Tonight I ran across an item that brought back a memory memory.This was the users manual that came with my first every memory upgrade.

Yes, you read this right. It was for a 16K RAM Expansion Card. This took my computer from 48K to 64K of RAM.

The expansion card came from JDR Microdevices.

Here you see the System Requirements. I met the requirements with my 48K Apple II Plus.

This memory upgrade allowed for bank switching of memory so that more of the addressable memory could be used for RAM during normal operation.

I first had to find the Apple II Motherboard and the card slots. Remember, this was one of the first home computers so this was new knowledge.

Then I had to find a chip at Location 3E on the Memory Array and carefully remove it. The instructions had you use a small screwdriver to carefully pry up both ends. There were very detailed instructions on how to find the chip and remove it.

I then had to attach a cable where I removed the Memory IC. The other end of the cable and the Memory IC were plugged into the Expansion Card.

The card was then plugged into slot zero.

My old Apple II+ is long gone, but I did find a picture of the card on ebay.

I don’t remember how much I paid for the 16K expansion card, but I know it was more that $100.

A lot of memories as I think back to doing this when I was a teenager. I have a lot of memories of my Apple II+. I used it through college and it wasn’t until about a year after graduation that I finally bought a more powerful computer. The Apple II+ was handed down and was used for many more years by my younger siblings. The 12 inch green monochrome monitor was then used for an even longer time in a sound booth at a church in Jefferson City, Missouri.

A memory expansion card user manual can sure bring back a lot of memories.

Steven