====== Atari ST (1985) ======
===== Features =====
* CPU: Motorola MC68000 8 MHz
* Co-Processor: 'Shifter' and 'Glue' custom chips
* RAM: 512 KB
* ROM: 192 KB
* Text Modes: 40 or 80 columns x 25 lines
* Graphic Modes: 320 x 200 / 640 x 200 / 640 x 400 dots
* Colors: 16 among 512 (320 x 200) / 4 among 512 (640 x 200) / monochrome (640 x 400) this last mode needs a special monitor.
* Sound: 3 voices, 8 octaves
* I/O Ports: RGB, Cartridge, Midi (in/out), Centronics, RS232c, Hard Disk, Floppy Disk, Joystick, Mouse, TV modulator [STM & STfM only]
* Keyboard: Full-stroke keyboard with numeric and editing keypads
* Built In Media: 3.5" disk-drive [on STf models], optional external 3.5" 360 KB disk-drive [on ST models]
* OS: TOS / GEM
===== Usage =====
MESS currently supports for the Atari ST both cart dumps and disk images. The former are accepted in .stc format and use the "cartridge" (cart) device; the latter are accepted in .st format and use one of the two floppy drives, "floppydisk1" (flop1) and "floppydisk2" (flop2).
Also notice that the "printer" (prin) and the "serial" (serl) port are emulated as well.
== Keyboard ==
This system requires full keyboard emulation to work correctly. At startup, full keyboard emulation mode is enabled by default. Whilst in full keyboard emulation mode, some key associated functionality may be disabled (like the ESC key for EXIT). The keyboard emulation mode is toggled using the "Scroll Lock" key (by default).
=== BIOS options ===
Different versions of the TOS roms are supported. You can switch between them, changing the -bios parameter. At command line,
"-bios 0" or "-bios default" = TOS 1.04 (Rainbow TOS)
"-bios 1" or "-bios tos102" = TOS 1.02 (MEGA TOS)
"-bios 2" or "-bios tos100" = TOS 1.0 (ROM TOS)
"-bios 3" or "-bios tos099" = TOS 0.99 (Disk TOS)
=== RAM options ===
Different RAM configurations are possible for the atarist in MESS. You can switch between them, changing the -ramsize parameter. At command line
mess atarist -ramsize ram_value
where //ram_value// can assume one of the following values
256k - to emulate a 260ST
512k - to emulate a 520ST
1m (default) - to emulate a 1040ST
===== Known Issues =====
The emulation of this system is still Preliminary.
===== History and Trivia =====
At the beginning, it started with the Atari 130 ST (ST means sixteen/thirty-two :16 bit data bus & 32 bit address bus), shown at the Winter Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show in 1985. It was the great surprise of the show and was presented only six months after Jack Tramiel bought Atari, Inc. (He later named it Atari Corp).
The Atari 130 ST was only a prototype for the press demonstration and was never released because of its small memory size : the complete operating system couldn't fit in it. It was replaced by the Atari 260 ST and the Atari 520 ST. Despite its name, the Atari 260 ST was shipped with 512 KB of RAM, because the 192 KB operating system left less than 64 KB of free RAM.
The ST series was rushed onto the market as Atari had originally contracted Amiga Corp. to manufacture a 16-Bit home computer, but legal issues caused the dissolution of that contract resulting in Commodore Computer releasing the Amiga and Atari creating the ST using 'Off The Shelf' electronics to release a computer to coincide with Commodore's release of the Amiga. It was also designed to be a "Macintosh Killer", and was jokingly called the "Jackintosh".
It offered lots of features never found on home computers before: 16 bit microprocessor, lots of interfaces, standard MIDI interface, high graphic resolution, lot of colors, enhanced GUI (Graphic User Interface). It was much more powerful and expandable than the Macintosh (MIDI, graphics, colors, and the like) and competitors weren't very numerous (Commodore 128, PC AT, & compatibles, and the old CP/M machines). That explains why more than 6 million of Atari ST's were sold around the world.
The Operating System was TOS (Tramiel Operating System, later renamed just "The Operating System") which was in fact no more than the old CP/M 68K. Notice that to make easy the transition from the PC to ST, all the high level calls of the TOS (called GEMDOS) were compatible with the DOS calls of the PC (int 21h).
All of the ST family systems used the GEM, which stands for Graphic Environment Manager, GUI (from Digital Research) which has a striking resemblance to the Macintosh GUI (windows, dialog boxes, desktop, desktop accessories, & bitmap fonts) even if it is a bit less friendly than the Apple one.
The 260ST Operating System (TOS & GEM) was supplied on floppies with earlier models, then into 6 x 32 KB ROM chips when the development of the O.S. was fully finished.
ST systems had several dedicated co-processors for interrupt handling (MFP 68901), sound (the old Yamaha YM 2149, same as General Instruments AY-3-8910 found in MSX computers, Amstrad or Oric), video (a custom chip called "Shifter"), and memory (a custom chip called "GLUE" and the MMU).
The 520 ST featured same hardware basis and same amount of memory as the 260 ST. The main difference between them was the built-in ROM TOS operating system and GEM Graphics Interface. In fact, the Atari 520ST originaly came with the OS on floppy as the OS was not completely finished. Very shortly afterward they came with the OS on 6 ROM chips (TOS 1.0).
It was first sold in Germany where it met a great success then released in the United States about six months later. Colour and monochrome version were available. Sadly, users of the colour version couldn't expect programs written for the monochrome version to work until someone wrote an emulator allowing the software written for the monochrome version to run on a colour monitor.
Atari was the first company to offer built-in MIDI ports. This made the computer very popular with musicians. One game even used the MIDI connectors (Midi Maze) to connect up to 16 computers together in a MIDI network.
The original Atari 520 ST came with an external 360K single sided 3.5 floppy drive, the SF354. Most dealers either bundled it with separate power supply, or a much neater Cumana or Triangle branded drive at lower cost.
The 520 ST+ offered 1 MB of RAM instead of 512 KB. As the main board was designed to provide space for only 512 KB of RAM (16 x 41256 type chips), the second 512 KB bank chips were soldered on top of the original chips. Apparently, 1 Mb versions were sold as Atari 1040 ST in Australia
The model 520 STM came with a built-in TV modulator allowing a direct connection with the TV-set.
The Atari 520 STf and 1040 STf, finally, were the direct successors of the Atari 260 ST and Atari 520 ST. In fact, they had the same technical characteristics except from built-in floppy drive (hence the f of STf).
The 3.5" floppy disk drive has been integrated with the power supply into the computer. The early first versions of the Atari 520 STf had a RAM based Operating System (they have a 32 KB ROM), this ROM will be quickly replaced by a 192 KB ROM which holds all the operating system (called TOS 1.0).
An enhanced version of the Atari 520 STf was launched a few months later : the Atari 1040 STf to replace the Atari 520+ : It also had the same characteristics as the 520 STf except its memory (1 MB instead of the 512 KB) and the floppy disk drive : it used 3.5" double side disks (720 KB). Not long after the launch of the 1040 STf, the 520 STf would be "unofficially" equipped with 720 KB floppy disk drives.
There was also a STfM model with a built-in floppy (the f) and an RF Modulator (the M).
//(info from old-computers.com)//
===== Links =====
* AEX / Atari Explorer -- http://www.atari-explorer.com/index.html
* Atari ST Demo History -- http://wwwbrauer.in.tum.de/~brandtf/ataridemos.html
* Little Green Desktop -- http://www.atari.st/
* Musique.Atari.Org -- http://atari.apinc.org/
* The Atari Historical Society -- http://www.atarimuseum.com/
* Atari 260 ST at old-computers.com -- http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=922
* Atari 520 ST at old-computers.com -- http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=20
* Atari STf models at old-computers.com -- http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=25
===== Other Emulators =====
* SainT -- http://leonard.oxg.free.fr/
* Steem -- http://steem.atari.st/
* Pacifist ! -- http://www.atari.st/pacifist/
* Hatari -- http://hatari.sourceforge.net/
* STonX (*nix OS) -- http://sourceforge.net/projects/stonx/
* Gemulator -- http://www.emulators.com/download.htm
Generated on Sun Jul 19 10:17:28 2009