UNIXcoffee928 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 After reading about the Commodore 65, it made me think of a short musing that I had with Metalguy, a few years back, where we were discussing using an ST keyboard with an Atari 8-Bit. We did conclude that it would be a nice hack, because there would be so much space available inside the case, which would be useful for adding all kinds of mods. When I saw the C65, it made me think of this. So, considering that an ST is a fairly cheap computer to purchase, lets discuss all of the things that would be necessary to do, if one wanted to build a 130 XE into a 520 ST case, as a platform specifically designed to accommodate all of the cool new mods that are available today for the Atari 8-Bit. I think that it would be a really good starting point for advanced Atari 8-Bit users, who are interested in building The Ultimate Kickass Ataribox, but don't want to worry about cramming all sorts of stuff into their beloved Atari, that they already own. Something like this proposed system would be something that you would built from scratch, specifically as an upgraded machine. Let's discuss the best way to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathy Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Hello UNIXcoffee928 Leave the power supply in, add a MIDI-interface, add the F1-F4 from the 1200XL. The cartridge port could be moved to the space where the floppy used to be. Sincerely Mathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Use the original 520ST and relocate the cartridge port to ST's cart port. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Payne Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I love to mod but I'd also hate to see a piece of history get permanentlyrics destroyed so hopefully you can fine a ST that is pretty much unrecoverable. What I would love to do is create my own injection mold case. Now THAT'S where you could get creative. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIXcoffee928 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Personally, what I was thinking was to create standoffs on the corners of the case, and use a rectangular 1-2 inch high piece of plastic or metal to effectively raise the height of the case, this way, the case itself remains proper, and doesn't get Dremeled. This would also make the 520XE instantly recognizable as not a 520ST, but rather, something entirely different, while still retaining the distinctive & recognizable Atari styling. If you did this, then you could route all ports to the new, effective "back panel", and design the back panel as efficiently as possible, by cutting the holes in the rectangular standoff material. It would be nice to have MIDI ports, the joystick ports, and Serial and Parallel ports back there, as well. The whole point of this is to make it look like a proper Atari, without any gaping holes or messy looking modifications to the exterior. I was an Amiga guy, so I don't have an ST lying around. Can someone post detailed pictures of the interior of the case? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Trying without success to visualise what's described above, but I wish I still had the photo of Candle's 260ST/130XE conversion, which was very nicely done and left ample room under the numeric keypad for extra goodies. I should add that it was a humanitarian conversion, since the ST (AFAIK) had no motherboard and/or was terminally damaged. Edited February 15, 2015 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIXcoffee928 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Ah, it looks like it doesn't have a seam going around the bottom shell. Looking at it here, it would make the most sense to reuse the cartridge port and joystick ports, as is. Does anyone have measurements of the ST cartridge? I don't know if it was bigger or smaller than the Atari 8-Bit cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam242 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Someone with the handle BeWu did this a while back... put a 130XE motherboard into a 520ST case, using an ST keyboard for the 1200XL function keys. The case was Frankensteined with a section of 130XE case grafted in for the back panel to keep the ports in their proper locations. Turned out very nice, if I remember correctly. I wish I could find another reference to it. This link is now broken, but I'll post it anyway if someone knows where it got moved to: http://www.wierzbak.user.icpnet.pl/130xef/ Perhaps one of our Polish friends can shed some more light on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIXcoffee928 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Trying without success to visualise what's described above... Just a rectangular piece of plastic, less than 2 inches high, with screw holes in the corners. Screws go through the bottom shell of the ST, through the standoff, then attach to the upper shell of the case. This makes the top of the computer higher off of the desk, more like the height of an Atari 800. By doing this, you gain even more room in the case, vertically, with the added advantage of not cutting the original case. ...but, after looking at the exterior case photos, it might make more sense to just fabricate a whole new lower shell that gets screwed into the original upper shell. I won't know, until I see some interior photos, and photos of a disassembled ST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Here's a discussion about it [beWu's conversion]: http://atarionline.pl/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=297 Just a rectangular piece of plastic, less than 2 inches high, with screw holes in the corners. Screws go through the bottom shell of the ST, through the standoff, then attach to the upper shell of the case. This makes the top of the computer higher off of the desk, more like the height of an Atari 800. By doing this, you gain even more room in the case, vertically, with the added advantage of not cutting the original case. I see. Hopefully now I can un-see. Edited February 15, 2015 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Candle made one of these conversions as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Yes: as I said, I wish I still had the photo he sent me. Extending the lower half of the 130XE's case so it can be mated with the ST's upper case is the most sensible way to do it: this way, the motherboard is effectively still in its original situation, with all the ports intact. That's how Candle did it. Edited February 15, 2015 by flashjazzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIXcoffee928 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Here's a discussion about it: http://atarionline.pl/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=297 In America, they taught us English & French... I have no effin' idea what that says, lol, err, can I buy a vowel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Yes: as I said, I wish I still had the photo he sent me. Extending the lower half of the 130XE's case so it can be mated with the ST's upper case is the most sensible way to do it: this way, the motherboard is effectively still in its original situation, with all the ports intact. That's how Candle did it. He posted pics in a thread here on AA a while back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 In America, they taught us English & French... I have no effin' idea what that says, lol, err, can I buy a vowel? I don't understand a word of Polish either but I participate in these forums quite successfully using Chrome's ability to translate websites on the fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariGeezer Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 He posted pics in a thread here on AA a while back... His site no longer allows access to all files http://spiflash.org/atari/ , which I think they were hosted there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIXcoffee928 Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 "Thanks, but It's the "Other Features" of Chrome that inspire me to choose to not use it." -George Orwell, 1984 = ) After doing some image searches, I've found that there's very few pictures out there of a 520ST case opened up. Can someone post images of the upper & lower shells of the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candle Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I've been dreaming this dream for quite some time as well, but with a little more (dumb) ambition. It starts with a 1040 STFM case and keyboard... ** Internal Floppy ** Leave the 3.5" floppy drive in the case. Put an XF-551 PCB in the case as well. Uses the STF external floppy port and cable to run the ribbon cable from the XF-551 PCB to an external 3.5" drive in an SF 314/354 case. ** Keypad ** Keypad number keys mapped to the top row numbers for the 8-Bit. Switchable, the keypad can also act as a CX21 touch pad. ** Cartridge Port ** Truly reroute the cartridge port to the cart port on the 1040 case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 (edited) Another possibility I've been thinking about is to repurpose a Megafile, Mega, or TT case as a desktop case for a 130XE, with an internal floppy via the XF551 PCB internally mounted. If I can get an XEGS external keyboard to work with the 130 inside the case, this could be an easier win. Edited February 16, 2015 by pixelmischief Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Candle, you are a genius, man. If a wayward Time Lord ever happens here, I'm going to TARDIS-jack him and then pick up you, CPU Wiz, and Bob DeCrescenzo and take you guys back to 1980 Atari Inc HQ in Sunnyvale and let you 3 guys conquer both the computer and video game industries and usher in a thousand years of Pax Ataria. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixelmischief Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Candle, you are a genius, man. ^^ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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