Retrotronik RAM card for HP 48GX

[rprosperi]

I received my Retrotronik HP-48SX/GX 128KB RAM card late this past week; it came protected in a anti static bag, along with a new, sealed battery, together in a well-padded small box. I of course appreciate the lower cost, but also quite like the modern industrial design and though quite light, the cards feel solid and well-made. Unfortunately, the card could not be fully inserted into card slots of any of my 48SX or 48GX machines. I contacted the seller, and he immediately advised me that a few cards indeed had been assembled by mistake with the wrong, slightly too-thick plastic shell, but that others had also been sold with the correct shell and he had received positive feedback from those buyers. He also volunteered that that a buyer in The Netherlands received another card also with the incorrect part. The seller then immediately provided me a full refund, and informed me he had created a revised design and all new cards will include the correct, thinner shell.

I told him I had many HP and other 3rd-party RAM cards and offered to make some measurements and send him the data. More conversation ensued and eventually I suggested loaning him some sample cards and another machine to measure, compare and confirm dimensions and fit of the new design. He has already mailed me a card with the revised shell design to verify in my machines, this should probably arrive around the end of this coming week. Once confirmed, purchasing via the website (https://retrotronik.com/) and I also assume via eBay should quickly become available again.

I also mentioned the MoHPC Forums and that this exact product was being discussed in this thread, and encouraged him to register and join into the discussion here, for direct access to buyers, their feedback and comments, but also to be ready for lots of questions about when the larger cards seen in the website will be coming. He assured me that they are indeed coming, but only after the new design has been confirmed by users.

I buy a lot of 3rd-party items (ok, too many…) on eBay and have had many different kinds of experiences, and I can say I am both surprised and pleased at how forthright, eager and helpful this seller had been. It has been a pleasure to work through this issue, nice to work with a supplier so interested in ensuring the product is correct and the customer satisfied. I will post additional comments when the card with the new shell design arrives, and hopefully this seller will join our discussion here. It’s nice to welcome a new vendor into the community; I expect this small issue will be corrected soon and look forward to positive feedback from other customers.