Commodore VIC20 memory upgrade

Ive been wanting to get a RAM upgrade for my VIC20 ever since I found Robotic Liberation demo wouldn’t load from SD2IEC unless it was expanded. As eBay prices have gone stupid I opted for the homebrew piggyback method.
This method involves soldering a couple of 6264 RAM chips onto the Kernel and the BASIC ROM’s and lifting a few legs to run some wires elsewhere.
The guide I followed can be found here so I wont bother rewriting it.
Its pretty easy to follow but found it best to read through it a few times before starting.

I had already replaced the Kernel ROM in my VIC for a JiffyDOS one using one of my adapters so some of the work was already done for me regarding the pinout differences but as the guide says, best to check the operation after each RAM is fitted to confirm its working.

Anyway, here are a few pictures


You can see my custom board in the lower right hand corner of the PCB

And following the upgrade

Completed mod

And finally, Robotic Liberation

Its pretty easy to do and fairly quick once you understand the instructions.