friend still has the 3/150 ???  I'd love to find
> a 3/150 or 4/150 (mainly for the chassis, as I have a 3400 cpu board,
> a 4200 cpu board, some 4600 cpu boards, and that chassis would allow
> me to have room to play with some of the many VME Sun cards I have).

I doubt it, but I wrote to him asking after it.  I last sighted the
machine in North Carolina, late 1998.  Since my friend wasn't terribly
interested in sun3 hardware, I'm sure he got rid of it some time ago.

Rick provided one of the most detailed analyses, which he posted to the
list.  You can find it in the archive at --

http://mail-index.netbsd.org/port-sun3/2003/07/09/0001.html

I think he's spot on concerning the programmed EEPROMs.  I also took the
hint and found James Birdsall's Sun Hardware FAQ, but I didn't find
anything to help with physical identification.

On Wed, 9 Jul 2003, der Mouse wrote (referring to the non-paired chips):

> These are plain vanilla EEPROMs.  I have no real need for them, but I'd
> sure take them in preference to their being junked.

Thanks for offering, but Curtis beat you to it.  If you two want to split
them between yourselves, knock yourselves out. *grin*

On Wed, 9 Jul 2003, Andy Ball wrote:

> The 27xxx may be EPROM chips, which is memory that is
> normally read only, but can be erased by exposing to a
> particular UV light for a set period of time.
>
> Following are my guesses as to the capacity of each.  The
> second lines may provide someone with a clue as to the
> software that's programmed into them.
>
>   JM> 27128
>     > DRSS31-D
>
> 16K x 8 bits.
>
>   JM> 2764
>     > DRSIPH-A
>     >
>     > 2764
>     > DRSIPM-A
>     >
>     > 2764
>     > DRSIPL-A
>
> 8K x 8 bits.  Perhaps H M and L are for High, Middle & Low?
>
>   JM> 27C256A
>     > DRSYPH-K
>     >
>     > 27C256A
>     > DRSYPH-K
>     >
>     > 27C256A
>     > DRSYPL-K
>
> 32K x 8 bits.  Possibly CMOS.
>
> I don't know how useful my reply is.  I imagine the software
> in the chips may be more useful than the chips themselves.

Interesting.  Clearly the best way to decipher these chips would be to
plug them into a reader.

On a hunch, I threw "Sun3 LA5.01" and "Sun3 LA7.01" at Google, which spit
back some pages mentioning Telebit WorldBlazer fax modems.  The LAx.01
strings matched WorldBlazer firmware revisions, but these chips should
predate the modems by about six years.  I think it was just coincidence.

So, in summary, most of these chips are EEPROMS, possibly useful in sun3
systems.  Curtis has offered to accept them, so I'll get them in the mail
before the week's end.  My thanks to everyone who responded, I appreciate
the help!

-jrm