SIMCHECK II/IIse PLUS CALIBRATION & HARDWARE UPGRADE

While most improvements to our memory testers are available to our customers via the Internet through firmware and software upgrades, the continuous changes in memory technology require us to make various hardware and component changes in our products.

For example, with the emergence of PC133, various upgrades are now required for the Sync DIMMCHECK 168, depending on its production version. Obviously, units manufactured in 1997 and early 1998 (Ver. C) require more changes than later units.

Although system calibration is not an absolute requirement for SIMCHECK II PLUS, we do strongly recommend that you have your unit serviced every 12-18 months to make sure that it remains current to factory production specifications and operates at its most optimum level, thereby protecting your investment and ensuring that your test system does not become obsolete.

This document outlines the Calibration & Upgrade procedure, and will enable you to determine if your SIMCHECK II/II se PLUS requires an upgrade.

NOTE:
Customers requiring support for DDR modules may wish to upgrade directly to the RAMCHECK level, as our new DDR Series technology is only supported on our state-of-the-art RAMCHECK memory tester.

Additional information may be found on the Calibration & Upgrade FAQ page.

Overview of the Calibration & Upgrade Procedure

We recommend that the SIMCHECK II/IIse PLUS be sent for a "Calibration and Periodic Upgrade Procedure" at our factory (Houston, Texas) every 12-18 months. Please remember to contact us to obtain an RMA number as we cannot accept packages without valid RMA numbers. Once in the factory, our technicians will inspect all Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) assemblies to identify their revision number. Some old PCB versions as described below, cannot be upgraded due to the timing characteristics of those boards' trace layout. Such boards will be completely replaced with new boards; original test sockets and other removable hardware will then be transferred from your original old board. Other PCB assemblies of your unit will be upgraded to current production specification. The unit will go through a 24-hour burn-in process followed by the final Calibration process. This process involves the same final testing and calibration that we perform on every new production unit. After all factory tests have been concluded with a positive result, the unit is returned with the relevant Calibration certificate.

Determining the Need for the Upgrade Procedure

To help determine if your unit requires calibration & upgrading, first verify that you have the latest firmware revision by checking our firmware download page, then enter the following key sequence during Standby Mode:

The following table lists the current product information variables for SIMCHECK II/II se PLUS:

While the Sync DIMMCHECK 168 is attached to your SIMCHECK II or SIMCHECK II se, one of the following adapter codes should be displayed.

*The change in adapter codes 45 & 46 involves a difference in timing calibration that is necessary because of the difference in components present in each adapter. There are NO functional differences in adapter performance, therefore users of Sync DIMMCHECK 168 adapters with code 45 do not need an upgrade to code 46 as functionally they are the same.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The adapter code shows different values when different adapters are installed on your SIMCHECK II/ II se instead of the Sync DIMMCHECK 168. The following table illustrates the current codes for various adapters:

Ordering the Calibration and Upgrade Procedure

Please contact our Technical Support department for pricing and to schedule this service.

Our German distributor has set up a factory-certified calibration facility in Germany. European customers who prefer to perform the procedure in Europe to save shipping costs should contact Schukat Electronic Vertriebs GmbH, E-mail: simcheck@schukat.com.
Tel: +(49) 2173-950-5 Fax: +(49) 02173-950-999.

More Detailed Upgrade Information

Additional Upgrade Information is also available which describes the various upgrade procedures and their corresponding part numbers in added detail for the SIMCHECK II/II se base tester and for the Sync DIMMCHECK 168. This information is mainly intended for our Distributors, Resellers, and advanced users.

Please contact our Tech Support department for pricing information concerning the available upgrade services for your test systems.