SNAP, the Atari ST USB power cartridge

Available Now !! Snap, the Atari ST USB Power Cartridge

Available as of today :  SNAP, the Atari ST USB Power cartridge, a concept that was not entirely my own idea, but which I designed and built myself.
The cartridge has 2 USB connections and can therefore provide all kinds of external extensions with power.
The cartridge can be ordered as a Bare interface (PCB only) or as a complete cartridge with a gray or red housing, or as a dual tone housing

What is the Atari ST USB Power Cartridge?

Unlike many other computer systems of its age, the Atari ST does not really have an easily accessible power supply on one of the expansion ports, which means that you will have to supply an externally connected device with power via a different way.
That means an extra power socket, but also that you have to switch on and off 2 or more devices.
Also, the order of powering on devices is suddenly important because during initialization processes of the computer it could be looking for connected devices on the expansion ports.
This is no longer a problem with SNAP, the Atari ST USB Power Cartridge.
Together with the Atari ST, external peripherals that are powered via mini USB cables now are also switched on and off simultaneously.

Atari ST USB Power Cartridge, the limitations :

Even though it has USB connectors, doesn't make it a real USB interface for the Atari ST.
Bringing USB to older computers often requires a lot of logic, drivers and often changes to the kernel ROM as well.
The Atari ST USB Power Cartridge it's onlypurpose is to act as a power supply for externally connected equipment to the Atari ST, so that you don't need extra power adapters which have to be switched on and off separately.
This is a 'dumb' interface and you will have to make sure you won't short-circuit and/or overload the power supply cartridge.
Now most devices with a USB connection do not have great demands on voltage, but I would strongly advise against a fat hard working raspberry PI 4.
Try to keep the load at a maximum of 300 MA, then there will be no problem.

Atari ST USB Power Cartridge Applications :

There is a lot of stuff you could think of,  that you can provide with power by means of this cartridge, whether or not that stuff is connected to your Atari ST.
I designed this interface with a single purpose, a simple way to power your externally connected Gotek Floppydrive Emulator.
All this with the convenience of turning on and off automatically together with your Atari ST, mand without having to use additional power adapters and sockets.

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