An Atari laptop fanatic is planning to provide a compact laptop dubbed the MiniST. Yes, you’ve guessed it, the Atari ST 16-bit house laptop is getting some mini-love ultimately, albeit in a really restricted preliminary batch of 5 items at “approximately 350 euros” (~$400). Information shared by Dennis Shaw within the Atari ST and STe users Facebook group signifies that this cute black TKL encased laptop can be powered by a Tang Nano FPGA operating the MiSTeryNano core.
Shaw makes it clear in his submit that “all the materials are open source and can be freely obtained.” So the makers on the market with modernized Atari ST yearnings and the power could make one thing related with the open supply parts linked beneath.
For instance, the 3D printer information for the Creative Commons case design chosen by Shaw can be found underneath the moniker Atapi STx. That specific case is designed for Raspberry Pi use, however Shaw has modified and shared the mods for this FPGA-powered ST computing answer.
Under the hood (or contained in the wedge), one can find a motherboard that includes the Tang Nano FPGA, operating the MiSTeryNano core (GitHub project link, ported from MiSTer). Like the FPGA Amigas, C64s, and different retro remakes, the FPGA raises the classic computing expertise above and past the usage of an emulator.
Shaw signifies that the MiniST, because of the aforementioned MiSTeryNano core, affords a “cycle exact 8 MHz 68000 CPU,” with full chipset, a number of Atari TOS ROM variations, shade and monochrome video modes through HDMI, YM2149 and STE DMA sound through HDMI, Blitter chip, ASCI laborious disk help (Atari’s SCSI model), and the all-important MIDI through bodily MIDI-IN and OUT ports. It has a mouse, keyboard, and joystick mapped to USB.
We additionally learn that this challenge makes use of an RP2040 microcontroller “as a companion chip for OSD, USB,” and more.
Moving onto the scale of this production run, Shaw makes it clear that producing a MiniST is rather time-consuming, as “it takes an awful lot of time to print, sand, and paint them.” Thus, only five fully assembled, ready to plug and go, MiniST machines are planned to be sold as an initial batch. Perhaps the maker should invest in one of our best 3D printer choices to boost production…
The project seems wildly popular on the Atari ST and STe users’ Facebook group. So we hope Shaw, or one other enterprising particular person/group, can have a look at doing a Commodore 64 Ultimate-style job with the ST. Commodore computer systems appear to have acquired much more love with Mini (and full-sized) remakes, and we predict it’s about time for the ST to be represented within the mid-2020s with its personal modernized, reimagined retro laptop.
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