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RAM320XE/576 order thread


ctirad

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6 minutes ago, ChaoticBiker said:

Hi Mathy,

Thank you for the response. Thank all others for suggestions, the syscheck one is an interesting alternative (though still would prefer something with a case ;) )
As mentioned previously, I did have a 130XE with a faulty graphics chip, I now regret selling it as should've just swapped the chip with one of my other ataris! I had 5 ataris back then (amongst a ton of other computers), now I'm down to two as over the last two years I have pretty much decimated my collection. Both my 65XE and 800XE have 8 chips RAM, and both have the space for extra chips and this indeed the way I'll do one of the Ataris (probably the 800XE). Problem is, original Atari MMU is near impossible to obtain nowadays and the GAL chip needs programmed which unforunately I no longer have the hardware to do that.
Not sure if there's any place in UK or EU that ships pre-programmed GAL chips? I'm not shy to do a bit of soldering though looking at other options as well.
Even if I order the syscheck for one atari I'll probably still have a go with soldering on the other. 
So the big question - is there anyplace I can get the GAL chip programmed up front? 

You may want to ping @flashjazzcatabout any repairs or upgrades.  He's UK based and does quite exceptional work.

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21 minutes ago, ChaoticBiker said:

Not sure if there's any place in UK or EU that ships pre-programmed GAL chips? I'm not shy to do a bit of soldering though looking at other options as well.
Even if I order the syscheck for one atari I'll probably still have a go with soldering on the other. 
So the big question - is there anyplace I can get the GAL chip programmed up front? 

Hi Chaoticbiker,
in the worst case, I have a few original 130XE "CO25953" EMMU´s on stock, I could offer.

 

If you´re interested in, drope me a PM.

 

Cheers,

andY

 

 

Edited by andymanone
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3 hours ago, ChaoticBiker said:

So looking for RAM extension, and was pretty much set at buying everything in order to solder the chips on the mainboard and expand to 320kb. 

I am a big fan of @tf_hh's internal 576K RAM upgrade board.  It will likely do everything for you that you're looking for and is relatively inexpensive.  However on an XE machine you will have to do a bit of desoldering and re-soldering work to install it, although this probably won't be a big deal if you were already planning on replacing some RAM chips anyway. 

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@Mathy Do you know what kind of GAL that XE EMMU .JED can be used with? The doc's you link to assume prior knowledge I lack. :) Hopefully 16V8, I have some of those already... I've had a hankering to try this on a 65XE even though larger upgrades are actually easier nowadays...

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19 hours ago, ChaoticBiker said:

Not sure if there's any place in UK or EU that ships pre-programmed GAL chips? I'm not shy to do a bit of soldering though looking at other options as well.
Even if I order the syscheck for one atari I'll probably still have a go with soldering on the other. 
So the big question - is there anyplace I can get the GAL chip programmed up front? 

 

If you want to expand your XE the old style way (with DRAM), it´s useful to expand it to 320 KB. Only 64 KB extended memory isn´t enough for several modern games and demos. As mentioned by other, you can an easy to install SRAM based 512 KB expansion, the Ultimate 1 MB as "the" high-end product or make a DIY solution. For 256 extended memory you install a bank (8 pcs) of 41256 DRAMs into the 2nd RAM bank of the XE, install a GAL16V8 and an additional 74LS95. This both pieces I could sent from Germany, if you didn´t found a closer source.

 

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all right everyone, I think I have everything in hand now. 
Thank you all for all your posts, it's been a pleasure reading and learning.
One of my ataris - the 800XE will have the 320kb expansion as it will then do everything I require of it to do. It's got he 16 banks, 8 are filled and 8 empty so there's plenty of documentation and I have now been offered GAL chips to sort it out so that's easy.

The other atari, which is a 65XE, has the 130XE board with only 4 slots, 2 filled and 2 chips are missing. I will have the GAL chip to serve as the memory management, but my question is, what 2 DRAM module do I need to get that will fit? it looks like I don't even need to but the capacitors or anything else as everything's in place. All the documentation and tutorials seem to be for the 8 bank version but can't find a straight answer on what DRAM chips to get if I only have the 2 slots. Initially I though I know exactly what I need but the more I read the internet the more confused I got.

DSC_0242.JPG.366b155e0571453108b91c03728c97d9.jfif

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You only need two of 4Bit x 64k DRAM´s, usually called "xx464"

 

to upgrade to 128k. (See example attached...)

 

But if you want to upgrade to 320k  (two 4Bit x 256k - xx4256) , the DRAM chips unfortunately doesn´t fit into the free sockets...

 

Gtx.,

andY

dRAM41464.jpg

Edited by andymanone
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9 minutes ago, andymanone said:

You only need two of 4Bit x 64k DRAM´s, usually called "xx464"

 

to upgrade to 128k. (See example attached...)

 

 

thanks! exactly what I was after! This confirms my initial findings and actually makes sense... 
The 65xe goes up to 128kb only, that was always the plan. It's the 800xe that's getting 320kb so no issues here.

Thank you again, I think I am all sorted now!

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...
On 5/19/2020 at 12:43 PM, andymanone said:

But if you want to upgrade to 320k  (two 4Bit x 256k - xx4256) , the DRAM chips unfortunately doesn´t fit into the free sockets...

But it could be upgraded to 576KB using tf_hh's 512KB SRAM expansion which installs between the ANTIC chip and the PCB, currently 23 euro + shipping, this would be quite a bit of work if ANTIC isn't socketed.

This upgrade is for all XL/XE computers except the 600XL, for it there is a special version which also includes the 64KB base memory.

Edited by BillC
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  • 4 months later...
10 hours ago, Panther said:

512K in Compy Shop mode

When enabled, sys-check provides 512K extended memory, for 576K total "Rambo" style (since it disables separate ANTIC banking) - using both portb banking bits 5+6. "compy shop" upgrades keep bit 5 intact for ANTIC bank selecting.

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9 hours ago, Nezgar said:

When enabled, sys-check provides 512K extended memory, for 576K total "Rambo" style (since it disables separate ANTIC banking) - using both portb banking bits 5+6. "compy shop" upgrades keep bit 5 intact for ANTIC bank selecting.

I meant Rambo.  Yes, Sys-Check does not support Compy Shop (XE) mode, but then, how much took advantage of separate ANTIC access.

 

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