Spotted a TMS9900 kit on ebay.com ?

[simon ti99]

Hi.

 

I've been considering building a small TMS9900 system for some time , then I spotted these kits on ebay.com. Has any body bought one, are they OK ?? They seem good value for money. I might just buy one and take the risk ! If anyone has any information on the company that sells them.. please let me know.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Z80-CPU-Kit-Z84C00xx-V9958-AY-3-8910-SRAM-EEPROM-CPLD-ect-/151338381536?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233c7870e0

[killbot2000]

 

I've bought ICs from this supplier.. found them OK.. stuff takes quite a while to arrive , but otherwise no problems. Though I've heard a lot of rumours of counterfeit ICs from China, but in my opinion this is somewhat exaggerated. Hope this helps ?

[bad robot]

Got quite a bit of stuff from this supplier (Funkward-tech) and they are good to deal with.. however make sure they pack the ICs with Anti-static foam as they don't always use Anti-Staic handling.. but all the Chips I got worked fine.. however be patient as it does take some time to arrive!

[dirty-harry]

When buying ICs from China it's best to check them as soon as they arrivem then you can correct any problems straight away. I've found most suppliers tend to be good at sorting things out. Plus ebay will give you your money back if things go wrong.. ! I've got Duff stuff from Chinese suppliers but they either sent replacements

or give a full refund.

[Stuart]

Hi.

 

I've been considering building a small TMS9900 system for some time , then I spotted these kits on ebay.com. Has any body bought one, are they OK ?? They seem good value for money. I might just buy one and take the risk ! If anyone has any information on the company that sells them.. please let me know.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Z80-CPU-Kit-Z84C00xx-V9958-AY-3-8910-SRAM-EEPROM-CPLD-ect-/151338381536?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item233c7870e0

I've been getting some surplus bits from a chap who 'imports' then sells the chip sets in the UK. All the chips I've tried have worked with the exception of one, which I think was a 9995.

 

Definitely some fakes around - have got a couple of "TMS9904ANL" clock drivers bearing the full TI logo and branding. Except these don't exist - the correct chip number is *TIM*9904ANL, which is what TI actually made. They do work though. Did hear from someone with a Chinese-sourced 9995 which worked for about 10 minutes then failed, so buyer beware.

 

Simon - if you happen to be in the UK then send me a PM - I can probably send you all you need.

 

Stuart.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Stuart

[bad robot]

There's a good Article on counterfeit ICs here :

 

http://primrosebank.net/computers/mtx/projects/mtxplus/notes/mtxplus_fakes.htm

 

 

 

Also avoid the exorbitantly price TMS9995s etc Just because they have stupidly high price doesn't guarantee they'll work. I got some Z84C0020PECs from ebay.com and they turned out to be Z80Hs that had been remarked.. they all worked.. I did however get a full refund when I expalined to the suplier and sent Photos...