🚀 go-pugleaf

Thanks for all of the replies to my questions on routing wires for the Newell
256k upgrade kit.  David Young (of CDY) has been very helpful and it turns out
that there is a way of easily routing the wires to the underside of the board
using the holes that the plastic cart holder fits in.  Remove the plastic
holder and  you will see that you can open up both the slot and the hole to
route the wires thru.  All wires (except the one going to the one resistor pad)
can be routed to the underneath and soldered to the socket pins, which is far
safer then soldering to the IC leads.  No pins need to be removed from their
sockets and bent up.  One thing that I would suggest, altho, is to discard the
black insulated wire that comes with the kit and obtain color coded/striped
wire to eliminate any possibility of misrouting/miswiring any of the jumpers.
I am still in the process of upgrading my 800XL so more questions or answers
may be forthcoming.  I am assuming that there must be otthers on the net trying
to do this upgrade (or the Rambo xl) as the computer stores are hard pressed to
keep these kits in stock and unless everyone is putting them away for a rainy
day(?) someone must be trying to install them.  As previously mentioned, the
Rambo xl kit has quite explicit instructions, with them and the instructions
from Newell and with help, I am beginning to see how to install the Newell.  It
does not have what I am used too in the way of an instruction sheet.  However,
CDY has made Newell aware of this and maybe better instructions are forthcoming
(hopefully) for those of us who are trying this kit out.  (I am not holding my
breath, however.)  Being a model railroader, I am used to vague instructions,
however, electronics/computers are a little harder to fix by seat of the pants
maneuvers.

--Bill-