Where can I find additional memory for Universal M-300?

[Janet Valdez]

I'm not sure where to go for buying additional memory for my Universal M-300. There is only 4 MB in it right now, and I'd like to add some more if I could. Some of the files that I send to the laser are pretty large - with contouring and gradient fills, plus some parts of the files use grayscale bitmaps for texture. I do 3D style work for an art gallery. I was thinking that adding some memory might help with failed-printing errors.

Any suggestions? I've attached an image of what's in there now.

Thanks, JV

[James Tibbetts]

Janet is there only one slot available to install memory modules in the machine?

[Dan Hintz]

That's an old 30-pin SIMM (haven't been used since the '486 days)... 4Mx8, 70ns. Those SIMMs topped out at 16MB, though you'll need to do some manual surfing to find out if the laser can support anything greater than 4MB. eBay may be your best bet. I'd buy an extra or two as the modules may be getting flaky.

[Mike Null]

In section 3-12 of the manual for your machine there is no mention of adding additional memory. Instead it talks about the file compression method which allows file compression from 4-1 to 48-1 depending on the file.

As I recall, I had to delete files every so often to clear space.

[Janet Valdez]

I gotta laugh. Why am I not surprised to hear this is ancient? Probably because I bought it sight-unseen on a whim at one time, thinking I'd figure out what to do with it eventually. It's been quite a story in dealing with it. You should see what is supposed to pass as a honeycomb table. Looks like it was homemade by someone with marginal skills ;-) I'm actually surprised it will even run on Windows 7, but I found a driver, and it does. Do you think this would fit in it? I have four slots, with only one occupied right now. Certainly the price is right.


eBay item # 291040637148

Thanks for the description and the eBay suggestion. If this will do the trick, then you've saved me from a lot of wondering! JV

[Scott Shepherd]

Janet, those won't work, they are 4 pieces of 4 each, meaning a 16MB total. If you only have 1 slot, you can't put but 1 card in, so you'd only be able to use 1 of those, which is 4Mb, which is what you already have. You'd need to look for a single one that is 8MB, 12MB, or 16MB.

I have no idea if any of them would work in your machine, but a call to Universal on Monday morning would probably lead you in the right direction. They will tell you if it's even possible.

[Janet Valdez]

I have four slots, with only one used right now. Would this be a better choice? To put in a single instead of four of the 4MB? I'm clueless here.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/30PS16MB/

[Janet Valdez]

Hi Mike

I have it set to only one file. Sometimes I can send a large file and have it go through. Then inexplicably the next time I send it, I'll get a printing error message. I thought maybe I was pushing it right to the limit (probably am) and wondered if filling the other slots would help. The problem could be the plane... and then it could also be the pilot. Hehehe.

[Dan Hintz]

OOPS, posted wrong link. I meant this one, duh...

(awfully long link, hope it works)

For eBay links, only post the item number... links to eBay are not allowed (edit your posts, if you still can).

The second batch you posted will not work as they are 9-chip parity (you want non-parity... 8 chips)... I cannot recall if machines will ignore the extra parity bit if they don't need it, but it's safer to go without if your machine doesn't use it. If the manual says it will accept parity chips, then those will do fine.

The mem from OWC you linked later will likely work, assuming the machine can accept 16MB in a single slot.

[Janet Valdez]

Sorry about the link to eBay. I had no idea! Thanks for the info about the non-parity. I was afraid I'd mess up something like that, so that's why I asked those who know much more than me. I really do appreciate the help!

[James Tibbetts]

The machine should ignore the parity bit if it doesn't use it. Pack rat that I am, I may have some simms that would work. Down side is that I won't be where they are for 2 weeks. If I have them they are yours for free. In the mean time I see no problem with using the 4 pcs of 4 mb simms.

[Janet Valdez]

Thanks so much for the offer! I got all excited about a half hour ago, and ordered four of them from a place called memoryx.com:4MB 80ns 8-chip non-Parity FPM 30-pin SIMM (p/n AFI)And thanks to EVERYONE who pitched in on my quest. I do so appreciate it. I was clueless. (what's new, eh?)
JV

[Dan Hintz]

Thanks so much for the offer! I got all excited about a half hour ago, and ordered four of them from a place called memoryx.com:4MB 80ns 8-chip non-Parity FPM 30-pin SIMM (p/n AFI)

Again, you may want to check your manual... you ordered 80ns SIMMs, but you pulled out a 70ns SIMM. The slower SIMMs you ordered may not be useable in your system, it all depends on what sort of leeway they put into their timing control. You're better off replacing like with like (70ns). Faults could range from not working at all to (worse) intermittent problems.

[Janet Valdez]

Yikes. Am I not the biggest dimwit on this board? I haven't the slightest idea what 70ns and 80ns even are. I wrote back to the people where I placed the order today, trying to explain what I had done, but don't know if they even have something like this. Finally, in desperation, I attached the image from above... so maybe they can just look at it and ignore my ramblings. I found one with a 70ns on it, but it was a parity one. So now I'm going around in circles. For a woman, I'm hardly a world-class shopper.... ;-)

[Dan Hintz]

70ns means 70 nanosecond (access time for a bit/byte). From the time the computer's memory bus makes the read/write request (by setting the appropriate lines) until the time the SIMM responds with a valid value, that's what is being measured. If your memory is too slow, the computer may not give it enough time to answer, thereby throwing random errors.