Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!apple!usc!bloom-beacon!coplex!dean
From: dean@coplex.UUCP (Dean Brooks)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: A500 Memory Expansion
Message-ID: <605@coplex.UUCP>
Date: 28 Jun 89 15:46:38 GMT
References: <18608@louie.udel.EDU>
Reply-To: dean@coplex.UUCP (Dean Brooks)
Organization: Copper Electronics Inc. Louisville, KY
Lines: 46

In article <18608@louie.udel.EDU> 11tstark@gallux.gallaudet.edu writes:
>Hello Users:
>
>    I tried to post my original posting last week but no responses.
>Please RESPONSE me! I unable to decide which 512K additional memory
>board for my Amiga is reliable. Which is better for my Amiga? Commodore A501?
>Third-party hardwares? Any? Please reply me about prices, its phone
>order, and its address. Make sure that real-clock should be include any
>A500 512K memory expansion.

  Well, I do have some advice on what memory expansion NOT to buy.  I
had the same questions as you have about 2 months ago.  I went to my
nearest Amiga Dealer and bought Supra's 501-Compatible 512K Expansion Board.
(With Clock). Nothing but problems...

  I took the board home and immediately ran several memory diagnostic programs
that I had aquired and every one of them noted that somewhere in the middle
of fast ram there was a blotch of unstable memory.  It would hold values
for a while and would then randomly change them.

  Questioning whether my Amiga was bad or the board was bad, I took both
back to the Dealer and was rather surprised.  My Amiga 500 was fine, and
the RAM chips on the new board were fine.  What WASNT fine was something
in the design of the board.

  Figuring I had just received a flaky board, we tested another.  Sure enough,
the RAM chips on the board were fine but the board itself was having problems.
We went through 4 boards and everyone of them had the same problem.  The RAM
chips were fine but the board was flaky.  Programs would mysteriously lock
up or trash a disk, etc.  What was even weirder is that every Supra ram
board we tested had a hand-soldered diode on the left side.  I dont
know if it was a last minute design change or what, but it looked like
a design kludge.

  I just wanted to warn you about this product to help someone avoid the
same problems I had.  Again, it may be that the group of boards this dealer
received was bad, but who knows! I had about a month worth of problems
with it before I replaced it with a Commodore 501.  This one works fine.

				Hope to have been some help!

--
dean@coplex.UUCP   Dean A. Brooks
                   Copper Electronics, Inc.
                   Louisville, Ky
UUCP: !mit-eddie!bloom-beacon!coplex!dean