+orpheuswaking #26 Posted February 18, 2011 Mine you tard! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+bf2k+ #27 Posted February 18, 2011 I did a 320 upgrade to my first 130xe back in 1986 and 'almost' destroyed the mb. I did manage to get it working with some 'creative' board repairs. I have one NTSC 4-chip xe here now - all the rest are 16 chip. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+wood_jl #28 Posted February 18, 2011 Why should one look/hope for 16-chip, or not want the 4-chip? Is it less capable of RAM upgrades - more difficult? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+orpheuswaking #29 Posted February 18, 2011 Well the upgrade is different for each, I prefer the 4 chip upgrade as there is less chance of effing the board up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sloopy #30 Posted February 18, 2011 Mine you tard! hence my 'reliable source', unfortunately he isnt a well mannered source... but then he is from across the pond, and we all know how they are... ;'P sloopy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sloopy #31 Posted February 18, 2011 Why should one look/hope for 16-chip, or not want the 4-chip? Is it less capable of RAM upgrades - more difficult? when upgrading beyond stock using 256kx1 chips, the 4164's and the 41256's pinout is basically the same, with the additional address line being a no connect on the 4164... but the 256kx4 chips have several pins different then the 4164's, so upgrades take a little rewiring... sloopy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carmel_andrews #32 Posted February 18, 2011 Does this problem with the dodgy XE motherboards affect all produced xe's (130's and 65's) or just certain batches I guess that tramiel wasn't one for much 'quality control' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spookt #33 Posted February 18, 2011 Does this problem with the dodgy XE motherboards affect all produced xe's (130's and 65's) or just certain batches I guess that tramiel wasn't one for much 'quality control' They're not "dodgy" as such, not as in faulty. They're just cheap and low quality. If you put too much heat into them while working traces delaminate (lift from the board) very easily. I can say from experience that it pays to be very careful and use the correct tools correctly when working on them Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mimo #34 Posted February 18, 2011 ditto The only thing worse than an XE motherboard is a Colecovision motherboard in my opinion, they are made of cheese Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spookt #35 Posted February 18, 2011 ditto The only thing worse than an XE motherboard is a Colecovision motherboard in my opinion, they are made of cheese <Homer>mmmm cheese motherboard gaaaahhh</Homer> Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HiassofT #36 Posted February 18, 2011 Why should one look/hope for 16-chip, or not want the 4-chip? Is it less capable of RAM upgrades - more difficult? when upgrading beyond stock using 256kx1 chips, the 4164's and the 41256's pinout is basically the same, with the additional address line being a no connect on the 4164... but the 256kx4 chips have several pins different then the 4164's, so upgrades take a little rewiring... Plus the Atari/ANTIC can't refresh 256kx4 chips properly (they have 512 rows but Antic only refreshes 256 of them). Have a look at this thread. Other than that I wouldn't even think about building a DRAM upgrade nowadays. Use SRAM and save yourself a lot of troubles :-) so long, Hias 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sloopy #37 Posted February 18, 2011 Why should one look/hope for 16-chip, or not want the 4-chip? Is it less capable of RAM upgrades - more difficult? when upgrading beyond stock using 256kx1 chips, the 4164's and the 41256's pinout is basically the same, with the additional address line being a no connect on the 4164... but the 256kx4 chips have several pins different then the 4164's, so upgrades take a little rewiring... Plus the Atari/ANTIC can't refresh 256kx4 chips properly (they have 512 rows but Antic only refreshes 256 of them). Have a look at this thread. Other than that I wouldn't even think about building a DRAM upgrade nowadays. Use SRAM and save yourself a lot of troubles :-) so long, Hias yes, SRAM for upgrades is a good idea, i usually recomend it for anything over a 320K upgrade, as 320k is so simple in a 130XE... This is the SRAM upgrade i usually recommend. sloopy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stephen #38 Posted February 19, 2011 Sloopy, I've seen a 4 chip in the flesh as it were, it came out of one of those screen scroller setups... Odd - the one in my scroller was a 16-chip. I've never seen a 4-chip machine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmprice_314159 #39 Posted April 22, 2021 On 2/17/2011 at 11:00 AM, sloopy said: then dont touch the 130XE mobo's, they have issues... some are worse then others, but all of them are not as tough as the XL's... there are several people on here that do A8 repair work, (me, metalguy66, and others) that can do this for you for a decent price, and can socket the whole board also... sloopy. Hello Sloopy, I have a 130XE with bad ram. Might you still do RAM replacements? I can take the mobo out and mail. Thanks, Jason. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_The Doctor__ #40 Posted April 22, 2021 send sloopy nothing ever... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stephen #41 Posted April 22, 2021 11 minutes ago, jmprice_314159 said: Hello Sloopy, I have a 130XE with bad ram. Might you still do RAM replacements? I can take the mobo out and mail. Thanks, Jason. DO NOT deal with this lying scammer. In addition to ripping off over a dozen people for VBXE2 from a decade ago, this thief took $250 for me for an Amiga and to this day has not shipped it. He said "he needs shipping money", one excuse after the other. I paid him $250 for something he was selling for $200 to be kind. Again - DO NOT deal with this guy. Ask anyone on the forum and they will confirm this. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmprice_314159 #42 Posted April 22, 2021 1 minute ago, Stephen said: DO NOT deal with this lying scammer. In addition to ripping off over a dozen people for VBXE2 from a decade ago, this thief took $250 for me for an Amiga and to this day has not shipped it. He said "he needs shipping money", one excuse after the other. I paid him $250 for something he was selling for $200 to be kind. Again - DO NOT deal with this guy. Ask anyone on the forum and they will confirm this. Ok, thanks. Might you know anyone who can replace the RAM? I could try the piggyback method and see if that works. Cheers, Jason. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stephen #43 Posted April 22, 2021 1 minute ago, jmprice_314159 said: Ok, thanks. Might you know anyone who can replace the RAM? I could try the piggyback method and see if that works. Cheers, Jason. I can - I have sockets but I do not have replacement RAM. If you're curious as to the quality of my work, see below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/albums/72157718897391129 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_The Doctor__ #44 Posted April 22, 2021 Stephen is a more than capable modder. If he's making an offering, I'd take him up on it. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmprice_314159 #45 Posted April 23, 2021 3 hours ago, Stephen said: I can - I have sockets but I do not have replacement RAM. If you're curious as to the quality of my work, see below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/albums/72157718897391129 Hello Stephen, ok, with the RAM I can order it and send with the mobo. What is the best RAM to buy? Also, might there be a way of bypassing the RAM using the 1 MB expansion or something like that? Thanks, Jason. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sugarland #46 Posted April 23, 2021 Yeah I wonder if it's possible to install only 64K in a 130XE and then use the U1MB from there. Stephen I like your desoldering work there. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Stephen #47 Posted April 23, 2021 The U1MB will require the base 64kB of RAM. I believe the 130XE can run without the bank of extended RAM - essentially turning it into a 65XE. If you're thinking of using a U1MB (incredible upgrade BTW - I have them in several machines), this would IMHO be the way to go. You'll save 8 sockets and DRAMs. I'm not sure of the best brand, but I know for a fact to avoid mT. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sinjinhawke #48 Posted April 23, 2021 Last year I replaced the first bank of ram chips on my 130XE. It had the Tramiel method of 1 good quality ram in slot one and MT in all the other ones. It was failing using the built in RAM test. I manually pulled all the RAM from the 1st bank, put in sockets and new RAM. I did break one capacitor (which I replaced), added sockets and new RAM and it now shows all green on the built in RAM Test. This was a slow and scary and I don't think I would do it again as the board is flimsy. I got lucky. The extended RAM still tests good even though it is also MT. One day I will replace those but as others here have stated I think I would ask a professional. Unless they charge more to socket the board then it does to get a new 130XE. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+kheller2 #49 Posted April 24, 2021 8 hours ago, Sinjinhawke said: Last year I replaced the first bank of ram chips on my 130XE. It had the Tramiel method of 1 good quality ram in slot one and MT in all the other ones. It was failing using the built in RAM test. I manually pulled all the RAM from the 1st bank, put in sockets and new RAM. I did break one capacitor (which I replaced), added sockets and new RAM and it now shows all green on the built in RAM Test. This was a slow and scary and I don't think I would do it again as the board is flimsy. I got lucky. The extended RAM still tests good even though it is also MT. One day I will replace those but as others here have stated I think I would ask a professional. Unless they charge more to socket the board then it does to get a new 130XE. Isn't there a bug in the extended ram test that just retests the first bank? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sinjinhawke #50 Posted April 24, 2021 1 hour ago, kheller2 said: Isn't there a bug in the extended ram test that just retests the first bank? I’m not sure. I use more recently developed apps to test the extended memory. I would assume they resolved that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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