---
title: "SQ Notes"
type: "article"
slug: "sq-notes-3"
url: "http://localhost/article/sq-notes-3/"
markdown_url: "http://localhost/article/sq-notes-3.md"
published_at: "2026-03-12T16:50:42+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-12T16:50:43+00:00"
featured_image:
  url: "http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/20230809-041332.jpg"
excerpt: "Two topics. First: a systematic chip-swap procedure for diagnosing failed memory chips in a Sinclair QL Trump Card expansion board — removing the board cover, identifying the three memory chip banks, swapping chips one at a time into the critical first-position slot of the right bank (the only position that allows partial initialization), marking tested…"
category:
  - name: "SMUG Bytes"
    slug: "smug-bytes"
    taxonomy: "category"
    url: "http://localhost/category/periodicals/smug-bytes/"
post_tag:
  - name: "QL"
    slug: "ql"
    taxonomy: "post_tag"
    url: "http://localhost/tag/ql/"
model:
  - name: "Sinclair QL"
    slug: "sinclair-ql"
    taxonomy: "model"
    url: "http://localhost/model/sinclair-ql/"
indiv:
  - name: "Rudy A. Hilsmann"
    slug: "r-a-hilsmann"
    taxonomy: "indiv"
    url: "http://localhost/indiv/r-a-hilsmann/"
publication_r:
  id: 37935
  title: "SMUG Bytes"
  type: "periodical"
  url: "http://localhost/periodical/smug-bytes/"
authors_r:
  - name: "Rudy A. Hilsmann"
    slug: "r-a-hilsmann"
    taxonomy: "indiv"
    url: "http://localhost/indiv/r-a-hilsmann/"
volume: "7"
issue: "11"
issues_articles:
  - id: 50222
    title: "SMUG Bytes v7 n11"
    type: "issue"
    url: "http://localhost/issue/smug-bytes-v7-n11/"
pages: "3-5"
pubdate: "November 1990"
archive_link: false
---

# SQ Notes

Two topics. First: a systematic chip-swap procedure for diagnosing failed memory chips in a Sinclair QL Trump Card expansion board — removing the board cover, identifying the three memory chip banks, swapping chips one at a time into the critical first-position slot of the right bank (the only position that allows partial initialization), marking tested chips, observing whether the QL initializes fully or partially, and handling multi-chip failures. Power-off precautions are strongly emphasized. Second: a critical review of the PC-Conqueror MS-DOS emulator for the QL — benchmark test took 45 minutes vs. 59 seconds on a native 8MHz IBM clone, making it useful only for file transfer between QL and IBM-compatible systems.