[sdiy] up in smoke

[Tim Ressel]

--- On Mon, 3/2/09, Tom Wiltshire <tom at electricdruid.net> wrote:
> I've seen a lot of broken equipment, but I don't
> think I've ever seen a chip spontaneously burn out like
> you describe. I'd start hunting for other faults to see
> what caused it.

I agree.  While it is possible for an IC to undergo Spontaneous Semiconductor Combustion, it is more likely something external to the IC caused the failure.  Was the faulted IC anywhere near an I/O jack?  Is it possible an external wiring issue sent an overvoltage to the IC?  

--TimR