from 48K to >48K

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from 48K to >48K

Hi all,

 

I'm looking for options to increase my original Apple ii plus RAM. I have a boot ROM so I'm not necessarily interested in the language card but after posting on the wanted-to-buy forum and searching ebay, I'm not seeing any 16K expansion cards.

So... what are my options here? I do see super expander cards for sale but I'm not confident they work with an Apple ii plus and they are $50 with no RAM chips.

Any other options available?

Thanks!

Warby

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16k RAM cards for a ][+ are

16k RAM cards for a ][+ are often found on eBay.

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often?

I've been monitoring ebay for about a month and I've only seen one listing that wasn't untested/as-is status.

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warby wrote:I've been
warby wrote:

I've been monitoring ebay for about a month and I've only seen one listing that wasn't untested/as-is status.

Unfortunately that's going to mostly be what is available.  Luckily there is nothing special on those boards usually.   4116 DRAMs and some 74LS chips, and they are usually socketed.  Generally easy to repair if not working. 

 

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Not much to break
softwarejanitor wrote:
warby wrote:

I've been monitoring ebay for about a month and I've only seen one listing that wasn't untested/as-is status.

Unfortunately that's going to mostly be what is available.  Luckily there is nothing special on those boards usually.   4116 DRAMs and some 74LS chips, and they are usually socketed.  Generally easy to repai

Like softwarejanitor said , there is not much to break and they are easy to fix, so I would not be afraid of an untested one.  If it fails when you get it you will likely be able to detect the bad chip with your finger. The bad RAM or IC chip will usually be noticably hotter to the touch than its working counterparts. Cheap and easy fix if needed.  Otherwise, I did happen to see this today, it is "replica production" but it still uses old chips.  I presume it was tested and works and also the price was not unreasonable.  But you won't ship it back to Russia if there is a problem.  So I would roll the dice on "untested" being true, rather than the "I did not test it because I think it is probably bad" which I normally assume on ebay... 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/255342047621?hash=item3b73927185:g:2f4AAOSwOzFh2prO might be what you are looking for.

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They'll all be about that

They'll all be about that price.  But here's a clone card that's suitable.  I have several of those Multiflex 16K cards and they all work well enough.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/194275790408?hash=item2d3bbd4e48:g:s~MAAOSwfbxhDpmq

 

Otherwise get a language card.  Doesn't matter that you have a boot ROM - it'll be duplicated on the card, but that doesn't really matter - it's just a redundancy.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/194275790408?hash=item2d3bbd4e48:g:s~MAAOSwfbxhDpmq

 

Or this one that gives you more memory - also mostly redundant unless you have software that can take advantage of it.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/194275807281?hash=item2d3bbd9031:g:k48AAOSw88hhDpti

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About the only other point of failure...

As pointed out above, language cards are just a field of "jellybean" logic. If you have something like a TL866 you can test the chips easily enough, and replacements are available.

About the only thing I had any difficulty locatiing was the special connectors for ribbon cable that goes from the card to the last RAM socket on your motherboard.

I managed to buy replacements from RS Components - Part number 718-5091 : TE Connectivity 16-Way IDC Connector Plug for Cable Mount, 2-Row

 

Chesh

 

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It looks like one of the

It looks like one of the cheapest ways to do it right now is a saturn compatible from garrettsworkshop

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/255145476189?hash=item3b67db005d:g:akkAAOSwe6RgrrL2

 

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I can vouch for the

I can vouch for the garrettsworkshop board. Very elegant using modern parts. And reasonably priced.

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garrettsworkshop board

Hi all, thanks for the suggestions.

The garrettsworkshop board looks great and the price is right. Can an Apple ii plus take advantage of the 128k RAM (with bank switching I assume)? And if so, is that highly software dependent?

Thanks again!

Warby

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