ST Cartridge Configurations

[atarifan49]

I have a few ST carts. I'm wondering if there is any info, maybe a schematic, that shows the different configurations for the ROM3 / ROM4 / 64K 128K / 256K connection pads found on ST carts?

 

Thanks,

Glenn

[doctorclu]

I have a few ST carts. I'm wondering if there is any info, maybe a schematic, that shows the different configurations for the ROM3 / ROM4 / 64K 128K / 256K connection pads found on ST carts?

 

Thanks,

Glenn

 

They had 256K carts? I always wished the ST could have had a good enough size cart to make Star Raiders ST.

 

But that is just so I can have a complete Star Raiders cartridge collection across all the Atari platforms.

[atarifan49]

Carts for the ST just never seem to catch on very well. I'm only aware of the following uses:

 

- ethernet

- VT100 emulator cart

- diagnostic software

- MagicSac

 

Wasn't there was one game made by Atari that was on cart?

 

Well, I'm going to pull out a meter and make a schematic of the cart so I can understand the config. Just doesn't seem to be documented anywhere. Even in the TT030 service manual doesn't have much.

 

Glenn

[Math You]

I think the maximum size of cartridege for the ST was 128k.

[Curt Vendel]

No, Glenn is correct, the carts do have a pad marked for 256K, though I have yet to see any ST cart that would use 256k, plus the pinouts on the ST cart boards only have 40 pins and on a 1mb eprom (128K) you need 42 pins to handle up to Address line 20 to access the 128K of the eprom and then pair them onto a cart...

 

I have the PCB layout files for the cartridge board, I need to look through my files and pull them out.

 

 

 

Curt

 

I think the maximum size of cartridege for the ST was 128k.

[atarifan49]

Well, I mapped out a few of the carts I have. They are Atari part # CO70208 Rev B. It's interesting to note that the 64K / 128K pad and 256K pad don't correspond to memory size but more to the specific EPROM (2764 / 27128 / 27256). These cart boards are designed for those chips. They need to be modified in order to support 27512's (pin 1 is wired to Vcc).

 

The ROM4 pad connects the chip enable (pin 20) of the chips to the XROM4 signal. ROM3 pad connects the chip enable to XROM3 signal. ROM4 allows the cart to be addressed in the $FA0000 - $FAFFFF memory region. ROM3 allows the cart to be addressed in the $FB0000 - $FBFFFF.

 

To get my TT030 diagnostics cart working, which uses two 27256's, I needed to jumper ROM4 and 256K pads (which is the default connection on these boards). This is the same configuration for the VT-100 emulator carts.

 

It appears that for two 27128's or 2764's that ROM4 and 64K 128K pads need to be jumpered instead.

 

The 256K pad connects address line A15 to pin 1 of the two EPROMs. The 64K 128K pad connects pin 1 (EPROMs), pin 27 (EPROMs) and to the pin 1 side of the 256K pad. So 64K 128K and 256K should never be jumpered at the same time.

 

To do 27512's on this board requires the addition of an AND gate (74LS08 chip). I have the Falcon030 diagnostics that has one of these AND gates on it but it had a broken wire. I'm still trying to figure out whats wrong with it. It might be that the Falcon diag software doesn't want to come up on my TT030 (don't have a Falcon).

 

For those interested in learning more about the cartridge port, I did finally find a copy of an old STart magazine article about the cart port.

 

Well, at least I got my TT030 diagnostic cart working.

 

Regards,

Glenn

[Fuji-Man]

Hi,

 

I have a cart for data acquisition from Instrutech Corp. Elmont, NY. called the Atari Key rev. 1. I only have the cartridge with the ribbon cable extending form it...

 

FujiMan

 

Carts for the ST just never seem to catch on very well. I'm only aware of the following uses:

 

- ethernet

- VT100 emulator cart

- diagnostic software

- MagicSac

 

Wasn't there was one game made by Atari that was on cart?

 

Well, I'm going to pull out a meter and make a schematic of the cart so I can understand the config. Just doesn't seem to be documented anywhere. Even in the TT030 service manual doesn't have much.

 

Glenn

[Gunstar]

I've never seen a cartridge that was actually a rom program myself. I used to own a Spectre GCR Mac emulator cart, and I still own a video digitizer cartridge and a sound sampler/digitizer cartridges which are basically hardware expansion with software to use them on disk. The Vidi-ST 12 cartridge is so big it covers up one of the MIDI ports, so I use it on my STE, and then use the Sound digitizer cartridge on my MSTE along with the MIDI with my keyboard and MIDI software.

Edited March 1, 2008 by Gunstar

[+remowilliams]

I've never seen a cartridge that was actually a rom program myself.

I had one, I'm afraid it's one of the few things that is long lost though. I believe it was called the Backpack cartridge. It had utility programs on it like a notepad and a clock and other stuff.

[lp060]

You can find some info here:

 

http://dev-docs.atariforge.org/

 

http://dev-docs.atariforge.org/files/ROM_S...ic_1-2-1985.pdf

 

Alpha Systems used to sell those ramdisk carts, 1 and 2 mb if I recall. No idea how those worked. I do recall the drivers would not work with MiNT though.

Edited March 1, 2008 by lp060