---
title: "Mega ST 4 Low: Demo and Games Machine"
section: "retro"
tags: "retro"
description: "The bargain-bin Mega ST 4 rebuilt as a LowRes demo and games machine, with Cloudy/Storm ST, Gotek, UltraSatan, SidecarTridge and a Wi-Fi modem."
layout: base.njk
parent: "/retro/"
---
<h1>Mega ST 4 Low: Demo and Games Machine</h1>
<div class="detail-content">

<p>Bought via eBay as a bargain, this Mega ST 4 is today my LowRes demo and gaming machine. It's the most heavily expanded of the fleet, but tuned for fast disk-image swapping rather than productivity.</p>

<h2>Details</h2>
<p>Serial: A1 08 4011143 · Manufactured August 1990</p>

<h2>History and Repair</h2>
<p>I had originally cut out the TOS ROMs to experiment with external solutions, and afterwards it was unclear whether the board had been damaged in the process. Moving the <a href="/retro/storm-cloudy/">Cloudy/Storm ST combo</a> to this machine via the MegaBus connector brought it back to stable operation. The actual problem turned out to be a poorly and incompletely soldered CPU socket.</p>

<h2>Hardware Configuration</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>CPU</strong>, 68000 with socket, plus the <a href="/retro/storm-cloudy/">Cloudy/Storm ST combo</a> via the MegaBus adapter.</li>
<li><strong>TOS/Flash</strong>, Cloudy as the TOS switcher/flash solution with EmuTOS and PP's improved iTOS 1.04.</li>
<li><strong>RAM</strong>, 4 MB onboard ST-RAM plus 8 MB AltRAM via the Storm ST.</li>
<li><strong>Mass storage</strong>, a <a href="/retro/gotek/">Gotek floppy emulator</a> in a 3D-printed case and an <a href="/retro/ultrasatan/">UltraSatan</a> ACSI-SD emulator.</li>
<li><strong>Peripherals</strong>, a <a href="/retro/sidecartridge/">SidecarTridge Multi-device</a> on the ROM port, a <a href="/retro/atari-networking-bbs/">Wi-Fi modem</a> for dialing into BBSs, an original Atari keyboard with a <a href="/retro/mouster/">mouSTer</a> and USB mouse, and an <a href="/retro/atari-vga/">MCSWITCH</a> adapter for VGA output.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Role</h2>
<p>Focused on LowRes demos and games, with convenient image handling via the Gotek and SidecarTridge. No need for complex productivity software or precise keyboard layouts here. The entire SD card has been cloned to the <a href="/retro/mistery-core/">MiSTery Core on the MIST</a> as a backup and for easy data transfer between the real machine and the FPGA.</p>

</div>