Easiest way to upgrade RAM on 800XL?

[VicViper]

now that i have an Sdrive2 Im finding alot of games i want to play that need more RAM, whats the easiest way to bump up to at least 128K?

[Rybags]

Easiest is a plugin such as Ram 320XL but it occupies the PBI slot meaning no other upgrades can go there. Unsure if it's ongoing available, likely done in batches.

 

Ultimate 1 Meg can be added internally, if the OS and MMU are socketed then it's not much work.

 

Upgrades which replace the Ram chips and most other legacy types can be complex, cumbersome and not easy to install.

[+Philsan]

Without solderings, the best solution for 800XL was Ctirad's external PBI port RAM extension called RAM 320XL, unfortunately not available any more; Ctirad's made a new version called 576XL but unfortunately he didn't start mass production.

BTW, the best solutiion for ECI port equipped XE machines was RAM 576XE, not available anymore too.

 

I think at the moment the only solderless solution, if your 800XL is socketed, is Antonia 4MB board.

 

If you can solder, the best solution is U1MB (1MB RAM expansion, SpartaDos, real time clock); together with Side2 cartridge you can load all software with high transferring speeds.

 

 

[+kheller2]

Old school: https://www.bitsofthepast.com/?product=reimaged-rambo-xl-adapter $25 then pickup some 256K chips.

Requires soldering, but not much.

[Kyle22]

I like the U1M because it not only gives you RAM, but also clock, SDX, selectable OS, HSIO, and more.

 

Antonia is nice, the 816 and the linear RAM are great, but no clock or SDX.

 

I'd like to see an 816 with linear RAM only upgrade that can co-exist with U1M.

[+Nezgar]

Dropcheck has reimaged the classic ICD RAMBO XL 256K upgrade here for $25 and its actually still available, a little bit of soldering. No RAM chips included, but they can be found on eBay : http://www.bitsofthepast.com/?product=reimaged-rambo-xl-adapter It would give you the 64KB of 130XE compatible RAM, plus another 128. Largest ramdisk would be 192KB.

 

Antonia 4MB is likely still available if you PM Simius.

 

As mentioned already, both of those don't really give you anything more than RAM, which is where the U1MB shines for the extra features if you are so inclined.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Nezgar

[+Stephen]

Please note - if using the RAMBO style upgrade, without a further mod (freezer switch), the machine usually requires 30 seconds between reboots because the DRAMS take time to lose their contents.

[Tillek]

Please note - if using the RAMBO style upgrade, without a further mod (freezer switch), the machine usually requires 30 seconds between reboots because the DRAMS take time to lose their contents.

Really? I never noticed that on my Rambo 800xl (in fact, recently while working on the BBS I'd do an off-on reboot fairly often). I would pretty much just do 2-3 seconds.

[Tillek]

Dropcheck has reimaged the classic ICD RAMBO XL 256K upgrade here for $25 and its actually still available, a little bit of soldering. No RAM chips included, but they can be found on eBay : http://www.bitsofthepast.com/?product=reimaged-rambo-xl-adapter It would give you the 64KB of 130XE compatible RAM, plus another 128. Largest ramdisk would be 192KB.

 

Antonia 4MB is likely still available if you PM Simius.

 

As mentioned already, both of those don't really give you anything more than RAM, which is where the U1MB shines for the extra features if you are so inclined.

Just as a note, I installed a Rambo on my original 800xl (socketed board) when I was in gradeschool. No big deal.

[panama800]

I just installed the wiztronics 256k upgrade from Best Electronics on my 800xl for the second time. I screwed up my PIA chip with to much heat the first time. I did have an extra one. It is really not that hard to install. Just remember to have a good soldering iron. If you look at my post about install you will see I use a empty socket to solder the wires too then plugged that into the board. Then I plugged the chip into that. Works perfect an no solder or heat on the chip.

[+DrVenkman]

I just installed the wiztronics 256k upgrade from Best Electronics on my 800xl for the second time. I screwed up my PIA chip with to much heat the first time. I did have an extra one. It is really not that hard to install. Just remember to have a good soldering iron. If you look at my post about install you will see I use a empty socket to solder the wires too then plugged that into the board. Then I plugged the chip into that. Works perfect an no solder or heat on the chip.

Suggestion - for mods that require soldering wires to existing chips, you can generally solder instead to the point on the bottom of the board where the chip or socket leg is soldered. That heavily minimizes if not eliminates entirely any risk of damage to the chip from heat.

 

Alternately, if the mod requires piggybacking something on top of an existing chip or leg, then do this: get a drop of molten solder in the tip of your iron and “paint” it quickly onto the legs or “shoulders” of the chip you plan to solder to. This is called “tinning” and you should always do it when connecting this way. Once you’ve tinned all the legs or shoulders you need to attach to, place the piggyback chip or whatever over your pre-tinned spot and apply a heat with the iron and possibly a bit more solder. Don’t leave the iron on the leg of a chip more than a second or two (“One thousand one, one thousand two ...”) before removing heat and allowing it to cool again. If the joint doesn’t “take” the first time, do another pin and come back to it in a couple minutes.

[+kheller2]

You could also use machine pin headers broken to the right amount/size of pins, solder to that with some shrink tubing, then you can just slide the header onto the bent out pins. Looks a little strange at times but easy to replace/swap chips that way.

 

In places on the board where you need to pickup a signal, I install a metal male pin so that a female plug can connect right on.