The 1200XL-1mb SRAM upgrade was just released last week, which was very much a personal project as well as the RAMBO XL-II which is also seeing an official release at this time.

The RAMBO XL-II initially had only been discussed and talked about on AtariAge, and also saw an initial release on that platform back in 2022. At the time I needed a way to increase my 1200XL's RAM up to 256K so as to run some applications with a higher memory requirement. The original ICD RAMBO board looked like a good way to do that, but was no longer available, thus the reason I cloned their 1980's era product.

A few years later I encountered some noise issues in the analog video output on that same 1200XL, which after some investigation appeared to be originating from the DRAM and it's support circuitry. Thinking that swapping the DRAM out for SRAM might be a good way to eliminate the noise issue, the 1200XL-1mb board was born. And after installing one, I'm glad to say the noise is no longer present.

So manufacturing files for both upgrades is now downloadable at the RAM tab in my website's navigation bar.

Enjoy,
Michael

After the integration of a MIDI Player to the former FujiNet only plug-in module, I decided it was finally time to release all the changes I had been working on for the last several months. This included fixed firmware for both PS/2 sub-processors, a corrected pad hole size for the CR2032 Battery Holder on the main NUCplus4 PCB, a new combo FujiNet/MIDIplay PCB, new improved Version 2 firmware for the TK-II controller on the 576NUC+, and a new updated datasheet covering many of the changes. These downloads are all provided at the NUCplus4 webpage on this site.

The image below shows a completed board assembly with the new FujiNet/MIDIplay module, as well as the Cooling Fan and Shroud that got introduced a while back. So what you see is a fully packed system with all the bells and whistles.

1. 1088K RAM
2. A8PicoCart
3. Choice of SDrive or FujiNet (selected one at a time via keyboard control)
4. R-Time 8 Battery backed Real Time Clock and Calendar
5. Dream SAM2695 MIDI Synth for MIDI playback

Items shown in RED are the original "4" aspects incorporated into the NUCplus4 name, and a standard part of the Main daughter board.

And this complements the 576NUC+'s Multi OS and Language Slots, PS/2 Keyboard input, and high quality Composite and S-Video Output with VGATE technology.

And even though there's a lot of stuff that's been added via the NUCplus4 daughter board on top of the 576NUC+ base system motherboard, it all still squeezes into a fairly small case that easily fits in the palm of your hand.

Case Dimensions:    5.38" wide x 5.25" deep x 2.25" tall
                                      (147 mm x 133 mm x 57 mm)
Assembled Weight: 17 ounces
                                      (482 grams)

In its present form, this has become my preferred Atari computer system, and as close as it comes to a daily driver for me.

I think what I like best is not only the small size, but also the incredible versatility of having multiple solid state drive possibilities as well as wireless network access. And at least for me, incorporating the A8PicoCart was the optimal way to have cartridge based software that would run at full speed, without the bulk associated with hauling around a bunch of real physical carts. After all this was first and foremost meant to be an extremely portable system that could be tossed in a bag and taken to a meet-up.

This journey first began back in 2020, and after 5 years has matured into what I consider not only one of the smallest Atari computers out there, but also an extremely powerful one. And aside from the rare and somewhat hard to get Atari VSLI chips, is practically built with off-the-shelf parts and based upon open source designs (thank you Atari community).

I think the journey that began so long ago has finally arrived at its intended destination.

- Michael