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Magnetic RAM upgrade

The Electrongate MRAM upgrade is designed for all Oberheim Z-80 based products including the DMX, DX, OB-8, OB-Xa, OB-X and DSX.

This upgrade replaces the battery-backed RAM used to hold patches and sequences with a new magnetic RAM technology that requires no battery to hold data when the power is off.

Magnetic RAM circuit board
    Advantages:
  • No more battery replacements!
  • No more battery leakage!
  • No more memory loss due to dead batteries!
  • Indefinite storage of patches/sequences.
  • Optional bank select switch can double your storage capacity. (See this link for more information about bank selection).
The MRAM board is a high quality four-layer printed circuit with all the buffering, address decoding and voltage regulation required for a reliable backup system.

For more information on the magnetic RAM technology used in this product, see this PDF file from Freescale.

    Easy Installation:
  1. Back up your data to tape before starting!
  2. Turn off the power, open your Oberheim machine and remove the Z-80 processor from its socket.
  3. Put the Z-80 into the socket on the MRAM board
  4. Remove the old RAM ICs from your Oberheim machine
  5. Remove the battery (be sure to recycle the old battery*)
  6. Plug the MRAM board into the Z-80 socket.
  7. Turn the power on and clear the memory. Reload your backed-up data.
  8. That's it! No soldering required.

Each different product requires a different "personality" to map the memory range correctly, so the Magnetic RAM upgrade is sold based on the machine in which it will be installed.
 

Ordering information:
Please contact Electrongate by email if you are interested in a Magnetic RAM upgrade for a product that is not listed below. With the appropriate personality installed, this board should work with any Z-80 based system.

Magnetic RAM board for the Oberheim DMX In stock:
$149.00 each.
DMX Version

Magnetic RAM board for the Oberheim DX without MIDI or DXa (includes extension board)
(Rev. 1.3, 1.4, 2.01 or 2.02 firmware)
See the DX MIDI upgrade page here for information on the MRAM upgrade for a DX with the Electrongate MIDI upgrade (extension board not needed).
Not recommended for Stretch DX without Electrongate MIDI upgrade
In stock:
$159.00 each.

Magnetic RAM board for the Oberheim OB-8
All versions
Note: The memory protect switch is not supported in this version. If you are interested in maintaining the functionality of your OB-8 memory protect switch, please contact us.
In stock:
$149.00 each.

Magnetic RAM board for the Oberheim OB-Xa
All versions
Note: The memory protect switch is not supported in this version. If you are interested in maintaining the functionality of your OB-Xa memory protect switch, please contact us.
In stock:
$149.00 each.

Magnetic RAM board for the Oberheim DSX Sequencer
All versions
In stock:
$149.00 each.

* Recycling your old battery:
Be sure to take your old battery to a recycling center for proper disposal. Some places that will accept batteries for recycling are: Radio Shack, Home Depot, Batteries Plus and cell phone stores.

Copyright 2008-2021 Electrongate -- Comments & questions to Paul J. White