| Yes, I've got one, but I've never seen it 'cos Nelly fitted it ages ago.
However, I spent many years repairing mainframe computers so I've fitted a lot of chips. Invariably they have some sort of marker to indicate which end Pin 1 is at. It'll either be a small dot on one corner or the chip will have a semi circular indentation on one end - something very similar. The chip that's currently in the bike will have the same sort of thing (it may not be exactly the same marking, but it performs the same "this end up" job).
Sometimes the pin numbers (or at least some of them) are marked with tiny raised numbers, occasionally they may be screen printed. All you need to do is make sure that Pin 1 on the new chip goes where Pin 1 of the old chip lived. It may not be as obvious as a dirty great arrow, but I've never seen a chip without some sort of orientation mark.
Some words of warning. Static discharge can zap a chip literally as quick as lightning, sometimes it doesn't destroy them completely, just introduces a few 'unexplained' glitches. So the chip should remain in its antistatic bag with all it's pins inserted in the little chunk of conductive foam it should've come packaged in until you're ready to use it.
Before you do that, creep down to Maplin and get yourself an antistatic wriststrap. Slip it on your wrist, clip it to the bike and you'll both be at the same potential. If you're being really serious you may also want to run a piece of wire between a good conducting bit of the bike frame and a good earthing point in the house or garage, like a radiator. (dont plug yourself into the mains, although you can get earthing mats from Maplin that connect to a dummy plug with only the earth connected and non-conducting plastic prongs instead of the live and neutral).
You might also want a chip puller to take the old chip out, this'll help you extract it without bending or snapping the pins off (although you can also do this by gently prising it up with a small screwdriver from each end alternately - small twists of the screwdriver should do it). You never know when you might need the old chip again, so it's as well to keep it safe.
When you put the new chip in, make sure that all the pins are straight to start off with, then as you put it into the socket, make sure all the pins are lined up and starting to engage in their individual connectors. Just keep pushing it very gently until you're sure that everything is lined up and engaging correctly, and only then give it a firm (but still controlled) shove to seat it properly. Pins on chips are very easy to bend and don't like being straightened. Although you can straighten a pin if you do bend one, it;s always touch and go whether it'll snap off.
Despite all thes warnings it's really not that difficult. Take your time and check everything twice before you do it and you'll be fine  |