Atari Serial Mouse - bicycle-progs61’s diary

Old software for Atari computers and Atari video game systems.

Pages in category Connector The following 200 pages are in this category, out of 560 total. previous 200.

This page gives information on the numerous

interfaces of the Atari ST and the associated connectors

and cables. It also provides information on some standard cables and

connectors not specific but useful for the Atari ST.

Important note: On this page the connectors pinout are always given looking at them

from the front side and not from the solder side.

LOCATION OF THE INTERFACES CONNECTORS

On the left side you find connectors for the midi in and out, and a cartridge and the right underside contains the connectors for the Mouse Joysticks

On the back panel you find connectors for a modem, printer,

hard disks, floppy disk,

TV Atari with RF modulator and monitor

Back to the top

ATARI MIDI INTERFACE

Atari Midi Connectors

Standard Midi Cable

Atari Special Midi Out/Thru

Cable

The midi interface is used to connect the Atari to electronic musical

instruments. It uses asynchronous signals 8 bits plus start and stop

bits at 31250 bauds bit/sec. The Atari interfaces midi through a dedicated

6850 ACIA Asynchronous Communication Interface Adapter chip as shown on the right.

Note the unconventional connection of Midi Thru signals to pin 1 3 of the out midi connector. This allows to have a midi thru interface without the cost of an extra connector.

The Atari has two midi DIN5 connectors: A standard Midi In connector, and a non standard Midi Out connector that also includes the Midi thru output this was

done to avoid adding a third connector as specified in the standard midi

THRU Transmit data non standard

Shield Ground

THRU Loop return non standard

OUT Transmit data

OUT Loop return

Midi Out/Thru Pinout

DIN5 female

Non connected

IN Receive data

IN Loop return

Midi In Pinout

Note

that a shield is connected on the Midi Out connector which is not following the midi standard. It is therefore recommanded to use cable without shield connection. For the Midi

In connector there is no shield which is standard midi.

Standard Midi Cables

It is possible to use standard Midi cables for the Midi In and the Midi Out

connection to/from the Atari. However it is mandatory to check that the cable

connected to the Atari Midi Out does not have any wires connected to pin 1 3.

This should be the case if you use a standard midi cable as describe below,

but sometimes you will find DIN5 male-male audio cables that connects all the pins.

DIN5 male

Name

DIN5

Shield

Data

Loop return

Atari Special Midi Out Midi Thru

It is possible to build a special Y cable that allows to have a Midi Out port

as well as a Midi Thru port coming from the Atari. For that matter you need to connect two cables on a male

DIN5 connector the one connected to the Atari Midi Out and each of them are terminate on a

male DIN5 connector. The Y cable connections are described below. Here is a picture of this cable

Atari Out DIN5

Midi Thru DIN5

Midi Out DIN5

Thru sink

Thru source

out sink

out source

ATARI CARTRIDGE INTERFACE

This interface allows to use a ROM cartridge with a maximum size of 128KB. It

connects the internal bus with the cartridge connector as described below.

5 VDC

Address 8

Address 14

Data 14

Address 7

Data 15

Address 9

Data 12

Address 6

Data 13

Address 10

Data 10

Address 5

Data 11

Address 12

Data 8

Address 11

Data 9

Address 4

Data 6

ROM Select 3

Data 7

Address 3

Data 4

ROM Select 4

Data 5

Address 2

Data 2

Upper Data Strobe

Data 3

Address 1

Data 0

Lower Data Strobe

Data 1

Ground

Address 13

Address 15

ATARI SERIAL INTERFACE

Serial Interface Connector

Serial Interface Cable

This interface is used generally for communication with other computers or

with modems. Most of the connection comes from the USART Universal

Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter inside the MFP68901 with

the exception of the

DTR and RTS signals that comes from the I/O port of the

sound chip.

The modem interface on Atari ST computers follows the RS232

standard apart from the following non-tested information: The CTS signal that usually indicates that the modem is ready to take the next

character is connected to input I2 of the MFP68901 and generates an interrupts

used by the system to start transmission. Therefore the

CTS has to be pulsed i.e. transitioned for each character to send in

other word keeping it asserted does not work. As the

RTS is pulsed for each character to send it can be directly connected to

CTS.

Again this is information coming from the Atari ST bible book and I

did not verified it.

Serial

Interface Connector

The serial interface uses a 25 pins D-SUB male Connector

Name

Description

SHIELD

Shield Ground. should not be connected to Ground

TXD

Transmit Data

RXD

Receive Data

RTS

Request to Send.

CTS

Clear to Send

DSR

Not Connected Data Set Ready

GND

System Ground

Carrier Detect

9-19

N/C

DTR

Data Terminal Ready

Ring Indicator

23-25

Serial Interface Cables

Connection

to a modem uses a normal modem cable e.g.

DB25F-DB25M or

DB25F-DB9M.

Connection to another computer e.g. a PC requires a null modem cable e.g.

DB25F-DB25F or

DB25F-DB9F.

Plese refer to the RS232 Standard for description of these cables.

ATARI PARALLEL INTERFACE

The

parallel interface also called the printer interface of the Atari is somewhat standard but is missing several standard signals

found on PC s parallel interface see description below.

The printer signals are connected mostly on the Yamaha sound chip I/O ports.

The only exception is the Busy signal that goes to input I0 of the

MFP68901, and therefore a transition on this pin generates an interrupt.

The other signals shown in the schematic on the right are used in the Audio/Video Interface audio in and out ,

in the floppy disc interface drive

0/1, side 0, and in the serial interface RTS, DTR.

Printer Connector

The Atari uses a standard 25 pins D-SUB Female connectors with the following

pinouts the last column showsa standard PC parallel interface connector for comparison.

ST Connector

Standard PC Connector

STROBE

Acknowledge

BUSY

Paper End

Select

Auto feed

Error

Initialize

Select In

Signal Ground

As you can see the Atari I/F is missing the signals on pins 10 and 12 to 17.

Printer Cables

It is possible to use a standard printer cable with the Atari. Many of the

wires are not used due to the fact that several of the standard parallel port pins are not connected

as already mentioned. Most printers from this time like the EPSON LX800 where using a 36

CENTRONICS female connector. Therefore the most commonly used cable was the DB25M to CENTRONICS 36M

printer cable.

Special Cables using the Printer Interface

The printer interface provides an easily programmable bidirectional interface

to the external world and was therefore used in several projects.

The PARCP Cable

The printer interface is used by several solutions to provide a fast communication channel between two computers

up to 100KBds.

Several of these solutions are using the PARCP cable:

The PARCP transfer program by Peter

Stehlik the origin of the name ST/PC, ST/ST, PC/PC

ST-Trans Atari 1992 ST/ST

Plip

protocol of MiNT-Net Kay Roemer

HDD_DMN3 by MC Soft Hard ST/PC

A description of this cable can be found at the PARCP site.

it is basically a DB25M-DB25M data-switch cable with all pins connected directly on

both side where the wires connected to pins 1 and 11 are switched on one end. This

results to data signals connected bit to bit and strobe from one side connected

to the busy on the other side plus of course the ground.

Signal Name

DB25

Remark

Strobe / Busy

10K resistor can be inserted

Connected or not

Busy / Strobe

12-17

Grounds

18-25

At least one on pin 25

FYI: I have successfully used the PARCP program with this cable, but I did not

succeed with HDD_DMN3 program, and I did not try the other solutions St-Trans and Plip.

Note that the data signals pins 2 to 9 are connected to bidirectional ports on both side,

and they are usually initialized to the default output mode usually a printer is suppose to be connected to this port with an unpredictable value

i.e. 0 or 1. Therefore it is possible that any particular data bit from an output

on one side is at 0 and on that the output on the corresponding other side is at

1 or vice-versa resulting in an electrical conflict. Electronic interface circuits are

relatively tolerant but this situation should be time minimized by either

setting the ports into the input mode during startup of the computers programs are provided as part of the PARCP solution for this matter, or by

inserting a 1 KOhm to a 10 KOhm resistor between each data signals. For that matter

a 8 x 10K resistor pack can be inserted inside a connector on one side.

The BLITZ Cable

To create backup of copy protected disk the BLITZ solution uses a special cable

and software to backup protected disk. You must have an external drive to use the BLITZ

solution but there is no internal wiring or modification done to the

computer. The BLITZ cable copies from drive 1 to drive 2 using at the same time the disk an

printer interfaces it reads Drive 1 and writes Drive 2 at the same time.

The BLITZ solution allows to backup protected and non-protected disks.

To use the Blitz program you need an external floppy drive and a special cable. On one end you have a DIN14 female connector that is connected to the external floppy drive. From this connector you will have two cables: one going to a a DIN 14 male connector pluged into the Atari FD connector, and another one going

to a D-SUB25 male connector that plug into the Atari

parallel connector. Here

is a picture of a blitz cable. The layout of the cable is the following:

DIN14M Atari FD

DIN14F Ext. FD

DB25M Atari Parallel Interface

1 - Read Data

2 - Side 0 Select

2 - Data 0

3 - Logic Ground

4 - Index Pulse

9 - Data 7

5 - Drive 0 Select

3 - Data 1

6 - Drive 1 Select

7 - Logic Ground

20 - Ground 18-25

8- Motor On

7 - Data 5

9 Direction In

6 - Data 4

10 - Step

5 - Data 3

11 - Write Data

12 - Write Gate

4 - Data 2

13 - Track 00

11 - Busy

14 - Write Protect

8 - Data 6

ATARI DMA INTERFACE

DMA/Hard Disk Connector

Hard Disk Cable

This

interface allow to connect up to 8 external devices with a speed of up to

1MBytes / Sec. The interface is also called the Hard Disc interface because

usually it it used to connect hard-disk, or the ASCI interface because it uses

an Atari s proprietary hard drive connector/protocol similar to SCSI which was standardized later but

unfortunately is not directly compatible.

The DMA interface takes its name from the fact that it is connected

internally to one of the Atari specially design circuit: the DMA circuit.

The main signals are:

A low asserted reset signal connected to the reset of the Atari

A Chip Select CS

An Address bit A1

8 bi-directional data bits Data 0 - Data 7

The R/W signal signal high write, low read,

A low asserted Data Request input signal DRQ

An acknowledge ACK

An interrupt request signal that goes to input I5 of the MFP to generate

an interrupt.

DMA / Hard disk connector

The DMA/Hard disk interface uses a very unusual and hard to find D-SUB 19 female connector.

Chip Select

Interrupt Request

Reset

Read/Write

Data Request

To connect a hard disk like an Atari SH204/205 or a Megafile drive you will need to

DB19M-DB19M Cable.

DB19M computer

DB19M Hard Disk

All matching pins are directly connected from 1-1 to 19-19.

ATARI FLOPPY DISC INTERFACE

Floppy Disk Connector

Floppy Disk Cable

As we will

see the FD interface uses a very uncommon a hard to find DIN14 female connector. Most of the signals

of this interface are connected to the Floppy disc controller chip FDC the

Western Digital WD1772. Only few other signals are connected to the Sound

circuit as shown in the parallel interface.

Floppy Disc Connector

FD Connector - DIN 14 Female

Read Data

Side 0 Select

Logic Ground

Index Pulse

Drive X Select

Drive Y Select

Motor On

Direction In

Step

Write Data

Write Gate

Track 00

Write Protect

The Atari owners s manual indicates that pin5 is Drive0 Select and pin 6 is Drive1 Select but in fact the signals connected to pin 5 and 6 depends upon the model STE/STF and position of internal strap s on the motherboard.

By default on both Atari STF and STE the straps on the motherboard are set so that Pin 5 is connected to signal Drive1 Select. This allows to see an external floppy drive, that uses the Pin 5 for selection, as drive B. So the internal drive is A and the external drive is B. This works with most external floppy drive for example a SF314/SF354 from Atari or a CSA354 from Cumana.

On an Atari STF there is one strap W2 that allow to change the signal that goes to pin 5.

If the W2 strap is between pins 2-3 the default the signal connected to pin 5 is Drive1 Select.

If the W2 strap is between pins 1-2 the signal connected to pin 5 is Drive0 Select.

Note that the signal connected to pin 6 is always Drive1 Select.

On Atari STE it is more flexible because there are one strap W301 that allows to change the signal that goes to pin 5 and another strap W300 that allows to change the signal that goes to pin 6.

If the W301 strap is between pin 2-3 the default the signal connected to pin 5 is Drive1 Select.

If the W301 strap is between pin 1-2 the signal connected to pin 5 is Drive0 Select.

If the W300 strap is between pin 2-3 the default the signal connected to pin 1 is logic 1 drive never selected.

If the W300 strap is between pin 1-2 the signal connected to pin 6 is Drive1 Select.

It is therefore important to verify that these internal straps are set to meet your requirements.

Floppy Disc Cable

Usually

external FD drive have a data cable coming out directly from the drive without

connector and terminated on the other side by a DIN14 male connector

that plug into the Atari FD interface.

In some cases it is necessary to use a DIN14M-DIN14M cable. This is the case for example with Discovery Cartridge where the cable is plugged on one side to

the Atari FD connector and on the other side to Discovery Cartridge DIN14F

connector labeled Computer.

This cartridge is associated with a specific program allow to backup copy

protected disks. In this kind of cable all corresponding pins are connected

directly: from pin 1-1 to pin 14-14 as well as the shield of each connector

connected to the shield of the cable.

There is also a non standard cable to connect an external FD drive to an

Atari called the BLITZ cable described above.

ATARI VIDEO INTERFACE

The Atari ST video signals are connected mainly to the Video Shifter circuitry as

shown on the right side. The Audio out and GPO signals are connected from the Yamaha YM-2149 sound circuit,

and the synchronization signals are coming from the Atari Glue chip.

For an Atari STE the video circuitry has been changed. However it stays close to the ST. Plese refer to the STE Hardware page for more information. For more information about the Atari video and how to connect moder monitor please refer to my Atari ST video page.

Atari Television Connector

Some Atari models have an RF modulator included e.g. 520STFM in this case they are equiped with a special

connector for TV. You just need to connect this output to your TV antenna and to tune

your TV. This output can also be used with a special box to connect to a VGA monitor.

Core

RF Modulated Video

TV Pinout

TV Out Connector

Atari Video Connector

The Video connector used on the Atari is a rather unusual and very hard to find 13 DIN Female connector. This connector carry out all the video signals RGB and Sync as well as audio in and out and

a general purpose output pin. The following table shows the pin-out of the Atari 13 DIN Female video connector from the front external side. This pictures

show DIN13 female connectors and male connector.

NAME

Audio out ST/STE :

This pin is connected to the Atari output amplifier. It normally goes to the Atari monitor sound system; it is possible to connect a 600 Ohms headphone on this output.

Composite Sync / Video STE only :

Not present on early ST. The content of the composite sync/ video output signal is different whether the ST is equipped or not with an RF modulator:

If an RF modulator is present In this case the Atari board contains several extra components - among them is the RF modulator this signal is a composite video output encoded in PAL or NTSC Encoding is done in PAL or NTSC based on the country. This is obtained by using different components values and straps on the Atari main board. Note that this signal also contains the combined H V synchronization signals. This same signal is combined with the audio into the RF modulator.

If no RF modulator is present then this signal contains a composite H V synchronization signals.

General Purpose Output ST :

The GPO pin is connected to the pin 6 of the internal sound chip YM-2149 and can be freely programmed by applications. Usually not used

External Clock Select STE :

When this pin is grounded the Video shifter takes its clock from an external clock on pin 4.Do not switch clock source while the system is active

Monochrome detection ST/STE :

This pin is connected to pin 17 of the MFP68901 circuit and is used to set the Atari in Hi-resolution when grounded and to Med/Low-resolution when left open. A transition on this pin generates a reset of the system. On a STE pin 3 must be left open for the detection to work.

External Video Clock STE :

When pin 3 is grounded this input is used to provide an external video clock to the shifter. This allows synchronizing the video-timings with an external device so that a video Genlock device can be used without having to make any modifications to the Atari hardware.

Audio in ST/STE :

An audio signal on this pin is mixed with the Atari internally generated sound and the resulting signal is sent to the Audio output pin 1. Usually not used.

Green ST/STE :

This pin is connected to the green analog output coming from the shifter

Red ST/STE :

This pin is connected to the red analog output coming from the shifter

12V / 10mA pin STE : On STE this pin is connected to 12V.

GND pin ST : On 520STF this pin is connected to GND

Horizontal synchronization ST/STE :

Coming internally from the Glue chip

Blue ST/STE :

This pin is connected to the blue analog output coming from the shifter

Monochrome ST/STE :

This pin is connected to the monochrome output coming from the shifter

Vertical synchronization ST/STE :

Ground

Atari Video cables

Cables Quality

It is important to use good quality cables to carry the video. The cable must be at least shielded externally, and the color / mono signals should preferably use coaxial wire especially for long cable like SCART.

Here is an example of a good cable to connect to the Atari DIN13 video output connector. The cable is constructed from three 28 AWG 75 Ohm coaxial cables plus three 26 AWG twisted pairs and two 26 AWG conductors to ensure signal integrity. Coax cables feature a tinned copper braid providing 93 shield. The cable is shielded by a tinned copper braid providing a minimum of 85 coverage, Mylar aluminum foil and drain wire to provide 100 coverage.

As pins on the Mini-DIN 13 connector are very packed it is therefore recommended to use heat-shrink tubes for proper isolation of each pin.

The shield s of the cable and eventually coaxial cables need to be connected to pin 13 of the DIN connector.

SCART/Peritel Cable

This cable allows to connect an Atari to a TV equipped with a SCART/Peritel input

connector. The cables use on one side a DIN13 Male connector and on the other side it uses a male SCART connector. Both connectors are shown from front side and not from solder side

DIN13 male

SCART male

Audio Out

6 2

Audio Left Right

Composite Sync

Composite sync

Monochrome Detect

Must be left open

Green

Green in through 150 Ohms resistor

Red

Red in through 150 Ohms resistor

12V Pullup

Audio/RGB Switching

Blue

Blue in through 150 Ohms resistor

V-Sync

Blanking signal

4 5 9 13 17 18 21

Notes:

If the colors are washed out it is recommended to connect the RGB / Sync signals through 150 Ohms resistors to drop voltage from 1v to 0.7v. On an Atari the RGB output signals already pass through 27 Ohms resistors on an STF and 75 Ohms resistors on an STE, and therefore in most cases these resistors are not required. It is also recommended to connect the Blanking signal through a 75 Ohms resistor. The V-Sync output signals already pass through 33 Ohms resistors and therefore in most cases this resistor is not required. Most of the cables you buy in the commerce do not have any of these pass-through resistors.

Connection of the audio out

from Atari to pin 2 is not mandatory as pin 6 is the mono input.

Some people only connect Atari GND P13 to SCART P21. I believe this is not sufficient and that it is better to also connect pin 4, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 18.

RCA Composite Video Cable

This cable is useful if you have an Atari ST equiped with an RF modulator. IN that case the Atari produces on pin 2 of its video connector a composite video signal instead of a composite sync signal. It is therefore possible to use this signal on an equipement that have an RCA composite video signal input the Yellow or phono input -- see here like for example the Supera Color HD Box. The White and Red audio RCA plugs are connected to the audio output of the Atari. Here is an example of a RCA Composite video cable.

RCA Plugs

Red White

Audio to Red and White RCA plugs

Yellow

Composite video to Yellow RCA plug

Shields

The shield of all RCA cables should be connected to the Atari Ground

If the colors are washed out it is recommended to connect the RGB / Sync signals through 150 Ohms resistors to drop voltage from 1v to 0.7v.

VGA Monochrome Cable

This cable allows to connect an Atari operating in High-resolution monochrome mode to a VGA/SVGA Monitor. The cable uses on one side a DIN13 male connector and on the other side a D-SUB15 male connector. The Atari is automatically set to Hi-resolution mode when this cable is connected pin 4 set to ground. Note that if you want to hear the sound from the Atari you need an extra audio cable connected to pin 1 going to an audio connector e.g. a mini jack or RCA connector.

DB15 male

Opt. Audio connector

4 13

Connect to pin 13

H-Sync

Monochrome

1 2 3

6 7 8 10

VGA Color Cable

This cable allows to connect an Atari running in Med-Low resolution color mode to a VGA/SVGA monitor. The cables use on one side a DIN13 male connector connected to the Atari and on the other side a D-SUB15 male connector connected to the monitor. The Atari is automatically set to Med/Low-resolution mode pin 4 left open. Note that if you want to hear the sound from the Atari you need an extra audio cable connected to pin 1 going to an audio connector e.g. a mini jack or RCA connector.

Important notice: This solution only works if your monitor accepts a 15.75 kHz Horizontal sync see Connecting Modern LCD/CRT Monitors to an Atari for the video signals charateristics.

Atari

DB15

Audio connector

Open

5 6 7 8 10

VGA9 Monochrome Cable

This cable allows to connect an Atari running in High resolution monochrome mode to a VGA multisync monitor with a DB9 connector. The cables use on one side a DIN13 male connector connected to the Atari and on the other side a D-SUB9 male connector connected to the monitor. The Atari is automatically set to Hi-resolution mode. Note that if you want to hear the sound from the Atari you need to have a separate audio cable going to an audio connector e.g. a mini jack or RCA connector.

Important notice: The cable described here is for a VGA9 Multisync type of Monitor like NEC Multisync II but it is NOT for an EGA/CGA with different pinout type of monitor see VGA9/EGA/CGA DB9 Connector

Signal Name

Atari

DB9

Remark

Audio Out

Opt. Audio Signal

Composite Sync/Video

Monochrome Detect

4 13

Connect to Atari pin 13

H-Sync

Monochrome

1 2 3

V-Sync

GND

6 7 8 9

Opt. Audio GND

VGA9 Color Cable

This cable allows to connect an Atari running in Medium-Low resolution color mode to a VGA multisync monitor with a DB9 connector. The cables use on one side a DIN13 Male connector connected to the Atari and on the other side a DB9 male connector connected to the monitor. The Atari is automatically set to Hi-resolution mode. Note that if you want to hear the sound from the Atari you need to have a separate audio cable going to an audio connector e.g. a mini jack or RCA connector.

Important notice: The cable described here is for a VGA9 Multisync type of monitor like NEC Multisync II but it is NOT for an EGA/CGA with different pinout type of monitor see VGA9/EGA/CGA DB9 Connector. Also this solution only works if your monitor accepts a 15.75 kHz Horizontal sync see Connecting Modern LCD/CRT Monitors to an Atari for the video signals charateristics

Signal Name

Open

Green

Red

Blue

Atari Video Switchers

Atari Monitors Switch box

If you have an Atari SM124 High resolution monochrome monitor as well as an Atari SC1224

color monitor then it is a good idea to use an Atari monitor switcher. This

will allow you to switch from one monitor to the other without

plugging/unplugging cables. You need a four circuits toggle switch and an

enclosure preferably a metal one as well as a male DIN13 connector

for the cable and two female DIN13 connectors

to put on the enclosure. The four circuits of the toggle switch are called A, B, C, D with the input

being in and the output 1 2. For example Ain is connected to A1 if switch is in

position 1 and to A2 if switch is in position 2 and of course the four circuits

toggle at the same time. This picture show an example of this kind of

video switch.

Male to Atari

Mono connector

Color connector

Composite Video

2 Bin

2 B1

2 B2

General Purpose Output

4 Ain

Audio - in

12 Volts pullup

Horizontal Sync

9 Cin

9 C1

9 C2

Vertical Sync

1 Din

12 D1

12 D2

13 A1

Position1 is the monochrome mode, position 2 is color mode. In summary the

connection are:

RGB Audio GND are always connected from the input connector to the

color output connector

Mono Audio GND are always connected from the input connector to the

monochrome output connector

Composite Synch, H-Sync, and V-Sync are switched from the input

connector to the mono or color monitor outputs depending of switch position

Monochrome detect of the input connector is switched to ground in

monochrome position and left open in color position

Multisync Cable Switch

To use a NEC Multisync II or Multisync 3D, or for that matter any other multisync monitor that support both the Hi-resolution mode as well as the Med/Low-resolution mode of the Atari ST, you can build a special switch box that will allow you to directly switch between these two mono/color modes without the need to change any cable.

You need a box preferably a metal one, a four pole double throw toggle switch, a DIN13 male connector, and a male DB9 connector. A first cable is connected on one side to a DIN13 male connector and on the other side to the box. A second cable is connected on one side to the box and on the other side to a DB9 male connector. The four circuits of the toggle switch are called A, B, C, D with the input being in and the output 1 2. For example Ain input is connected to A1 output if switch is in position 1 and to A2 output if switch is in position 2. The four circuits of the switch toggle at the same time.

connect to atari

DB9M to monitor

DB15F box

Remarks

audio connector

4 A1

6 B2

2 Bin

7 C2

1 Cin

10 D2

3 Din

11 B1 C1 D1

6 7 8 9

Position 1 is for monochrome mode, position 2 is for color mode. In summary the connection are:

Audio goes to an audio connector fixed on the enclosure

H-Sync, V-Sync, and GND from Atari are always connected to H-Sync, V-Sync,

and GND of monitor input connector

RGB colors output from Atari are connected to RGB colors of monitor

input connector in color

position

Monochrome output from Atari is connected to the RGB colors of monitor

input connector in

monochrome position

Monochrome detect of the Atari is connected to ground in

monochrome position and left open in color

Note: If you plan to use this kind of switch box to connect a recent monitor you can replace the cable with the DB9 male connector by a DB15 female connector directly placed on the swich box last column in blue of the above table. This allows you to connect a recent monitor with a standard DB15-DB15 cable and for a NEC Multisync monitor you will need a special DB15-DB9 cable/adapter. But remember that this solution only works if your monitor accepts a 15.75 kHz Horizontal sync see Connecting Modern LCD/CRT Monitors to an Atari for the video signals charateristics.

Example Pictures

internals, closed of the switch I made for my

Multisync note the connector for sound output

ATARI MOUSE/JOYSTICK INTERFACE

The Keyboard Interface

Also not accessible from the outside the keyboard is connected to the main board

through a connector. The keyboard, mouse, and joysticks are handled by a

dedicated processor the 6301 that includes an internal ROM and RAM. The

schematic of the keyboard shows how the keys and the mouse/joystick connectors

are connected to the microprocessor. The keyboard communicate with the main

system through a serial interface a 6850 ACIA.

The Mouse/Joystick Connectors

The Atari ST has two connectors under the

keyboard to connect a mouse or joystick port 0 and a second joystick port

The two connectors are DB9M connectors

Mouse/Joystick - Port 0

Joystick - Port 1

1 - Up / XB

1 - Up

2 - Down / XA

2 - Down

3 - Left / YA

3 - Left

4 - Right / YB

4 - Right

5 - NC

5 - Reserved

6 - Fire / Left Button

6 - Fire Button

7 - 5VDC

8 - Ground

9 - Joy 1 Fire/Right Button

9 - NC

Mouse/Joystick Switch

Accessing the mouse/joystick connectors is not easy as it is located under the

keyboard. However as all programs uses a mouse and most games uses the joystick

it is necessary to unplug the mouse and plug the joystick each time you want to

play a game and vice-versa. This is obviously not very practical and therefore

it is recommended to buy a mouse/joystick switch that allow to connect

permanently two joysticks and a mouse and to select with a switch between the

mouse and joystick on port 0. This following picture shows this kind of switch.

Mouse Replacement

TODO : PeST serial

ATARI STE STEREO AUDIO INTERFACE

The Atari STE has two RCA Audio output ports for stereo labeled left and

right.

ATARI STE JOYSTICK INTERFACE

The Atari STE has two joystick DB15F connectors on the left side of the

system.

Port A

Port B

01 - Up 0

01 - Up 1

02 - Down 0

02 - Down 1

03 - Left 0

03 - Left 1

04 - Right 0

04 - Right 1

05 - PAD 0 Y

05 - PAD 1 Y

06 - Fire 0 Button

06 - Fire 1 Button

07 - VCC 5V

08 - NC

09 - Ground

10 - Fire 2 Button

10 - Fire 3 Button

11 - Up 2

11 - Up 3

12 - Down 2

12 - Down 3

13 - Left 2

13 - Left 3

14 - Right 2

14 - Right 3

15 - Pad 0 X

15 - Pad 1 X

Here you will find an

interesting usage of these ports to connect to a PC. From Leonard Site SainT

STANDARD CONNECTORS / ADAPTORS Non-Atari Specific

This section presents several connectors/adaptors which are non specific to Atari but useful.

SCART/Peritel Connector

SCART female

Signal Level

Impedance

AOR

Audio Out Right

0.5 V rms

AIR

Audio In Right

10k ohm

AOL

Audio Out Left Mono

A GND

Audio Ground

B GND

RGB Blue Ground

AIL

Audio In Left Mono

RGB Blue S-Video Cup / Pb

0.7 V

75 ohm

SWTCH

Status Aspect Ratio

0-0.4V off, 5-8V 16:9,

9.5-12V on 4:3

G GND

RGB Green Ground

CLKOUT

Data 2 / Clock

RGB Green In

DATA

Data 1/ Reserved

R GND

RGB Red Ground

DATAGND

Data Ground

RGB Red S-Video Cdown / Pr

0.7 V Chrom.: 0.3 V burst

BLNK

Blanking Signal

1-3 V RGB, 0-0.4 V Composite

VGND

Composite Video Ground

BLNKGND

Blanking Signal Ground

VOUT

Composite Video Out S-Video Yout

1 V

VIN

Composite Video In / S-Video Yin

Ground/Shield Chassis

Note: information between parentheses is for non standard extensions.

VGA DB15 Connector

This is the standard VGA Connector used by most monitors. Information can be found here

female video card

RED

Red Video 75 ohm, 0.7 V p-p

GREEN

Green Video 75 ohm, 0.7 V p-p

BLUE

Blue Video 75 ohm, 0.7 V p-p

ID2

Monitor ID Bit 2

RGND

Red Ground

GGND

Green Ground

BGND

Blue Ground

KEY

Key No pin

SGND

Sync Ground

ID0

Monitor ID Bit 0

ID1 or SDA

Monitor ID Bit 1

HSYNC or CSYNC

Horizontal Sync or Composite Sync

VSYNC

ID3 or SCL

Monitor ID Bit 3

EGA/CGA/VGA9 DB9 Connector

This is the standard used for very old monitors. Note that there are two totally different standards. The VGA9 has been used mainly for Multisync monitors and the EGA/CGA has been used on early IBM machines / monitors.

Male monitor cable

female video card/monitor

Name

EGA Description

CGA Description

VGA9 Description

Secondary Red

Primary Red

Primary Green

Horizontal Sync / Composite Sync

Primary Blue

Vertical Sync

SG/I

Secondary Green / Intensity

Intensity

Red GND

Secondary Blue

Reserved

Green GND

Horizontal Sync

Blue GND

Sync GND

S-Video Connector

This connector Ushiden connector is used to carry the S-Video signals.

Remarks

Ground Y

Ground C

Intensity luminance

Color Chrominance

DB15 to DB9 Adaptor/Cable

This can either be an adaptor usually DB15 male to DB9 Female or a cable

DB15 male to DB9 male which is used to connect an old monitor with a DB9

female input to the output from a computer with standard VGA DB15 female connector. See pictures here and here.

DB9

6.7.8.9

6.7.8.10

SCART to S-Video / Composite Adapter

This adapter is used to convert from/to SCART to/from S-Video or Composite. It is usually provided as a box with a 3 circuits switch, one or two SCART connector s, a S-Video connector, 3 RCA composite connectors Yellow, Red, White. The 3 circuits of the toggle switch are called A, B, C with the input being in and the output 1 2. For example Ain input is connected to A1 output if switch is in position 1 and to A2 output if switch is in position 2.

SCART

S-Video Y/C

RCA Y / R / W

Audio out right

1 C1

Red CIN

Audio in right

2 C2

Audio out left

3 B1

White BIN

6 B2

Audio GND

GND White Red

RGB GND

2 GND C

RGB Red / S-Video C

4 C

17 18

1 GND Y

GND Yellow

Composite / S-Video Y

3 Y AIN

Yellow

Composite / S-Video OUT

19 A1

Composite / S-Video IN

20 A2

Position 1 is Output SCART to S-Video, Position 2 is Input

Audio on RCA Red and White are switch from/to SCART Audio in or out Composite on RCA Yellow is switched from/to SCART Composite in or out S-Video Color 4 is always connected to SCART Red / S-Video C out S-Video Y Luma 3 is switched from/to SCART S-Video Y in or out.

It is highly not recommended to open this kind of video adaptor. Plastic is sealed and breaks during opening and wires are very fragile. See an opened adapter below.

CONNECTORS CABLES LINKS

Some links to sites that provide useful information related

to cable and connectors

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