Microsoft RAMCard C-97200 User manual

RAMCard™
A Peripheral for the Apple II®
Produced by Microsoft
Microsoft Consumer Products
A division of Microsoft, Inc.
10700 Northup Way
C-97200
Bellevue, WA 98004

Copyright Notice
This manual Copyrights Microsoft, 1980
All Rights Reserved
Printed in U.S.A.
If you have any questions about this copyright, please contact:
Microsoft Consumer Products
A division of Microsoft, Inc.
10700 Northup Way
C-97200
Bellevue, WA 98004
RAMCard is a trademark of Microsoft.
Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer Inc.
Z-80 is a registered trademark of Zilug, Inc.
Designer
RAMCard was designed for Microsoft Consumer Products by Don Burtis of
Burtronix, Villa Park, California. Microsoft Consumer Products is grateful to
Burtronix for its contribution to making RAMCard a reality.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Registration Information 4
RAMCard Warranty 4
Service Information 5
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 7
Important Note for DOS 3.2
Users and for 13-sector
CP/M Users 8
CHAPTER 2 INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 9
Opening your Apple II 9
Removing a chip 10
Inserting RAMCard 13
Inserting the Plug 13
Inserting the Card 15
CHAPTER 3 USING RAMCard 17
How To Use Your
Existing Software 17
Compatible Software 18
Some Compatible Packages 19
Autostart ROM 19
CHAPTER 4 ADDRESSING RAMCard 21
Memory Maps 22
Control Addresses 22
Additional Technical Details 25
Status Bits 25
LED Indicators 26
RAMCard Hardware Details 27
RAMCard Schematic 29
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Registration Information
Please take a moment now to fill out the RAMCard registration
card that is enclosed and return it to us. We must have your
registration card on file in order to contact you regarding any changes
or updates to this product. Failure to return the registration card does
not void your warranty, hut will make it impossible for us to contact
you.
RAMCard Warranty
Microsoft Consumer Products (“MCP”) warrants to the original user
of this product that it shall be free of defects resulting from faulty
manufacture of the product or its components for a period of ninety
(90) days from the date of sale. Defects covered by this Warranty shall
be corrected either by repair or, at MCP’s election, by replacement. In
the event of replacement, the replacement unit will be warranted for
the remainder of the original ninety (90) day period or 30 days, which-
ever is longer.
If this product should require service, return it to Microsoft Consumer
Products, 400 108th Ave. NE, Suite 200, Bellevue, Washington 98004,
postage paid, along with an explanation of the suspected defect. MCP
will promptly handle all warranty claims.
THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN-
CLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THOSE OF MERCHANTA-
BILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WHICH
EXTEND BEYOND THE DESCRIPTION AND DURATION SET
FORTH HEREIN.
MCPs SOLE OBLIGATION UNDER THIS WARRANTY IS
LIMITED TO THE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF A DEFEC-
TIVE PRODUCT AND MCP SHALL NOT, IN ANY EVENT, BE
LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAM-
AGES OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM USE OR POSSESSION
OF THIS PRODUCT.
Some states do not allow 1) limitations on how long an implied warran-
ty lasts, or 2) the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential
damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.
This Warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have
other rights which vary from state to state.
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Service Information
If your RAMCard requires repair, please return it to the dealer from
whom it was purchased. If it is not possible to return the RAMCard to
your dealer, you may send it directly to Microsoft Consumer Products.
If the repair is required during the warranty period, please enclose
proof of purchase. During warranty, we will replace or repair your
RAMCard without charge. See previous section for more details re-
garding warranty coverage.
If the RAMCard requires service after the warranty period expires, it
will be repaired for a flat fee of $39.50. This service charge does not
cover damage due to negligence, misuse, or inadequate packaging on
return to MCP.
To return your RAMCard for service, please mail it post-paid to Micro-
soft Consumer Products. Package the card securely as we cannot be
responsible for damage due to shipping. BE SURE to enclose proof of
purchase for warranty work or a check or money order for $39.50 for
non-warranty repairs.
Mail post-paid to:
Microsoft Consumer Products
A division of Microsoft, Inc.
10700 Northup Way
C-97200
Bellevue, WA 98004
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6

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
RAMCard is a printed circuit board that contains 16K bytes of addi-
tional random-access memory (RAM) for your Apple II or Apple II
Plus computer.
RAMCard is designed for an Apple II with 48K bytes of RAM already
in place. If your Apple II has less than 48K RAM, you will need to
purchase enough 16K memory modules to bring your Apple II up to
48K.
RAMCard is compatible with Microsoft Consumer Products SoftCard,
a circuit card for the Apple which contains a Z80 microprocessor, and
allows you to run the CP/M operating system. RAMCard and Soft-
Card together make a powerful combination that turns your Apple II into
a full memory (56K), flexible (two microprocessors) microcomputer.
With RAMCard and SoftCard in place, you have 56K RAM available
to run any of the languages available for the SoftCard, including
Microsoft’s BASIC-80 (included in the SoftCard package), COBOL-80,
FORTRAN-80, BASIC Compiler, and Assembly Language Develop-
ment System.
RAMCard contains 16K of memory. But, because only 12K of addi-
tional addressing space is available in the Apple, 4K of addressing space
must be shared by two 4K memory banks. This means that only 12K of
RAMCard RAM is available to you at a given time.
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IMPORTANT NOTE FOR DOS 3.2 USERS
AND FOR 13-SECTOR CP/M USERS
Apple II computers come standard with one of two BASICs: Applesoft
or Integer BASIC. Standard Apple II systems have Integer BASIC and
Apple II Plus systems have Applesoft.
If you are using an Apple Firmware Card installed in Slot 0 to make
available the other version of BASIC, you must remove it when RAM-
Card is installed. This means that the BASIC on the Apple Firmware
Card will no longer be available.
To use RAMCard with the Microsoft SoftCard and CP/M, you must
have a 16-sector system. This is because you must use the CPM56
program to update your CP/M system to 56K. The CPM56 utility is
included only on your 16-sector CP/M master disk. In addition, most of
the other software available for RAMCard also requires a 16-sector
disk system.
These problems can be solved with Apple Computer’s DOS 3.3 16-
sector update kit, available at your dealer. This package contains soft-
ware that will allow you to load the other version of BASIC into
RAMCard, so that both versions of BASIC will be available for use by
Apple DOS programs. A disk is also supplied with the DOS 3.3 package
that will allow you to boot your old 13-sector disks.
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CHAPTER 2
INSTALLATION
INSTRUCTIONS
This chapter gives step-by-step instructions for installing RAMCard.
We recommend that you read all the instructions first to acquaint
yourself with the overall procedure. Then, perform each step with care
exactly as described.
Opening Your Apple II
Since RAMCard is to be installed inside your Apple II, you must
remove the cover of your Apple before you start.
CAUTION
\
It is dangerous to open any electrical or electronic
device with the power turned on. Additionally, at-
tempting to insert or remove peripheral cards while
your Apple’s power is on will probably destroy the
cards and other parts of your APple II. Be sure to
turn off the power to your Apple II before perform-
ing any of the steps in this procedure.
1. Turn off the power.
The POWER light on the lower left corner of the keyboard should
not be illuminated.
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