New Low-Cost 32k RAM expanders

[dragos]

You tell it brother. I have an expander like that, and thousands of disk of pirated c64 software. come and get me!!!!

[Jeff-20]

10 PRINT"HELLO";:GOTO10

is not copyrighted because the brain-output is not deep enough.

That brief program happens to be copyrighted (by me). I also own the patent to the process of creating repetitive greetings in BASIC on computer screens. United States Patent 5110316.

[eslapion]

Somebody suggested it might be a good idea to sell this expander as a kit.

I could offer it at a starting price of about 22$ as a kit.

WARNING SURFACE MOUNT SOLDERING REQUIRED ! PRODUCT CONTAINS LEAD!

[Jaicen]

Lead Schmed! All the best stuff kills you in one way or another

I personally would prefer using lead solder if you could still get it. It works a lot better than the new stuff, and I don't really use enough to accumulate a level that's going to kill me anyway. Damn nanny state.

At $22 a kit that's a steal! I'm fairly sure i'll be getting one, that's even better! I love making my own gear, it's so satisfying.

[carlsson]

The last 16k Expansion I bought was here in Germany for 5 DM (2,50 Euro), and it was new (=unused) and sealed.

That was a very good price. Clearance sale in the late 1990's, just before the retro boom?

[eslapion]

=================================

[Thomas Hechelhammer]

I've bought this expansion afaik in early 2002 when we went from DM to Euro.

For a used VIC20 I pay on flea-markets around 10 - 15 Euro for computer + some modules.

Edit says: They are PAL-machines, it's very hard to find NTSC-machines in Germany.

-- Thomas

[eslapion]

I've bought this expansion afaik in early 2002 when we went from DM to Euro.

For a used VIC20 I pay on flea-markets around 10 - 15 Euro for computer + some modules.

-- Thomas

Then sell me 20 of them, I will buy them right away!

[Alan]

I've bought this expansion afaik in early 2002 when we went from DM to Euro.

Sure you did.

[eslapion]

All right,

After evaluation of the demand for the product, here is the final verdict on this.

The multifunction 32k expander will have a starting price of 30$.

For that price you get an expander that covers blocks 1,2,3 and 5, has a read-write/read-only switch and a hardware reset pushbutton. This, to my knowledge, allows you to run ALL ROM IMAGES that are compatible with your video standard (PAL or NTSC) except the Rabbit tape accelerator which runs at IO address ranges.

The expander itself is compatible with PAL and NTSC VIC20, German VC20 and the japanese VIC1001.

To this, you can add up to 4 switchable ROM options designed to go in BLK3 or BLK5. Of these options, VICMON and Programmer's Aid count as only one because they are non-overlapping and occupy the same block. Most people choose to have VICMON, Programmer's Aid and Super expander. However, you can put in there any ROM image of your choosing that will work well in BLK3 or 5. These ROM options cost 5$ each.

A 32k expander with all 4 options will cost 50$.

The expander is also available as a kit with no ROM options for 22$. In this case, be warned that the product contains lead and requires the ability to solder surface mount components. The kit contains the PCB, the 32k RAM chip, the rw/ro switch, the reset pushbutton, a 74ls08 TTL SMT chip and one 4.7kohm SMT resistor. NO INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED.

The final board looks like this:
http://www.eskimo.com/~areed/eslapion/expander.jpg

The items will begin shipping AUGUST 29 2006.

You can make your payments via paypal at eslapion@videotron.ca

You must MAKE SURE you specify what configuration you want in the comment section. If you have any doubt that the configuration you want is not supported, ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE PAYING.

Shipping cost is:
-11$ for Canada (may vary according to your postal code)
-7$ for u.s. (may vary according to your Zipcode)
-8$ for most european countries

Yes, I know its weird that it is made in Canada but it cost more to ship in here but that's the way Canada Post works.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support.

ALL ORDERS PLACED AFTER SEPTEMBER 1ST WILL BE SUBJECT TO A HIGHER PRICE TBD.

[eslapion]

Update: 2 prototypes made and tested sucessfully!

Manufacturing of the gold plated PCBs is under way.

[Alan]

That's good news. I'm really looking forward to getting one these things.

[eslapion]

UPDATE: Basic V4 has been restored and is now working fine!

It is now offered as a ROM option to the 32k expander!

[Schema]

Here's an idea I had about how to make this extra user-friendly...

Would it be possible to wire it up with the bank selections to a rotary switch? With 0K, 3K, 8K, 16K, and 32K settings?

I.e. if a particular game needs 16K to run, I could just turn the "dial" to 16K, and power up the VIC. It would be much more convenient than swapping around cartridges like I do now.

[eslapion]

Here's an idea I had about how to make this extra user-friendly...

Would it be possible to wire it up with the bank selections to a rotary switch? With 0K, 3K, 8K, 16K, and 32K settings?

I.e. if a particular game needs 16K to run, I could just turn the "dial" to 16K, and power up the VIC. It would be much more convenient than swapping around cartridges like I do now.

Actually, that shouldn't even be necessary.

If you have a 32k expansion that cover all blocks, and you can disable it with a RW/RO switch then you should be able to run all softwares for the unexpanded VIC, all softwares that require 8k RAM expansion, all softwares that require 16k expansion, all softwares that require 24k expansion and all rom images that exist except for the rabbit tape accelerator which runs in IO space.

The only thing that is left is the software that require a 3k expansion. Super expander, even if provided with a 3k expansion, was designed to recognise 8K+ RAM expansion and use it.

Of course, there is always those softwares requiring a 3K ram expansion but... can't satisfy everyone...