mike@abekrd.UUCP (Mike Quinn) (10/05/90)
I have been following the discussions on comp.sys.amiga (just out of interest)
and they're talking about doubling the processor clock speed. Now I know
about hacks to upgrade the memory (done that); add my own second internal
drive (done that); make the display bigger (thinking about it :-))...
Has anybody done any interesting (and fairly simple) hardware projects to
boost this wonderful machine in other ways? Can _we_ double the ST clock to
16 Mhz ? How about a homebrew remote keyboard ? Or details on putting all
these disks & ST motherboard in a small(ish) PC type box ?
Come on guys, lets make this machine _work_! Either E-mail me or post details
to comp.sys.atari.st.tech. I'll summarize any mail there too.
Mike.
PS. The second drive mod involved replacing the internal drive with two thin
3.5" drives, a new ribbon cable, adding one wire to the motherboard and
a little bit of sawing on the chassis (Not recommended if your machine is
still under warranty :-)).hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) (10/06/90)
In article <1425@abekrd.UUCP> mike@abekrd.UUCP (Mike Quinn) writes: >I have been following the discussions on comp.sys.amiga (just out of interest) >and they're talking about doubling the processor clock speed. Now I know >about hacks to upgrade the memory (done that); add my own second internal >drive (done that); make the display bigger (thinking about it :-))... A second internal drive, huh? Kind of an interesting idea. Don't think I'd care too much one way or the other. (Especially since the Mega's power supply is already straining just to keep the fan and floppy running...) >Has anybody done any interesting (and fairly simple) hardware projects to >boost this wonderful machine in other ways? Can _we_ double the ST clock to >16 Mhz ? How about a homebrew remote keyboard ? Or details on putting all >these disks & ST motherboard in a small(ish) PC type box ? FAST Technologies' Turbo-16 has been around for a long time now. The installation process is tedious but straightforward. ICD also has a new accelerator, which is said to be even easier to install, also uses a cache, and is more compatible. (I.e., Turbo-16 doesn't let you switch back to true 8 MHz operation, the ICD accelerator is supposed to allow this. This is crucial for time-sensitive code like Spectrum 512 uses, or copy-protection code for many games.) You can double the clock going to the floppy controller, and drive high density (1.2 and 1.44 meg) floppy drives. I think Best Electronics has a kit for making the standard ST keyboard detached. There are a couple companies advertising PC-style cases for ST systems as well. Just find yourself a copy of AIM or some other good Atari magazine and look thru the ads... >Come on guys, lets make this machine _work_! Either E-mail me or post details >to comp.sys.atari.st.tech. I'll summarize any mail there too. > > Mike. > >PS. The second drive mod involved replacing the internal drive with two thin > 3.5" drives, a new ribbon cable, adding one wire to the motherboard and > a little bit of sawing on the chassis (Not recommended if your machine is > still under warranty :-)). For a *really* intense project... Reverse engineer the Atari custom chips, then rebuild for faster operation. (Of course, ya gotta figure, if Atari couldn't do it themselves, having the original chip designs onhand, it's probably not something you wanna try on your own....) What we need at this point are ST clones. That's what drove the prices down and the performance up in the PC market.... Systems with compatible hardware but offering higher throughput, clock rates, etc... Lessee... How 'bout a dual-ported RAM system, and a faster memory control unit, or heck, a PMMU. I don't think there's too much of the OS that's dependent on the way the GLUE/MCU/DMA stuff are split out. Just keep the DMA and MCU controller registers in the same place.... The blitter would probably pose some problems though. (If you wanted to duplicate it. Chances are, you won't care.) So what do we need... 68030, fast memory, better video hardware [JRI or ISAC can provide that, right?], the WD floppy controller, the Yamaha sound chip (or the improved model, if you can find it), the 68901 MFP, a pair of 6850s, hm... that about covers it. Dunno how you could build such a system for cheaper than Atari can, tho, considering that they already have their mass-production facilities for economy of scale, and based out of Taiwan, so they already have the cheap labor. Hm. Mebbe not such a good idea after all. Who knows. -- -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan one million data bits stored on a chip, one million bits per chip if one of those data bits happens to flip, one million data bits stored on the chip...
gt1448b@prism.gatech.EDU (David P. Forrai) (10/07/90)
In article <1990Oct6.062139.24891@math.lsa.umich.edu> Howard Chu writes: >FAST Technologies' Turbo-16 has been around for a long time now. The >installation process is tedious but straightforward. ICD also has a new >accelerator, which is said to be even easier to install, also uses a cache, >and is more compatible. ... Do either of these boards allow a 68881 FPU to be added? That would be nice for those of us without a Mega, who program their ST, and want better floating point performance as well as the speed. > -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan > one million data bits stored on a chip, one million bits per chip > if one of those data bits happens to flip, > one million data bits stored on the chip... -- David P. Forrai uucp: ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!gt1448b Internet: gt1448b@prism.gatech.edu
bointon@kcl-cs.UUCP (Marcus Barnaby Bointon) (10/09/90)
Hardware hacks??? There are loads!! You are a little behind- Doubling the processor speed was done ages ago (2yrs?) The leading exponent of the hardware hack is Dave Small (of GCR etc). There are many producers of 16MHz boards of varying complexity. The best option seems to be 16Mhz 68000 with 68882 (16MHz), fast ROMs and 16K cache. Gadgets by small reportedly have a 16MHz 68030 board (Hypercache '030??) on the way... A favourite hack for the end user is the overscan mod. This involves the addition of 4 wires, a switch, and the cutting of 2 circuit board tracks, the end result of which is an increase in resolution up to about 800*500 in mono! This would require a multisync, but an SM124 can be pushed to about 750*600! Thankfully, most well behaved applications adjust themselves to fit the big screen (though the switch allows the circuit to be returned to normal, should it be required) Other hacks: There are numerous Hacked versions of TOS available from Germany that have bugs removed and new features added. I have seen a multisync board for the SM124 which allows all resolutions to run on it (with grey scales), and it's only 50 pounds! (buy it now while the exchange rate is good!) If there is demand, I could be persuaded to post overscan details to comp. binaries.atari.st... Your suggestion of refitting the ST into a bigger box is already well established (see last issues of ST World and ST Club newsletter). Nuff said... <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<=Marcus Bointon=>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> << Consultant, Campaign for the Reduction of Entropy (C.R.E. Group(U.K.)) >> << Campaign HQ: JANET%ZDAC810@UK.AC.KCL.CC.OAK or bointon@kcl.cs.UUCP >> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> << Disclaimer: This message has been treated with flame-resistant chemicals >> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
ALBERT_DAYES@bdt.UUCP (10/14/90)
Two 68030 boards were introduced at the WAACE show, one by David Small and One by Fast Technologies ... also ICD has a 16mhz accelerator for all STs (the current 68030 boards only work on Megas at the moment).
smithj@hpsad.HP.COM (Jim Smith) (10/16/90)
I have been monitoring comp.sys.atari.st for almost a year waiting for a repost of the overscan mod. Yes yes!
hyc@math.lsa.umich.edu (Howard Chu) (10/17/90)
In article <750088@hpsad.HP.COM> smithj@hpsad.HP.COM (Jim Smith) writes: >I have been monitoring comp.sys.atari.st for almost a year waiting for a repost >of the overscan mod. Yes yes! The full documentation, source, and binaries for overscan are on atari.archive.umich.edu in ~ftp/atari/utilities/overscan.arc. Note that this stuff is a little over a year old now. The authors have since created a commercial product called AutoSwitch Overscan, which is supposed to automatically switch back to normal resolutions when running incompatible software. I have asked for more info on the product, but have not yet received any reply. -- -- Howard Chu @ University of Michigan one million data bits stored on a chip, one million bits per chip if one of those data bits happens to flip, one million data bits stored on the chip...