Q: AE RamKeeper

Steven Hirsch

I picked up an AE RamKeeper on eBay recently and have just gotten around to
trying it. Unfortunately, it does not seem to cooperate very well. I'm using
a Rom 3 GS with ZipGSX accelerator (12.5Mhz) and a RamFast Rev D controller in
Slot 7. I have been through, variously, a 4MB Chinook Ram 4000, AE GS-Ram 4MB
and an older Apple GS memory card with 1MB. With any/all of these, I hear the
boot-up boink, followed by an error message from the RamKeeper firmware about
"Bad RK configuration - Error 103".

All of these boards were installed in the "back pocket" adapter. The
slotmover was clearly designed before the Rom3 GS was released and physically
will not clear chips on the motherboard. The AE board can in theory attach to
the front of the card, but would require my moving the RamFast from Slot 7.
Don't want to get into that unless absolutely required.

The RK is fitted with what looks like a home-blown EPROM marked Rev 1.3 in
pencil on a piece of masking tape.

What can anyone tell me about the compatibility (or lack thereof) of this
unit? Is newer firmware available? Is it incompatible with Rom 3 GS
machines? Broken?

Steve

Steven Hirsch

Quick follow-on: Can someone send me or point me to an image of the RK 1.7
firmware? If not 1.7 then perhaps just something (anything) newer than 1.3.
I think this is the problem with getting it going on a Rom 3 GS.

Bryan Parkoff

> Quick follow-on: Can someone send me or point me to an image of the RK
> 1.7 firmware? If not 1.7 then perhaps just something (anything) newer
> than 1.3. I think this is the problem with getting it going on a Rom 3 GS.

AE RAM Keeper is incompatible to Apple IIgs ROM 03. I suspect that 1.25
MB RAM chips built-in motherboard has different size than 256K RAM chips. I
am not sure if firmware is able to align the number of MB size properly.
For example, if you add two CV RAM cards to AE RAM Keeper card, it will fail
when the total size exceeds 16 MB. I reduced to 15MB and it worked on Apple
IIgs ROM 01.

Bryan Parkoff

Christopher G. Mason

Steven Hirsch wrote:
> I picked up an AE RamKeeper on eBay recently and have just gotten around
> to trying it. Unfortunately, it does not seem to cooperate very well.
> I'm using a Rom 3 GS with ZipGSX accelerator (12.5Mhz) and a RamFast Rev
> D controller in Slot 7. I have been through, variously, a 4MB Chinook
> Ram 4000, AE GS-Ram 4MB and an older Apple GS memory card with 1MB.
> With any/all of these, I hear the boot-up boink, followed by an error
> message from the RamKeeper firmware about "Bad RK configuration - Error
> 103".
>
> All of these boards were installed in the "back pocket" adapter. The
> slotmover was clearly designed before the Rom3 GS was released and
> physically will not clear chips on the motherboard. The AE board can in
> theory attach to the front of the card, but would require my moving the
> RamFast from Slot 7. Don't want to get into that unless absolutely
> required.
>
> The RK is fitted with what looks like a home-blown EPROM marked Rev 1.3
> in pencil on a piece of masking tape.
>
> What can anyone tell me about the compatibility (or lack thereof) of
> this unit? Is newer firmware available? Is it incompatible with Rom 3
> GS machines? Broken?
>
> Steve

There is a chip you have to swap on the card in order for it to work on
a ROM 3, it is a 74F27 with a few of the pins tied together. My
RamKeeper came with the chip+instructions, I'll have to dig up the chip
scans I made for someone years ago who had the same question on the A2
Delphi forums. FWIW my card came with the 1.6 firmware, on a REV. C board.

Steven Hirsch

Christopher G. Mason wrote:

>> I picked up an AE RamKeeper on eBay recently and have just gotten
>> around to trying it. Unfortunately, it does not seem to cooperate
>> very well. I'm using a Rom 3 GS with ZipGSX accelerator (12.5Mhz) and
>> a RamFast Rev D controller in Slot 7. I have been through, variously,
>> a 4MB Chinook Ram 4000, AE GS-Ram 4MB and an older Apple GS memory
>> card with 1MB. With any/all of these, I hear the boot-up boink,
>> followed by an error message from the RamKeeper firmware about "Bad RK
>> configuration - Error 103".

> There is a chip you have to swap on the card in order for it to work on
> a ROM 3, it is a 74F27 with a few of the pins tied together. My
> RamKeeper came with the chip+instructions, I'll have to dig up the chip
> scans I made for someone years ago who had the same question on the A2
> Delphi forums. FWIW my card came with the 1.6 firmware, on a REV. C board.

Yes, please do. It would be a good idea to fire it off to Bill Garber as
well. He can memorialize it on his web pages.

Steve

Steven Hirsch

Bryan Parkoff wrote:
>> Quick follow-on: Can someone send me or point me to an image of the RK
>> 1.7 firmware? If not 1.7 then perhaps just something (anything) newer
>> than 1.3. I think this is the problem with getting it going on a Rom 3 GS.
>
> AE RAM Keeper is incompatible to Apple IIgs ROM 03.

Oh ye of little faith... Give me an EPROM burner and a junkbox full of DIP
ICs and I shall move the earth!

Seriously, I think between getting the updated EPROM image from David Schmidt
and the mod instructions from Christopher Mason that all will be well.

Steve

Bill Garber

"Steven Hirsch" <> wrote in message news: ...
> Christopher G. Mason wrote:
>
> >> I picked up an AE RamKeeper on eBay recently and have just gotten
> >> around to trying it. Unfortunately, it does not seem to cooperate
> >> very well. I'm using a Rom 3 GS with ZipGSX accelerator (12.5Mhz) and
> >> a RamFast Rev D controller in Slot 7. I have been through, variously,
> >> a 4MB Chinook Ram 4000, AE GS-Ram 4MB and an older Apple GS memory
> >> card with 1MB. With any/all of these, I hear the boot-up boink,
> >> followed by an error message from the RamKeeper firmware about "Bad RK
> >> configuration - Error 103".
>
> > There is a chip you have to swap on the card in order for it to work on
> > a ROM 3, it is a 74F27 with a few of the pins tied together. My
> > RamKeeper came with the chip+instructions, I'll have to dig up the chip
> > scans I made for someone years ago who had the same question on the A2
> > Delphi forums. FWIW my card came with the 1.6 firmware, on a REV. C board.
>
> Yes, please do. It would be a good idea to fire it off to Bill Garber as
> well. He can memorialize it on his web pages.
>
> Steve

Thanks, Steven. I were just gonna asks fer it. <[8>|)

Bill Garber from GS-Electronics

Bill Garber

Ha!, I already had the Ramkeeper Mod info.
I think I got it from David Wilson a while ago,
and, the reason is probably because I have a
Ramkeeper in storage someplace. I have to
get in there and look, when I get 2 seconds
to rub together.

Bill Garber from GS-Electronics


"Bill Garber" <> wrote in message news:. ..
>
> "Steven Hirsch" <> wrote in message news: ...
> > Christopher G. Mason wrote:
> >
> > >> I picked up an AE RamKeeper on eBay recently and have just gotten
> > >> around to trying it. Unfortunately, it does not seem to cooperate
> > >> very well. I'm using a Rom 3 GS with ZipGSX accelerator (12.5Mhz) and
> > >> a RamFast Rev D controller in Slot 7. I have been through, variously,
> > >> a 4MB Chinook Ram 4000, AE GS-Ram 4MB and an older Apple GS memory
> > >> card with 1MB. With any/all of these, I hear the boot-up boink,
> > >> followed by an error message from the RamKeeper firmware about "Bad RK
> > >> configuration - Error 103".
> >
> > > There is a chip you have to swap on the card in order for it to work on
> > > a ROM 3, it is a 74F27 with a few of the pins tied together. My
> > > RamKeeper came with the chip+instructions, I'll have to dig up the chip
> > > scans I made for someone years ago who had the same question on the A2
> > > Delphi forums. FWIW my card came with the 1.6 firmware, on a REV. C board.
> >
> > Yes, please do. It would be a good idea to fire it off to Bill Garber as
> > well. He can memorialize it on his web pages.
> >
> > Steve
>
> Thanks, Steven. I were just gonna asks fer it. <[8>|)
>
> Bill Garber from GS-Electronics
>
>
>