A501 RAM expansion not working?

[Dr. Chef]

I thought I only had 512k of ram, but opening up the trapdoor, I found out that it had a A501 ram expansion. When I boot up the Amiga it shows the time (probably a dead clock, since it shows 1970's) while loading, but when I remove the ram expansion, it shows no time, but once I'm on the Workbench (1.3) it shows 371752 bites of free memory, or If I remove the card, it shows the same amount. Is it dead Jim? Should I buy another card, or is there a way to get the Amiga to recognize the card fully?

[sm3]

I thought I only had 512k of ram, but opening up the trapdoor, I found out that it had a A501 ram expansion. When I boot up the Amiga it shows the time (probably a dead clock, since it shows 1970's) while loading, but when I remove the ram expansion, it shows no time, but once I'm on the Workbench (1.3) it shows 371752 bites of free memory, or If I remove the card, it shows the same amount. Is it dead Jim? Should I buy another card, or is there a way to get the Amiga to recognize the card fully?

 Check to see if there a switch on it. Most of trap door expansions have a switch to turn on/off the RAM expansion.

[Jiffy]

The A501 doesn't have a switch.

[danwood]

The battery probably leaked and corroded the board, common in these old battery-backed expansions.  Open the metal shielding and see the extent of the damage, it may or may not be repairable.

http://www.commodore-amiga-retro.com/amiga/car_0807/scuzz_501_01.jpg

[ddniUK]

The battery probably leaked and corroded the board, common in these old battery-backed expansions.  Open the metal shielding and see the extent of the damage, it may or may not be repairable.

http://www.commodore-amiga-retro.com/amiga/car_0807/scuzz_501_01.jpg

[Dr. Chef]

Should I buy another one, or are there better ram expansions for the A500?

[som99]

Should I buy another one, or are there better ram expansions for the A500?

Kipper makes some nice ones for teh A500

http://kipper2k.com/amigaforsale

[magnetic]

Dr Chef did you open the case as instructed? If that batt leaked it may still be possible to recover.

[Dr. Chef]

I'll try when I get home from work.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

You should still get a replacement if you plan on doing the 1M chip ram modification.

[Dr. Chef]

I'll open the A501 later, right now I'm copying games to floppy for my Amiga. I want to be able to play games like Super Frog that require 1mb of ram. I don't want anything fancy or complicated to setup.

Thanks for the replies.

Edit again: What do you think about this or this? I want something that isn't going to have battery issues.


Edit: I got the shielding off with all my brother help.

Here are pictures of the ram. I see what looks like damage around the battery.
http://imgur.com/a/GQF01

[sm3]

If you want a RTC and don't want to mess with soldering a replacement battery on, you might want to look for one that has the replaceable button battery on it.

Some trapdoor expansions have a soldered in rechargeable battery I think, but still, if the battery dies, you have to solder a replacement in or a battery holder for a new button style battery.

I'm sure others will have additional suggestions.

Maybe something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/311016244763

[magnetic]

Here are pictures of the ram. I see what looks like damage around the battery.
http://imgur.com/a/GQF01

It is actually not bad at all. The batt may not be the problem...

[Dr. Chef]

If you want a RTC and don't want to mess with soldering a replacement battery on, you might want to look for one that has the replaceable button battery on it.

Some trapdoor expansions have a soldered in rechargeable battery I think, but still, if the battery dies, you have to solder a replacement in or a battery holder for a new button style battery.

I'm sure others will have additional suggestions.

Maybe something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/311016244763

Will a standard 512k ram expansion be enough to play Super Frog and/or use Protracker?

[sm3]

Will a standard 512k ram expansion be enough to play Super Frog and/or use Protracker?

 I believe most games for the Amiga 500 were created for a 512k machine.