VOGONS


First post, by Predator99

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What do you think about this? I have a 80386 Mainboard from a recent lot (to be more exact I got 3 identical of them...) and and I have a spare Memory card which I own since a longer time and which seem to fit in the connector. They are labeled as follows:
Memory card: VIP EMC 8M 301010
Mainboard: VIP-M345000 NPM/16
(Manufaturer AUVA?)

The board is this one here:
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/motherboards/A/A … 6SX-NPM-16.html

According to Stason there is a 2 MB card for Connector A and a 8 MB card for connector B.

I was not able to find any data about my memory card. Do you think it might run in the board? I am afraid to damage something. But without a memory card the boards are useless?

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Reply 1 of 19, by georgel

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Check with a multimeter that +5V and GND power lines from the PSU connector go to the correct power pins of any TTL chip on the RAM card and if these are OK you can use the RAM card (after populating it with DRAM ICs).

Reply 2 of 19, by Anonymous Coward

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I would say the chances of it working are extremely high, as they both appear to be from the same manufacturer.
I'd just populate the board with some 1Mbit DRAMs and play around with JP1-JP4 on the memory card.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 3 of 19, by Predator99

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Good idea with +5V and GND! After inserting the card in the slot, both are shortened and connected to the red wire on the power connector (+5V). Dont think that this is correct....therefore this does not seem to be the correct card.

Maybe the card belongs to this board:
https://stason.org/TULARC/pc/motherboards/A/A … -TAM-20-C3.html

According to Stason it is a "EMC/8M-C3" - this is not to differnt to "VIP EMC 8M 301010".

I will not test the card 😀

Reply 7 of 19, by Predator99

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😀 Yes, I also mean the RAM board.

If I understand right: If there is a short on the RAM board itself it should also short GND and +5V if the card is not inserted. But this is not the case. Correct?

Reply 8 of 19, by Anonymous Coward

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Predator99 wrote:

The memory card in that link is similar, but the jumpers are not in the same location.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 9 of 19, by Predator99

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While looking through my boards I found a very similar 286 Board with a matching RAM-card:

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286 Board: VIP BAM 16-11 M215100
286 Memory card: 1302010 EMC / 8M - 11 +

I inserted the RAM-card in the 386 Board, tested for shorts and it was OK. Therefore this seems to be suitable.

After powering on,it stops at code "02 01", regardless if RAM-card is inserted or not.

I also transferred the 286 BIOS to the 386 Board. With this combination, POST proceeds to code "20 1A" and the error "CMOS INOPERATIONAL" is displayed on the VGA. No surprise as there is some corrosion damage on the 386.
After removing the RAM-card, it already stops at "10 0C" and nothing is displayed.

Therefore this RAM card seems to fit in the 286 as well in the 386, but the 386 needs to be repaired...

Reply 10 of 19, by Anonymous Coward

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What I find interesting is that it appears the memory slot on both of these boards can physically accept an ISA card, yet it doesn't look like all of the lines from the bus go to those slots. I wonder if you could accidentally fry the boards by not paying attention and installing ISA cards in ther

Looking at the picture of the first memory card again, it seems that none of the pins on right section of the connector are actually connected to anything. I wonder if it's the same on the other side of the PCB...probably is. Seems like it's not really needed.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 12 of 19, by Anonymous Coward

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Looks like they're just some power and ground lines. I propose that the second card with the smaller connector is newer than the one with the longer connector. Probably the manufacturer realised it was useless and eliminated it as a cost saving measure in later revisions. Are there any dates on the cards? Although not entirely accurate, sometimes you can get a general idea using date codes on the ICs.

I can see the first card somewhat clearly. Looks like it was made in early 1989. I can't see any date codes on the 'ICs of the second card however. If the card was made around the same time as the motherboard, the ICs would indicate it was made in mid-1989.

Also, the first expansion ram card should be model 1301010...not 301010.
The second expansion ram card is model 1302010. They are the same except for the middle digit. It might indicate a slightly newer product.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 13 of 19, by WarsawPact1955

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I have a VIP EMC 8M - II I302000 board that might play nice in one of the Auva boards you guys may have. It looks like Predator99's board (the second one pictured, with a single connector) but all the DIPP memory slots are populated. I have no such motherboard to use with it so if anyone is interested please let me know. I'd rather see it go to use than sit around here. 😀

Reply 15 of 19, by perezx

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Merry Christmas, guys!
I've got such a board, which has VIP TAM 20-II (maybe 11, not ii ?) model on it. Corrosion damage supplied, of course 🙁 Backside label 89'48 says it was made more than 33 years ago!
Managed to get a memory board VIP I301020 (also EMC/8M sign on it) which carries 72 M5M42256AP-10 chips thus having 2Mb of RAM.
After couple evenings of surgery and soldering I've got it to start, but, apparently, keyboard isn't working. Anyways, I have never seen before such a board and such a startup screen: "640 base memory, 384 over base memory, 1024 extended"...

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Reply 16 of 19, by Predator99

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Thanks for your post, this one seems also be the matching card for my 386.

You should not turn this board on before cleaning the corrosion with vinegar and water...

If only the keyboard is not working it shouldnt be too difficult to fix.

Reply 17 of 19, by perezx

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Corrosion is cleared, of course. I had to desolder one ISA slot in order repair several thin traces. Not sure about the KBD, did not check the connector itself (as I expected the board won't start at all) and hope it has just to be re-soldered.
BTW, there are two black wires on the back that seem to be "by design".

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Reply 19 of 19, by perezx

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I've checked the wiring of these "proprietary" slots; first half (closer to rear) seems to be ordinary 8-bit ISA bus, but second half has nothing in common with 16-bit ISA. I am not surprised: there are not so much contact lines to put additional 16 bits of data bus, at least additional 8 bits of address bus and keep ISA in its place.
So, second half is wired directly to Chips and Technologies P82B305 memory controller, not to the CPU as I expected at first glance.
Summary:
1. You can use these slots for 8-bit ISA cards, not 16-bit
2. DO NOT put 16-bit ISA cards there
3. Slot wiring and model of matching RAM card probably depends on chipset used on your motherboard
4. Perhaps making an adapter "proprietary slot"->SIMM isn't a rocket science