Where can you buy Rainbow TOS besides B&C

[adolobe]

Im looking to upgrade a 1040STF from TOS 1.0 to Rainbow TOS, but the only place I can find it domestically is $35 from B&C

[TommyIII]

I think that's the best place actually and not a bad deal IMO. They have any config you need 2 or 6 chip for the same price.

[GadgetUK]

Cheapest option is usually EBAY. I did mine myself with EPROM programmer. It's worth checking the motherboard to see if you have 6 sockets in total. I've heard that some times the 2 ROMS are in sockets but the other 4 chip spaces aren't always socketed.

 

 

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574883395&toolid=10001&campid=5336500554&customid=&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fitm%2FATARI-ST-STE-STFM-STF-MEGA-TOS-ROMS-1-02-1-04-1-60-1-62-2-06-COMPUTER-UPGRADE-%2F140929396259%3Fpt%3DUK_VintageComputing_RL%26hash%3Ditem20d00bee23%23ht_2724wt_1399

[GadgetUK]

If I could get 6 chips at good price I could burn them and post them out to you, but it was tricky getting 6 of the right chips last time. Bought 8 in total 2 didn't work.

[adolobe]

Are the required chips hard to come by these days?

[GadgetUK]

27C256 - There are probably tonnes of them still knocking around but I struggled to find a seller on EBAY last time. If you look now there are a few sellers but no one with 6 of them.

 

EDIT:

 

Found a good seller i've used before:-

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 140933064459

 

I could order you 6 of those, program and test them and ship them out to you.

 

£1 each + £1.30 postage to me, would be £7.30 ish. Postage to the US i've got no idea, I would send it the cheapest possible, uninsured insigned for - so there's a risk there if it goes missing... Or I could sign it signed for / tracked, let me know what you want to do. Bare in mind it's going to take 3 or 4 days for me to get them, program them and post them out, and mail could take a week or two.

 

If postage to the US was £5.00 - hopefully not, that makes it £12.30 ish, which is about $20 or something isn't it? Might be just as well ordering from B&C for the extra $15?

[+DarkLord]

I'd bite the bullet and pay the $35.

[GadgetUK]

I'd bite the bullet and pay the $35.

 

Yep, I agree, $35 might seem a lot but it's not that bad really, unless you can find someone else who's in the US that can stick them on some EPROMS for you.

[AnakiMana]

I'm in the same boat. Want to upgrade my STF from 1.0-1.4, and my STE from 1.06-2.06.

 

I'm thinking about picking up a chip programmer, doing it myself, and offering the service to others. Eventually it would pay for the programmer...

[GadgetUK]

I'm in the same boat. Want to upgrade my STF from 1.0-1.4, and my STE from 1.06-2.06.

 

I'm thinking about picking up a chip programmer, doing it myself, and offering the service to others. Eventually it would pay for the programmer...

 

That's a good idea, and you can use EPROM programmer to dump old cart games from other systems, or program cart games etc.

 

I got the Genius G540 which is very cheap but limited. I've had some problems with certain AMD chips in the past, but others of the same model made in different country work OK?!?! Never a problem with ST or Intel chips though. And mine won't support the larger chips used in the Amiga 500 etc. At some point I will need to get a proper one.

 

Just be aware that a cheap chinese one will likely do the job (with some pain), whereas the well known branded ones at 3 or 4 times the cost are much better supported and cater for many more chip types.

 

Mines fine for Lynx and ST ROMS, but thats pretty much it. The RAM and logic test features on mine dont even work because the software just doesnt do what its advertised to do.

[AnakiMana]

I was considering this one after watching a YouTube review of it: http://www.mcumall.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=4282

 

What do you think?

 

Depending on what kind of time frame the OP wanted to upgrade, I might be able to provide the upgrade...

[GadgetUK]

I was considering this one after watching a YouTube review of it: http://www.mcumall.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=4282

 

What do you think?

 

Depending on what kind of time frame the OP wanted to upgrade, I might be able to provide the upgrade...

 

Yes, willem are OK make as far as I know.

[AnakiMana]

OK, so maybe SELTOS is a good free alternative to resoldering on your motherboard... http://atari.8bitchip.info/tosload.htm

[GadgetUK]

Something i've just thought of, you don't actually need 1.04, you could stick 1.02 according to PP's thread on his driver. Worth checking on EBAY if anyone has any 1.02 TOS roms for sale as they are normally cheaper than EPROMS.

[tjlazer]

$35 for a 6 chip is a good deal, as the chips can be about $2-5 each! I usually charge $10 a chip so that is a great deal. If you want to pay me for cost + S/H I can do it for you.

[GadgetUK]

Just tried seltos, it works well and some games work fine with it, so you could use it as a temporary measure. Really you need 4Mb, or at very least 2Mb if you want to game on it.

[adolobe]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I actually bought some eproms on Digikey for $1.65 each ( 17 to be exact as that was there remaining stock ).

 

Lucky for me I actually found out that the guy who owns my retro game store in town use to be the local president/dealer for my area's Atari User Group back in the 80's and he has all the equipment to program the chips for me. Though his equipment is the actual programer he used in the 80's to program TOS chips back in the 80's early 90's.

 

one other bit of good news is he thinks he still has a copy of the instructions to upgrade a 520st to 1meg. I know someone was looking for this information a couple months ago.

[GadgetUK]

Upgrading 520 to 1040 is just a case of installing the RAM chips (use sockets, dont solder directly to the board), and there will be some resistors to add in the empty spaces next to the RAM - size of resistors same as ones for the first 512Kb.

[tjlazer]

^ that is not correct, I think you mean the 520STfm. Adolobe means the 520ST. Different machine.

[ParanoidLittleMan]

^ that is not correct, I think you mean the 520STfm. Adolobe means the 520ST. Different machine.

 

Considering RAM upgrade they are same in practice. No sockets.

[GadgetUK]

On the 520STF, you piggy back existing RAM bending one or two pins up for the higher address line - this thread covers some of it:-

 

http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2904

 

Its just a question of running one or 2 wires for upper address line to MMU I think.

 

Usually 41256 DRAM chips, 150nS or quicker, and you can use 51256 or 81256 by different manufacturers. Personally I would investigate if your revision can take marpet upgrade and consider upgrading to 4Mb (Switcheable) that way, or if you are really daring have a search on using a 72 pin 4Mb SIMM to upgrade but that is one messy mod involving a lot of wires...

 

Edit: See this thread to help work out which pin to bend up and connect to MMU - looks like RAS.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/194404-1mb-upgrade-for-original-520st/

 

And this seems to be a step by step:-

 

http://www.open4success.org/db/bin18/018784.html

Edited April 11, 2013 by GadgetUK

[abraXXious]

Amigamaniac burns pretty much any eprom for $8.00 each.... not sure if it's 100% above board or not, I would image it ism but you would have to ask.

[TommyIII]

I called B & C (he was mega busy too) and ordered TOS 2.06 for $35 usd and some Badges. My order was here in 2 Days and well packaged.

Best wanted $75.00 usd for 2.06. lol

 

Just wanted to leave some feedback on the great experience I had with B & C. Will be ordering a few things from Best still though.