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MegaSTE repair

Problems with your machine in general.
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atari030
Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm

Re: MegaSTE repair

Post by atari030 »

I've been dabbling with this on and off in between (a lot of) other projects and narrowed all the issues down. A mate gave me a few bits and bobs from his Atari horde last year. Amongst them were some MegaSTE spares. I happened upon a post from Frank where mentions cache issues. I replaced U3 and U4 and it fixed the random crashing. It still crashes and has issues with 16mhz Cache enabled but no longer at 8Mhz.
The CPU socket is also pretty dicey, and, the source of the blitter problems. It needs replacing. I suspect U8 and U9 also need replacing but I need to find a source for them. Probably socket them first. Little bit of pot noodling around but the end is nigh.
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frank.lukas
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Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 11:52 am

Re: MegaSTE repair

Post by frank.lukas »

I had installed gold-plated Atari PLCC sockets from BEST ...
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atari030
Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm

Re: MegaSTE repair

Post by atari030 »

Thanks Frank. Being in Australia, Best is a daunting thought. I noticed Arne has some and there is always the funky adapter option too. I need to get some bits and pieces from the Exxos store anyway.
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atari030
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Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm

Re: MegaSTE repair

Post by atari030 »

I forgot to ask, is there a known good source of replacement tag ram for U8 and U9?
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kodak80
Posts: 543
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:14 am
Location: Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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Re: MegaSTE repair

Post by kodak80 »

atari030 wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2024 2:07 am I've been dabbling with this on and off in between (a lot of) other projects and narrowed all the issues down. A mate gave me a few bits and bobs from his Atari horde last year. Amongst them were some MegaSTE spares. I happened upon a post from Frank where mentions cache issues. I replaced U3 and U4 and it fixed the random crashing. It still crashes and has issues with 16mhz Cache enabled but no longer at 8Mhz.
The CPU socket is also pretty dicey, and, the source of the blitter problems. It needs replacing. I suspect U8 and U9 also need replacing but I need to find a source for them. Probably socket them first. Little bit of pot noodling around but the end is nigh.
I have some sockets pulled from old motherboards if you still need sockets. :)
Creator of the Atari ST Review and ST Action magazine archives: https://www.chillichai.com/
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atari030
Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm

Re: MegaSTE repair

Post by atari030 »

Cheers Rob, that might be a good option.
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atari030
Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm

Re: MegaSTE repair

Post by atari030 »

I have found some comparators on ebay Germany. Does anyone know if 35's will be fast enough?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/160847458427
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