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1993-07-12
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From: sourada@iastate.edu (Steven D Ourada)
Subject: Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st! (Hardware)
Summary: Some frequent questions and answers about Atari 16/32 bit computers.
Please read this before asking a question on comp.sys.atari.st.
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1993 02:28:49 GMT
Expires: Sun, 15 Aug 1993 02:28:27 GMT
Lines: 592
Archive-name: csas-faq/part3
Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st! Please read this FAQ before posting a question
to comp.sys.atari.st, since a lot of common questions are answered here.
Thanks to David Paschall-Zimbel (davidli@simvax.labmed.umn.edu) for
compiling most of this FAQ.
Entries are dated by the last change. ??.??.?? means they were last changed
before the dates were added.
The following is an index of the questions answered in this part of the FAQ.
For easy access to a particular question, search for the tag surrounded by
colons (i. e. :GNU:). Questions marked with '*' are new or changed.
*WEL Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st
MODELS All the models in the ST line
FALCON What are the specs on the Falcon?
ACCEL Hardware Accelerators
DRIVES What should I know about hard drives and the ST?
FLOPPY Can I use 1.44 meg floppy disks?
GRAPHIC How can I enjoy enhanced graphics on my ST?
JOY What joysticks work best with the Atari ST?
MODEM What modems work with the Atari ST?
MONITOR What should I know about monitors and the ST?
PCEM How can I turn my Atari ST into a PC emulator?
SPECTRE How can I turn my Atari ST into a Macintosh emulator?
UPGRADE Can/should I upgrade my ST?
:WEL: 93.06.11
Welcome to comp.sys.atari.st
============================
This newsgroup is devoted to discussion about 16 and 32 bit Atari micros. At
present that includes the Atari 520ST, 1040ST, Mega ST, STe, STacy, Mega STe,
TT, and Falcon. There are also emulators for the Apple Macintosh and IBM
PC/XT/AT available.
Most of the people who read this newsgroup are technically oriented.
The newsgroup serves as a resource for Atari users ... feel free to
contribute to the discussions.
Associated newsgroups include:
comp.binaries.atari.st ! uuencoded binary programs
comp.sys.atari.st.tech ! technical programming/hardware topics
comp.sources.atari.st ! uuencoded/shar sources
:MODELS: 93.01.30
All the models in the ST line
=============================
This is a pretty complete list of all the ST/TT models and their main
features. If you have any additions/correction, of course, send them to
me.
Feature key:
CPU's:
8 8 MHz 68000
16 16 MHz 68000
16/3 16 MHz 68030
32/3 32 MHz 68030
RAM:
/1 128kB
/5 512kB
1 1MB
2 2MB
4 4MB
S SIMM slots for expansion
Built-in:
F Floppy
M TV modulator
Extra:
AV 8 bit digital stereo audio, 4096 colors, hardware scrolling,
analog joystick ports
MB MegaBus processor-direct bus slots
6U 6U VME bus slots, second serial port
FC Motorola 56000 DSP, 16 bit stereo audio, much enhanced video
TOS:
Highest built-in TOS
Models:
Name CPU RAM TOS B.I. Extra Comment
----------------------------------------------------------------
130 ST 8 /1 1.0 M Never marketed
260 ST 8 /5 1.0 M
520 ST 8 /5 1.0 M
520 ST+ 8 1 1.0 M
520 STm 8 /5 1.2 M
520 STfm 8 /5 1.2 FM
1040 ST 8 1 1.0 FM
1040 STf 8 1 1.2 F
1040 STm 8 1 1.2 M
1040 STfm 8 1 1.2 FM
Mega 1 8 1 1.2 F MB
Mega 2 8 2 1.2 F MB
Mega 4 8 4 1.2 F MB
STacy 8 1 ??? F Laptop
STBook 8 1 ??? F Notebook
520 STe 8 .5S 1.62 FM AV
1024 STe 8 1S 1.62 FM AV
Mega STe 16 1S 2.06 F AV,MB,6U
TT 16/030 Just for developers
TT 32/030 S 3.06 F AV,MB,6U Various mem/HD configs
Falcon 16/030 S 4.?? F AV,FC Many enhancements!
:FALCON: ??.??.??
What are the specs on the Falcon?
=================================
Here's some stuff I culled from the (reposted) Delphi conference with Sam
Tramiel.
--- Start Quoted material ---
Here's the specs on the Atari Falcon 030:
CPU: Motorola 68030 running at 16 Mhz
32-bit Bus
Optional 68881 or 68882 FPU
RAM: 1,4, or 14 megs
Standard Atari Cartridge Port
Motorola 56001 DSP chip
Expansion Bus:
Internal direct processor slot for 386SX PC emulation, or other
coprocessor
Graphics:
Super VGA graphics: 640x480 with 256 colors
True color 16 bit mode allowing a display of up to 65,536 colors
Accepts external video sync signal to allow high quality genlocking
Overlay mode for easy video titling and special effects
Overscan on TV's and ST Color monitors
262,144 possible colors
hardware-assisted horizontal fine scrolling
BLiTTER graphics co-processor
Sound features:
Eight 16 bit audio DMA record and playback channels
Stereo 16 bit digital DMA input
Stereo 16 bit DMA audio output
SDMA sound/DMA Coprocessor
Standard Ports
SCSI II port with DMA
High speed LocalTalk compatible LAN
Connector for analog RGB color (ST or VGA) or composite video
RS232C serial port
Bidirectional parallel port
MIDI IN/MIDI OUT
Stereo microphone input, miniature stereo plug
Stereo audio out, miniature stereo plug
Two joystick connectors
Two enhanced digital/analog controller/light pen connectors
Data Storage
1.44 Mbyte floppy disk drive
Optional internal IDE Hard Disk
System software
Pre-emptive Multitasking with adaptive prioritzation (MultiTOS)
Inter process communication
NewDesk desktop and eXtensible control panel
Multiple window user interface; number of windows limited
only by memory or software in use.
--- End Quoted Material ---
:ACCEL: ??.??.??
Hardware Accelerators
=====================
(Thanks to Shoou-yu Tang sytang@lamar.colostate.edu for this info.)
68000 based: ICD adspeed ST/STe
Fast Tech Turbo T-16 (16MHz)
T-20 (20MHz)
T-25 (25MHz)
68030 based: Gadget by Small SST (16MHz to 40MHz user changeable, 8 SIMM slot
68882 FPU socket, 1 expansion slot, TOS 2.0x).
Fast Tech : Tiny Turbo
Full size version
:DRIVES: ??.??.??
What should I know about hard drives and the ST?
(Thanks to Shoou-yu Tang sytang@lamar.colostate.edu for this info.)
To get a hard drive for ST, STe, Mega, Mega STe or TT(using DMA port):
1. Host adapter (convert the ST's DMA to SCSI standard):
ICD, Supra, BMS are the three major manufature. ICD has very good
software updating support and updates very often.
2. SCSI hard drive or MFM/RLL drive with SCSI adapter:
i). SCSI drive:
Like Quantum Pro80LPS, Seagate ST-xxxN series, they have a 50 pins IDC
connector, and usually say SCSI hard drive or Mac drive. (Any Mac except
Mac128, Mac512, FatMac has SCSI built in, so a drive that works with Mac
usually has SCSI interface).
No other adapter needed, just connect to the host adapter in 1.
ii). MFM/RLL drive:
These types of drive is older and used in older IBM machines. To use
them you need an adapter to convert them to SCSI. Adaptec 4000/4000A
is for MFM, 4070 for RLL drive, Emulex and OMTI also has similar cards
availible. Adaptec has stopped production for quite sometime so look for
these in used/liquidation place. (usually goes $40 to $75 each).
Connect the drive to the adapter (said Adaptec 4000) then connect the
adapter to the host adapter. (said ICD). It looks like following:
-------------- ----------- ------------ ----------
| MFM drive |------->|ACB 4000 |------>| ICD |------>| ST DMA |
-------------- ----------- ------------ ----------
3. Case, power supply and cabels for the drive system: