31 replies to this topic

[DarkLord]

Hey gang. I've been talking to Jookie about an internal cable for the Ultrasatan that will
work with the Mega STe, or the STacy. These machines use an internal SCSI card. The
cable will replace the internal card, connecting directly between the internal ACSI
connector and the Ultrasatan itself.

Jookie says he needs at least 5 orders to have it done and make it look professional.

I'm in for one - can we find 4 other Mega STe and/or STacy owners who would be
interested?

Thanks much!

PS Started this at Atari-Forums - have 3 interested so far - need 2 more!

[remowilliams]

I'd go for one, possibly two depending on price.

[DarkLord]

remowilliams, on Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:51 AM, said:

I'd go for one, possibly two depending on price.

Alright, that'll do it - I actually put down for 2 as well, since I have
both a STacy and a Mega STe.

I'll contact Jookie and let him know.

Thanks!

[DarkLord]

Okay, it seems between AtariForums and here at AtariAge, we now
have 5 orders.

We need to know if anyone besides me is ordering this cable for
a STacy or just Mega STe's.

Thanks!

[KLund1]

I'll take 1 for my MSTE.
Many Thanks

[DarkLord]

KLund1, on Tue Mar 2, 2010 4:28 PM, said:

I'll take 1 for my MSTE.
Many Thanks

Okay thanks! I'll put you on the list.

[remowilliams]

Was the price figured out yet? If it's not too high I'd probably want one for an MSTE and one for a STacy.

[DarkLord]

remowilliams, on Tue Mar 2, 2010 5:36 PM, said:

Was the price figured out yet? If it's not too high I'd probably want one for an MSTE and one for a STacy.

Not yet - I just forwarded the list to Jookie - as soon as he gives
a price I'll post it asap.

[DarkLord]

Okay, here is what Jookie has sent me about this.

Pricing:
"The expected price of passive Mega STE cable would be 10 Euro + 5 Euro shipping (and I still need to ask if they can make 6 pieces of PCB instead of one (I will try to use some special PCB manufacturing service used for prototyping to lower the PCB cost)."

and this is for a "passive" cable:
"(don't want to connect anything on the external DMA connector?)"

So is everyone still in for this? Thanks!

[DarkLord]

Okay, more on the "passive" and "active" cables.

The Passive cable goes straight from the internal ACSI connector on the Mega STe or STacy
to the Ultrasatan. It does not allow for use of the external DMA connector.

The Active cable goes straight from the internal ACSI connector on the Mega STe or STacy
to the UltraSatan, but will allow for use of the external DMA connector. It will have more
electronics involved, and require more testing, and an additional 2-3 weeks according to
Jookie.

So we need to know if anyone needs the *Active* cables.

Thanks!

[DarkLord]

I e-mailed Jookie this week and he said he was going to try hard to get
these done soon...

"Hello,
I hadn't any spare time for the last few weeks or months, but I will work on it this week, I promise. Will keep you informed.

Jookie"

Here is the current list:

Internal UltraSatan cable List:

DarkLord - 2 (one of each type)

-------------------------------------------------

AtariAge:

Remowilliams - 1 (possibly 2, depending on price)

Klund - 1

--------------------------------------------------

AtariForum:

wthorbjo - 1

tpic - 1

Chris Blaylok - 1 passive

AtariMega125 - possibly 1 active (not confirmed yet)

[remowilliams]

Almost forgot about this I'd say I'm definitely up for one passive, and possibly an active depending on price.

[DarkLord]

remowilliams, on Wed May 5, 2010 10:17 AM, said:

Almost forgot about this I'd say I'm definitely up for one passive, and possibly an active depending on price.

Yeah, he's (Jookie) been really busy it seems. I get the feeling that
now that he's quit making the Ultrasatans, that he's working on some
other project for our Atari's. With a track record like Satandisk, and
Ultrasatan - I'm looking forward to whatever it is...

[atarian63]

DarkLord, on Wed May 5, 2010 12:04 PM, said:

remowilliams, on Wed May 5, 2010 10:17 AM, said:

Almost forgot about this I'd say I'm definitely up for one passive, and possibly an active depending on price.

Yeah, he's (Jookie) been really busy it seems. I get the feeling that
now that he's quit making the Ultrasatans, that he's working on some
other project for our Atari's. With a track record like Satandisk, and
Ultrasatan - I'm looking forward to whatever it is...

It would be nice to have one for a Mega ST

[DarkLord]

Just wanted to update this as to where we are so far. Latest reply from Jookie:

Postby Jookie » Sun May 30, 2010 5:44 pm
"I'm so sorry I've been busy for the last weeks and months, unable to do anything at home... I hopefully will start to make at least these cables..."

Here is the current list:

Internal UltraSatan cable List:

DarkLord - 2 (one of each type)

-------------------------------------------------

AtariAge:

Remowilliams - 1 (possibly 2, depending on price)

Klund - 1 passive

--------------------------------------------------

AtariForum:

wthorbjo - 1 passive

tpic - 1 passive

Chris Blaylok - 2 passive

AtariMega125 - possibly 1 active (not confirmed yet)

Fonz - 1 passive

[DarkLord]

Here is the current list:

Internal UltraSatan cable List:

DarkLord - 2 (1 active and 1 passive)

-------------------------------------------------

AtariAge:

Remowilliams - 1 (possibly 2, depending on price)

Klund - 1 passive

--------------------------------------------------

AtariForum:

wthorbjo - 1 passive

tpic - 1 passive

Chris Blaylok - 2 passive

AtariMega125 - 1 active

Fonz - 1 passive

Jake/Depression - 1 active

Indus - 2 active

rian_ata - 2 (1 active and 1 passive)

Alanh - 2 active

--------------------------------------------------

Total - 17 (approximately)

[DarkLord]

Latest post by Jookie at AtariForum, to this thread:

------------------------------------------------
Re: Internal Ultrasatan cable for Mega STe/STacy
Postby Jookie » Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:28 am
Guys, I'm sorry but I'm unable to do anything for
the next month or so.
------------------------------------------------

So it looks like its gonna be a bit longer gang.

I can wait.

[Bill_Loguidice]

(deleted)

Edited by Bill_Loguidice, Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:07 AM.

[DarkLord]

Hey gang - long time for an update on this, but but it looks like
AlanH over at AtariForums is going to be making a run of these
cables.

Follow the message thread below if you are still interested:

http://www.atari-for...=179590#p179590

Thanks!

[DarkLord]

More movement on this topic, Alan has completed a working cable, but it
doesn't work correctly with external ACSI devices plugged in. Follow the
link for more details:

http://www.atari-for...=179590#p179590

Hopefully soon now!

[DarkLord]

Woot! AlanH has the order page *UP*!

http://www.freemint....ultrasatan.html

Please read the text carefully, some external ACSI
devices seem to work when plugged in, and others
don't, according to Alan.

Big round of applause and a hearty pat on the back
for Alan!

PS Was that -soon- enough for everyone?

[DarkLord]

Okay, grabbed the picture of the cable from the thread over
at AtariForum:



Looks like Alan has included a power supply connecter as
well. Have to wait for full details on that.

Looking good though!

[KLund1]

WOW hold on here!!!!
20 lbs????@@:!!!! =$33.xx+ U$D, plus shipping.
I thought this was just a simple, Atari modified ribbon cable, or some sort, with ports. Effort very good, though long time. A bit more info during development posted here, might of shed some light on the costs. Please double check those cost/shipping numbers one more time. Profit, yes, gouge us, no please.....

[DarkLord]

Well, the price might seem a bit high, but this is a very specialized
item. There just aren't that many Mega STe's or STacy's out there. It
certainly can't meet the qualifications for a big, bulk production run
of any sort. Also, its not anyone's fault that the US dollar is so weak
right now.

I'm not so sure about the simple part either. I guess it is to some
people. If it was so simple though, why has it taken so long for someone
to actually produce one?

I'm perfectly happy with the price. In fact, I ordered 2. I'd have probably
paid a lot more as well, if it had been necessary, simply because there is
no other choice (for me) available. Do I wish it had been a $1.99? Sure,
but the economics dictate otherwise.

I'm just grateful that someone like Alan did step up and meet the demand
for this item.

Have a great day.

[DarkLord]

I hadn't seen anyone post any comments or pictures about what they had done with
their cable, so I thought I'd post a couple.

The first pictures shows Alan's excellent cable plugged into the internal ACSI port of
my STacy.



The 2nd pictures shows my Ultrasatan, bolted into the drive cage of the STacy. I
used the rails from a 3.5" drive adaptor kit (one of those that lets you put some
thing like an EZ or Zip drive into a 5 1/4" bay) to mount the Ultrasatan with. It
seemed to work fine - very solid. The Ultrasatan now occupies the place that the
original 20meg hard drive was.



The 3rd picture shows the drive cage, complete with floppy drive and Ultrasatan,
sitting in the drive bay, on the right hand side of my STacy.



Finally, this pictures shows the original hard drive cover, complete with ventilation
holes. I'll need access to the UltraSatan though, so I've got some dremel work ahead
of me to make it fit snugly around the Ultrasatan.



All in all, its turned out far better than I hoped it would. I'd love to see what everyone
else has done with theirs.