Somewhere along the way, "one Atari ST" turned into three Mega ST 4 machines plus a Mega ST 2. Rather than let them gather dust, each one got a clearly defined purpose, from untouched nostalgia piece to fully upgraded workstation.
What Is an Atari Mega ST?
The Atari Mega ST is a variant of Atari's 16/32-bit ST computer line, released in 1987 and aimed at business and desktop-publishing users. Compared to the standard 520 ST or 1040 ST, it comes in a low, flat desktop case with the floppy drive and motherboard separated from the keyboard, similar to a classic PC tower-and-keyboard setup. It shipped with a built-in Blitter chip for fast graphics operations, which the earliest 520/1040 ST models lacked, making it noticeably better suited for GEM-based desktop publishing software of the era.
Mega STs were sold as Mega 1 (1 MB RAM), Mega 2 (2 MB RAM) and Mega 4 (4 MB RAM), all expandable, and were commonly bundled with monochrome high-resolution monitors for DTP work with software like Calamus or PageStream. The separated case design makes internal expansion and modification considerably easier than on an all-in-one 1040 ST, which is one reason the Mega ST remains a popular base for retro computing projects like the ones documented on this site.
The Lineup
- The heirloom machine, kept as close to factory-original as possible, running the stock TOS 1.04 with a classic floppy drive and its own original Atari keyboard and mouse. Its job is to be a baseline reference: if something breaks on a modded machine, this one proves the fault isn't in the software.
- The "Low" machine, a bargain-bin Mega ST 4 rebuilt with a Cloudy/Storm ST combo for TOS switching and extra FastRAM, a Gotek floppy emulator, an UltraSatan hard disk emulator, a SidecarTridge multi-device for ROM, floppy, and Wi-Fi tricks, and a Wi-Fi modem for dialing into BBSs. It uses an original Atari keyboard and a mouSTer adapter with a USB mouse. This is the demo- and game-machine, optimized for fast disk-image swapping rather than serious productivity.
- The "High" machine, the workstation build. A MonSTerBoard adds 8MB of AltRAM, IDE storage, and flashable TOS (currently TOS 2.06), running Geneva for real multitasking. An ET4000 graphics card drives a dedicated monitor for higher resolutions. A NetUSBee adapter, an Eiffel interface for a PS/2 keyboard and mouse, and a new STPSU for clean, stable power round it out.
- The spare Mega ST 2, a reserve and test machine, kept in largely original condition, used to safely test upgrades before they go into the "real" machines.
Extensions Not Yet Installed
A few upgrades have been bought or built but aren't in a machine yet, either waiting to go in or kept as spares:
- A second Gotek floppy emulator, bought alongside the one fitted to the "Low" machine, still unbuilt and ready for another machine or as a spare.
- An Eiffel Pico USB adapter, bought and configured but not yet installed, so I haven't decided which machine it will go into.
- A new SidecarTridge Multi-device Revision 3, bought as an upgrade over the Revision 0 in use on the "Low" machine, still uninstalled until I decide where to put it.
- An ACSI2STM adapter, bought but not yet in use anywhere, an alternative ACSI hard-disk emulator to the UltraSatan.
- An ST2VGA Enhanced adapter, an active RGB-to-VGA adapter bought as a spare, not currently in use.
- An original Atari STM-1 mouse converted with the laser board, upgraded but not currently in use.
Fun fact: two of the "problem" machines turned out to have nothing wrong with the boards at all, a badly soldered CPU socket and a leftover blitter patch bridge were the actual culprits. Moral of the story: check your solder joints twice before blaming the silicon.