Mega STE and some needed ugprades

[Darklord]

I personally have a CosmosEx that allows me to connect to the network, plus allows for USB sticks to be used and works as an external FDD. Trouble is they are hard to come by these days.

Hi. Could you please explain how the CosmosEx works as an external floppy disk drive?

I wasn't aware that it could do this. I thought it replaced the internal floppy drive and
you had to do some "adjusting" to add an external drive as A instead of B... Thanks!

[mrbombermillzy]

Really?! :shock:

I have metal cutlery that gets ruined in a dishwasher! I certainly wouldn't risk a delicate 80s plastic case.

Your metal cutlery gets damages by being in contact with other metal items you're washing on the same cycle. You do this with the dishwasher empty.

I've personally never tried it not because of physical damage (it's only fine water and steam) but some thinner plastic could warp in the heat of the steam of the dishwasher drying cycle.

I would say because it's not the best cutlery! :lol: It's a specific fork from a picknic set which was a gift from an auntie. Even baking trays get the coating cleaned off in there, when nowhere near any other items.

Even so, damage or not, I've watched in terror, almost in slow motion, a Mega ST keyboard slip off a low surface onto the carpet and smash into several pieces where it has become brittle with age, I guess. (I could have cried; still have the evidence here) So, I'm not sure I would do anything other than gentle washing by hand in warm soapy water of any potentially brittle (and costly) 80's plastics.

Just my opinion, everyone is welcome to do what they think is right. :D

[olivier.jan]

I actually cleaned a few STs and one Mega STE case with good success in the dishwasher. But I agree, I wouldn’t try it with certain cases which have become completely brittle over time. Depends on the initial condition, if the plastic is still good but really dirty, it’s worth it. For brittle plastic, even the baby wipes must be applied very very gently.

[stephen_usher]

Indeed. I have a Sun external CDROM drive where the case breaks apart even if I look at it in a slight odd way, it's that fragile!

[UnderTheRain]

For upgraded graphics you can use a vme2isa adapter from frank lucas ( frank.lukas I found him on atari-froum.com) and then install a compatible isa card I have an ET4000 only because they're available and cheap what you really want is a 4mb isa mach64 but you're looking £250+ even a mach32 is super rare and expensive the ET4000's on the other hand aren't as good but they're about £50. I paid frank I think £108 or something for the adapter.

the drivers and stuff are here - https://www.silicon-heaven.org/atari/nova/

Cosmoex is a good addition but like it was said above they're not easy to get hold of so you could opt for a netusbee from retrolemon.co.uk. Give you usb ports and a lan port. Usb can be printers, thumb drives, mice and keyboards etc.

UTR

[rubber_jonnie]

Hi. Could you please explain how the CosmosEx works as an external floppy disk drive?

I wasn't aware that it could do this. I thought it replaced the internal floppy drive and
you had to do some "adjusting" to add an external drive as A instead of B... Thanks!

The floppy disk part of a CosmosEx is just the same as any other floppy drive.

All I did was build an external cable: External Floppy Cable

Connected this way, the original internal FDD remains as A: and the CosmosEx is B:, as though you'd connected a normal external floppy drive.

Obviously there are limitations with the CosmosEx FDD implementation, but it's good enough to be an external drive, plus if you have a floppy A/B switch MOD, the CosmosEx could be set as A: and the internal drive as B:

It really is no different to having a normal FDD attached externally.

[mikro]

what you really want is a 4mb isa mach64

Certainly not, NOVA+Mach64 can handle 2 MB max in MegaSTE and it even requires some hardware patching. Mach32 is a better option IMHO.

[viking272]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the comments and updates.
When you have another machine you don't focus on every model, so good to hear these comments.

Worth also checking if you have a 1.44MB floppy, as depending on age you could have a 720KB device, though it is easily upgraded.

How can you check the drive is 1.44 v 720? There seems to be a fault as it doesn't read floppy disks. Maybe a clean up?

Be sure to remove or replace the internal battery before it leaks!

Thanks! I will investigate
As well as the battery and caps for PSU czietz said it is worth checking out the opto-coupler in the PSU as it causes issues.
https://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.p ... 15#p435515

For upgraded graphics you can use a vme2isa adapter from frank lucas ( frank.lukas I found him on atari-froum.com) and then install a compatible isa card I have an ET4000

Thanks UTR, a few people have mentioned that and I'm chatting with Frank on this. The big cost is shipping and import duty potentially.
Are these external graphics cards e.g. the can't sit in the Mega STE case so they sit outside?

I'm away for a few weeks so I will have a think on my options.
Having realised the RF output is PAL B it is therefore not compatible with UK TVs. Is there another option to use the monitor port for HDMI?

[rubber_jonnie]

Worth also checking if you have a 1.44MB floppy, as depending on age you could have a 720KB device, though it is easily upgraded.

How can you check the drive is 1.44 v 720? There seems to be a fault as it doesn't read floppy disks. Maybe a clean up?

Having realised the RF output is PAL B it is therefore not compatible with UK TVs. Is there another option to use the monitor port for HDMI?

The quickest way to ID if you have a 1.44MB floppy is the media detect switch.

If you hold open the dust flap of the drive and look at the right hand side with a torch, just above the eject button, if there is a media detect switch, then it's 1.44MB. No switch means it 720KB.

It'll look something like this, the white pin is the switch:

PXL_20220714_092742503.jpg (215.12 KiB) Viewed 2137 times

I can't recall the part number of the drive, but I've attached the upgrade document, just remove .txt from the end to make it a PDF again to read.

As for video output I use a VGA switch similar to this: VGA switch in combination with an NEC Multisync LCD1970NX and can use all resolutions just fine.

Alternatively you could get something like a RetroTink or OSSC, or some other HDMI adapter.

MegaSTE_FD_Install_Man_1991.pdf.txt

(59.42 KiB) Downloaded 77 times

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@rubber_jonnie, we have placed your attachments in-line so they display correctly in your post. Here's the how-to guide.

[UnderTheRain]

Thanks UTR, a few people have mentioned that and I'm chatting with Frank on this. The big cost is shipping and import duty potentially.
Are these external graphics cards e.g. the can't sit in the Mega STE case so they sit outside?

Yeah they are external it put me off at first but there are very few options these days if you can find a VME card I imagine it will be $$$ that being said isa mach 64's aren't cheap. I was thinking of making a 3d printed case for my et400 if I do I'll post it here.

UTR