[comp.sys.amiga.hardware] GVP Series II/A2000 problems---solution!

ath@lcs.mit.edu (Andrew Heybey) (11/06/90)

In article <1484@sumax.UUCP> davidy@sumax.UUCP (David L. Yee) writes:
		   I am in need of some help and or information. I just recieved
   my GVP Series II hardcard with on-board memory exapansion. This is the new one
   with DMA access. Anyway, it refused to operate with the memory installed and
   the memory configuration jumpers set appropriately. If I disabled the RAM
   jumpers, or removed the RAM entirely, the card booted and runs fine.
	   Needless to say, I was a little perturbed, so I called up GVP today
   (11-2-90, 1:30 PST) and asked to see what was up. A person named Gary took my
   call. What he told we was this:
	    I have a rev 4.3 motherboard. Gary said that Commodore made a
	      number of 4.3 motherboards without a certain resistor. This
	     resistor is a 470 ohm, 1/4 watt resistor that (I believe) he said
	     was supposed to be connected to the DTACK line of the 68000 (My
	     memory on the DTACK portion is a little hazy, the rest is not.)
	     Anyway, here is approximately where it should go:

[Diagram deleted].

I had exactly the same problem.  However, the person I spoke to at GVP
told me to install the resister at a silkscreened location just to the
right and behind the power connector.  I can't remember the resistor
number right now, but it was four digits :-).  The location next to
the power connector is a lot easier to get to with a soldering iron
than the location next to the 68000.

Anyhow, I tacked in a resistor this weekend, and now everything works
just fine.  I ran a memory test overnight and found no errors.

Since I have caused them so much trouble, I thought that I would plug
the company from which I bought the RAM.  When the SIMMs didn't work
in my board, I first called GVP, who said that they had experienced
problems with "cheap SIMMs" not working.  I then assumed that it was
the SIMMs that didn't work.  TechnologyWorks sent me 4M of
replacements via overnight mail at their expense.  The new RAM didn't
work either.  I called them again, and they sent *another* 4M via
overnight mail at their expense.  This last set used chips from
another manuafacturer (the first two were the same), which is when I
decided that the problem must lie elsewhere and called GVP again (so
I'm a little slow).  TechnologyWorks *also* paid the postage for me to
return the SIMMs that I thought didn't work.

TechnologyWorks, Austin TX,  800-688-7466,   $49 each 1Mx8 SIMMs
--
Andrew Heybey, ath@ptt.lcs.mit.edu, uunet!ptt.lcs.mit.edu!ath