What happens when you get Lightning from a Thunderstorm ?
A VME USB interface :)
No this is not a blog post about how my MegaSTe was hit with lightning during a
thunderstorm.
The machine is safe and sound but did have a bit of an upgrade.
My cartridge port was being used by a NetUSBee adapter providing the USB layer
for my USB DVDROM which hosts a 3 GB Read-only FileArea on the BBS.
It functioned perfectly but …
Michtron BBS has the ability to run Multi-user if you add -the-not-yet-reverse-engineered-
DC Port-Extender to the cartridge port to connect up to 3 modems.
So I was looking for a viable replacement that delivers USB connectivity and since a MegaSTE has an VME bus
, I stumbled upon the Lightning VME USB card.
I emailed Team Thunderstorm via their global email Thunderstorm@tuxie.de .
And Matthias promptly replied , he told me they were still available and the price
and shipping cost to Belgium.
I had explained why I needed it for my MegaSTe running the BBS and to my suprise
, Team Thunderstorm replied again and told me they would sponsor my BBS and donate me
a Lightning VME card.
Wow, I am still humbled by their generosity and told them I would promote it on the
BBS and this blogsite.
So after also ordering an new RTC clock battery , I started the install today.
The card came in a little box and it is really a nicely build product.
The paper-tape was not included it was just used by me to elevate the ports for the photos.
Since the lid of my MegaSTe is unscrewed for easy access I first started to visually inspect how to install it before switching off the power of the MegaSTe.
I then carefully followed the very precise instructions on their website.
INSTRUCTIONS_GERMAN
INSTRUCTIONS_ENGLISH
As written in the instructions indeed I had the small chip in a socket who was a bit blocking the VME riser card but after removing it and reinstalling it once the Lightning VME card was installed, the cables were easy to reinstall and then to connect the backplane ports.
So time to reinstall the powered USB HUB and the USB DVDROM.
I used the drivers on the floppy which was provided with the package,made
the mistake of not copying BLITZ.PRG in the AUTO folder until I realised
I should RTFM , doh.
And so here it is , the MegaSTe running the BBS again with USB ports on the back
giving it some more room on my desk (which is already crowded)
Be sure to check out the other products/hardware that Team Thunderstorm also
sells, there are quite a lot of interesting things.
And final words, Danke wieder an Team Thunderstorm , Thanks a lot guys for
keeping the Ataris alive and fresh with new upgrades.