Please, check our SMD/THT services - smd.lotharek.pl; from idea to ready devices
Please, check our SMD/THT services - smd.lotharek.pl; from idea to ready devices
Before buying - Please read the DISCLAIMER by Jookie/ designer of the original hardware.
Since Februrary 2024- Revised cased version
Specifications:
Inside BOX:
DISCLAIMER:
Q. I have problem with my USATAN. Doesnt work or... XXXX.
A: Please, visit above files section and read GENERAL troubleshooting PDF. I assume, if You contact me for support, You already have read above document.
Q: I saw a battery on the pictures on UltraSatan’s PCB, what is it for?
A: UltraSatan has a battery backed up RTC, so your ST will get current time and date on every restart instead of the usual year 1987.
Q: Does UltraSatan require to have an ACSI to SCSI interface such as a Link II etc?
A: No, you don’t need any ACSI-to-SCSI interface. The UltraSatan is connected directly to ACSI
Q: What kind of power supply socket is in the device? (i.e. what connector my adapter needs to have)
A: A regular mobile phone charger with microUSB is perfect.
Q: Will a 2 GB card work with it?
A: Jookie has tested UltraSatan with cards from 16MB to 8GB and they all work, so yes, the 2 GB card should work. BTW, according to my calculations, 8GB should be almost maximum that you can access using the biggest possible partitions under TOS 2.0x, and for TOS 1.xx the maximum should be 4 GB.
Q: Will a microSD and miniSD card work in UltraSatan?
A: The MicroSD and MiniSD cards work with UltraSatan, and even the SD card which can be directly plugged in the USB.
Q: I like the dual drives! Is any of them hot swappable?
A: Both are hot swappable.
Q: Is the hot swap a feature within Ultrasatan’s logic or is it based on some kind of special software on the ST?
A: UltraSatan detects card changes and if the card change occures, it signalizes the UNIT ATTENTION condition (SCSI sense code). Basically, any hard disk driver for ST, which can handle that situation, can use the hot swappable drive (the driver has to re-read FAT, etc., when the media change occures). HDDRIVER from Uwe Seimet has this support for removable media, I don’t know if any other driver does (I don’t use them).
Q: What is the transfer speed of UltraSatan?
A: The current FW version does something around 1MB/s, but it depends on the speed of the SD/MMC card and on the TOS version of you ST.
Q: Do you have any preference for running UltraSatan with either (a) an Atari STE with (TOS 1.62/2.06) or (b) an STFM (TOS 1.4)?
A: I would recommend using a machine with the newest TOS, so my choice would be STE with TOS 2.06, or at least 1.62. Older TOS versions have trouble (or are unable) to access SD/MMC cards formatted with TOS&DOS compatibility (for easy data transfer between PC and Atari), they are slower in hard-drive access and some have fatal bugs which cause the partition losses on hard-drives or data corruption
Q: Can I use a standard DMA cable (or AdSCSI cable) with your UltraSatan instead of your non-standard cable?
A: No you can’t, because UltraSatan does not have the DB-19 connector, but it has a 20-pin flat cable connector.
Q: Will the UltraSatan work with Atari Falcon? Does it need a different cable?
A: UltraSatan can’t work with Falcon, because Falcon does not have ACSI interface. The difference between SCSI and ACSI interface is much greater than just a different cable or connector, so it is not possible.
Q: I have an internal SCSI hard drive and ICD ADSCI Micro Host adapter still fitted in my Atari Mega 4 (SCSI Unit ID: 0). Do I need to remove these first or will the UltraSatan handle being parallelly connected to the external hard drive port?
A: It would be best to configure the UltraSatan first to use some other IDs than 0 (i.e. set it to 1 to 7). It shouldn’t break when connected to ST with other devices with the same IDs, but you can't configure it to new IDs either, because they would ‘talk’ one through the other (both will respond to the same requests) and the result will be that the ST won’t ‘understand’ any of the devices. So the best would be to configure it on another computer (i.e. on other ST) and then connect it to the Mega ST 4.
Q: I don’t like the name UltraSatan, because I it contains the word ‘satan’, and I don’t like to have it displayed when my ST boots up. Can I change it somehow?
A: Yes, you can change the INQUIRY name. Boot your ST, have your UltraSatan connected to your ST and powered, start the ‘us_config.prg’ utility and in the main menu press ‘i’ and follow the instructions.
Q: After few reads/writes to SD CARD my device stopped booting the system
A: Yes, It may happen, if your atari have "faulty" DMA operations. Please, follow below instructions to verify:
- download sd card ready image
- Extract zip
- Download : USB IMAGE TOOL http://www.alexpage.de/usb-image-tool/
- Restore image to Your SD/SDHC card - Please, have a look for note below
- Try sd card again wth ATARI
Run as ADMINISTRATOR and CHOOSE DEVICE MODE ---- NOT VOLUME MODE
Make some file operations between partitions. If problem appears again after writing to SD CARD – your ATARI DMA CIRCUIT NEEDS TO BE FIXED. We have two options:
- Replacing DMA CHIP http://joo.kie.sk/?page_id=250
- Applying small circuit patch : http://www.exxoshost.co.uk/atari/last/DMAfix/
Q:I have bricke my ultrasatan during firmware upgrade
A: Yes, It may happen, but do not worry - it may be easily fixed. Please, follow:
- disconnect device
- open the case (4 screws)
- short failsafe jumper - CLICK
- Upgrade firmware again
Q: I'm having trouble using both slots at the same time on my UltraSatan. The UltraSatan won't start (no red flash) when I use both Slots. I can use either slot, just not both slots at the same time. The only time it works is when I put an SD card (not an SD HC card) in Slot 2. Is there a limitation as to the types of cards, capacities of cards, etc, when using both slots?
if your device has problem with 2 MODERN cards inserted the same time , like SANDISK ULTRA 64GB-128GB ( no red light at boot etc) there is easy, quick fix: solder 10-18pF capacitor 0603 between SCK line and GND, closest to SD CARD slot as shown at picture.
BLACK PCB is revised version - starting from 2023.
BLUE _ONE - Since Februrary 2024
DIP SWITCH
- ON - Usatan boots base firmware
- ON - flash with firmware write protect
JP2 - programming connector.
JP1 - Leds header
- connect to external leds / legend on the left side of the pcb
- led 1 indicates work of SD CARD SLOT 1 (left)
- led 2 indicates work of SD CARD SLOT 2 (right)
- SINGLE LED - common led, indicating work of SD CARD 1 and 2; HDD led may be used
J1 - floppy power connector; populated in INTERNAL VERSION