Sharp PC-1500 Memory Modules

Overview

 

The very popular Sharp PC-1500, and later PC-1500A, both shipped with limited user memory. Expansion memory modules were produced to increase the built-in memory size but 35 years later these original memory modules are increasingly difficult to find. Consequently, upgrading these machines is no easy task. The two Memory Expansion Modules presented here offer unique memory expansion capabilities for the PC-1500/A*. They allow the memory to be expanded by 16Kbytes and provide the ability to switch between a number of 16K memory banks. In the case of the CE1638 memory module there are eight 16K RAM banks. For the CE163F there are 16 x 16K banks, eight banks of RAM and eight of non-volatile FLASH memory.

Both Memory Expansion Modules use a 128Kbyte static RAM chip that has battery back-up using either a CR2032 (CE1638) or CR2016 (CE163F) button cell. The CR2032 should give a few months of backup if the CE1638 is without power from the PC-1500/A. The CR2016 will provide around four weeks of backup on the CE163F. The backup batteries are intended to protect the memory while the main AA batteries are being swapped. They also allow the card to be moved to other machines while preserving the contents. Although, it is always good practice to backup any work on the Memory Expansion Modules before replacing the AA batteries or removing the card.


See the Downloads tab for User's Manual and introduction video.

Downloads and Video

User's manual for CE-163F and CE-1638 before June 2024. Click Here
User's manual for CE-163F and CE-1638 June 2024 and later. Click Here
CE-1638 Initialization programs. Click Here


This video shows the installation of the CE-163F and CE-1638 (coming soon).