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42 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
42 lines
3.1 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: "Mega ST 4 Low: Demo and Games Machine"
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section: "retro"
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tags: "retro"
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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."
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layout: base.njk
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parent: "/retro/"
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---
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<h1>Mega ST 4 Low: Demo and Games Machine</h1>
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<div class="detail-content">
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<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>
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<h2>Details</h2>
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<p>Serial: A1 08 4011143 · Manufactured August 1990</p>
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<h2>History and Repair</h2>
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<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>
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<h2>Hardware Configuration</h2>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>CPU</strong>, 68000 with socket, plus the <a href="/retro/storm-cloudy/">Cloudy/Storm ST combo</a> via the MegaBus adapter.</li>
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<li><strong>TOS/Flash</strong>, Cloudy as the TOS switcher/flash solution with EmuTOS and PP's improved iTOS 1.04.</li>
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<li><strong>RAM</strong>, 4 MB onboard ST-RAM plus 8 MB AltRAM via the Storm ST.</li>
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<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>
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<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>
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</ul>
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<h2>Booting</h2>
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<p>Switching between High Res and Low Res is done at the VGA adapter, not in software. The iTOS 1.04 boot options select which drive to boot from:</p>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>High Res</strong>, switch to EmuTOS on the Cloudy, then set the VGA adapter to Mono. Let it boot through.</li>
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<li><strong>Low Res</strong>, switch to iTOS 1.04i on the Cloudy, then set the VGA adapter to Color. At the boot prompt:</li>
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<li><strong>1 + Space</strong>, boot from <code>C:\BT\1</code>, opens D: GAMES</li>
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<li><strong>2 + Space</strong>, boot from <code>C:\BT\2</code>, opens E: DEMOS</li>
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<li><strong>3 + Space</strong>, boot from <code>C:\BT\3</code>, opens F: Med-Res</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>Role</h2>
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<p>Focused on LowRes demos and games, with convenient image handling via the Gotek and SidecarTridge. The desktop environment is an original <strong>NeoDesk 3.0</strong> installation from the 1990s, just as it was back then. 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>
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</div> |