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From: mcmahan@netcom.com (Dave Mc Mahan)
Subject: Re: References for ANY IC
Message-ID: <mcmahanC63z68.B3I@netcom.com>
Organization:  Dave McMahan @ NetCom Services 
References: <C63rIA.99L@zeno.fit.edu>
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 20:49:20 GMT
Lines: 44

 In a previous article, ree88132@zach.fit.edu (Keith Ledig) writes:
>I am looking for a text/reference that will include pinouts, 
>description, and functionality for just about any IC made.
>Does such a text exist?  Are there docs on the Internet that
>reference IC's?  It would be a great idea if each major
>IC manufacturer made available to the public an anonymous
>FTP site with all it's data books in the form of text files.
>(ala RFC style).  This would save time and money for the
>IC manufacturer since a text file costs nothing to send
>around the world via internet and since most users of
>IC's are found in the internet anyway.  
>
>Are there any books available for purchase that reference
>(as many as possible)?  Or am I going to be stuck obtaining
>a zillion databooks from the manufacturers (those little
>phonebook-type books that are obsoleted every couple years)

We use a CD-ROM based system here.  There are about 45 CD-ROM disks and a
4-disk changer hooked to a dedicated MS-DOS computer.  It contains scanned
images of data book pages for several thousand parts.  When you ask it for
something it knows about (mostly active IC parts), it works quite well.
THey don't handle all the varieties of transistors or diodes that exist.
It is definately a start in the right direction, but they need to expand
the data base to handle more types of stuff.

These systems aren't cheap.  We paid about $7,000 for the liscence and get
monthly updates of some of the CD-ROM disks.  We send the old ones back to
them so that they will keep sending us the updates.  I think we pay a
yearly maintainence fee of about $1,500 to get the updates.

If you find the part you want, you can look at the data sheet on a
page-sized monitor (it's a special monitor from SigmaSystems).  You can
also print each page of the datasheet you want on a LaserJet printer.  Page
printing takes a couple of minutes per page.  It can take a while to dump
the 5 or 6 pages you usually need.

I have a feeling the maker wouldn't like it if we made the data available
to all Internet users.    :-)

  -dave

-- 
Dave McMahan                            mcmahan@netcom.com
                                        37N 17.382    121W 59.190 
