Date   : Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:15:26 +0100
From   : jgh@... (J.G.Harston)
Subject: re BBC avilability of machines

Raffaele Giaccio wrote:
> Also, does anyone know how long the ROM programming lasts? I have an  
>  eerie feeling that it was said to be eighteen years, a couple of   
> decades ago. Last time I fired up one of my three active masters it   
> worked well - a couple of months ago.

ROMs last indefinitely. As long as you don't expose EPROMs to sunlight
(specifically ultraviolet) they should also last indefinitely. However,
you're always going to get some light peeking inside the computer cases,
but EPROMs with a label and inside a case should retain their programming
for many decades.

JGH