Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

16MB upgrade kit (Do-It-Yourself)?

Anyone know of a 16MB upgrade kit for us do-it yourselfers? I know there are places to send your Prism to for the upgrade but I am leery about sending it off. Also, I would love to upgrade my Prism, but $100 is a bit steep when you can buy a new 16MB Pro for not much more!

So does anyone know of a kit, or even where the correct memory chip is available? Do you replace the 8MB chip with a 16MB chip, or wire on another 8MB chip in parallel?

Can you take a dead Pro and put it's 16MB chip(s) into the Prism?

Thanks!

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"

Registered: Sep 2002
Location:
Posts: 15

Dear Prismer,

I'm also interested in this. I agree that $100 is too much, and I would have fun doing it myself. Please let us know if you learn anything! Perhaps the folks who do the upgrades (at leas one of whom visits these boards) could sell them.

Probably you already know about this site:
http://www.gethightech.com/category.html?UCIDs=1177019

They sell visor parts but at least right now they don't seem to have Prism memory.

Note that the Prism battery they sell is not brand new (I asked) but they check that it works. Hopefully there will eventually be new ones for sale (the Prism is new enough that there is probably not yet a big market for it? ) Seems to me the battery is pretty over-priced, especially if you look at how much they pay for used Visors.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

$50 for a used battery?

I guess if your Prism battery dies and you are desparate, that may not seem so bad, but really, that is way overpriced!

For $50 you OUGHT to be able to get a NEW battery, one that you might have some assurance will last a few more years, and not one that will also conk out on you, like, next month maybe?

I still like the idea of cutting off the connector and wires from the dead battery and soldering it to an inexpensive Li-ion cell phone battery of the same voltage. (I bought one for a Nokia phone on clearance at Wal-Mart for $3.00!) Even if it does not fit inside the case due to the somewhat odd shape of the Prism battery, you could drill a very small hole through the back, thread the wires through before soldering, and tape the battery to the back of the Prism.

If I learn anything on a cheaper upgrade I will certainly post it, but for now, well, today I found a Visor Pro at Office Max for $139 on clearance. But they were also running a special on clearance items, 10% off the clearance price, and I got an even better deal because the "display" model was the last one they had, so they were allowed to sell it for another 10% off! Cheaper than refurbished and full warranty, plus 30 day return policy and no shipping charge! That is my memory upgrade solution for now!

I will put all my database intensive applications on the Pro (Maps and GPS, reference books, etc. and save the Prism for games, photos, and "fun" springboards. Plus, I can now take lots of color JPEGS, or very long B&W mini-movies on the Pro with my Eyemodule2.

Handspring, thanks for the memories. Now I need a 16MB backup and Flash memory module!

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"

Registered: Sep 2002
Location:
Posts: 15

Better get the module quickly, they're disappearing. I tried to get the 8 mb backup+flash and couldn't (though I didn't search extensively). The Memplugs are also getting very hard to find (even on sites that say they're available -- when you try to order, you find that they're not). Thankfully I just ordered one that I think will actually be shipped because I got a ship date -- it should work as well as the backup module, since it comes with software that backs up the entire Visor, plus of course it's expandable. So maybe I should be glad the backup module was discontinued, because it forced me to get the better option. I had planned to get a Memplug eventually anyway, but I didn't need it urgently so I wanted to wait 'till they're super cheap (I thought $49 was too much for a simple adaptor, no memory). I'm amazed at how quickly several popular springboards have become unavailable, especially since Handspring hasn't officially discontinued all Visors (just some of the best ones...).

Thanks for the info on the battery. I feel pretty confident that we'll find a fix when the need arrives (without having to pay big bucks).

Since you seem to be a battery expert: I'm thinking of using my $10 registration cupon to buy a spare VisorPhone battery, since I think it's safe to assume they'll be eventually discontinued (right?). Is this a good idea, or do they age significantly even when not used? And should I charge it when it first arrives? I don't use a cell phone much but I really like my VisorPhone and intend to keep it for a long time. So annoying that we have to worry about something as simple as a battery eventually making our nice little gadgets unuseable.

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: CA
Posts: 47

For the inquisitive and tinkerer, $100 may be a lot of money, and I agree that doing the upgade myself would be fun; however, for someone who's interested in having the upgrade done correctly and backed by the comments of other satisfied customers, like myself, the $100 is well-worth the cost. You can easily botch a simple '$100' upgrade and turn it into a $200 nightmare including your time. Besides, my time is worth much more than $100 and would rather spend it doing something more productive.

Just my $0.02.

quote:

---

Originally posted by din
Dear Prismer,

I'm also interested in this. I agree that $100 is too much, and I would have fun doing it myself. Please let us know if you learn anything! Perhaps the folks who do the upgrades (at leas one of whom visits these boards) could sell them.

Probably you already know about this site:
http://www.gethightech.com/category.html?UCIDs=1177019

They sell visor parts but at least right now they don't seem to have Prism memory.

Note that the Prism battery they sell is not brand new (I asked) but they check that it works. Hopefully there will eventually be new ones for sale (the Prism is new enough that there is probably not yet a big market for it? ) Seems to me the battery is pretty over-priced, especially if you look at how much they pay for used Visors.

---

__________________
Experience is what happens when something unexpected comes up.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

Batteries and memories.....

Well, I am not a battery expert, although I play one on TV. No, I am just a simple engineer and ham radio operator who has tinkered with enough battery powered gadgets in my time and read just enough to be dangerous . Sorry, I do not know anything about the Visorphone battery, since I do not have a VP. It would be interesting to know if the VP battery is the same part number as the Prism battery!

eigenwave said:

<Besides, my time is worth much more than $100 and would rather spend it doing something more productive.

<Just my $0.02.

Lessee,... at $.02 for the post, if it took him, say only 1 min. to write his post, preview it, make corrections, and post it, his time is only worth $1.20 per hour. At that rate, hmmm...he must think it would take him 83 hours and 20 minutes to do the job himself! <just kidding!>

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"

Registered: Sep 2002
Location:
Posts: 15

Ha, that's funny!!

The VisorPhone battery is Li-ion and simply snaps into the phone. Takes 2 seconds max to replace. It's 3.7 V, 685 mA. See, they know they can't sell phones without easy-to-replace batteries, but they know they can get away with it on the Visor (prob because the phone needs more juice and some may want to carry a spare). Absolutely no excuse to not make a battery easy to replace. Evil. (I don't recall the specs on the Prism battery -- my guess is the main issue of finding one will be the size/shape). I'm sure they hoped to make money from not making the battery replaceable, but in the past I've decided against purchasing products for this very reason. I guess it depends on what the competition is doing.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 67

16mb upgrade

I just had my Prism upgraded to 16mb for only $49.00! I got the upgrade from a guy off ebay, he also does upgrades for other PDA's as well. I felt confident sending my unit to him as he had hundreds of testomonials from happy customers. I just searched and noticed the upgrade was no longer on ebay, but maybe it will come back again soon?

Registered: May 2001
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Posts: 90

Re: 16mb upgrade

quote:

---

Originally posted by eric2002
I just had my Prism upgraded to 16mb for only $49.00! I got the upgrade from a guy off ebay

---

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 67

Prism 16mb upgrade

...it took two weeks total (keep in mind I am in California he's in New York, and it was over the labor day weekend). His ebay id: alex2000y2k
-I was hesitant about sending my beloved Prism in to someone also, but the 300+ testomonials of happy customers put my mind at ease. Also he says he guarantees the work for 3 months.
-e

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 67

...that is 2 weeks from the day i sent it from my post office to the day I received it back at my door. He sent it back in the mail the day after he received it from me, -so all in all his work was very quick.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location:
Posts: 67

upgrade is back on ebay!

good news,
I just did a search on ebay: "memory upgrade prism" and the 16mb memory upgrade is back, it lasts for 3+ days (although I am sure he'll repost the special again) after the 3 days are up.
-eric

Registered: Sep 2002
Location:
Posts: 15

This guy seems good, but I'm curious why he only upgrades Prisms and not other 8 MB Visors. Can't they all use the same memory? Or perhaps they're just put together differently and the Prism is easier to work on. Mostly I'm curious because I may decide to buy a borken Visor for parts.

Registered: Sep 2002
Location: lawrence, ks
Posts: 22

memory upgrades

...i don't believe this! i got on this board to specifically check into upgrading my prism's memory, and wow! this thread is the 1st one i see. no searching required. i could say that we who use prism are intuitive, clever,etc. i'm sure it's more like we're just lucky.

thank you all for the links that i'm about to look into. i'll be sure to post anything that i find.

sh

Registered: Apr 2002
Location:
Posts: 24

Here's a couple of links, but you'll probably need to use babelfish http://babel.altavista.com/ to translate them.

http://kamakura.cool.ne.jp/mobileta...M/prism16m.html

http://home1.pchome.com.tw/internet..._prism_16mb.htm

The last one seems to be down more than it's up, but it has more detail, including a list of compatible chips:

KM416V4104 [ ABC ] S-L6 - Samsung
UPD42S65165G5-A60 - NEC
V53C365165A - Mosel Vitelic
HM5165165 (F) LTT-6 - Hitachi
MT4LC4M16R6TG-6 - Micron Tech
IBM0165165PT3D-60 - Big Blue
M5M465165 [ AB ] 7p - Mitsubishi
TC5165165BFTS-50 - Toshiba

I've not yet got around to trying to find a source for the chips.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Posts: 17

16Mb for $50... go for it!

I just got my Prism back from the fellow noted above on eBay who upgrades Prisms to 16Mb. I wanted to endorse this guy's service. It's great! It took 1 week and 1 day to get my Visor back, now with 16Mb on board. And as an added bonus, the alarm sound is now twice as loud (dunno if that was intentional, but I like it).

I know it can be a little scary sending your PDA off to a stranger, but this guy is legit and does a good job.

Now I just have to find more color games to install on it.

Registered: Aug 2002
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 108

Congratulations on your upgrade. I guess I need to bite the bullet and just do it. For just $50? Wow!

Did you check out the "Cool Color Games Poll" thread? Lots of good stuff there. Here is the URL:

<http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...;threadid=27243>

__________________
The Prismer

"I am not a number, I am a person!"