I’ve mentioned in various posts on this blog that I’ve owned a couple of Atari STs over the years – a 520ST in late ’86 and a Mega ST2 in ’89. I sold them both long ago, but have particularly fond memories of that 520ST, which was a really nice setup, housed in a Micro Mate 520 STation. The last is a rather unique system stand/organizer which I’ve searched for on and off over the years, thinking it would be a great find in case I ever setup another ST system. Well, I found a 520 STation, as reported here back in February. And, as I expected (feared?), the STation lead me to setup a whole 520ST system with which to fill it.
Click the above pic to see my full 520ST gallery.
That’s so fun, man.
I have ALWAYS wanted an Atari ST (or derivative) since they first came out, but my IBM-employed father wouldn’t hear of it. (He similarly wouldn’t hear of my requests for a Macintosh.)
I’ve thought of getting one in more recent years, but having absolutely no background with the Atari ST, considering their age I fear that documentation and support would be hard to come by. I know a lot about old Macs and NeXTs – I have a nice collection of each, and have a history with them – but I know nothing about the Atari ST. Or the Amiga, for that matter.
What can you do with a 520ST today?
Thanks for writing! Well, you can play great versions of Oids, Typhoon Thompson, Virus, Gauntlet and the best version of one of the best games ever made: Time Bandit. Not to mention the curiously satisfying Megaroids. I am not trying to do anything “serious” with this 512K machine, but it’s fun to game with. Honestly, the Amiga is a similar and much more capable machine.
I’ve got a NeXT too, btw:
http://pix.blakespot.com/view/computers/nextstation/
And a HP-9000 running NEXTSTEP:
http://pix.blakespot.com/view/computers/hp9000/
And a Mac Pro running OPENSTEP (sometimes…):
http://pix.blakespot.com/view/computers/screenshots/OPENSTEP_on_MP/
:-)
I just got a pair of 520s, a pair of floppy drives and a monitor, just awaiting a little bit of time to set it all up and test.
I went straight from commodores to x86 pcs, but I remember being jealous of my best friend’s 1040. Excited to see what this little box has to offer.
Very nice set-up! I owned a 520ST back in college and still like the style of the machine. It still looks great; the design holds up today. I recall playing some great games on it, especially Gauntlet and Dungeon Master.
I gave my ST up for a 386SX PC in ’89 due to the difficulty of getting software for it and my University using PC software exclusively. After graduation in ’90, I switched to an Amiga 3000 for use in graduate school. Now, that was an excellent machine.
Have you ever thought about getting an Atari Falcon? It’s a pretty neat machine. I remember being tempted to buy one in 93. I decided to save my money for an Amiga 1200, but blew it on an 486 PC instead. I did eventually buy the Amiga 1200, a little late, in 2003.
You have an amazing collection. Keep it up!
JMan, I’ve owned both 16-bit Amigas and Ataris, but I much preferred the Amiga 1200 to what I saw of the Atari Falcon. The Falcon had an ‘030 processor but it was sitting on a 16-bit bus (similar to the limited architecture of the Mac LC, a machine I did own) while the Amiga 1200 was true 32-bit with its ‘020 sitting on a 32-bit wide bus. Not to mention the fact that the 1200’s AGA chipset was far more advanced overall than what the Falcon offered.
I’m much happier with a true oldschool Atari 520ST sitting on my desk, just as it did back in 1986.
Also, Gauntlet on the ST was an amazing port. All my friends were jaw-dropped at seeing it.
Never owned an Amiga 3000. My most powerful Amiga is one I currently own, an A1200 I’ve towered with a 66MHz 68060 accelerator and 64MB of FAST RAM. It’s equipped with a flicker-fixer/scan-doubler and a PC-style PS/2 keyboard adapter. A great machine I use mainly for demos and the occasional game. I actually game more on my unaccelerated Amiga 2000.
Thanks for stopping in!
I need to find someone who can do memmory upgrades (soldering) on my STs!
Any ideas?
Thanks!
Atarifaz
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