Atari MegaSTE

The Atari MegaSTE is a semi-professional version of the Atari 1040 STE and was introduced in 1991 to replace the technically outdated MegaST and to be able to offer a compromise between the inexpensive 1040 STE and the expensive high-end model TT . Compared to the 1040 STE, the MegaSTE has been further developed in the following technical properties:

• 16 MHz 68000 processor
• 16 KiB 2nd level cache
• Socket for math coprocessor 68881 with 16 MHz
• VME expansion slot for graphics cards, network cards etc.
• 2 RS232C compatible serial interfaces
• 1 serial high-speed interface
• Internal ACSI slot for operating an internal hard disk (usually with a SCSI host adapter)
• 1 to 4  MiB RAM
• Socketed TOS 2.05 (STE- TOS ) in 256 KiB, later TOS 2.06

Atari Mega STE

While the MegaSTE was technically based on the 1040 STE, the - rather idiosyncratic - housing was taken over from the TT, like all ST computers in mouse gray. On the one hand, the MegaSTE had an excellent remote keyboard, space for internal expansions and could easily be placed under the monitor, on the other hand, the MegaSTE lacked the extended joystick connections of the 1040 STE. In contrast to the TT, it had an HF modulator for connection to a television.

The early models were a DD - floppy disk drive shipped and TOS 2:05 that a revised desktop environment , keyboard shortcuts, rechargeable icons offered and freely positionable links. The “XControl” modular control panel was also included on the diskette.

Later models contained TOS 2.06 and were usually equipped with an HD floppy disk drive by the dealer . An internal DIP switch bar enabled the computer to be configured, so that the operating system then also offered the “high storage density” in the “Format floppy disk” dialog.

Atari's own host adapter for operating an internal hard drive was primarily intended for the 48 MB and 80 MB drives offered by Atari itself and was not suitable for connecting external hard drives, so some dealers made their own SCSI adapters very early on offered.

Due to its rather modest performance data - especially when compared to the 80386 and 80486 -based PCs emerging in the early 1990s - the price of the Atari MegaSTE fell shortly after its introduction. For a short time it seemed to establish itself as an inexpensive work tool in the semi-professional and private environment, for example for word processing , DTP and, thanks to the integrated MIDI interfaces, music generation. But with the establishment of Microsoft Windows as the de facto standard for computers, the MegaSTE disappeared from the market.

Vortex offered an adapter card on which a 386SX with local memory was soldered and which was plugged into the processor socket of the STE. The 68000 of the STE was in turn placed on the adapter card. This means that DOS and Windows can be operated natively, with access to the STE hard drive (up to 16 MiB partition size.)

With the help of emulators such as STEEM Engine or Hatari , a large part of the software that was developed for the MegaSTE can be used on today's computers.

Footnotes

1. ↑ http://www.stcarchiv.de/tos1991/11/atonce-386sx
2. ↑ http://steem.atari.org/
3. ↑ http://hatari.sourceforge.net./

Web links

• Atari Mega STE in the Atari Museum