Just got a 1040STE! Now what?

[Spazmonkey]

I got one on craigslist for $20, and am excited to finally get into atari computing!

 

Now, assume I know nothing, give me a crash a course on the ST's, what mine is like on a scale of how good it is compared to other models, games that I'm going to buy, wink wink, how to get those purchased games on a floppy to use it, what kind of joystick I need, a good mouse, blah blah, you get the idea.

 

Also, I have the urge to open this baby up, and mod it. Which ones are considered neccesities? Looks like it has RGB in there, so I will wire it up to VGA spec and use my scandoubler, but I heard the ST has different resolution modes or something? Anyway, any info would be much appreciated.

[mimo]

use floimg to copy disc images using an internal PC 3.5" drive

http://ppera.07x.net/atari/floimgd.php

 

Any Atari 2600 compatible joystick is fine, just use your favorite. Any ST mouse is fine too, there are some nice 3rd party ones that can be found cheap on auction sites.

You can also use Jaguar controllers on the "E"

STe outputs VGA anyway, if your monitor can sync to it's funny output, or a scan doubler may work. You just need to make/find the correct cable rather than open it up.

 

Upgrade to 4meg RAM is simple and cheap, just need to find the right Simms

[Spazmonkey]

use floimg to copy disc images using an internal PC 3.5" drive

http://ppera.07x.net/atari/floimgd.php

 

Any Atari 2600 compatible joystick is fine, just use your favorite. Any ST mouse is fine too, there are some nice 3rd party ones that can be found cheap on auction sites.

You can also use Jaguar controllers on the "E"

STe outputs VGA anyway, if your monitor can sync to it's funny output, or a scan doubler may work. You just need to make/find the correct cable rather than open it up.

 

Upgrade to 4meg RAM is simple and cheap, just need to find the right Simms

 

Cool, I like Jag controllers better. Do I need a joystick with two buttons for most games though? Also, my floppy drive is external, it's usb. Can I still use that program?

 

I will try wiring up a VGA cable then and checking it out, my monitor may or may not like it..... What's the resolution all about though? I was reading about low res for games medium res.... for something and high res. How do I get in/out of those modes?

[tjlazer]

Buy TOS 2.06 for it from me! Then while you are in there upgrade it to 4MB.

Edited September 30, 2009 by tjlazer

[+remowilliams]

Also, my floppy drive is external, it's usb. Can I still use that program?

Unfortuantely no, as it requires direct fdrawcmd chip level access to the floppy controller.

 

I will try wiring up a VGA cable then and checking it out, my monitor may or may not like it..... What's the resolution all about though? I was reading about low res for games medium res.... for something and high res. How do I get in/out of those modes?

Low res (320x200x16) is used for most games, Med (640x200x4) for some, and High (640x480x1) for very little. Low/Med res will not display on nearly any modern VGA monitor, as they require 15Khz horizontal sync. High res will display on many modern VGA displays.

[Spazmonkey]

Also, my floppy drive is external, it's usb. Can I still use that program?

Unfortuantely no, as it requires direct fdrawcmd chip level access to the floppy controller.

 

I will try wiring up a VGA cable then and checking it out, my monitor may or may not like it..... What's the resolution all about though? I was reading about low res for games medium res.... for something and high res. How do I get in/out of those modes?

Low res (320x200x16) is used for most games, Med (640x200x4) for some, and High (640x480x1) for very little. Low/Med res will not display on nearly any modern VGA monitor, as they require 15Khz horizontal sync. High res will display on many modern VGA displays.

 

I see, so I should be fine then with a scandoubler for the lower resolutions. How do I switch in and out? And will I have problems playing games? I just snagged a few off ebay, and hopefully they will work fine....

Edited September 30, 2009 by Spazmonkey

[+DarkLord]

I see, so I should be fine then with a scandoubler for the lower resolutions. How do I switch in and out? And will I have problems playing games? I just snagged a few off ebay, and hopefully they will work fine....

 

What models did you grab. Users have posted messages, success and failure, depending

on what you are using.

 

Just for low rez games, I use the Ambery model with my STacy at work to play games on

our 19" LCDs there. Works great on slow nights.

 

http://www.ambery.com/db9todbadca.html

 

Others have had success with other models. There are multiple message threads both

here, and at AtariForum covering this subject.

 

Good luck!

[matt!]

Just for low rez games, I use the Ambery model with my STacy at work to play games on

our 19" LCDs there. Works great on slow nights.

 

http://www.ambery.com/db9todbadca.html

Just to clarify, are you using that cable alone to display low res on LCD?

 

The only reason I ask is the page says that it also requires this $92 converter box:

http://www.ambery.com/rgbcgatovgac.html

 

matt

[+DarkLord]

Just for low rez games, I use the Ambery model with my STacy at work to play games on

our 19" LCDs there. Works great on slow nights.

 

http://www.ambery.com/db9todbadca.html

Just to clarify, are you using that cable alone to display low res on LCD?

 

The only reason I ask is the page says that it also requires this $92 converter box:

http://www.ambery.com/rgbcgatovgac.html

 

matt

 

Ah sorry - guess I wasn't clear enough on that point, but yes, I meant I used my STacy

with the Ambery converter box.

[Thorsten Günther]

Buy TOS 2.06 for it from me! Then while you are in there upgrade it to 4MB.

 

For games, I would not advise a TOS upgrade (although I have done it myself) to 2.06, as 1.06 and 1.62 are more compatible with older titles. In some STEs, this upgrade would also require a replacement of the ROM sockets or even a complete unsoldering of the ROMs. Instead, replacing the DMA chip may be essential for hard disk use (reading from hard disk works with all STEs, but if the STE does not have the C398739-001(A), writing to hard disk may corrupt it's content. RAM upgrade OTOH is always advisable, as it is cheap and easy.

 

The results of a bad DMA chip will look like this:

 

 

Thorsten