Product Overview
Sealed 1986 Archer Retail Pack: GI AY-3-8910A 3-Channel Programmable Sound Generator, 40-Pin DIP
Condition
One piece available. Unused NOS in the original sealed Archer blister pack. The card reads Cat. No. 276-1787 with the Archer logo and the lines "Specifications and Applications Data Included" and "Previous Project Building Experience Recommended". The chip is still seated in its factory cavity, leads straight and unspread, body marked AY-3-8910A over GI 8644 CBA TAIWAN. The original Radio Shack shelf sticker remains on the front of the card, torn at one corner from decades of storage. The back of the pack shows the Archer Technical Data sheet sealed inside, with the feature list and top-view pinout readable through the plastic. The card footer reads "Custom Packaged in USA for Radio Shack, A Division of Tandy Corporation, Fort Worth, TX 76102". Evaluation: visual inspection only, through the unopened pack. Function testing not performed. Source: private maker closing down their workshop.
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Product Overview
Archer / Radio Shack Cat. No. 276-1787 is a General Instrument AY-3-8910A programmable sound generator in a 40-pin DIP, packaged for the Radio Shack parts counter with an Archer technical data sheet. The PSG produces three independently programmable analog tone and noise channels under software control and adds two 8-bit parallel I/O ports, which is what separates the 40-pin AY-3-8910A from the smaller 8912 and 8913 members of the family. It is a peripheral, not a stand-alone module: a host microprocessor writes its registers over the DA0-DA7 data/address bus using the BC1, BC2 and BDIR control lines, with an external clock and a RESET line. The enclosed sheet carries a top-view pinout; check pin assignments against that sheet before wiring. The chip on this card carries date code 8644, the 44th week of 1986, and reads GI 8644 CBA TAIWAN under the part number.
Key Features
- Chip: General Instrument AY-3-8910A programmable sound generator (PSG)
- Package: 40-pin DIP, leads straight in the factory blister
- Body marking: AY-3-8910A / GI 8644 CBA TAIWAN
- Date code: 8644 (44th week of 1986)
- Supply: single +5 V DC, Vcc on pin 40 and Vss (GND) on pin 1
- Audio: three independently programmable analog outputs, channels A, B and C
- I/O: two 8-bit parallel ports, IOA0-IOA7 and IOB0-IOB7
- Bus: DA0-DA7 data/address lines with BC1, BC2 and BDIR control lines
- Clock: external clock input required, with a RESET line on the package
- Interface: works with most 8-bit and 16-bit microprocessors per the Archer sheet
- Operating temperature: 0°C to 70°C
- Retail pack: Archer Cat. No. 276-1787, custom packaged in USA for Radio Shack, Tandy Corporation, Fort Worth, TX
- Includes: original Archer Technical Data sheet with features, description and top-view pinout
Applications
- A vintage computer technician replacing a dead 3-channel PSG on an 8-bit era sound card and wanting original General Instrument silicon rather than a modern clone
- An arcade or pinball board restorer keeping the sound section period-correct with a date-coded 1986 GI part
- A chiptune builder driving PSG registers from a microcontroller and needing the 40-pin version so both 8-bit ports stay free for keys, latches or joystick reads
- A collector who wants the Archer pack whole: chip, sealed blister, shelf sticker and technical sheet, exactly as it left the parts counter
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a complete sound module I can plug in and hear?
No. It is an LSI peripheral chip. It needs a host microprocessor or microcontroller to write its registers, an external clock signal, and external audio amplification on the analog channel outputs.
What supply does it need, and can I run it from 3.3 V logic?
Single +5 V DC, Vcc on pin 40 and Vss on pin 1, as printed on the enclosed Archer sheet. It is a 5 V part, so 3.3 V logic needs level shifting between the host and the DA bus and control lines.
How is this different from an AY-3-8912 or AY-3-8913?
The AY-3-8910A is the full 40-pin version and is the one that carries both 8-bit parallel I/O ports. The smaller family members drop pins and drop I/O. If your board's socket has 40 positions and the schematic calls out IOA and IOB, this is the part it was drawn around.
Has the pack been opened or the chip tested?
No. The blister is sealed and we left it that way, so the evaluation is visual only, through the plastic. Markings, lead condition and the enclosed data sheet are all visible in the photos. Verify electrical behavior against the datasheet before committing it to a repair.
Why buy a single chip here instead of a bulk lot from a marketplace?
Because one repair needs one chip. PartsMine sells the exact quantity you need instead of forcing a lot of ten or fifty onto a bench that only has room for one. Shipping is a flat $8, free over $28, so for a small order the total usually lands well under the price of a forced-quantity lot, and it goes out same or next business day from Idaho.
The card still warns that previous project building experience is recommended, which was a 1986 parts counter's polite way of saying this one is not a doorbell kit. Four decades later the blister is still sealed, and those three channels are waiting on whoever finally writes to the registers.
