cbmeeks Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I own several TI-99/4A's. And, fortunately, you can still buy them pretty cheap (just bought one for $12). However, I want to buy a few TMS9900's for a few reasons. Mostly as backups in case I need them but also I would like to (one day) design a 16-bit computer around one. When searching on eBay, I see two options. 1) Cheap from China 2) Expensive from USA. We all know the crap you can get from China (no offense to the Chinese...but it's true). Is there an option 3? One where I can get 2-3 CPU's at *nearly* the Chinese prices with comfort in knowing they are genuine and working? In my searches, the Chinese ones were in the $3-$8 range, IIRC. The American sellers were asking up to $80! I can buy a whole TI for less than that. I could take a chance and buy a few from China. Plop them in a known, working TI to test them. But I was hoping for a more reliable (and reasonably priced) source. I'm not a fan of gutting vintage computers for parts. My only exception would be if the computer is already gutted and/or broken. Thanks for any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I get the occasional TMS99xx IC from the eBay seller "polida2008" and they have (so far) been genuine, perhaps with the IC pins re-tinned. He's got some 9900's on there now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-Microprocessor-IC-TI-DIP-64-TMS9900NL-TMS9900/273089911545. If you got a couple then it won't break the bank if they are no good. I've got some of the 'remanufactured' 9900's from China and so far they've all worked, but I don't know about their longevity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 You know, I think I've bought some sound chips from that seller before and they are good, IIRC. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbmeeks Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 FYI, I found the same listing as someone else pretending to be Polida. Using the exact same pic, same price, but different user. So either polida2008 has multiple accounts, or someone is faking their account. I always feel like I'm dabbling in the black market on eBay.... LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keatah Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I get the occasional TMS99xx IC from the eBay seller "polida2008" and they have (so far) been genuine, perhaps with the IC pins re-tinned. He's got some 9900's on there now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-Microprocessor-IC-TI-DIP-64-TMS9900NL-TMS9900/273089911545. If you got a couple then it won't break the bank if they are no good. I've got some of the 'remanufactured' 9900's from China and so far they've all worked, but I don't know about their longevity. I just suck-up any cheap stuff I get from China. I wonder what they do to refurb them? They most certainly don't repackage them - that'd be way too costly and labor intensive. And risky too. At best I would say they clean the body, clean/tin the leads, and perhaps relabel it or spiff-up the existing label. Not much else can be done. For most all re-manufactured parts like this, the silicon chip inside and epoxy/plastic casing are going to be original. I'm not a fan of gutting vintage computers for parts. My only exception would be if the computer is already gutted and/or broken. Not many of us are, except the e-cyclers. But it will become more "popular" as parts get more rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 You should also remember that there is an alternate part number here, the S9900P. If you look on eBay right now, there is a seller with a group of six of them for sale for a very reasonable $18.90, including shipping. I've bought several lots of these from him in the past. . .and they've always been good. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I wonder what they do to refurb them? They most certainly don't repackage them - that'd be way too costly and labor intensive. And risky too. At best I would say they clean the body, clean/tin the leads, and perhaps relabel it or spiff-up the existing label. Not much else can be done. On the top of the plastic body there are two circular areas. On all the genuine 9900's I've seen, the body has a textured finish, apart from these two circular areas which are smooth. But on all the relabelled 9900's those two circular areas are also textured. So I could imagine them getting genuine 9900's, planing a very thin slice off the top of the package to remove marks and scratches, then somehow texturing the whole surface, then applying a new label (which is always very white and sharp compared to the genuine labels). An awful lot of effort, so what are they gaining over just selling the genuine chips as NOS? Especially as any 'in the know' can recognise the relabelled versions and is cautious of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+helocast Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 You should also remember that there is an alternate part number here, the S9900P. If you look on eBay right now, there is a seller with a group of six of them for sale for a very reasonable $18.90, including shipping. I've bought several lots of these from him in the past. . .and they've always been good. I can also vouch for this seller's quality/prices. As well as multiple S9900P lots, I've also bought many hard to find ICs from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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