Discovery Cartridge

The Discovery Cartridge (The ultimate disk upgrade for your ST computer) is primarily a disk duplication device that plugs directly into the cartridge port on the the Atari ST & Mega ST range of computers. It was designed by Richard Adams and made by Happy Computers Inc of California, USA.

Features

The Discovery Cartridge's main use was for software duplication and was capable enough to make copies of protected disks for the ST, Mac and Atari 8 bit (requires ST compatible 5 1/4 inch drive) computers.

It was also possible on some revisions to install 64k and 128k Mac roms allowing the emulation of certain Macintosh software too.

The power of the "HART" chip (Happy Atari Rotating Thing), designed by Richard Adams, allowed standard Atari drives to read the unusual Macintosh variable speed disks without needing a variable speed drive. The disks were then re-written in a standard "constant speed" 3.5 inch compatible format called Magic format. This allowed using the various Mac emulator products that would run most efficiently with Magic format disks. At least one of the Macintosh emulators also had a circuit to read Mac disks, but could make the emulations slower and less reliable. It was faster and more efficient to convert Mac disks to Magic format first.

The HART chip (HARTD1©87HCI) also allowed copying conventional ST disks much faster. The computer floppy controller required two passes per track, three with verification. The HART chip could format and write in the same pass, saving one pass per track.

Versions

The Discovery Cartridge
The Discovery Cartridge Mini (or Q-Verter)

Discovery Cartridge Options

The cartridge could be bought in 1 of 8 different configurations (numbered from 0-7) as documented in the doptions.doc on the latest (v2.7) Discovery Cartridge software diskette. The option code can be found on the base of the external casing and the circuit board revision can be found etched onto the top side of the circuit board internally.

OPTION 0

No extra factory installed options, nothing below is included.

This unit backs up software and converts disks to and from MACINTOSH format.

OPTION 1

battery backed up time and date clock
3rd and 4th drive circuitry and connector
3rd drive option switch
ROM/EPROM sockets

The ROM/EPROM sockets can be used with a 64K byte program in ROMS or EPROMS. The MACINTOSH 64K ROMS could be used, allowing the MAGIC SAC software to operate. A jumper must be added by the user to select the state of pin 1 on the ROMS or EPROMS. No ROMS or EPROMS are provided. The MAGIC SAC software is not included.

A 3rd and 4th floppy drive can be connected, allowing a total of 4 floppy drives to be accessed from the desk top and most other software.

OPTION 2

battery backed up time and date clock
3rd and 4th drive circuitry and connector
3rd drive option switch
ROM/EPROM sockets
ROM/EPROM bank select switch

The ROM/EPROM sockets can be used with a 64K byte program in ROMS or EPROMS. The MACINTOSH 64K ROMS could be used, allowing the MAGIC SAC software to operate. No jumper is required. 128K byte ROMS could be used. The switch selects a bank of 64K which will be enabled at one time. No ROMS or EPROMS are provided. The MAGIC SAC software is not included.

A 3rd and 4th floppy drive can be connected, allowing a total of 4 floppy drives to be accessed from the desk top and most other software.

OPTION 3

jack for plugging in a second cartridge

HAPPY COMPUTERS has tested and found that the MAGIC SAC and DESKCART will operate as a second cartridge with OPTION 3. Other cartridges may also work. The SPECTRE 128 does not work. Also, see options 5 or 6. We do not guarantee that any cartridge will work as a second cartridge. Some L shaped cartridges may not even fit as a second cartridge.

OPTION 4

jack for plugging in a second cartridge
3rd drive option switch
3rd and 4th drive circuitry and connector

HAPPY COMPUTERS has tested and found that the MAGIC SAC and DESKCART will operate as a second cartridge with OPTION 4. Other cartridges may also work. The SPECTRE 128 does not work. Also, see options 5 or 6. We do not guarantee that any cartridge will work as a second cartridge. Some L shaped cartridges may not even fit as a second cartridge.

A 3rd and 4th floppy drive can be connected, allowing a total of 4 floppy drives to be accessed from the desk top and most other software.

OPTION 5

jack for plugging in a second cartridge
2nd cartridge enable switch
3rd drive option switch
3rd and 4th drive circuitry and connector

HAPPY COMPUTERS has tested and found that the MAGIC SAC and DESKCART and SPECTRE 128 will operate as a second cartridge with OPTION 5. Many other cartridges may work with option 5 that do not work with options 3 or 4. We do not guarantee that any cartridge will work as a second cartridge. Some L shaped cartridges may not even fit as a second cartridge. The 2nd cartridge switch allows the user to select whether the 2nd cartridge or the DISCOVERY CARTRIDGE is enabled.

A 3rd and 4th floppy drive can be connected, allowing a total of 4 floppy drives to be accessed from the desk top and most other software.

OPTION 6

jack for plugging in a second cartridge
2nd cartridge enable switch

HAPPY COMPUTERS has tested and found that the MAGIC SAC and DESKCART and SPECTRE 128 will operate as a second cartridge with OPTION 6. Many other cartridges may work with option 6 that do not work with options 3 or 4. We do not guarantee that any cartridge will work as a second cartridge. Some L shaped cartridges may not even fit as a second cartridge. The 2nd cartridge switch allows the user to select whether the 2nd cartridge or the DISCOVERY CARTRIDGE is enabled.

OPTION 7

battery backed up time and date clock
3rd and 4th drive circuitry and connector
3rd drive option switch
ROM/EPROM sockets
128K ROM/EPROM enable switch

The ROM/EPROM sockets can be used with a 128K byte contiguous program contained in ROMS or EPROMS. The MACINTOSH 128K ROMS could be used, but the SPECTRE 128 software still will not operate without some additional changes, which are listed in the documentation. HAPPY COMPUTERS cannot currently provide a DISCOVERY CARTRIDGE which allows running the SPECTRE 128 software by simply plugging in the MACINTOSH 128K ROMS. No ROMS or EPROMS are included. No SPECTRE 128 SOFTWARE is included.

A 3rd and 4th floppy drive can be connected, allowing a total of 4 floppy drives to be accessed from the desk top and most other software.