When did integrated circuits first enter your life?

[Connecteur]

For me it was 1975, when the first affordable electronic calculators began to appear.  For several years before that, I had read a considerable amount about the coming revolution in microelectronics, but it was like a future dream, not unlike the way hydrogen power is today.  In 1976 I pulled the cover off a machine monitor and I was amazed to see rows of IC chips on the board.  It all happened much quicker than I expected.

[srb1954]

My first experience in using ICs was in 1974 for my final year project at university.  I used two 741 op amps in a control circuit.

[eti]

On a cold and snowy walk back to my log cabin, Christmas Eve 1671.

[Circlotron]

Late 1974 I built a small audio amplifier using an LM380 to drive a speaker from a crystal set. Had a battery that was actually two 9V batteries in a single cardboard package for the split supply. Built it rats nest fashion. Up until then had done mostly vacuum tube stuff. September 1974 I also bought my first calculator, a Texas Instruments TI-251010 that I still have. Still works just fine. https://www.ithistory.org/db/hardware/texas-instruments/texas-instruments-ti-2510

[BravoV]

The 1st IC I owned and used, 555. 

[greenpossum]

I think it was a MM5314 clock chip that bit me in the mid-70s. Either that or one of those integrated power amps in the SGS TBA series. I still have a MM5316 running right now in my bedside radio clock that used to have a flip digits mechanism which failed so I ripped it out.

[VK3DRB]

Would be around 1974 when my mum brought me a calculator in Singapore when she was on the way back from a holiday in Pommyland. They were far too expensive in Australia. I was the first kid in class to own a calculator and I aced a one hour Chemistry test in 10 minutes and walked out. The teacher gave me a mark of 19.5 out of 20. He took the half mark off for being a smart arse and answering with too many digits. Within 3 months almost all the students had a calculator. They would have pestered their parents to no end.

My introduction to discrete IC's was at Tandy Electronics in Niddrie, Victoria, in 1975. I remember it as if it was yesterday. I saw a shopper ask for an IC cookbook. I was in awe with this obvious genius. I realised my gross inadequacies and I had a lot to learn.

Mt first IC circuit was probably using the LM380 audio amplifier. The National Semiconductor Databook was probably one of the best databooks around.

[T3sl4co1l]

I'm not sure if I had an ultrasound before I was born, but even if not something in the hospital then probably the TV at home or something.

Not a very interesting question for a large fraction of the population, I think you'll find.

Tim

[rsjsouza]

Being born in the 70s, by the time I realized I was a person, Integrated Circuits were already all around us - although our TV was still mixed technology (vaccuum tube and solid state), which was the only piece of electronics we actually used as kids.

Starting the hobby in the 1980s, my dad had already a wide variety of parts including CD4000, SN7400 and the regular linear parts (555, 741, 386, etc.) - I still have most of them inherited from my dad.

I don't recall what was the exactly first thing I assembled using an IC, but something I really loved and vividly recall were the typical counters: 555, 7490, 9368 or 7447 (depending if anode/cathode), etc. Also the CMOS variant using 555/4510/4511.

Later I moved on to audio mixers (741) and amplifiers (TBA820, LM380, TDA2012) but, without much knowledge about noise, ground loops, gain, etc. it was an exercise in frustration - the hum/noise/distortion sources were very mysterious to me.

[Brumby]

I forget the year - but I remember the first chips I ordered: 7400 series TTL.  I also remember sending off to the USA to get them, having to include a bank cheque made out on the Chemical Bank New York, New York.  Australian stock was as rare as it was expensive.

CMOS wasn't even a glint in a fab's father's eye.  Though RTL and DTL were around, TTL was the new kid on the block.

[fourfathom]

I've got you all beat (except for eti):  In the early 1970's I was playing with RTL and DTL logic, hermetic can, probably a Fairchild 903 and similar devices.  I didn't know what I was doing, really, I was in my late teens and experimenting at home.  But I was born in 1953 and had started in electronics in early grade-school by converting war-surplus radios and radar sets into ham gear, so I was already well on my way to learning how to be an tech, and later an engineer.

[magic]

I was six years old when it surprised the hell out of me that there is no electronics inside a piano. You know, the mechanical sort they used to have in the 19th century.

[grouchobyte]

1963.  I was living in Montreal Quebec and i remember these puppies were just released and so I bought a bunch and made some cool circuits. Those were the days.....

http://semiconductormuseum.com/MuseumStore/MuseumStore_Fairchild_923_Index.htm

@grouchobyte

[chris_leyson]

Wow that was 50 years ago. First IC I ever used was probably Fairchild uA709 in a RTTY demodulator together with 88mH toroids, remember them ?. Ferranti ZN414 came later on, it worked much better than the Silnclair crap. First proper DIL IC project built on Veroboard was a dual slope voltmeter using a GI AY-3-3570, not sure who made the tiny 4 digit 7-seg display, might have been TI. I remember ordering Fairchild 4000 series CMOS from an American distributor because there were no UK distributors, awesome, no standby current. First microcontroller project MC6805E, MCS48 was too expensive.

[glentek]

Around 1975 when I built a nixie tube clock using 74 series TTL. It cost several weeks pay in parts.

[eti]

On a cold and snowy walk back to my log cabin, Christmas Eve 1671.

So you are about to celebrate your 350th birthday? Congratulations.

Spot on.

[ozcar]

Over 50 years ago, in the form of RTL ICs – as mentioned here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/my-new-projects/

[NivagSwerdna]

Forget ICs...  BC108 (and 107)... that's where it started for me.       oh... ok 741... 555... and then a proper IC... 1802 and 74-series.

[bd139]

bc107 here too. First transistor I got my hands on ever. And of course I blew it up! 

[JohnPen]

How about the Red spot and Green/yellow spot transistors courtesy of Henry's radio back in the late 50s.  First ICs I used were some Plessey Rf ICs SL610/612 SL621 etc. building a HAM radio RX Manhattan style with discrete components.  Later moved on to Z80 home built computer with bigger ICs and hand drawn ink PCBs.

[digsys]

Somewhere around '66-67, my neighbor had a fully equipped ham radio shed, he worked / designed for Radio Rentals I think. I learned a lot from him. Nearly everything was valves with a few transistors thrown in. We had one of these "modern" weller soldering irons - Wasn't too bad on transistors, because you could bend each lead - then one day, a transmitter radio came in with an 8pin IC - something like an LM741. WTF was it ?? Anyway it was dead. So, ran the Weller round and round the pins trying to remove it - flooded them with solder - everything. One side would always cool down too quick. Tried a small screw-driver to pry it off - NOTHING !! Possibly 15-20 mins on it !
Then I made my most famous statement ... funny how vividly I still recall it ... " I don't know what these fookers are, but they'll NEVER EVER take off !!! Ahh memories

[coppice]

An IC first entered my life in the late 60s, when I stepped on an early upturned DIL package.

[coppice]

bc107 here too. First transistor I got my hands on ever. And of course I blew it up! 

Your first encounter with semiconductors was with a silicon part? How very modern. All the cool people worked their way up to silicon through copper oxide rectifiers and germanium transistors.

[bd139]

Yeah I’m not over half way to 100 yet 

To be fair I spent a good amount of time in my early years playing with valve radios. Way before I got my hands on a transistor.

[coppice]

To be fair I spent a good amount of time in my early years playing with valve radios. Way before I got my hands on a transistor.

Then surely your first encounter with semiconductors was copper oxide rectifiers. They were very common in later valve radios.