Recreating a LOST Compaq Portable 2 memory expansion card

Follow along while I build and test a reproduction of the extremely rare Compaq Portable 2 512/1536KB Memory Expansion card.
This video is sponsored by JLCPCB! $2 for 1-8 layers and $60 coupons for new customers! Use link jlcpcb.com/?from=PCO
If you like what I do and want to encourage more, I appreciate your support through likes and comments below. If you have the means, you could also support me on Patreon as money helps me buy broken things to fix and build more projects - / silvervest
Any feedback is welcome, as always.
Links!
github.com/btb/PortableIIMemB...
forum.vcfed.org/index.php?thr...
Credits!
Music:
* Last Odyssey - ELFL
* Masaru Setsumaru - Data Select (from Sonic 3)
Font: Riciery Leal - VCR OSD Mono (www.dafont.com/vcr-osd-mono.font)
Putting up with my weird hobbies: My wife
Disclaimer!
I am NOT an expert, I have genuinely NO idea what I'm doing, and mostly just glue things together and use a lot of Google-fu until stuff works. I've been tinkering with electronics since I was a kid but have no formal training and will probably do things incorrectly. If you learn something from this, that's awesome, but trust me - I'm learning too!
#compaq #portable #expansion

[@MrLurchsThings]

AWESOME!! I absolutely adore my Portable II and now having this available is brilliant. Well done to all those involved. And if you’ve got no real use for it……. 😜

[@Dark_Horse_Productions23]

Great work..!! I wish i couldt fix those things like you do..

[@icedmuons]

I'm so jealous!!! Very nicely done! I'm still struggling with my Compaq Portable III and Compaq Portable 386.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Thanks! All the props go to btb, I was just along for the ride!

[@Grezify]

Wouldn't it be funny if those ali-chips were from a scrapped Compaq Portable 2 memory expansion card? 😃

[@curtisator42]

Nice work! Could install Windows 3 now at least

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

I genuinely contemplated it, but then I saw that it's 15 x 360k floppies and wasn't sure I was ready for that commitment (or had enough spares!)

[@curtisator42]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes Ah yes, that would be painful. The controller card is plain old IDE, and works fine with a Compact Flash card however...

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

That's cheating ;)

[@curtisator42]

Well, period accurate null modem file transfer then :)

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Now we're talkin! Gonna have to remember how LapLink works...

[@MadCatSE]

Great job! But I'm surprised that you insert ali-chips without testing them first. For me it's always the assumption that not only they are fake, but also not working. So I always follow the rule "check first, insert later". Saves a lot of time. I'm planning to build a self-designed 5160 replica, together with a replica of CGA videocard and replica of adlib, and I can already see that fake chips are going to be a problem.

[@silvestronsbitsandbytes]

Thanks! Yeah it was definitely a gamble, I tested a small batch and they were fine so I just rolled with it. Oh well, not too much time lost :)

[@MadCatSE]

@@silvestronsbitsandbytes True, but I laughed at "three days later" :) I saw it coming