Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    Please post it... my boss is buying an A1000 (Some dealers in NH
    still have 'em for $795 w/monitor) and he'll quickly need the extra
    memory.
    
    I notice that AmigaWhirled had an ad for a SCSI SupraDrive/Ram expander
    for the A500.  Anyone know if or when it's shipping?  The main
    reason my boss wants an A1000 is because of the readily available
    RAM and hard drives, but if Supra delivers, the A500 will instantly
    become real useful.

    In a moment of inspiration I remembered the number....
    
    	(303) 564-0618 M.A.E. BBS
    
    This is a *modem* line only, 24 hours, 300/1200 baud.

    What's the name of the store in NH selling them for $795 w/ monitor?
    
    Paul

    It is Computer Town in Keene, NH.  They are now all sold out, and
    don't plan on getting anymore.  The deal was $795 for a 256K machine
    and the 1080 monitor.  The salesgirl said they all went by Tuesday.
    
    They had an ad in the Boston Sunday Globe.  BTW, they don't plan
    on carrying the A500 or A2000, so I guess they're out of the Amiga
    business.
    
    

    I'm about to go out an buy the StarBoard II.  Does anyone know the
    details about the board?
    
    	Pass through buss?
    	zero wait states?  (I'm not sure what that means, but I think
    			    it's desirable.)
        does it have a clock? 
    
    If you think the StarBoard is not the best choice for the price,
    you have about an hour to stop me.
    
    Price $535.00, 2 Meg

    Go for it.  I've never regretted getting my Starboard.
    
    In a few weeks, MB will release their SCSI interface for $129.00
    
    

    Some facts about the StarBoard II:
    
    o It has bus pass through (not a dead end street).
    o It has zero wait-state (the Starboard expansion RAM does not
      cause the CPU to wait).
    o It does not have a clock.

    A friend of mine, Steve Faiwiszewski, authored an informative article
    on Starboard-2 in vol.2, #9 of Amazing Computing.  Steve and myself
    (and a couple of other friends who I used to work with in the previous
    chapter of my life) bought Starboard-2s with 1 Meg of memory about
    6 months ago.  So far we have had no problems with them.
    
    Brad 

    Well I bought it!  It works!  It was a real b*tch to attach it to
    the Amiga.  It has to be lined up exactly with the expansion bus
    on the system box, but you get see if it's lined up because the
    STarborad box is in the way.
    
    

    Another satisified customer!!! Just got mine from Abel's for $430.
    (Just before they went up to $459).  We have a local Amiga dealer
    here in (HT Electronics in Sunnyvale, CA) but they refuse to budge
    an inch from ANY list price.  I guess they don't understand why
    people go in to look at the stuff, but seldom buy.  They don't have
    a very good attitude about 'users' anyway.  One of the salesmen
    had just downloaded the Probe demo from Plink.  When asked if a
    copy could be made his reply was, he just spent a small fortune
    downloading it. If anyone else wants it, they can pay the phone
    bill themselves!!  (Boy have I gone off on a tangent! I guess a
    few bad experiences with a dealer can leave a lasting impression)
    
    Anyway, now that I've got 2.5 M in my machine, its time to try all
    those neat demos i've got but haven't been able to see!! The medium
    res and hi res modes in Digiview have been waiting a long time
    
    					Jim
    

    I know this has been asked before, but anyone out there had good
    luck on mail-order ram chip...the previous answer of "Look in Computer
    Shopper" is only good if you have access to it...my "upper-deck
    is just burning hole in my pocket for that 2nd meg of ram!
    
    Thanks...scott.
    

    I bought all my chips for the Starboard mail order from JDR
    MicroDevicesin CA.
    
    Paul

    JDR Microdevices does not have the best price, but they are very
    reliable. 1-800-538-5000
    
    You can also try Microprocessors Unlimited (Kansas city? no 800#)
    
    Another good place to shop around is the back pages of Byte, which
    your local DEC library should have around.
    
    All you need are 41256-150nS. They should be less than $2.50 by
    now.
    
    dov

Re: .13

I populated my Starboard 2 with chips from Microprocessors Unlimited.
I recommend them.  If you search this conference for Microprocessors
Unlimited, you should find their phone number.

They were very prompt, courteous, and cheap.  They evidently get a lot
of business from random computer owners populating memory boards.  My
order came with a brochure giving tips for handling memory chips and
inserting them into circuit boards.  They also threw in some literature
on their company philosophy and history, and a review of the memory chips
produced by different manufactures.

    I vote YES on Microprocessors Unlimited.
    John

    
    I purchased my Rainbow memory from Microprocessors Unlimited about
    2 years ago. I would recommend them as well...
    
    Their instructions are a lot of fun as well, especially the part
    about more chips have been destroyed by pretty women...
    
    -Ray
    

Re: .16

>    Their instructions are a lot of fun as well, especially the part
>    about more chips have been destroyed by pretty women...

I had forgotten about that.  The quote was that lots of chips had been
destroyed by well-dressed women do to their nylons.  I laughed at that
one myself.

I found their phone number:

	Microprocessors Unlimited
	24000 So. Peoria Ave.
	Beggs, Oklahoma 74421

phone:	(918) 267-4961


By the way, 2 day shipping by Federal Express only cost $6 from
Microprocessors Unlimited.

> I had forgotten about that.  The quote was that lots of chips had been
> destroyed by well-dressed women do to their nylons.  I laughed at that
> one myself.

Sound words of advice there...beware of ESD.

If you can, check-out a static kit from your local FS organization to
take home and use it while you are manipulating memories or any other
silicon.   The kits are easy to use, come with a static pad and wrist
strap and are well worth the effort in terms of increased reliability
of components and protection from accidental ESD damage.

Come to thinlk of it, you should use one of these kits anytime you've
got your Amiga or components open and are hacking.  Of course, if you
are hacking inside an Atari, that's a different story :^}.

BobW

    I've never had a problem with Static Discharges. Before inserting
    chips, as long as I'm sitting there with a metal grounded power
    supply in front of me (this was an IBM clone) I would just touch
    the supply when I started. Presto, instantly grounded.
    
    Granted, this is tougher on the Amiga with umpteen screws to get
    at the power supply....
    
    dov

    I ussually don't go as far as attaching wires to myself for ground.
    (I've heard of those that do...) .  I think that is a bit dangerous.
    
    Anyhow, when I am working with MOS memory or anything that can be
    damaged by static discharge, I will sometimes get a wash cloth or
    a rag and run it under some water.  THen I will ring it out to
    make sure it isn't damp enough to have water running around.  Then
    I place it flat on my work surface and ground myself while touching
    the rag.  I ussually ground myself by touching something that I
    know is grounded.  I continue doing my work (chip plugging) on the
    rag.
    
    If you follow my tip and you don't have any equipment nearby with a
    grounded metal case, then just touch the screw in the center of
    the socket.  Don't be as clutzy as me and manage to stick your fingers
    in the socket, especially if your hands are still wet.  If you've
    gone this far you've done *more* than enough because my next tip
    takes less time and doesn't use water.
    
    Use some anti static spray and spray it around your work area. :->
    
    	--Mike
                                                                       

    Thanks to the pointers for chips, I know boast a 2.5 meg system...
    I ordered from JDR, they were a LOT cheaper than MU...see past notes...
    Ordered on a thursday, they came via the US Mail on the following
    tuesday...total price for the 1 meg. about $100...in any case, I'm
    a very satisfied puppy!