Finding ZIP RAM for Amiga 3000

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by A10001986

It should be clear to the naked eye that putting relatively thick round pins into spring sockets will not end well for the socket. I bought one of those SIMM adapters years ago, but never put it in, for exactly that reason.

Ok but that is a specific design issue related to that adapter then, not the concept itself.

[bitter]

Originally Posted by eXeler0

Ok but that is a specific design issue related to that adapter then, not the concept itself.

Had same damage happen in Atari 130XE. Used a new Pokey replacement from Lotharek, with round pins. When I replaced it back for testing, the old Pokey was very loose and it wouldn't work.... Round pins are evil to those old sockets.

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by bitter

Had same damage happen in Atari 130XE. Used a new Pokey replacement from Lotharek, with round pins. When I replaced it back for testing, the old Pokey was very loose and it wouldn't work.... Round pins are evil to those old sockets.

I agree regarding the round pins being evil

[brett71]

Originally Posted by A10001986

It should be clear to the naked eye that putting relatively thick round pins into spring sockets will not end well for the socket. I bought one of those SIMM adapters years ago, but never put it in, for exactly that reason.

Speaking realistically, though....once you put that SIMM adapter in, what are the chances you're actually going to go back to those fiddly ZIP chips? I mean, I think there's a reason why the ReAmiga 3000 has SIMM sockets instead of ZIP sockets...

[Mathesar]

Originally Posted by bitter

Had same damage happen in Atari 130XE. Used a new Pokey replacement from Lotharek, with round pins. When I replaced it back for testing, the old Pokey was very loose and it wouldn't work.... Round pins are evil to those old sockets.

Hmmm, I have also used those round pins a lot and never had any trouble with them. There exist very thin round pins but you have them solder correctly because they have a thick and a thin side. The thick side is soldered on the adapterboard and the thin edge goes into the original socket.

[cpiac64]

https://store.inertialcomputing.com/...-a3000-pcb.htm

i need 2 pcb, but need more info on this store

[eXeler0]

I ordered 8MB zip ram (2x4MB) from that one guy on ebay btw. Price in $/GB is not a good metric in this case btw ;-)
Anyhoo its US so I guess its gonna be a while before I get it. Ill report back if it worked as expected.

[bitter]

Beware of the RAM sold by GGlabs (https://www.ebay.com/itm/401787292360), just received it today, and it is the exact same painted crap as the UTsource. WTF...

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by bitter

Beware of the RAM sold by GGlabs (https://www.ebay.com/itm/401787292360), just received it today, and it is the exact same painted crap as the UTsource. WTF...

Unfortunately(?) that is the guy I bought mine from. (Not a lot of choice..)
Still waiting for them.. seller has 99.8% positive reviews.. was hoping it would be worth something..

[dankcomputing]

It’s almost impossible to get non-remarked parts from China now. Everyone remarks their parts regardless of whether or not they’re committing fraud.

It’s collusion, basically. It hides the kind of fraud that was once very obvious and everyone gets to pass off their parts as new, a win-win situation for everyone on their side of the pond.

All you can do is buy what’s available, remarked or not, and test it thoroughly.

[bitter]

Originally Posted by dankcomputing

It’s almost impossible to get non-remarked parts from China now. Everyone remarks their parts regardless of whether or not they’re committing fraud.

It’s collusion, basically. It hides the kind of fraud that was once very obvious and everyone gets to pass off their parts as new, a win-win situation for everyone on their side of the pond.

All you can do is buy what’s available, remarked or not, and test it thoroughly.

Test it how though, in the machine? Is it safe to install? I have perfectly fine working 8Mb of FAST RAM currently working. Looks like all different brands, etc. but no issues with it. I’m just afraid to be testing these fakes on a $2K Amiga…

[bitter]

Originally Posted by eXeler0

Unfortunately(?) that is the guy I bought mine from. (Not a lot of choice..)
Still waiting for them.. seller has 99.8% positive reviews.. was hoping it would be worth something..

Never had issues with GGLabs before, I got several Apple IIgs RAM cards from him. I guess there just isn’t a source of NOS ZIP RAMs anymore…

[bitter]

I took the plunge and tested the chips.

My A3000 has 8MB of non-SC 80ns FAST RAM currently. After replacing with these supposedly SC 60ns RAMs, bustest shows a 30-40% decline in speed.

This memory is junk, probably non-SC 120ns or such.

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by bitter

I took the plunge and tested the chips.

My A3000 has 8MB of non-SC 80ns FAST RAM currently. After replacing with these supposedly SC 60ns RAMs, bustest shows a 30-40% decline in speed.

This memory is junk, probably non-SC 120ns or such.

Refund?

[hooverphonique]

It's not the best for stability, but I always put an extra sacrificial socket in-between, if I need to connect something with round pins to a socket that I don't want to damage.

[matt3k]

Sadly so much junk out there, seriously they take the time to mess with us and even take the time to rebrand the chip. I go way out of my way to never order anything from them including manufactured products. Not easy to say the least as mentioned above.

Good luck on your quest, 60ns sc zips really run faster when you turn on the ramsey settings. A stock 030 3000 is distinctly faster than a stock 4000 030 with 60 ns simms.

Remember when we tested a new 4000 against the 3000 at the club we were so disappointed with the new system. What a missed opportunity.

[eXeler0]

Got my batch of zip-ram chips today. Havent put them into the 3000 yet but at first glance, they dont look rebranded/repainted/remarked etc
Hope is still alive… for now…(Then again, I'm in no way a chip-forgery expert).

[bitter]

Originally Posted by eXeler0

Got my batch of zip-ram chips today. Havent put them into the 3000 yet but at first glance, they dont look rebranded/repainted/remarked etc
Hope is still alive… for now…(Then again, I'm in no way a chip-forgery expert).

I got a refund on mine.

Just run your fingernail trying to scrape off the paint. If black comes off, it's painted. Or you can use a Q-tip moistened with IPA. If it turns black, it's painted...

[bitter]

Originally Posted by matt3k

Sadly so much junk out there, seriously they take the time to mess with us and even take the time to rebrand the chip. I go way out of my way to never order anything from them including manufactured products. Not easy to say the least as mentioned above.

Good luck on your quest, 60ns sc zips really run faster when you turn on the ramsey settings. A stock 030 3000 is distinctly faster than a stock 4000 030 with 60 ns simms.

Remember when we tested a new 4000 against the 3000 at the club we were so disappointed with the new system. What a missed opportunity.

Yeah, I even spent the money to get a NOS Ramsey -11... Oh well. The search continues, but all I'm seeing is that Toshiba SC 60ns ZIP20 for sale, and I'm willing to bet they are all counterfeit, somebody got a hold of a label maker...

[eXeler0]

Originally Posted by bitter

I got a refund on mine.

Just run your fingernail trying to scrape off the paint. If black comes off, it's painted. Or you can use a Q-tip moistened with IPA. If it turns black, it's painted...

Yea, they did not pass the IPA+Q-tip test...