![[Del's Atari in the USA 2002 banner]](images/del_ban.gif)
Atari ST in a
box - Part 1
September is
already here, and this year is flying by. Last
month I tinkered with two Atari 8-bit systems
that had been modified before I got them. This
month, one of my younger brothers dug out one
of his first Atari computers from the late 80s
and donated the box to me as-is.
![[Photo: 520ST in a box]](images/520st.jpg)
Inside the box
was a wonderful old Atari 520ST in pieces. He
mentioned he had originally bought it used and
then removed the RAM for another Atari
system he was using at the time.
![[Photo: ST with its lid off]](images/opencase.jpg)
![[Photo: ST with case and keyboard removed]](images/top_off.jpg)
Upon further
inspection, I found that it also had
a mystery wire coming from the back of the case
- prompting me to take a closer look.
![[Photo: 520ST with missing RAM]](images/miss_ram.jpg)
After taking
closer look, I found the strange black wire to
come from the RF modulator (see below).
![[Photo: Strange black wire coming from the RF tuner]](images/video.jpg)
The wire was
soldered into the RF case, so I removed the cover
to get a better look. As wires were going everywhere,
I also removed the second cover.
![[Photo: Home ST video upgrade]](images/video2.jpg)
It appears that
this is some kind of rework to allow the ST
to connect to a TV or monitor with RCA
jacks.
![[Photo: Home ST video upgrade close-up]](images/video3.jpg)
![[Photo: Home ST video upgrade close-up]](images/video4.jpg)
![[Photo: Home ST video upgrade close-up]](images/video5.jpg)
I went ahead
and checked the bottom of the mainboard and
I found two areas with minor rework.
![[Photo: Back of MLB]](images/mlb.jpg)
Now the easy
part is over, I need to replace the missing
RAM and see if I can power up the computer and
go from there. Next month, I will tell you the results of my
newest quest to restore yet another Atari from
the grave.
Any tips to what this upgrade was
please send an e-mail to the address below.
del@myatari.co.uk
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