Jump to content
IGNORED

questions about the UltraSatan


Recommended Posts

Hi all, just a couple of quick questions about US, from what I see it connects to the hard drive port of the ST correct?  However, I need to buy the cable for that connection when I buy the UltraSatan.  After that , it's just ply and play using Peter's hard drive utilities, correct?  Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty sure that's the case Randy. I finally received my US about a month ago after about a three-month Covid delay. I haven't had time to hook it up and play with it yet, but I'm anxious to check it out.

 

I've seen various users mention using one or the other of the three main driver options, ICD Pro driver, HDDriver, and Peter's HD driver, but I don't think I've seen a major breakdown or comparison of them. I'd like to see a good comparison listing features, pros & cons of each. I know the ICD Pro is free, and I don't mind paying for one of the other two, but I don't want to pay for both to determine which is the best for my needs. Has anyone seen a comparison like this anywhere?

 

I'm pretty sure there's a trial of Peter's on the SD card I ordered with my US. Is there a trial version of HDDriver?

 

Thanks!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all, the driver will make OS "see" US as a hard drive. But then no matter which driver you use you will need to create partitions on that drive. All 3 drivers come with such a utility but you need to be paying attention to the size of the partition because depending on the TOS version you will have different limits. This is also important if you connect the same US to more than one STs with different vTOS version. 

 

I think Jookie in his page had a comparison of the drivers. I bought both PP's and HDDR because I want to support maintainers to keep doing what they doing. I am pretty sure both have trail versions with limitations. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also things might get a bit more complicated if you have other devices on the ascsi bus (for example with a mega ste you have the built in hard drive) and you need to make sure that the device ID doesn't clash with another device ID on the same bus... But playing a bit around with the utilities and googling around you should be able to find your way...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some notes: ICD has no TOS/DOS compatible partitioning and support for that, only other 2 mentioned. So, not easy data transfer with some modern computer.

 

Funny thing is that now, so many years later TOS 1.00-1.02 is still interesting and needs support. In big part now because Covid-19 and very slow, sometimes not working international shipping. Additionally EPROM prices went up, so replacing 6 TOS chips in some ST cost pretty much.

I never used hard disks with those old TOS versions - first one had in 1992, and then we had already 1.04 and 2.06 - actually later was only good for my IDE disk then.

And to mention that I went on DOS compatible partitions very soon. TOS and DOS FAT16 is same under 32 MB, only above it differs. And with those small capacity drives was no need for bigger partitions.

One thing more: for those old TOS versions, which support max 256 MB partition size   is not enough to set size properly, but it needs to be in 'old TOS' mode. Because logical sector size needs to be double with older TOS versions by same partition size.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another quick question please.  Right now ordering from Lotharek's Lair has shipping via USPS @ almost $100!, whereas if I buy if from him on ebay, the shipping is $40.  Anyone buy the UltraSatan during the Covid use ebay vs directly from Lotharek?  Just concerned that the ebay ship and his webpage ship are so different before buying on ebay.  Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw the crazy shipping prices in his thread where he announced pre-orders for the new SIDE3 cartridge. There seems to be some sort of error with shipping estimates right now. He's looking into it, but I'd definitely wait a little bit to see how things settle out.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If shipping is with the Ebay international program I would do it. It is very efficient and the least delay in customs (at least pre-covid19): usual 2-3 days where buying directly from a seller in EU I had a recent experience having my package waiting for a month in the US customs...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Randy said:

Thanks, B, do you think it would be OK to go the ebay route?  Can't get an email to him or thru ebay, just don't want to look at $100 shipping for this. 

 

If it's actually Lotharek selling it through eBay, then yes, I think that would be fine.

 

33 minutes ago, larrylaffer said:

If shipping is with the Ebay international program I would do it. It is very efficient and the least delay in customs (at least pre-covid19): usual 2-3 days where buying directly from a seller in EU I had a recent experience having my package waiting for a month in the US customs...

 

I know that can be true in some instances, but my US, which was order right before everything started going to heck in early March, got held up for three months. I'd paid for Polish Post shipping, and they completely stopped International shipping altogether. Lotharek finally paid the extra himself to ship out all of his orders via FedEx after three months. I finally got mine about a month ago. That being said, once I got the notice that my order had shipped, I had it here in southern Indiana in a week, so there was no holdup whatsoever at customs. Of course, that may have been because so little was making it into the country at the time.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Mrarkus said:

FedEx from Lotharek took 5 days to US for me, twice in the last 2 months. It’s not cheap, like $40+, but worth it, IMHO.

Thanks Mrarkus, that option on Lotharek's site is over $100 whereas the UPS was $80.  When I bought it on ebay, UPS is $40.  If I had been able to contact him, your info would have been a big help, but he isn't taking any email.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to Lotharek's site and added a cased US, cable, and SD card with the software to my cart and this was the shipping shown to Indiana. It looks like the shipping cost issue has been fixed, at least for now. All three of these are sold separately on Lotharek's web site, so I'm not certain that they come together when you purchase them off of eBay. Something to consider and confirm before purchasing. FedEx starts at $41.10, and they or UPS are the only way to get anything out of Poland at the moment.

 

Another option to check into, Marlin at The Brewing Academy here in the states sells UltraSatans and cables. He shows out of stock at the moment, but you may want to check with him and see when I might have some new ones in. You can reach him here: macrorie@thebrewingacademy.com, or here: MacRorie

 

 

image.thumb.png.41a23d1c6c7f03aef72ec23d6a4e6092.png

Edited by bfollowell
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...