SaRuMan-VDC C128 VDC 64k expansion

[eslapion]

Hi people!
I am offering a new type of 64k RAM expansion for the VDC.

The traditional type of 64k expansion board for the VDC simply disconnects the two 16k x 4 DRAM chips from the mainboard and offers a pair of sockets for two 64k x 4 DRAM chips. Francis's new type is much smaller, consumes much less power and uses a single static RAM chip.

The product's name is SaRuMan-VDC and it costs 17$US or 15 Euros.

Shipping cost is the same as with PLAnkton; shipping a small packet (up to 12 units) to the US is 8$. Shipping cost for Europe, Australia and South America is 10$US or 8 Euros.
Get a 10% discount on up to 3 PLAnktons if you order them at the same time.

The product is strictly shipped with antistatic protective packaging. It is covered by a 90 days money back guarantee and a 3 year replacement guarantee afterwards.

Here is a picture of the board of the product:

C128 VDC 64k expansion PCB

[tokra]

Looks nice! Is the process still to pull out the VDC, plug in the board and put the VDC on top? How much is it going to be?

All my C128s are already on 64K, but the more have the upgrade the better

[eslapion]

Looks nice! Is the process still to pull out the VDC, plug in the board and put the VDC on top? How much is it going to be?

All my C128s are already on 64K, but the more have the upgrade the better

Yeah, this is a 'sandwhich' type of board which goes between the C128's mainboard and the VDC. I have no idea what the price will be but it should be quite reasonable.

The beauty of this board is it consumes only a trickle amount of power so it won't generate any heat. Also, because it's smaller, you can still see the 4416 and if you have the technical know how, you can altogether cut them out.

[eslapion]

Francis says he expects the price tag to be about 18$US per unit + shipping.

[DarwinNE]

Quite interesting!

[eslapion]

Quite interesting!

This board is just a variant of another board Francis also sells for 18$US. The original board is used on C64c board 250469 and C64 breadbin board 250466 and it replaces the 2 41464 DRAM 64k x 4 bit with a single static RAM chip.

This not only reduces the amount of consumed power but it is also important because getting old DRAMs has become quite difficult. They also fail quite easily compared to static RAM.

[tokra]

And most importanty, using SRAM you do not have the VSP-bug anymore! I recently upgraded the RAM of my old C128D which continously showed VSP-bugs to SRAM and now these bugs are gone.

[eslapion]

And most importanty, using SRAM you do not have the VSP-bug anymore! I recently upgraded the RAM of my old C128D which continously showed VSP-bugs to SRAM and now these bugs are gone.

Quite right. The VSP bug is caused by the lower set of multiplexed addresses changing values in the middle of an access. Now these values are latched into a logic chip so a change in the middle of an access causes no problem.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that.

Forgot to mention there will also be a version of this board which will provide 64k expansion for the Commodore 16 internally. A very small board you slide under the TED and it will work with ALL versions of the Commodore 16 and cost 18$US (15 Euros) too.

[buzbard]

Nice! Are these bare boards or will they be populated?
I'm not sure my soldering skills are good enough for tiny surface mount components.

[eslapion]

Nice! Are these bare boards or will they be populated?
I'm not sure my soldering skills are good enough for tiny surface mount components.

The price indicated is for a populated and tested unit, a fully functional product.

[buzbard]

Awesome! Sign me up for 3!

[orion70]

Forgot to mention there will also be a version of this board which will provide 64k expansion for the Commodore 16 internally. A very small board you slide under the TED and it will work with ALL versions of the Commodore 16 and cost 18$US (15 Euros) too.

I missed this. Please Eslapion, I'd like to buy one of these when they will be available. TIA.

[eslapion]

Thank you guys. I will keep you posted but the way it looks, shipping begins within the next week.

First production units:

SaRuMan-VDC 64k expansion top side

SaRuMan-VDC 64k expansion bottom side

[eslapion]

Awesome! Sign me up for 3!

PM sent!

[buzbard]

PM sent!

I've never had so much trouble sending money before.
Series of crazy events, bank sent me a new debit card with updated exp.date and security code, which I forgot to let PayPal know about. (PayPal didn't give any details, only "Transaction Denied!", Thanks PayPal! )
Then a new security service was added to my checking account so they immediately flagged the out of country purchase as "suspicious activity", so they locked my checking account and denied all payments.
Anyway 3 days later and dozens of phone calls and security checks, I think it's all good now.