RAM 320XL

[+wood_jl]

He was talking about his other computer (a PAL version) which he hasn't opened yet. I think he doesn't want to open it.

 

I see. Why to care about the freddie, then?

 

 

It was pointless speculation as to whether or not my PAL 800XL (the one that does not work with RAM320XL) was Freddie or not, or if there was any easy obvious trend how to tell. The fact that this PAL machine has BASIC rev. C in it made me hopeful at first. When I tried chroma/luma and found out the chroma is not hooked up, I was less hopeful. My ignorant assumption is that _if_ an 800XL *is* a Freddie, is most likely has BOTH BASIC rev.C _and_ chroma hooked up. Of course, the way to tell is to take it apart. I was hoping to not have to, but it's no big deal and it's no collector's item, and I'd like to see exactly what my setup is that doesn't work with RAM320XL.

 

I have one PAL 800XL and 3 NTSC 800XLs. I am absolutely curious now as to if this is the Mexican CPU. The only 800XL that I had apart (in recent days) is the NTSC one with the Mexican CPU that works quite nicely. I have also dug out the other 2 NTSC 800XLs and I am pleased to report that RAM320XL works perfectly with all 3 of them, including the one I know to be Mexican. I am now curious as to what's inside the other 2 NTSC models that work, as well as what is inside the PAL that does not.

 

The fact that RAM320XL works on all 3 of my NTSC 800XLS - and we are talking both Taiwan, Hong Kong, and at least one case of the Mexican CPU - makes me think that the issue may be confined to PAL machines. No, not all PAL machines, obviously. SOME PAL machines. Maybe all PAL machines with Mexican CPUs - I am anticipating taking my PAL 800XL apart and finding a Mexican CPU in there. Has there even been ONE issue with ANY NTSC machines? It seems it was mostly PAL 600XL and _some_ PAL 800XL. So while it's not a PAL issue, perhaps the issue is confined to a subset of PAL machines?

 

I also have a PAL-B 800XL purchased from B&C about 18 months ago.

 

I have the Numen demo running right now at VCF MidWest 5.0 with the 320XL memory expansion in the back.

 

The problems is not anything generic to the PAL 800XLs from B&C.

 

Want to trade???? :) What a nasty stroke of luck I'm having, then. I don't suppose you've taken the machine apart to see what CPU it has? On an unrelated note, does yours have Chroma hooked up and BASIC rev. C? It is probably made in Taiwan, right?

 

 

There's an ATR with MyDOS and several checkers on my homepage: http://www.horus.com/~hias/tmp/ramdisktest.zip

 

Thanks so much, Hias, for pointing to this! Your kindness is appreciated.

 

 

And to ctirad (and everybody else), I'm obviously a little disappointed that it won't work with my PAL 800XL, but I'm not critical of the RAM320XL. I'm in the land of NTSC and it works with all 3 of my machines, and it is great!! It kicks ass! Aside from the PAL issue (no Numen yet) I am pretty thrilled with it, and ctirad is part genius for coming up with this. I am definitely interested in whatever he makes in the future. The RAM320XE, etc. I'm a little averse to putting any more money into my PAL 800XL which I now sort of consider to be a piece of shit; I'm considering gutting it and putting in an NTSC board so I can have a "new" NTSC 800XL, at least. Should I try to buy a PAL 130XE (and change out the faulty GTIA) and wait for RAM320XE? I guess I'll just do nothing for a while, but If it won't run Numen and the Euro demos, it's dead to me.

 

I didn't think there were any really good pictures of the RAM320XL, so I took a couple. It's very cool little design, and smaller than I thought it would be. It's funny, I'm not used to taking the PBI covers off 800XLs!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, ctirad!

[Syfo-Dyas]

Got my wire soldered and am up and running, though so far I can not get Yie Ar Kung-Fu to load far enough to actually allow me to play the game. It gets close, then just hangs.

 

Any other games out there that were not previously playable with only 64k RAM?

[flashjazzcat]

 

 

 

That label looks rather nice. Did you make it yourself?

[Xuel]

Any other games out there that were not previously playable with only 64k RAM?

 

Crownland requires 128K.

Bomb Jack requires 320K.

[Almost Rice]

Got my wire soldered and am up and running, though so far I can not get Yie Ar Kung-Fu to load far enough to actually allow me to play the game. It gets close, then just hangs.

 

I believe YAKF needs a PAL Antic also.

[Xuel]

That label looks rather nice. Did you make it yourself?

 

Mine came the same way, so I suspect it's ctirad's design.

[+wood_jl]

Any other games out there that were not previously playable with only 64k RAM?

 

Crownland requires 128K.

Bomb Jack requires 320K.

 

Airball requires 320K.

[Syfo-Dyas]

Looks like I'm going to have to Nir Dary my 600xl while I wait for my 130XE to be repaired and upgraded.

[ctirad]

And to ctirad (and everybody else), I'm obviously a little disappointed that it won't work with my PAL 800XL, but I'm not critical of the RAM320XL.

 

As said, it can be easily fixed if you don't mind to open your 800XL. I fixed both of my bad 800XLs by that. Without the mod, the first one did not boot at all or dropped to the corrupted selftest screen as on on your photos. In fact it was pretty unstable even without the card fitted. The second one somewhat worked with the unjumpered card, but most applications crashed. After I applied the mod, both of them work as a charm.

 

Thanks, ctirad!

 

You are welcome

[Fox-1 / mnx]

Any other games out there that were not previously playable with only 64k RAM?

 

T-34, the Battle

 

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-t-34-the-battle_5225.html

[ctirad]

Mine came the same way, so I suspect it's ctirad's design.

 

Yep, it's the genuine RAM320XL label It was created by pseudografx with a little help from myself (layout sketch and some final mockup). The exception were the transparent blue cases, which were shipped without the labels because they looked more cool that way

[+MrFish]

Any other games out there that were not previously playable with only 64k RAM?

 

Here are some games that require from 128k - 320k to play:

 

Games (128k - 320k).zip

[Syfo-Dyas]

Thankx, thankx, and thankx!

[Tin_Lunchbox]

My awesome, like-new condition, Hong Kong-made Atari 600XL arrived yesterday and works great. So I want to get a 320XL full version to put on it. Excuse me if this is posted somewhere, I did briefly check, but what is the availability and pricing and payment methods, and is there a website?

[Defender II]

Hi,

 

the last couple of weeks was vere hectic for me (lot of work, my notebook died, etc..), thus I did not have much time to my hobbies. However, there is still some progress. Due to compatibility problems with a faulty mexican CPUs in certain machines (mainly 600XL rev B.) I decide to design a new card, lets call it RAM 320XL Plus. The features will be following:

 

a) same setup of the banks as the original 320XL (atari magazine type)

b) workaround for a faulty CPUs

c) Basic and OS status indiciated via LEDs

d) optional COVOX audio! I found a nice serial DAC with built-in headphone buffer and wrote a simple-yet-powerfull streaming routine for the CPLD Still needs some polishing, but the results are surprising.

 

The above features will be available as plug&play without need to open the atari. But that is not all. With a simple modification inside atari (cutting one trace + soldering two wire joints) there will be more:

 

e) Total RAM of 576kB RAMB0 compatible (64k machines only)

f) 130XE and 320k COMPY shop mode with the separate ANTIC access.

 

All these features will have also the upcoming RAM 320XE card, BTW.

 

If there is someone still interested in the original RAM 320XL card, let me know. If there will be at least 20 buyers, I'll create another batch ASAP.

 

Can you please make it pass-thru so I can hook up other things to the PBI?

[Syfo-Dyas]

I kind of wish I had ordered four instead... :/

[+MrFish]

Another good one is the Space Harrier Demo, which needs 128k.

[Rybags]

 

Can you please make it pass-thru so I can hook up other things to the PBI?

 

I think the main objective was to keep the cost down (second to ease of installation).

 

In theory you could just make up an edge connector and just solder the required connections to points on the motherboard and have it inside the machine with the PBI untouched.

[Fox-1 / mnx]

In theory you could just make up an edge connector and just solder the required connections to points on the motherboard and have it inside the machine with the PBI untouched.

 

In that case it's probably easier to upgrade the XL by installing a "regular" internal upgrade.

[flashjazzcat]

That label looks rather nice. Did you make it yourself?

 

Mine came the same way, so I suspect it's ctirad's design.

Not fair! Mine didn't have a label...

 

I wonder if Citrad would design me a label for the MyIDE which I've just repackaged in an XEGS cart:

 

[ctirad]

Not fair! Mine didn't have a label...

 

I can send you one, if you want it so desperately

 

I wonder if Citrad would design me a label for the MyIDE which I've just repackaged in an XEGS cart

 

No I wouldn't. As said, I'm not the author of the label.

[Defender II]

 

Can you please make it pass-thru so I can hook up other things to the PBI?

 

I think the main objective was to keep the cost down (second to ease of installation).

 

In theory you could just make up an edge connector and just solder the required connections to points on the motherboard and have it inside the machine with the PBI untouched.

 

He is redesigning a new one. I would like the new one to remain plug and play so I don't have to open the case but I also want it to have the pass through PBI for other devices. I don't want to install it into one XL in case I want to quickly use it on another system.

[flashjazzcat]

Not fair! Mine didn't have a label...

 

I can send you one, if you want it so desperately

It's OK: I jest. It looks really nice, though. I think it suits the black enclosure better (mine's transluscent blue).

 

I wonder if Citrad would design me a label for the MyIDE which I've just repackaged in an XEGS cart

 

No I wouldn't. As said, I'm not the author of the label.

Well, it's a nice source of inspiration nevertheless.

Edited September 24, 2010 by flashjazzcat

[+MrFish]

Added a few more games (Eidolon, Gato, & Space Harrier Demo) and corrected the memory requirement notation for some.

 

Games 128k+.zip

[ctirad]

RAM 320XL available again!

 

Hi, good news for all interested in this card. You can order it again. Note this is exactly the same card as the first batch, It does not fix any issues with a buggy CPUs.

 

The price is the same as before:

25 EUR for the bare/naked card (no enclosure)

30 EUR for the standard one

3 EUR for the optional power pigtail cable needed for unmodified 800XLs

 

The shipping cost (registered package) is 5 EUR over Europe or 6-7 EUR outside Europe.

 

However, because some parts are now slightly more expensive, I had to add a compensation fee for a paypal transfers. Thus, please add 3.5% to the total price.

 

Please make your orders via PM. Thanks!