A Cow chip - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 07:04:05 pm
content: Rummaging through my parts bin I came across an old chip and an old memory...I have a "Real Cow Chip".. I don't know what it is.. I ended up with it after a trip to a lab once. It's possibly a one-off or custom chip, maybe a pre-production run.There's no date code, but it was given to me during a visit to a Sperry Lab in Salt Lake City around 1986 or so. This lab was high security and did lots of military contracts, so it might have been something for a contract... I dunno...The logo looks like Intel but maybe not..So does anyone know, is this a real chip? what does it do?I thought I'd post a pictures, in case there is an old timer like myself that knows something about this chipCheers!

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 07:30:03 pm
content: Looks like an air abrasive or laser etching sample run or similar.The sample runs often use funny names as the operators can be real comedians.I have a genuine 'computer bug' IC somewhere. Its just a test piece with no silicon in it.Some home computers had chips that were given names. An odd idea but they were designed by some unusual people.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 07:51:06 pm
content: Well the i would make me think Intel.

author: kfitch42
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 09:01:00 pm
content: Given the intel-ish "i", could it be an eprom/eeprom/prom?Do you have a universal reader/programmer? Shove it in, hit detect and see what happens.

author: Bertho
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 09:56:53 pm
content: Put a speaker on a pin and power on some others. Maybe it says Mooooo?

author: fluxcapacitor
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 10:08:54 pm
content: This newspaper article may explain things ?http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19660217&id=TtdSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0n8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7294,3544169Sperry made missile parts ,it was based on a 46 acre cow pasture.I think the name is a joke by the engineers . A "cow chip" is a dried out cow pat/cow dung .There are cow chip throwing competitions at local fairs etc.Who knows what the IBS stands for ,my guess is Intercontinental Bollistic Shit

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 10:56:50 pm
content: Quote from: kfitch42 on October 25, 2013, 09:01:00 pmYeah I'm thinking that or even an 8051 series chip with program that decodes or validates some kind of code.

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 11:23:50 pm
content: May have been an empty package (mechanical sample) that was used for testing pick and place machines , training assemblers, etc. So they got custom labeled to give away as souvenirs, perhaps for a product launch or some kind of "in joke" at the company.Somewhere I have a clearly marked"mechanical sample" for a type 250TH vacuum tube, from Eimac. Has all the terminals and pins sealed into the bulb and a proper base installed, but no internal electrodes, just an empty bulb! The exhaust tubulation is cut off short, and unmelted, as the tube never went through an exhaust cycle. Would have been used for mechanical layout and prototyping, to check airflow and component placement, etc.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 11:26:41 pm
content: Also, IBS in the US stands for "Irritable Bowel Syndrome"

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2013, 11:41:54 pm
content: Try measuring it with a multimeter set to diode mode.

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 03:25:24 am
content: Quote from: Aurora on October 25, 2013, 07:30:03 pmYes, it's a very deep and clear etching, I'd say air/sand blasting... It's not a typical laser etch burn marking.QuoteThis is clearly a test run or sample of something; I am certain it is not a production chip, actually, given that there is no date code or batch id, it's not traceable in case of failure in the field.The Amiga chips are the named chips that I know about (because I was an Amiga fanboy back then): Agnus, Denise, Paula, Alice, Gary, Gayle, Amber, Ramsey... others I can't remember...

author: JoeyP
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 03:43:41 am
content: Maybe it's what power's this:

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 03:54:35 am
content: Quote from: StevenWhitney on October 25, 2013, 08:16:10 pmThat would be interesting. I don't have access to an xray machine, but perhaps I need to schedule that root canal after allIt may also just be an empty shellQuote from: kfitch42 on October 25, 2013, 09:01:00 pmI don't have one here at my home, but you've given me an idea, along with NiHaoMike who said probe it in diode mode..I might just make up something quick with a modern micro or FPGA demo board to probe and pulse all the pins and use a logic analyzer to try to see something .... Yes, I'll make sure to limit the current. I don't even know if it's TTL or CMOS, or what the power pins are but I can guess appropriately for a 40 pin DIP like this. It might even be a simple mask-programmed 8051, it's about the right time period (mid 80's):Reverse engineering an unknown chip like this might be an interesting first blog for meQuote from: Bertho on October 25, 2013, 09:56:53 pmLOL.. ok. my probe apparatus will include a speakerQuote from: fluxcapacitor on October 25, 2013, 10:08:54 pmGood find. Yes, thats the site I was at, at the labs in Salt Lake.. That's probably the inside joke here, the fact that the site was built originally on an old cow pasture. I was on-site there as a contractor for about 6 months or so. Yes, I knew they did military stuff there...so I'm going with "Intercontinental Ballistic Shit"Quote from: N2IXK on October 25, 2013, 11:23:50 pmYep.. Diode test or xray will show if there is anything inside.Thanks for all the good repliesI'll post what I find out later... just to complete the thread

author: GK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 03:55:16 am
content: Perhaps it's a sound synthesizer chip that makes mooing sounds?

author: ixfd64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 04:06:04 am
content: Perhaps you'll also need somecow toolsto work with it.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 08:24:51 am
content: Cow thread?I don't think there was ever an official music video for this song, so these guys made their own.

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 09:38:42 am
content: COOL, seeing as we're already derailed - this is my favourite contribution -

author: Bertho
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 11:35:42 am
content: Quote from: digsys on October 26, 2013, 09:38:42 amAre you suggesting that a cow was on the tracks and got hit?I thought those cow-chips were invented to prevent that kind of disaster.

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 03:55:23 pm
content: lol... this is now officially a cow thread..----------------------------------------( This thread is funny. I think I'll stay )----------------------------------------\ ^__^\ (oo)\_______(__)\ )\/\||----w ||| ||

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 05:08:36 pm
content: Quote from: JoeyP on October 26, 2013, 03:43:41 amThere's something… peculiar about some of those cows, but I can't quite place my finger on it.

author: N2IXK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2013, 06:16:54 pm
content: I think they've been grazing on those funny mushrooms that grow in their poop....