Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com (05/27/90)
Hello all...
I am investigating ways of upgrading the memory of my fiancee's
Tandy 1000SL (PC clone) computer. I'm looking to do my own RAM chip instal-
lation if possible, to avoid the arm-and-a-leg Radio Shack will doubtless
wish to charge for it.
After discussion with some hardware hackers recently, I'm told that
the upgrade involves installing eight 256K-by-1 RAM chips on the mother-
board of the computer, "plus some jumpers." The guys who told me this
admitted that it had "been a couple of years" since they'd done this
particular work, so the details are subject to modification if I get
better information...
A look at the manuals, and "under the hood," reveals that sure enough,
there are eight 18-pin RAM sockets on the mother board -- but I don't see
any jumpers in the style I'd expect: little pins sticking up with clips
or wire-wrap connectors. (There are, however, some TAN -- rather than
black -- DIP packages there, which I vaguely recall could be another
style of jumper.)
The hardware guys told me I wanted "41256" chips, but the ones I was
able to find were 16-pin, stamped with a number that included "8837";
the chips (and sockets) inside our computer are 18-pin and their stamp
includes "8838".
That's background; I now have a couple of questions.
1) Can anyone confirm, deny, or -- best of all -- expand on just
EXACTLY what the memory chips should be? I.e. what chips would
I be looking for? WHERE does one normally BUY RAM chips? I
looked them over at our recent local Hamfest, but that can't be
the only source!
(What does Radio Shack do, when you have THEM do this? Is it
likely that the person AT Radio Shack would supply the infor-
mation necessary to do this for myself?)
2) What about jumpers? Are there really any on the 1000SL? What
style, if so? Are those tan DIPs the jumpers? Can they be
replaced with, say, DIP *switch* blocks, or even with wire-
wrapped bare pins?
3) Is there anything I've overlooked? I'm aware of the need, and
have the proper equipment, for static-discharge protection while
handling all this stuff...
Thanks in advance for any information you can supply; please e-mail me,
even if you also post, as I am not a frequent reader of this newsgroup.
I'm only here because my fiancee needs the issue investigated.
Chris Chiesa
Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com