I recently placed an order with SparkFun. As usual, it got here quickly and they got the order right. They also included a bonus of sorts — a mystery IC. It’s quite small (SSOP-24?) You could park two or three of them on a dime and have space left over. Here’s a picture.
The Mystery Chip. (That's paper it's sitting on, not burlap!)
Looking up the markings online, I determined that it was a Silicon Labs SI4735 — a nearly-complete AM/FM stereo receiver chip! With the addition of a few passive components, it should be able to pick up broadcast radio stations (as well as shortwave and longwave!) Not bad for a bit of techno-debris that accidentally found its way into a shipping box.
I plan on making it into a working radio Real Soon Now™. When I do (and if I can actually solder to it), I’ll post it as a project on this site.
