Hi all.
I’m looking for some technical details regarding the Applied Engineering RamFactor. I recently picked up a board along with its RamCharger module. The card is currently installed in slot 5 of an Apple IIgs ROM 03. I also have an Enhanced IIe available, but I haven’t started testing on that system yet. Slot 5 on the IIgs is configured as YOUR CARD. The board appears to be functional even under these conditions. The RamCharger is currently disconnected, so no tests on that yet.
Q1: I’m looking for the RamFactor firmware v1.4 image. If anyone can point me to a verified dump, that would be ideal. I have EPROM programmers, so burning a 27C64 is trivial. Does the board require a 27C64 specifically, or will a standard 2764 (any manufacturer) behave correctly? Any known timing‑sensitive issues with certain EPROM families?
Q2: I’m interested in sourcing the piggyback expansion module to bring the board up to 4 MB. The original AE daughterboard is extremely scarce. I know that some members here have produced compatible clones. Are any units currently available?
Q3: I need the exact battery spec used by the RamCharger. Any confirmed‑compatible model/part number would be appreciated. Haven’t started digging into this yet.
Q4: As far as I can tell, GS/OS 6.0.4 only exposes a single RAM disk at a time due to system‑level constraints. I’ve seen references to custom drivers that bypass this limitation. If anyone has links to those drivers or archived copies, I’d appreciate it.
I’m aware that the IIgs is not the ideal host for this board. My plan is to move all testing and actual use over to the IIe.
Thanks in advance for any technical pointers.
I have the 1.4 ROM on my google drive
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9r6vH-4NK4NMDY3Y2M1OWUtMWEwOS00OTA2LTk0ZWItZDFkODFlZGYzZDhj/view?usp=drive_link&resourcekey=0-zQDqGFZ-hGx8Rsxpk-CXhw
20260510_080151.jpg
The V1.4 ROM is here.
The images of the RamCharger internals show a SLA (sealed lead acid) type battery and a power supply. To supply 5 V for the Dynamic RAMs, it needs to be a 3-cell type (nominal 6 V, up to 7 V) with a LDO linear regulator to maintain 5 V output. The 3.6 V batteries used for clock/calendar backup are not enough.
The pic that Wayne posted looks like a 4-cell (nom. 8 V) type, which would allow using a standard linear regulator (non-LDO). This is easier to make work properly and may have been the only method available in the mid-1980s (I didn't check).
I don't know about reproductions of the expansion card.
Every so often there’s talk about making a reproduction expansion module but as far as I know mothings come of it. Occasionally original ones show up on ebay. I haven’t pursued one because I rarely use any of my ramfactors. I have a couple of the power supplies for them but don’t see a reason to use them.
Back in the 1990s I compared the ramfactor with a ramfast SCSI card and found that the ramfast was faster and less trouble of course.
Of course a ramfactor could be used with AppleWorks to make some really large documents. I do have some 2mb daughter cards for my ramworks so that’s pretty covered.
Before I switched all my setups to IIgs + RamFAST SCSI, I ran four (4) enhanced IIe's with 5 Meg RamFactors with RamChargers. I had bought the v1.4 firmware from AE and replaced it myself.
Reactive Micro sells that v1.4 RamFactor ROM for $10.00, if that's easier for you. RamFactor v1.4 ROM
I used to use PowerSonic 8 volt 3.2 amp-hour batteries in the RamChargers. It was part # PS-832, but I have no idea whether they are still made.
I gave all my RamFactors and 4Meg expanders (except 1 I kept for old times sake) to Sean Fahey about 10 years ago when he and James Littlejohn drove to pick up a bunch of stuff I was donating to the KansasFest garage giveaway, with the proviso that Sean got to pick what he wanted for himself as a token of my appreciation for him even making the long, long trip. Whether he still has them I don't know, nor whether he'd be interested in selling one.
Caveat about the RamChargers -- Every now and then, I'd have a power glitch and everything stored on the RamFactor in the battery-backed-up RAM would be corrupted. That sucked so much that I plugged the RamChargers into a UPS, which kind of defeated the purpose in the first place.
And I'll second what Wayne said, but with more emphasis -- a RamFAST with a SCSI drive was WAY faster than the RamFactor was. I never would of thought that until a buddy showed me his IIgs with RamFAST and it loaded AppleWorks and a ton of TimeOuts in a fraction of the time it took me on my IIe's with the RamFactors. Just FYI.After that demo, I bought all IIgs and RamFASTs and never looked back.