How would you rework/improve this STE?
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2019 11:08 pm
In my collection, I've pulled out of storage my original STE, the one I've had since 1992. It's been mostly in storage for the last 15 years, but it's still ticking. it's had some work done over the years:
Questions:
The machine has always had one persistent problem: DMA audio requires I put pressure on the bottom of the unit, to push something up. Like, just a slice of cardboard to nudge a couple of millimetres is all that's needed, and then DMA audio seems good. I've never known what the actual problem was. Were there similar problems on other units, or do I just have the tiniest little unhappy solder joint somewhere?
The HD still spins, and I'm going to find a way to archive the contents. That drive must be 20 years old, and I don't want to rely on it. Has anybody used one of these upgrades, then subsequently removed it? What is the current best internal HD setup for old STs? Alternatively, what can I get away with via the IDE interface I currently have?
PSU: I did buy one of exxos's red boards, and this is the unit I want it to go into. But I think that work will wait until after I've relocated to the US in the next few months.
Audio: via the phono ports on this machine, I hear a lot of the buzzes and whirs mentioned on this page. If the PSU exacerbates this, then I'll wait until I've done the PSU switch to investigate further. If I still have some glitches, I'll consider some of the fixes for this.
The 56kbps modem upgrade is pretty certainly never going to be used. So I could remove it, just leaving the hole in the case.
So, the topic. Given this machine, how would you go about fixing it up/modernising it?
- a nice full 4MB RAM
- replacement PSU when the original failed. I presume it was a refurbed unit, or perhaps simply pulled from another ST; it's a DSP-508A on an SR98 base.
- TOS 1.62/2.06 switcher
- internal 2.5" IDE HD, 170MB from The Upgrade Shop
- 56kbps modem upgrade, which I've never used: IIRC Dave at The Upgrade Shop installed it when the HD upgrade was delayed
Questions:
The machine has always had one persistent problem: DMA audio requires I put pressure on the bottom of the unit, to push something up. Like, just a slice of cardboard to nudge a couple of millimetres is all that's needed, and then DMA audio seems good. I've never known what the actual problem was. Were there similar problems on other units, or do I just have the tiniest little unhappy solder joint somewhere?
The HD still spins, and I'm going to find a way to archive the contents. That drive must be 20 years old, and I don't want to rely on it. Has anybody used one of these upgrades, then subsequently removed it? What is the current best internal HD setup for old STs? Alternatively, what can I get away with via the IDE interface I currently have?
PSU: I did buy one of exxos's red boards, and this is the unit I want it to go into. But I think that work will wait until after I've relocated to the US in the next few months.
Audio: via the phono ports on this machine, I hear a lot of the buzzes and whirs mentioned on this page. If the PSU exacerbates this, then I'll wait until I've done the PSU switch to investigate further. If I still have some glitches, I'll consider some of the fixes for this.
The 56kbps modem upgrade is pretty certainly never going to be used. So I could remove it, just leaving the hole in the case.
So, the topic. Given this machine, how would you go about fixing it up/modernising it?