{"id":2802,"date":"2013-04-13T14:00:14","date_gmt":"2013-04-13T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/?p=2802"},"modified":"2026-09-09T11:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T09:34:20","slug":"retro-atari-st-ultrasatan-lotharek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/retro-atari-st-ultrasatan-lotharek\/","title":{"rendered":"UltraSatan [Atari ST]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">Anyone who has been following my blog for a while will already be familiar with my posts on the SatanDisk and the GigaFile. In 2013, the new version of the so-called UltraSatan was released. This device was unavailable for a long time (except at inflated prices on eBay). Now, the Polish developer known from my posts, <a href=\"https:\/\/lotharek.pl\/productdetail.php?id=48\" data-type=\"\u2018link\u2019\" data-id=\"https:\/\/lotharek.pl\/ productdetail.php?id=48\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lotharek<\/a> \u2013 whom you\u2019ll recognise from my posts \u2013 has released a new version, having first secured permission from the original developer <em>Jookie<\/em>. Preparatory work began as early as last autumn, and deliveries took place in the second half of March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">Here is a brief translation of the description for <strong>UltraSatan<\/strong> by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/joo.kie.sk\/?page_id=192\" data-type=\"\u2018link\u2019\" data-id=\"https:\/\/joo.kie.sk\/? page_id=192\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jookies<\/a><\/strong> website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why that name?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The project name is derived from the previous project \u2013 SatanDisk. UltraSatan is the improved successor to SatanDisk \u2013 hence \u2018Ultra\u2019<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has nothing to do with Satanism or the occult<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why UltraSatan?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"translation-block\">for the same reason as \u201cWhy <strong>SatanDisk<\/strong>?\u201d (MMC and SD cards are cheap, quiet, etc.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has two slots for SD\/MMC cards, so it replaces two SatanDisks on a computer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The SD\/MMC cards are \u2018hot-pluggable\u2019, i.e. the device does not need to be switched off to change the card<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>has a battery-backed clock chip<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Up to four different firmware versions can be loaded without the need for additional hardware<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It has a basic firmware, so the device should continue to work even if a firmware upgrade goes wrong<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"translation-block\">is faster than the <strong>SatanDisk<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Specifications:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"translation-block\">is connected to the ACSI port of the <strong>Atari ST<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Supports MMC, SD and SDHC cards \u2013 tested with cards ranging from 16MB to 8GB<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drivers: ICD Pro (free) and HDDriver (commercial)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open source \u2013 all schematics, firmware and source code are freely available, so anyone can build it themselves<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The name of the device can be changed (the name that appears when the hard disk driver displays the connected devices)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan2.jpg\" alt=\"UltraSatan - Seitenansicht\" class=\"wp-image-3138\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UltraSatan &#8211; Seitenansicht<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Lotharek website offers both an internal and an external version. Suitable adaptors are available for installation in the Atari Mega ST and Mega STE. The DB19-ACSI cable is also available, which is required for the external connection. The external unit also requires a power supply unit with a micro-USB port, as is common with mobile phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a pre-order customer, I secured the external device and received an ACSI cable and a pre-configured SD card free of charge. The device looks very high-quality \u2013 the circuit board is housed in a sturdy casing in the typical Atari grey. There is a power switch on the back. The SD card slots are of a rather simple design and not quite as high-quality as those in Wolfgang F\u00f6rster\u2019s GigaFile.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan4.jpg\" alt=\"UltraSatan mit DB19-ACSI Kabel\" class=\"wp-image-3140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan4.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan4-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UltraSatan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first time you use it, it\u2019s practically plug-and-play: connect the device, switch it on (the LEDs flash briefly), insert the supplied card and start up the computer. The ICD driver installed on the card runs without any problems; the desktop is already set up. The demos on the second partition can be launched without any problems. I then inserted a card prepared for the GigaFile using HDDriver into the second slot, briefly restarted the computer, and ICD immediately recognised the second card and its partitions. After booting up, simply mount the drives and you can access the data on the second card straight away.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan3-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"UltraSatan - R\u00fcckansicht\" class=\"wp-image-3139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan3.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UltraSatan &#8211; R\u00fcckansicht<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next test: booting with a card set up using HDDriver \u2013 UltraSatan and the card were recognised, but then the error message appeared: \u201cError reading partition data\u201d! After attempts to set up other cards with HDDriver repeatedly failed due to the same error, I emailed Lotharek and received a reply straight away: the error was indeed down to HDDriver. So I immediately emailed Uwe Seimet, the programmer behind HDDriver, and very quickly received the latest version of the driver, \u20188.46\u2019. I simply updated the driver on the existing SD card \u2013 and straight away, booting with HDDriver worked!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next, I set up a second SD card \u2013 one that\u2019s compatible with Windows \u2013 it\u2019s almost impossible to make switching between the two worlds any easier. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">You don\u2019t always have to reset the Atari to exchange data \u2013 if you use the <strong>HDDriver<\/strong>, the \u2018mediachange\u2019 programme takes care of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">There is now also an alternative driver from <strong>Pera Putnik<\/strong>, which is optimised for the <strong>UltraSatan<\/strong> (it is not as versatile as <strong>HDDriver<\/strong>) and costs just \u20ac10!<br>The software is available here: <a href=\"http:\/\/atari.8bitchip.info\/pphdr.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PP Hard Disk Drivers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As with the GigaFile, I\u2019ve carried out a speed test here using HowFast. My hunch was confirmed: whilst the UltraSatan is faster than the SuperSatan (another ACSI storage device from my collection), it is nowhere near as fast as the GigaFile. The measured read speed was between 700 and 800 kb\/s, whilst the GigaFile reached almost 1,200 kb\/s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/US-HowFast-SanDisk-1024x640.jpg\" alt=\"UltraSatan - HowFast mit SanDisk SD-Karte\" class=\"wp-image-3143\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/US-HowFast-SanDisk-1024x640.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/US-HowFast-SanDisk-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/US-HowFast-SanDisk.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UltraSatan &#8211; HowFast mit SanDisk SD-Karte<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/GF-vs-SS.jpg\" alt=\"GigaFile am 1040STE\" class=\"wp-image-2635\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/GF-vs-SS.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/GF-vs-SS-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">GigaFile am 1040STE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">A handy side effect is the clock built into the UltraSatan\u2014the clocks on my Atari gave up the ghost long ago, but the Satan gets around this issue. There is a small program available to set the clock. If the appropriate software is placed in the AutoStart folder, the clock stays up to date.<br>The software can be found here.<\/p>\n\n\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/?dl=https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/retro-atari-st-ultrasatan-lotharek\/\" class=\"dl-box\">\n        <span class=\"dl-box__icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u2b07<\/span>\n        <span class=\"dl-box__info\">\n            <span class=\"dl-box__label\">Ultrasatan Uhr<\/span>\n                            <span class=\"dl-box__meta\">30,9 KB<\/span>\n                    <\/span>\n        <span class=\"dl-box__count\">145\u00d7<\/span>\n    <\/a>\n    \n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan6-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"UltraSatan am 1040STE\" class=\"wp-image-3142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan6-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan6.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UltraSatan am 1040STE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Update 2026<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph translation-block\">After 13 years, Lotharek has revised the hardware. The most significant new feature is the integration of a USB-SPI flash programmer. Its operation is very simple: connect the UltraSatan to a PC via USB-C without an SD card inserted. Then, using the appropriate software, you can revive the UltraSatan if a firmware issue causes a loss of functionality.<br>Additionally, the PCB has been upgraded from a 2-layer to a 4-layer design, eliminating the need for components on the underside.<br>For use in a MegaST, two pins on the underside can be connected, allowing the device to be powered via the ACSI port and removing the need for a separate power cable inside the computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A fantastic device\u2014perfect for rapid data exchange with the PC world. If speed is a priority, the GigaFile is simply a must-have!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"720\" height=\"405\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-Z6A8xf0QkI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-Z6A8xf0QkI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wer meinen Blog schon l\u00e4nger verfolgt, kennt bereits meine Berichte zur SatanDisk und zum GigaFile. 2013 ist die Neuauflage der sogenannten UltraSatan erschienen. Dieses Ger\u00e4t \u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[668,4843,4737,4738],"class_list":["post-2802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atari-st","tag-atari","tag-englisch-verfuegbar","tag-hardware","tag-how-to"],"modified_by":"Jungsi","wp-worthy-pixel":{"ignored":false,"public":"072af6ac4b9d4021b42abbf6ab1d2736","server":"","url":"https:\/\/vg02.met.vgwort.de\/na\/072af6ac4b9d4021b42abbf6ab1d2736"},"wp-worthy-type":"normal","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Ultrasatan1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2802"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48048,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2802\/revisions\/48048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jungsi.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}