{"id":3624,"date":"2022-09-09T13:29:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T12:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=3624"},"modified":"2023-04-24T13:01:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T12:01:58","slug":"on-retro-computing-atari-1040-stf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quantum-bits.org\/?p=3624","title":{"rendered":"On retro-computing: Atari 1040STF"},"content":{"rendered":"

After months of hard work restoring a Macintosh Plus<\/a>, this time, I sailed towards more familiar shores: the Atari 1040STF<\/strong>. I owned an Atari 1040STF<\/a> back in the late 80’s and I spent an enormous amount of time with it: learning software programming, using desktop publishing software, creating my first digital artworks…<\/p>\n

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I started working on the Mac Plus during #Marchintosh2022<\/a> … so I guess it made sense that I started working on an Atari device to celebrate Atari’s 50 years anniversary !<\/p>\n

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The Atari 1040STF<\/span>
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I have been using an Atari 1040STF<\/a> from 1987 to 1990. It doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but I learned so much with it that it feels like a long story !<\/p>\n

Atari was an easy choice (for me) at the time. I had pushed my beloved Amstrad CPC 464<\/a> to is limits. The 8-bit era was coming to an end, it was time to jump into the 16-bit era. The Macintosh Plus<\/a> was a too expensive dream for me. The Amiga 1000<\/a> was very innovative, but also too pricey. The Amiga 500<\/a> wasn’t there yet (at least in France), and a strong community was nicely building up in Europe around the ST. So I opted for the “<\/span>Jackintosh<\/a>“:
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I guess, during the 8-bit Amstrad CPC464 \/ Commodore 64<\/a> “war”, I was on Amstrad\u2019s side. During the 16-bit Atari ST \/ Commodore Amiga “war” I was on Atari\u2019s. Funny turn of events, since Shiraz Shivji<\/a>\u2019s design for the Atari ST is a descendant of the Commodore 64 design, and Jay Miner<\/a>\u2019s design for the Commodore Amiga is a descendant of Atari VCS<\/a> and 8-bit computers<\/a> designs. But let\u2019s not create another war: the Amiga was an amazing piece of technology and is an important part of computer history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The Atari ST was my second computer. It is the machine on which I taught myself C, 68000 assembly language, event-based programming, GUI programming (<\/span>GEM<\/a>), and wrote tons of <\/span>GFA Basic<\/a> code. I had the SM124 high-resolution monochrome 640\u00d7400 bitmap display, so the ST could run “professional” software. I used it also for playing, of course, <\/span>but not that much, since most games were only running with color monitors. Bolo<\/a> was my favorite one.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the era of DTP<\/a> (Desktop Publishing), and I used software like “Signum!”, “Publishing Partner” or “Calamus” to manage publications for my newly created Role Playing Games<\/a> club (“Les Ma\u00eetres d\u2019Arme “). These were the times of my first digital artworks (with “Degas Elite” and “Neochrome”). For these, I acquired for my first printers, starting with a Citizen 120D<\/a>, and just a few years later, an HP Deskjet 500<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By mid-1990, I was 19 and I had been studying for a few years at Lyon\u2019s University<\/a>, focusing on mathematics and theoretical physics. I had started working part time – at first as a summer job, then, for around 3 years, 5-6 hours a week – as a research fellow at the \u00c9cole Centrale de Lyon<\/a>, <\/strong>having access to Unix workstations (HP9000 series 300 \/ 400<\/a>), as well as Motorola DSP 56000<\/a>-based HP realtime signal acquisition systems. I needed a machine able to compile C, C++, run a Unix-like kernel, with X-Windows, a TCP\/IP network stack. Although the Atari TT<\/a> was intended to run Unix SVR4, it was too far away (1992) and too expensive.<\/p>\n

It was the end of the road for my trusty Atari ST. I reluctantly jumped into the PC bandwagon, with an Intel 486DX33-<\/a>based PC to run Turbo Pascal<\/a> and Turbo C++<\/a>. I had to live with MS-DOS<\/a> and MS Windows<\/a> for a while\u2026 Until mid-1994, where I ditched all this and happily switched to a Slackware<\/a> GNU\/Linux distribution <\/a>(Kheops). The fun was back, full of kernel compilations, C programming, internet access, HTML learning, LaTeX<\/a> typesetting, CERNLIB<\/a> Fortan77 calculus, Maple V<\/a> symbolic computing and PAW<\/a> analysis for my PhD.<\/span><\/p>\n

F<\/span>un fact: Slackware and Atari ST\u2019s TOS<\/a> are related through <\/span>J.R. “Bob” Dobbs<\/a>. The peculiar character set of the Atari ST includes four special chars (#28 to #31) recreating the iconic face of the <\/span>Church of The SubGenius<\/a> !<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sourcing an Atari STF<\/span><\/p>\n

As I usually do, I went to LeBonCoin<\/a> web site. I searched for an french AZERTY Atari 1040STF<\/strong>, without monitor, in the best possible conditions and that could be shipped home (and not picked up, since I don\u2019t drive). After a few weeks, I opted for a nicely priced one (under 150\u20ac including shipment), in very good conditions, but lacking mouse, power cord and video cable. I found a week later an Atari ST mouse<\/strong>, in good conditions, though slightly yellowed, for under 40\u20ac.<\/p>\n

 Just a few days later, I received this package, the device being secured inside with much bubble wrap and paper journals:<\/p>\n

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The Atari 1040STF itself was nicely wrapped and indeed in very good shape (\u2026 with a few surprises unmentioned in the offering, as you will see later):<\/p>\n

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I received the next week the mouse, slightly yellowed, as advertised: <\/p>\n

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Joystick, diskettes, labels, USB floppy drive and video cables<\/span><\/p>\n

My goals for this Atari ST are – of course – to restore the device itself, but also to reproduce diskettes with old systems, applications and games. To complete theses goals, I had to complete this setup. I ordered on the Amazon<\/a>:<\/p>\n