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Dove MacSnap Expansion

Dove were one of the most popular suppliers of upgrades for the Macintosh 128K and 512K. My second Mac 512K (courtesy of Roger P, thanks) is fitted with the Dove MacSnap two megabyte memory expansion card and the Dove MacSnap SCSI option. With these two options fitted, the Mac 512K is functionally equivalent to a 2MB Mac Plus.

The 25 pin SCSI connector is cleverly squeezed into the space normally occupied by the PRAM battery cover. From the front, my Mac looks no different to any other 512K of the same era. I have seen photos of MacSnap case badges.

Typical 1990 prices for Dove products were:

MacSnap 524S -- 1MB RAM plus SCSI -- US$235
MacSnap 548S -- 2MB RAM plus SCSI -- US$475

A brand new Mac Plus cost US$1800 at this time.

The photo opposite shows the expansion cards and logic board fitted into the Mac chassis. Look carefully around the floppy cable connector and you can see that the assembly is a tight fit, only just clearing the horizontal chassis member. When withdrawing the assembly from the chassis, the cards need to be flexed gently so that the MacSnap SCSI board clears the metalwork.

The MacSnap memory card is shown at the top of the photo opposite. It clips over the existing memory chips on the logic board so there is no soldering. Although Dove advertised the expansion options as "user installable", I imagine that most buyers would have asked their dealer to fit the cards.

(Most third party memory expansions for the Mac 128K and 512K required the owner to send their logic board away for surgery. Tom Lee describes how a skilled owner could install their own memory upgrade by piggy backing onto the existing memory chips. External link to Gamba (PDF, 104KB))

This close-up shows how snuggly the MacSnap expansions fit on the 512K board. In the centre the MacSnap SCSI card can be seen clearly. This card plugs into the ROM sockets and Mac Plus ROMs are installed to provide support for SCSI and the internal 800KB floppy drive (a standard early series 800KB drive is fitted). Note that the memory card partially overlaps the SCSI card and just stops short of the logic to analogue board connector. Owners had to supply their own Mac Plus ROMs.

Philip Lord has photos comparing the 524S and 548S boards side by side.

This page last updated: 16 October 2005

Copyright information: If you wish to use any images on these pages, please contact the author, Phil Beesley on beesley@mandrake.demon.co.uk.

Dove were one of the most popular suppliers of upgrades for the Macintosh 128K and 512K. My second Mac 512K (courtesy of Roger P, thanks) is fitted with the Dove MacSnap two megabyte memory expansion card and the Dove MacSnap SCSI option. With these two options fitted, the Mac 512K is functionally equivalent to a 2MB Mac Plus. The 25 pin SCSI connector is cleverly squeezed into the space normally occupied by the PRAM battery cover. From the front, my Mac looks no different to any other 512K of the same era. I have seen photos of MacSnap case badges. Typical 1990 prices for Dove products were: MacSnap 524S -- 1MB RAM plus SCSI -- US$235 MacSnap 548S -- 2MB RAM plus SCSI -- US$475 A brand new Mac Plus cost US$1800 at this time.
The photo opposite shows the expansion cards and logic board fitted into the Mac chassis. Look carefully around the floppy cable connector and you can see that the assembly is a tight fit, only just clearing the horizontal chassis member. When withdrawing the assembly from the chassis, the cards need to be flexed gently so that the MacSnap SCSI board clears the metalwork.
The MacSnap memory card is shown at the top of the photo opposite. It clips over the existing memory chips on the logic board so there is no soldering. Although Dove advertised the expansion options as "user installable", I imagine that most buyers would have asked their dealer to fit the cards. (Most third party memory expansions for the Mac 128K and 512K required the owner to send their logic board away for surgery. Tom Lee describes how a skilled owner could install their own memory upgrade by piggy backing onto the existing memory chips. External link to Gamba (PDF, 104KB))
This close-up shows how snuggly the MacSnap expansions fit on the 512K board. In the centre the MacSnap SCSI card can be seen clearly. This card plugs into the ROM sockets and Mac Plus ROMs are installed to provide support for SCSI and the internal 800KB floppy drive (a standard early series 800KB drive is fitted). Note that the memory card partially overlaps the SCSI card and just stops short of the logic to analogue board connector. Owners had to supply their own Mac Plus ROMs. Philip Lord has photos comparing the 524S and 548S boards side by side.