Building Recycled 4MB 30 pin RAM SIMMs

Thanks to channel sponsor, PCBWay: www.pcbway.com
Are you a vintage Macintosh collector? Do you need more RAM for your vintage Macs? Check out this great 4MB RAM SIMM Kit from Kero's Mac Mods and the Satanic Mac Club. You can build your own 4MB RAM SIMMs with a few super cheap components and by recycling some RAM chips that you may already have floating around.
Build instructions for the 4MB RAM SIMM Kit:
ameblo.jp/keroxiee1016/entry-...
Kero's Mac Mods online store:
en.infinityproducts.co.jp/shop-1
#vintagemacintosh #retrotech #apple
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Tools/Products used (paid links):
T15 Torx (for opening compact Macs): amzn.to/2ZJKWN3
Microscope: amzn.to/2HnSI5H
Microscope camera: amzn.to/2TdSYsZ
Budget alternative microscope: amzn.to/2PmRagt
Soldering station: amzn.to/31QvCMW
Soldering iron tip (T12): amzn.to/2L3Juwt
Budget alternative soldering station (uses T12 tips): amzn.to/2SeUpHg
Hot air rework: amzn.to/2ZjYzPH
Budget alternative hot air rework: amzn.to/3fN1ZU7
Helping hands (third hand): amzn.to/31JUhVL
Ultrasonic cleaner: amzn.to/2ZJKFtB
Ultrasonic cleaning fluid: amzn.to/2YusoQQ
Fume extractor: amzn.to/2HuG0oU
Solder: amzn.to/2ZCUurA
Flux: amzn.to/2Z7XoHQ
Solder wick: amzn.to/2L1Xgjg
UV Solder mask: amzn.to/2ZnK1yu
Precision tweezers: amzn.to/2NqkhPz
Swann Morton curved scalpel blades: amzn.to/2oN7qNn
No. 3 Scalpel Handle: amzn.to/2ngcx85
Kapton heat resistant tape: amzn.to/2xBnTso
28 AWG enamelled magnet wire (thick): amzn.to/32cRsLf
34 AWG enamelled magnet wire (med): amzn.to/35Bx20D
40 AWG enamelled magnet wire (thin): amzn.to/2J2Aisf

[@Biaanca5036]

awwww adorable new SIMM-babies 🤗 Congrats mamaDIMM!

[@infinity5750]

Wow, It's a great video, and I watched it with sweat in my hands. It was my own design so I felt like I was being cooked...Lmao KZbin viewers should note that he uses plenty of flux, but very little solder. The tip of the soldering iron slides smoothly and heats evenly because good flux spreads well. it's a professional job! I honestly didn't expect you to make such a neat and amazing video. This card would have been enough to just feature in your video stream, but it's a real honor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[@SeanChYT]

6:37 I usually lightly sand the exposed edges after snapping these apart. There are often some sharp semi-loose fiberglass pieces that you don't want cutting your fingers when handling the finished PCBs afterwards. EDIT. Looking at the shot of the finished PCBs being tested, perhaps you did it already. (?)

[@68krescue71]

Awesome job of repurposing those 64MB DIMMS. Glad to see the chips worked. 16 4MB SIMMS from one 5 volt donor DIMM, awesome deal. Great Video!!

[@tahwnikcufos]

I was thinking, "nice, they'll be easy to handle as a single unit", then you snapped them apart... lol

[@JeremyBolanos]

Witchcraft! 🧙🏼‍♀

[@StormBurnX]

Subbed immediately after seeing the ultrasonic cleaner sink because it was such an interesting project. Wild to see the next one is this! I have no use whatsoever for obsolete ram module specifications yet it's still absurdly fascinating to watch and learn a few things along the way!

[@kenengel620]

Anyone else notice the epic Firefly t-shirt he's wearing? Nice touch, sir.

[@natedawww]

I really would like to perform this sort of an upgrade with the 16MB card in my PowerBook 540c. Those 32MB cards are atrociously expensive now! And apparently the connector used is completely unobtainable, so fabbing new cards isn't possible (unlike with the PB100s).

[@jack68k]

Awesome! I'll definitely be ordering some of these. Also, do you have a link for the vice that you used when cleaning the pins on the chips? It looks super handy!

[@XKSteve]

Just ordered some of these thanks to some help from Kay Koba. Can’t wait to get building and thanks for the great video that put me on to these.

[@aa-au]

Great video Bruce. Just a note that no Macintosh uses the parity SIMM - it simply gets ignored if it is on the SIMM. The parity SIMM is only used in (most) PCs. I may need some of these SIMMs for my old Macs, and at the speed you were assembling those last lot of SIMMs, I will get you to do it for me!

[@ryanjofre]

Your WAY over due for a Marathon live stream bro! God Speed Edit - “My Precious”😂😂

[@milk-it]

Awesome work. Great tips!

[@enzofitzhume7320]

Another awesome video Bruce! 👍

[@romancharak3675]

How cool is that? Making new from old.

[@TheHouseOfMoth]

Nifty!

[@renaissancefemme]

Hey @BranchusCreations, will you be restocking your recapamac AU store soon? I acquired a Vintage LC475 (first time working on a computer) and wanted to get my hands on a pre-built BlueSCSI. The only ones in stock seem to be Kero's Mac Mods Online Store in JP. Thanks, Bruce!

[@ukmk3supra]

If you have any of those DIMMs for sale, i'm buying - they're gold dust!

[@BranchusCreations]

I'll put a few aside for you Kai!

[@ukmk3supra]

@@BranchusCreations Woohoo!

[@commonsense5105]

Hi Bruce, I've watched several of your videos, mostly the rework stuff, and was interested in the Flux you use. It seems the links are broken in your listing of materials. Any chance you can point me in the right direction? Thanks!

[@danielrhodes7594]

Hi, loved the video. By chance is the vise that you used to hold the 2mb memory available for purchase somewhere?

[@BranchusCreations]

A friend of mine asked the same question, but I've never been able to find exactly the same one. But if you search on eBay or AliExpress for "bga reballing jig" you should be able to find something pretty close.

[@danielrhodes7594]

@@BranchusCreations thank you for the reply and information.

[@chrisv-l3835]

I have quite a few 30 pin ram sims loaded with the hy514400j-70 ram chips. Are they any use to you?

[@RetroTinkerer]

Hello, I still haven't looked it yet, but I imagine that there shouldn't be any reason these 30pin 4MB SIMMs wouldn't work on a 386/486 or sound card (Like a SB/AWE-32) Have you or the author of these PCBs know if is possible?

[@stephenperez3134]

This is great! Would they work with a Mac II and Mac IIx?

[@JDW-]

No, because in those machines you need PAL SIMMs.

[@michaelsworkshop9031]

Does the LED flash when the RAM module is being accessed, or is it just lit continuously when voltage is present (eg always, without interruption, when powered on) ?

[@JDW-]

Stays solid ON. No flashing. The purpose is to show the SIMMs are being properly powered, but the secondary reason is to give you a light show of sorts, which is rather neat on a machine like the SE/30 if you have a transparent MacEffects case.

[@michaelsworkshop9031]

@@JDW- ok - thank you; this is early days - maybe something that can be figured out down the road.

[@Stryder_The_Nite_Owl]

Kay Koba (Kero) / Satanic Mac Club didn't come up with this novel idea... I saw this done over two years ago on Adrian's Digital Basement. There's a public github from the Adrian Black video where you can order your own PCBs and do it yourself. Not sure how Kero is claiming to be the first or innovating with the project here...

[@BranchusCreations]

Kay has never claimed to be the first person to make these RAM recreations. If you visit his blog, you will see that he fully acknowledges those earlier products and outlines the revisions he has made to improve the PCB design. Also, the Toshiba DRAM chips used by Adrian in his video are almost impossible to source these days, so Kay has a (growing) list of all the different DRAM chips that can be used as well. I'd recommend having a quick read of Kay's blog here for all the details: ameblo.jp/keroxiee1016/entry-12778729322.html

[@mc680x0]

I realise it's perhaps not the initial design idea, but - this also means that these SIMMs, built with newer RAM ICs, may be able to have lower access times. Once upon a time, 50ns RAM SIMMs were only for the uber-nerds; with this, they could be commonplace - an overclocker's delight when dealing with 386 and 486 boards.

[@mc680x0]

also, have you considered getting a PCB preheater plate to make your hot-air work easier?

[@JDW-]

The faster speeds of the newer RAM ICs is not taken advantage of when used in older Macs that require 30-pin SIMMs. So long as you meet the minimum speed requirements for the Mac that needs 30-pin SIMMs, then all will work as expected.

[@BranchusCreations]

@@mc680x0 I do have a heater, but I only pull it out for specific tasks. By the time I set it up and get it to temp, I would already have the chips off with a hot air station. I mainly use the heater for removing through-hole stuff, like DIP chips.

[@brucea5664]

From the level of sound heard while you are drag soldering, you are applying way too much pressure. Since everything has been pre-soldered, a slower and more gentle drag will avoid moving pins, lifting pads or having to go back and forth across the pins. Even though the result you achieved is excellent it looked way too careless. Also to make it easier to assemble don’t break the pcbs apart.

[@BranchusCreations]

If it looked careless, it's because I've been doing it for decades. I assure you, there was no risk of damage to the pins or the pads at my hands, and the level of pressure I used was exactly what I was aiming for. This was never meant to be a soldering tutorial video, but I do go over lots of soldering tips and tricks in my other repair videos if it's something that interests you.

[@brucea5664]

@@BranchusCreations as a factory trained electronics engineer for Panasonic with over 40 years of design/repair and rework experience, soldering is not something I need to learn. I find repair video’s interesting and make the occasional comment where needed. I can see you are passionate about your work and are producing great content.

[@BranchusCreations]

I went back and watched that section of the video, and I honestly don't know what sound you heard. The only sound I could hear when I was drag soldering was either my breathing, or me moving the PCB on the cable. I couldn't hear a single sound coming from the iron.