Best way to store EPROM chips?

[Chuck spurlock]

hi all,

sorry if i'm in the wrong place for this post.

I'm looking for ideas on how people store their eproms simms etc. i'm starting to get a lot of software and want to keep them organized and looking for ways to do that so i also can keep damage to a minimum. Boxes with foam ?just some kind of file and storage system

[shortrackskater]

I moved this to "tech talk." That should get you some responses. 

[rickhunter]

eproms on anti-static eprom tubes.  Simms on anti-static bags labeled with the game name on them (I store the simm sets on a bag, and then cut eprom tubes to size to fit the eproms, then store those on ziplock bags.  I then put the bags into plastic drawers that are numbered, and I keep a spreadsheet with the game name and the number of the drawer they are stored in.

CF cards on 3 ring binders with vinyl pages that have pockets for CF cards (they have a lip on the top to keep the card from falling out), you can also use sheets for 35mm slides if you can't find the ones with the top lip.  Same thing with games with dongles, although the pockets are bigger to accommodate the dongle and the game card.

[Chuck spurlock]

sounds like good ideas, i'll start checking and see what works for me, i appreciate your response brother

thank you

Chuck

[Heihachi_73]

Standard non-read-protected EPROMs? Back the things up onto stable media ASAP (get a professional to do it if you are not technically minded or not familiar with handling computer chips), and store the original chips as per rickhunter's advice. As long as you keep the original chips, it is 100% legal to run a backup containing the exact byte-identical software in your machine (IANAL though, not all countries are "free" when it comes to fair use). It is nothing short of scary that people are still using factory original erasable-by-design chips that are pushing 50 years old, with no plans on what happens after the chips suddenly fail. It's a lot less painful to accidentally destroy a newly-burned EPROM than a 40 year old factory EPROM that is extremely rare and expensive to replace, if you can even find one at all.

For read-protected ROMs and suicidal chips (e.g. VLC setchips, Konami iButton devices etc.), follow rickhunter's advice but keep them well away from any form of backup device, and good luck if they still even work after 30 years (case in point, the arcade scene with self-destructing machines from the likes of Sega, Capcom, Gaelco etc.)

Additionally, do not, under any circumstances, insert a slot machine CF card or hard drive or whatever into a Windows PC, unless you want to brick the slot, as Windows will happily write stuff to the device the instant you insert it, even if it cannot read the file system due to being EXT2 or whatever.

[Stayouttadabunker]

I remember buying a whole bunch of anti-static eprom cases one time...fairly expensive too....not cheap at all.
I started labeling them and storing them in a cardboard box....then I had more and more...haha...and more.

It turned out the best way to store all these eproms I've collected was to get the long anti-static tubes, rather than the cases.
The long tubes fit perfectly in the cardboard boxes I got whenever I purchased reel glass pieces from different vendors.
I used the same boxes to store rolled reel strips as well.

I've also stored eproms as complete game sets in bags like the way Rick explained.
You will be amazed how many you can easily collect over the years....lol

I Googled suicidal arcade machines and found it terribly interesting what those companies did.
Home fire alarms systems are made somewhat the same way so it forces homeowners to purchase new alarms.
I imagine the arcade companies never envisioned game machine collectors.

[jay]

Slot collectors even less so......
Especially those with linked progressives, 18' signs, personal TITO systems, and logo'ed player tracking.......   

Man I love this hobby and this community.