ACA500 tested

[Jacques]

Well, you can read the marking of the standard ACA500 RAM, then look into the datasheet of the chip for specs and find/buy the same or some corresponding chip with appropriate parameters. They can be found on and extracted from old PC gfx cards, etc.
While you have it, you need to solder it into the obvious place of top of ACA500 card and that's it (unless it gets blocked in next firmware releases - hopefully not ).
At home I can read the marking from my additional chip and let you know, but in fact any one with correct specs would do.

[AMike]

Originally Posted by Jacques

Works for me with both .99 and .106beta (this one is even pictured).

Where can I find these beta? In the wiki is only the 0.99?
http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/ACA500

I've also tried this rework month ago but it wasn't successful.

[Jacques]

It's in the link you pasted

File:Menu500beta.zip - ACA500 update with preliminary ACA1221 support. May require MapROM to be licensed before first use on ACA500.

http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/File:Menu500beta.zip

But like I said, 0.99 works with that too, so maybe you got something wrong with chip and/or soldering?

[huepper]

This rework works for me since 21.10.2015.
Nice to found this by someone others on the planet.

[Lord Aga]

Originally Posted by dirkies

any hardware pics and more detailed explanation how to do it would be nice

Nah, it's more fun to solder the chips all around until one gets it right

[Jacques]

The whole methodology is explained in post #621. Probably you won't be able to get the exactly same RAM-chip as original one, so it's basically looking for the one of the same specification, not necessarily of the same manufacturer, etc.

The picture belowed presents ACA500 with originally missing chip soldered in. You also need to add 3 missing SMD capacitors nearby (values corresponding with the ones on the bottom side of ACA500 near original RAM-chip (basic 2 megs).

[TjLaZer]

Nice! Can you list the chip type and SMD cap values needed? Would be easy to do with solder paste and hot air rework gun.

[Jacques]

100 nF each will do, SMD type 603 capacitors.
I attached photos of RAM chips on my ACA500: Siemens is the basic one, Mitsubishi is added. Of course would be nice to have exactly the same manufacturer's chips, but it doesn't really matter for me So just find any compatible chip to original Siemens.
Of course everyone is playing with his card at own responsibility, but it works

[dirkies]

this is weird, why didn't Jens propose a 4MB version if the PCB has everything in place already? Moreover cost is very low.

edit: since Kipper A508IDE cards use 2MB RAM chips, maybe these work on an ACA500 too and easy to source me thinks (?)

[dJOS]

Originally Posted by dirkies

this is weird, why didn't Jens propose a 4MB version if the PCB has everything in place already? Moreover cost is very low.

edit: since Kipper A508IDE cards use 2MB RAM chips, maybe these work on an ACA500 too and easy to source me thinks (?)

He did but because he foolishly ignored our pleas for 4 mb to be standard, he put the ram on the back of the board and then discovered dual sided soldering was going to make the 4 mb version too expensive and dropped it as an option.

This is why I and many others refused to buy one, 2 mb was just useless unless you put down even more cash for an aca12xx.

[dirkies]

Seems Jens is not a popular guy around here!

I wonder if someone would sell an "upgrade kit" with a RAM chip and the 3 capacitors? Optionally a mail-in solder service. I am sure it would be a success, assuming Jens does not cripple on purpose upgraded cards with a new firmware update!

note: Kipper's card uses
Infineon HYB5118160BSJ-60 = 1M x 16 Bit 5 V 60 ns FPM DRAM
but the standard ACA RAM is nearly identical in spec, except it is EDO and not FPM.

FYI, standard ACA500 2MB ram chip costs less than $3 !

https://octopart.com/hyb5118165bsj-60-siemens-7681497

[Schoenfeld]

Cost is one thing, stability another. As stated on a1k, stability goes down a lot if a second RAM chip is on the board. Compatibility with many CF cards breaks with the second RAM chip, so I decided not to add it to any version due to the bad reputation that the product would get.

Did my popularity go down because of that? Really, I don't care, because my popularity would have gone down much more if I had sold instable 4MB versions.

Wait for the ACA500plus. I'm about to finalize all features, and if you're a little technical, you can read a lot of the new features from the register description:

http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/ACA500plus_registers

Jens

[monkat]

Sorry if this has been answered but is there an eta on the aca500 plus? Thanks in advance.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dirkies]

ok Jens, fair enough, better a stable 2mb card than a useless 4mb one.

Any wiki page with ACA500+ specs in general? Still on track for release somewhere Q4 2016?

[dJOS]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Cost is one thing, stability another. As stated on a1k, stability goes down a lot if a second RAM chip is on the board. Compatibility with many CF cards breaks with the second RAM chip, so I decided not to add it to any version due to the bad reputation that the product would get.

Did my popularity go down because of that? Really, I don't care, because my popularity would have gone down much more if I had sold instable 4MB versions.

Wait for the ACA500plus. I'm about to finalize all features, and if you're a little technical, you can read a lot of the new features from the register description:

http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/ACA500plus_registers

Jens

It's not a popularity contest Jen's, the fact is you lost sales by not making it a proper 4 mb design from the get go.

I know you did sell the whole run but you could have sold more by appealing to a broader audience.

[kolla]

Originally Posted by Schoenfeld

Compatibility with many CF cards breaks with the second RAM chip

My mind boggles...

[Leffmann]

30 years of digital electronics and Amiga hardware expansions on huge boards with dozens of chips, but it's not possible to put two RAM chips and a CF connector on the same board? Bullshit. You might as well try to claim that compatibility breaks if you have more than 4MB of free space on the CF card.

I think it's exactly like someone said, that the "Adapter 500" was under-designed to require the customer to buy more stuff. An expansion built to sell more expansions.

[dirkies]

I think only very tech people can judge this. But then again he spends a lot of his time and resources bringing us fine hardware since many years and it is business as usual (just like Apple does btw with all their proprietary connectors!) so no hard feelings, if you don't like it don't buy it. It's that simple.

[Apollo]

Originally Posted by dJOS

It's not a popularity contest Jen's[....]

Could you, and others, please stop personal attacking Jens or others only because you're 'disappointed' of what he (or others) put on the market?

If you don't like, don't buy it!

I assume criticism is wanted and accepted by these persons, but reading the same rants over and over again makes me wonder what on earth he did to you in the past that 'we' have to read this attacks almost every time someone is mentioning a product of his company.

[dirkies]

Originally Posted by Apollo

Could you, and others, please stop personal attacking Jens or others only because you're 'disappointed' of what he (or others) put on the market?

If you don't like, don't buy it!

I assume criticism is wanted and accepted by these persons, but reading the same rants over and over again makes me wonder what on earth he did to you in the past that 'we' have to read this attacks almost every time someone is mentioning a product of his company.

Words of wisdom!