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Repairing a Stacy


Caribeno

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Hi,

Some time ago I bought an Atari Stacy, and I'm in the journey to repair/upgrade it. I found some information online about it, but not much, so I wanted to do my part, documenting my experience. Take a look! Comments and suggestions are welcome:

 

Current posts about the Stacy (more to come soon):

https://vintagecomputers.code.blog/2020/02/01/stacy-part-1/
https://vintagecomputers.code.blog/2020/02/01/stacy-part-2/

 

My blog, in general:

https://vintagecomputers.code.blog/

 

Andres.

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Very cool upgrades!!

I have purchased a new screen but have not installed it yet. I did do a screen upgrade for a friend and it turned out great. The first one I got was bad, but the eBayer in china had a 30 day return. The 2nd was fine.

I put an Ultra Satan in mine to replace the dead HD. It also reduced the weight, and power draw.

There is a poster called DarkLord here and Atari-Forum that did a Great series on his Stacy upgrades. He also did a few youtube vids of his project. You might seek him for advice, I have, and he was more than happy to reply.

I would like to see where you cut the battery bay to fit your 2.06 TOS upgrade.

I would also like do that upgrade. But I do not know anything about making a PCB. I can solder to one, though. Could you post a parts list and purchase links?

There was talk a few years ago about a 'pico' psu that might fit into the battery bay, fyi.

 

I am looking forward to further updates!!

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This is good stuff. I did a bunch of upgrades including the internal US like Klund1 as well as

installing a Pak 68/3 accelerator board and other things. Great project, great machine!

 

Your documentation is much better than mine. I tend to ramble a lot and it shows in the

thread.  :)

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNuHNzOd1o

 

Also, here is a pic  with the cover off:

 

post-5822-0-46273900-1440974368.thumb.jpg.b59a37d538b14fa9178e9971815b6eeb.jpg

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On 1/31/2020 at 11:52 PM, KLund1 said:

I put an Ultra Satan in mine to replace the dead HD. It also reduced the weight, and power draw.

There is a poster called DarkLord here and Atari-Forum that did a Great series on his Stacy upgrades. He also did a few youtube vids of his project. You might seek him for advice, I have, and he was more than happy to reply.

I would like to see where you cut the battery bay to fit your 2.06 TOS upgrade.

I would also like do that upgrade. But I do not know anything about making a PCB. I can solder to one, though. Could you post a parts list and purchase links?

There was talk a few years ago about a 'pico' psu that might fit into the battery bay, fyi.

 

I am looking forward to further updates!!

Since I wrote the first Stacy post, I have been emailing with Peter/Petari, and decided for a few changes on my quest to upgrade the Stacy:

 

* Will no go for the TOS 2.06 upgrade. I don't mind the modification on itself, but don't want to have all the extra stuff inside the Stacy. And it seems there is little advantage for 2.06. So, instead, I will go with the TOS 1.04i (the one Peter modified).

* Using the SCSI2SD interface does not make sense, because there are 2 interfaces (ACSI <-> SCSI <-> SD) and a lot of limitations. Instead, as you, I will use an UltraSatan (just ordered it, so it will take some time.

 

What's your experience with installing the UltraSatan internally? What kind of bracket did you use to hold it? And how about the front?

 

Thanks,

 

Andres.

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6 hours ago, DarkLord said:

This is good stuff. I did a bunch of upgrades including the internal US like Klund1 as well as

installing a Pak 68/3 accelerator board and other things. Great project, great machine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FNuHNzOd1o

 

Also, here is a pic  with the cover off:

 

Oh! I have seen your posts, they are super helpful! Also, completely unrelated to your posts, I found your videos. Good looking machine in black. ?

 

Also very jealous about the Pak 68/3. I don't think I will do that mod (I don't think you can find that card anymore, right?). But have a few questions for you:

 

* I'm planning to keep the original color of the Stacy. Did you find what color matches it?

* How did you hold the UltraSatan in the HDD place? What kind of bracket did you use? (but it seems that the internal UltraSatan that Lotharek sells now had 2 SD slots, so it may be different size than yours)

* How was your experience replacing the EL sheet of the screen? It seems cheaper than buying a new screen ;-) Does it use the same 12V (I think it is 12V) of the original screen?

 

Take care,

 

Andres.

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4 hours ago, Caribeno said:

Oh! I have seen your posts, they are super helpful! Also, completely unrelated to your posts, I found your videos. Good looking machine in black. ?

 

Also very jealous about the Pak 68/3. I don't think I will do that mod (I don't think you can find that card anymore, right?). But have a few questions for you:

 

* I'm planning to keep the original color of the Stacy. Did you find what color matches it?

* How did you hold the UltraSatan in the HDD place? What kind of bracket did you use? (but it seems that the internal UltraSatan that Lotharek sells now had 2 SD slots, so it may be different size than yours)

* How was your experience replacing the EL sheet of the screen? It seems cheaper than buying a new screen ;-) Does it use the same 12V (I think it is 12V) of the original screen?

 

Take care,

 

Andres.

Thanks. No, that card isn't made any more, unfortunately. There was an effort to do a modern version - I think it was called "RePAK" or something like that. Here

is a link:

 

http://www.atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=24938&sid=badcbd84bdd7d111440013c49ba64e40

 

No idea what the actual/original color is. Mine had some scratches and fading so I just decided to paint it black. I would like to

sand it down and do it again honestly, and try to do a better job (I'm no artist!).

 

I had bought an external model US from Jookie and replaced the original hard drive in the STacy with it, bolting it in. I'm sure I posted

pictures here and at Atari Forum covering that (somewhere).  I modified the rectangular piece of plastic that normally covers the hard

drive, giving me access to the US's slots. Oh, my US also has 2 SD card slots, BTW.

 

You have to be careful with the STacy's screen. There is a row of connections around the outside edge of the screen that should NOT be

removed. If you do, you'll wind up with streaks all over your screen. The screen can be taken apart and upgraded without messing around

with these connections. I actually wound up powering my replacement EL sheet off of the STacy's original P/S. Seems to have worked fine.

 

(IIRC, it is 12v)

 

Cheaper, but if I had to do it again, I think I'd buy the entire replacement screen if available. Far less chance of doing any damage and from

what I've seen, a sure-fire fix for the faded screen syndrome so many STacy's seem to develop.

 

Please do keep us updated on your STacy projects - we just love this stuff!  :)

 

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On 2/4/2020 at 2:13 AM, DarkLord said:

 

Please do keep us updated on your STacy projects - we just love this stuff!  :)

 

Thanks for all the info, DarkLord! Another question for you: do you use the RTC of the UltraSatan or the internal one? If it is the latter one, what software do you use to set it/read it/display it? And how does it handle dates beyond Y2K?

 

Oh, and I just posted the disassembly of the main body:

 

https://vintagecomputers.code.blog/2020/02/10/stacy-part-3/

 

Any suggestions are welcome!

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I'm using the RTC included with the US - seems to be rock-solid here. Not noticed

any Y2K issues, but really wasn't looking hard either. It keeps the time accurate 

and that's all I needed/wanted.

 

I'm using the software that Jookie included/wrote for the RTC in the US. Again,

works fine.

 

Your tutorial looks great - lots of helpful stuff there. The only thing I noticed is that

you might want to give a small warning about the hinge springs on the screen. I've

been told that when you remove the screws they can "snap" with no tension on

them. I personally did not experience this during the several times I've taken mine

apart but that may because my STacy's springs are no longer as strong as they

once were.

 

Still, we wouldn't want anyone's fingers pinched, right?  :)

 

BTW, what interface did you decide to use with your internal US and your STacy?

 

Thanks - Just curious.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/12/2020 at 7:08 AM, DarkLord said:

The only thing I noticed is that

you might want to give a small warning about the hinge springs on the screen. I've

been told that when you remove the screws they can "snap" with no tension on

them.

 

BTW, what interface did you decide to use with your internal US and your STacy?

Ah, thanks for that! Added to the post. ?

 

So, I bought the adapter for Mega STE (https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=49) and it worked perfect.

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  • 3 months later...

Caribeno:

 

Any updates? Just picked up a STacy 1 myself and am thinking about up grades. The screen is in good shape. Case and keyboard in good shape. Hard drive gone to goo. Only want to open it once. Currently just considering a US internal. I which there was a video upgrade available like there is for the 8-bit series.

 

Oh, RTC battery? Soldered to the MB?  Is it OK leaving it where it is and just using the US RTC?

Edited by mdivancic
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With everything you mentioned in good shape, then just go for one of Lotharek's internal

US kits. Grab the US itself plus the internal adapter and you'll be good to go.

 

https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=47

 

https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=49

 

Also, check out this thread - lots of pictures showing that internal US and cable in a

Mega STe. The hard drive setup for the Mega STe and the STacy are identical, AFAIK.

 

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/300934-mega-stett-led-replacements/

 

You can see several ways that some of us installed these units with lots of helpful

information there...

 

As far as the RTC goes, I left everything stock in my STacy and just used Jookie's software

which accesses the US RTC and it's always worked fine.

 

Keep us updated - we love STacy stories and pictures!  :)

 

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On 6/17/2020 at 10:51 AM, mdivancic said:

Any updates? Just picked up a STacy 1 myself and am thinking about up grades. The screen is in good shape. Case and keyboard in good shape. Hard drive gone to goo. Only want to open it once. Currently just considering a US internal. I which there was a video upgrade available like there is for the 8-bit series.

 

Oh, RTC battery? Soldered to the MB?  Is it OK leaving it where it is and just using the US RTC?

Sorry I'm late answering. But +1 to everything @DarkLord said. ? 

 

I desoldered the internal battery, just in case, and put a couple of cables to the battery compartment (mine can be opened), just in case I want to connect a battery there in the future.

 

Also, if you want, consider upgrading the Stacy to 4 MB. You can buy the upgrade from Best Electronics (that's what I did):

 

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/addendum.htm

(look for item CB102144 . FYI, on my Stacy, I had to cut a little bit of the internal metal shield to fit it)

 

And last, but not least, take a look at my blog, where I show how to disassemble the Stacy:

 

https://vintagecomputers.code.blog/

 

A couple of days ago I finally put it all back together, so I will be posting about that soon.

 

Andres

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Oops - missed the part about it being a STacy 1.

 

I did the same. I had a STacy 2, got a 4 meg

board from Best Electronics, all fixed.  :)

 

Oh, don't know if they are still doing it or not but

in my case they wanted my old board as a trade

in. Reckon, they are getting in short supply and

they are re-doing the old boards, upgrading them,

'n stuff.

 

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21 minutes ago, DarkLord said:

Oh, don't know if they are still doing it or not but

in my case they wanted my old board as a trade

in. Reckon, they are getting in short supply and

they are re-doing the old boards, upgrading them,

'n stuff.

 

They do it if you have a Stacy 2. For a Stacy 1, you have to buy the new board and keep the 1 MB one.

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I thought about the memory upgrade, not sure I’ll need it however I only want to open this once. From what I can tell this one has never been opened. 
 

I’m working on a 3D printed tray and faceplate for the US that will allow it to slide out for easy battery replacement. 

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2 hours ago, mdivancic said:

I’m working on a 3D printed tray and faceplate for the US that will allow it to slide out for easy battery replacement. 

Ah! That's neat; I was wondering about that and that's the reason I connected some cables to the original RTC battery.

 

Can you share the plans of the tray and faceplate when you are done? ?

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4 hours ago, mdivancic said:

I thought about the memory upgrade, not sure I’ll need it however I only want to open this once. From what I can tell this one has never been opened. 
 

I’m working on a 3D printed tray and faceplate for the US that will allow it to slide out for easy battery replacement. 

 

I'd highly recommend that every ST owner upgrade to 4 megs. If you do much with the machine at all,

you'll need it, sooner or later. For example, some hard drive adapted games require more than 1 meg.

And...since you're going to have a US, you know you'll want to have some HD adapted games.  :)

 

A tray accessible US - that sounds really cool!

 

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21 hours ago, DarkLord said:

I'd highly recommend that every ST owner upgrade to 4 megs.

Ok, you have talked me into it! My wife is going to kill me...

 

So right now I have the following planed:

- Internal US

- 4 meg upgrade 

- Remove old clock battery

 

what else?

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We get a lot of "my wife is going to kill me" around here.  :)

 

There are still several things you can do, but they are part of the

"major involvement" list. If you can find a Tweety board (stereo

enhancement), or one of Exxos's HD 1.44 meg floppy drive

upgrades, or...if you're really lucky, find an accelerator board

that's in really good shape, ect.  Oh, you could install a TOS

switcher as well. Note that, these upgrades involve soldering,

tinkering, re-arranging the STacy's internals, and more.

 

None of the above are essential, or really necessary, mind you, 

more like deluxe options.

 

IMHO, maxing out your RAM and getting the US installed will

cover a lot of things.

 

PS Oh! Since you're ordering from Best Electronics anyway, grab

one of their TrueMouse replacements. A bit expensive but so much

better than the original mouse....

 

http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/accesori.htm

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ok, another STacy question. I 90% sure that when I got my STacy last month the Keyboard worked. I’ve been waiting a couple weeks for my order from Lothark to arrive. Came in today so I pulled the Stacy out and now the following keys don’t work: M J K U I 8 9 F8

 

it been a while since I’ve worked on an Atari ST, any suggestions?

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