2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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write-only memory
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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n. The obvious antonym to read-only memory. Out of frustration with the long
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and seemingly useless chain of approvals required of component
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specifications, during which no actual checking seemed to occur, an engineer
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at Signetics once created a specification for a write-only memory and
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included it with a bunch of other specifications to be approved. This
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inclusion came to the attention of Signetics management only when regular
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customers started calling and asking for pricing information. Signetics
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published a corrected edition of the data book and requested the return of
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the erroneous ones. Later, in 1972, Signetics bought a double-page spread in
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Electronics magazine's April issue and used the spec as an April Fools' Day
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joke. Instead of the more conventional characteristic curves, the 25120
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fully encoded, 9046 x N, Random Access, write-only-memory data sheet
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included diagrams of bit capacity vs.: Temp. , Iff vs. Vff , Number of pins
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remaining vs.: number of socket insertions , and AQL vs.: selling price. The
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25120 required a 6.3 VAC VFF supply, a +10V VCC, and VDD of 0V, 2%.
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