Date   : Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:13:08 +0000
From   : julesrichardsonuk@... (Jules Richardson)
Subject: ROM / RAM boards...

I seem to have the following here:

   3 x Aries B12 ROM boards

   3 x Aries B12 adapter boards (to connect the B12 to the BBC's existing ROM 
sockets, I assume)

   2 x Aries B32 boards

   2 x ATPL 'Sidewise' boards

   1 x Aries B20 board

   1 x GCC 'ROMEX 13' (currently soldered via various wires to a model B 
system board).

Questions:

1) Will a B12 board + adapter just work in a beeb on its own, or does it need 
the B32 (or B20?) too? I notice there's a trailing 5-wire lead from the 
adapter board, which presumably hooks to the 5-way socket on the B32/B20, so I 
suspect they're supposed to work in pairs (B20+B12, B32+B12).

2) What ROMs do I need for this stuff? One B32 has an Aries ROM, the other 
just has an empty socket. One B12 board has a 'B20' ROM, one has an 'Aries 
2.2' ROM, and the other doesn't seem to have anything obviously related to 
Aries. The Sidewise boards don't seem to have any sort of 'controller' ROM at 
all (but both have an unlabeled EPROM on board).

The B20 board seems to have quite a bit of SRAM on board (whereas the B32 
boards don't).

Basically I'm interested in keeping one board (or 'set' if that's what's 
required, e.g. B12+B32) for expansion purposes, and will be ditching the rest 
(note that they *all* have damaged pins and will need some soldering work to 
actually use!)

I just need the least painful route (which probably rules out the ROMEX board 
as I really can't be bothered cutting wires and soldering to a new machine) so 
adding some more expansion capability. I'm leaning toward the Sidewise boards 
as one of those has all its pins bar one, unless someone thinks otherwise...

(I'll do a post later about surplus stuff... I think I've got a few model B's, 
40/80 drives etc. that really need homes pronto)

cheers!

Jules