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031 ADDING HDD.jpg
054 FTOS & IDE V2 PLUGED INTO ST.jpg
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ATARI ST IDE-INTERFACE V2.00 24. NOVEMBER 2008
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THIS IS A CLOSED PROJECT.
No more extensions will be made (expect bug fixes, if there are any).
Why building this project ?
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Nowadays SCSI harddisks suitable for ATARI ST are hard to find (here in
Germany) and very old. The needed SCSI controllers for Atari ST are even
harder to find and expensive. There are no SCSI-cards and no small 2.5" SCSI
harddisks avaliable. You can get only expensive SCSI-IDE adapters or SCSI
card readers. Data exchange with PC is not so simple as by CF or SD cards.
Our solution (PPERA and me, POPSEL) is:
* Cheaper
* Can be build at home
* Needs less components
* Is smaller (fits all into a 1040 ST case)
* Offers better fexibility
* Gives a higher speed than ACSI
* Offers more than one TOS (optional)
* Adds TOS 2.06 support (optional)
* Comfortable to use
* Silent operation if using a CF card
Information for building the IDE INTERFACE V2.0
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This is again a common project of PPERA & POPSEL.
Using this interface one can connect IDE harddisks or most
Compact Flash cards (in)to ATARI ST computers.
It is possible to build a 2.5" notebook harddisk into a 1040ST case.
With some modifications maximum speed of ATARI ST hardware is avaliable.
Normally only TOS 2.06 is able to boot from IDE.
PPERA found even solutions to boot from IDE with a patched TOS 1.4 or KAOS 1.4.2
An other big advantage is the ability to use up to 14 DOS (FAT16) compatible
partitions for easy file transfer with PC at maximum speed.
So one can copy data with PC onto harddisk / CF-card which can be used by ATARI
and vice versa.
This offers a maxium of 14 partitions with 2GB each = 28 GB total harddisk space,
even with TOS 1.4 or KAOS 1.4.2
To get the hightest maxium speed we need some special tricks:
* Partitioning of harddisk or CF-card on PC as type FAT16
* A special IDE-cable
* A patched TOS
* A special harddisk driver (PPERA's)
* Freeware program BIGDOS in AUTO folder
To learn the details about setting up the software and usage
Ppera offers a separate software guide for this project.
Due to many ATARI mainboard versions I wanted to create an
IDE Interface as small as possible.
Now you can choose between two IDE Interface PCB versions:
There is one single sided PCB (some wires are required on bottom side).
Beside there is a double sided PCB version (no wires, not so easy to build).
Both versions have the same function. They are optimized to build at home.
The double sided version uses vias to make contact between layers.
The vias are big enough to solder at home.
There is no need to solder under components.
Minimum hardware on ATARI ST side is a patched
TOS (1.4 or KAOS 1.4.2) and the IDE Interface V2.00.
This function is expandable with a special version of FLASHABLE TOS.
IDE-INTERFACE V2.00 FLASHABLE TOS
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This is an expansion for the IDE V2.00 Interface. So the IDE V2.00 Interface
can be used single or in combination with FLASHABLE TOS. If you want a
single Flashable TOS there is already a solution for this avaliable.
What can you do with a Flashable TOS ?
A TOS can be changed without opening the machine by programming
with PPERA's special software by using re-programmable EEPROM chips
for TOS instead of ROMS or EPROMS.
There is enough space to keep up to 4 TOS versions in two EEPROM chips.
Further there is build in support for TOS 2.06.
With this IDE-INTERFACE V2.00 there are several, bootable, TOS versions avaliable.
TOS versions below TOS 1.4 can only be used with Flashable TOS and floppys, because
they have too many errors to use it with a harddisk / CF-card.
To keep switching between TOS versions simple this task is manged by a very small
AVR-controller. This offers several functions with only one momentary switch.
* Switching between TOS versions
* Activating and deactivating of hardware write-lock for TOS EEPROMS
* TOS-locking to prevent unwanted switching of TOS while computer is in use
* Optical feedback with a DUO-LED to show the state & function
Get more information by looking at the FLASHABLE TOS TOPIC in the guides section.
How to build this hardware ?
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To build this project there is a separate guide with a lot of photos avaliable.
Download it from here:
http://www.infofront.de/andreas/index.htmNearly every step to build it is shown on a photo with comment.
In some cases the sequence of soldering is important.
For further information Ppera will offer a guide how to setup the neeeded software.
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