Eproms/IC chips

I don't think this has been emphasized, but people need to know that eproms are the IC chips with glass windows and they are worth more than the plain IC chip. As far as I know this has only been mentioned once...by rbrooks and unfortunately, not many people appreciated his vast knowledge and many very, very helpful posts. I did, however, do my own research to learn the significance of the glass window. btw, the glass window is often covered by a sticker !

Thank you Dee. I haven't gotten down to that level of break down yet, but soon will be and I really appreciate that reminder.

arrggh.. think I lost money on this today... lesson learned. Thank you Dee

They are paid for by the weight so are worth more per lb of eproms. I remember the price rbrooks quoted too as being $50/lb for the ones with gold windows. There was no different price qutoted for the ones with silver under the windows. I too appreciated the valuable information he shared which I have missed of late.

Originally Posted by Enoch43

Good info to share, Dee. I have noticed this misconception as well. For anyone that doesn't know, the E in EPROM means Erasable. This is where the little window comes into play....UV light erases the programming on the chip. Lots of chips have stickers, and I began looking under them all until I realized that every EPROM I have found feels about 50% heavier....and the dead giveaway is the way the side profile looks. The ones with the window have an extra layer that is easily seen. I will try to snap a pic real quick....

The chip on the left...I see a lot of those on TV/monitor boards. Are they worth taking off? No matter how many times E-scrap threads come up I still don't understand it so I break stuff down and pile it away for another day.

Idaho....when you see one that is in a little socket, go ahead and pop it out. a screwdriver or knife tip helps because occasionally they are snug. Sometimes they are square and sit flush with the socket, also. 90% of the long rectangular ones you see, though, are soldered to the board and aren't worth messing with.

Thanks Dee! I, for one, have never taken off an IC chip. I fugured that the valuable ones, the ones on higher end boards would be discounted if I took them off and that the ones from low-end boards were not worth messing with. I probably need to revisit this strategy.

I got my first gold one last week. i keep it in the treasure chest.

Do we have any buyers here that buy either regular IC chips or Eproms? I was looking and did not find. I also searched on E-bay and the results for regular IC chips were poor and the eproms were not nearly as good as suggested here.

Just wanting to get some solid info on this pricing.

If you are planning on harvesting for resale vs scrap, a cheap IC puller can help remove it with less chance of damage. Of course this only works with socket chips, not soldered.

IC chips on hi grade boards contain some of the PM content the buyers are paying for, with any buyer who knows what he is doing, should or will down grade the board if you remove all the chips and flat packs.

I remove them from low grade and mid grade boards. you will be surprised at how fast they can fill a coffee can.

Thank you so much for posting this thread! I know now what I have to do. I have been saving my low grade boards woundering if I should take the ICs off. Now I will.

I took 10 large ic chips like the one on the left in the photo above and got a weight of 2 oz. That would work out to 80 chips per pound or .075 each. A removal rate of 240 (3 lbs) chips per hour would yield about $18. 4 chips a min.