Dedicated testers make troubleshooting way faster/easier. I have one of those cheap component testers that I've used way more than I thought I would, it's great for finding dodgy parts and quick checking values.
Clearly it's the week for testing RAM :-) Noel (From Noel's RetroLab) building and testing that bigger unit you mentioned. I suspect I'll have to go with the bigger unit as I suspect I have SRAM to test in the future. (Picked up a PET and a couple of Microbees, both of which are SRAM based)
Yeah, I only became aware of the bigger one once Noel showed it off. His video popped up on Patreon as I was filming this video. I probably would have gone with the retro chip tester if I had have known about it prior to ordering this one as I have a couple of VIC20s that need looking at, but oh well, if there's a fault with the SRAM I'm sure I'll figure it out. Good luck with the PET and Microbees, very jealous!
Great Video. I've found my ram tester to be a quick way to go through my ram bins. Plus It saves you from having to test a ram with a dead short in your ZIF machine. I actually did also build the Kit one too, so I could test 4116 ram as well. I didn't know about the one you purchased, otherwise I would have bought it instead. I do own a short board as well so maybe I should get the 4 bit one. With 3 ram testers I'll have to be sure to label well so I don't fry something.
It's funny, after you suggested it I sort of sat on the idea for a couple of weeks and then found this one on eBay, and it seemed like a good deal. If I didn't have the minipro to test logic ICs, then the retro chip tester looks like most versatile but it's much more expensive it would take some time to build and test. Sounds like you're pretty much covered, the 4bit one would be handy to have but they seem to have a lower failure rate. Still, who can resist more gadgets
@@TheRetroChannel The RCT is a very versatile tester. The 866 starts with 16kb sram and does not test any dram, the RCT also tests all smaller memory ICs (srams and drams). You can dump all kind of roms (important to conserve arcade and pinball boards). And it tests 10x more logic ICs as the 866 with less bugs ;)
Dedicated testers make troubleshooting way faster/easier. I have one of those cheap component testers that I've used way more than I thought I would, it's great for finding dodgy parts and quick checking values.
Clearly it's the week for testing RAM :-) Noel (From Noel's RetroLab) building and testing that bigger unit you mentioned.
I suspect I'll have to go with the bigger unit as I suspect I have SRAM to test in the future. (Picked up a PET and a couple of Microbees, both of which are SRAM based)
Yeah, I only became aware of the bigger one once Noel showed it off. His video popped up on Patreon as I was filming this video. I probably would have gone with the retro chip tester if I had have known about it prior to ordering this one as I have a couple of VIC20s that need looking at, but oh well, if there's a fault with the SRAM I'm sure I'll figure it out. Good luck with the PET and Microbees, very jealous!
I thought it said dream test I was like how is he testing dream?
😂
Great Video. I've found my ram tester to be a quick way to go through my ram bins. Plus It saves you from having to test a ram with a dead short in your ZIF machine. I actually did also build the Kit one too, so I could test 4116 ram as well. I didn't know about the one you purchased, otherwise I would have bought it instead. I do own a short board as well so maybe I should get the 4 bit one. With 3 ram testers I'll have to be sure to label well so I don't fry something.
It's funny, after you suggested it I sort of sat on the idea for a couple of weeks and then found this one on eBay, and it seemed like a good deal. If I didn't have the minipro to test logic ICs, then the retro chip tester looks like most versatile but it's much more expensive it would take some time to build and test.
Sounds like you're pretty much covered, the 4bit one would be handy to have but they seem to have a lower failure rate. Still, who can resist more gadgets
@@TheRetroChannel The RCT is a very versatile tester. The 866 starts with 16kb sram and does not test any dram, the RCT also tests all smaller memory ICs (srams and drams). You can dump all kind of roms (important to conserve arcade and pinball boards). And it tests 10x more logic ICs as the 866 with less bugs ;)
I built a Tester that can test almost everything CBM used except the 4116. ua-cam.com/video/9TBlnfiTfQk/v-deo.html