PeST INTERFACE ABOUT

The best PS2 to ST mouse interface ever created!
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exxos
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PeST INTERFACE ABOUT

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INTRODUCTION
PeST has been developed to meet the requirements of Atari ST users, specifically that Atari mice are now in short supply and that the feel of the original device sold back in the 80’s is showing its age.

PeST is the acronym for PS2 enumerator for the Atari ST. It enables any PC PS2 mouse to be used with the Atari ST / STF / STFM / STE / Mega / Mega STE / TT / Falcon etc. The device is completely automatic and fully plug and play.

Care has been taken to ensure that no movements of the mouse are lost. In the early stages of PeST’s development we tested similar interfaces offered by the competition. No two interfaces had the same feeling. We have been spoilt in recent years by more recent operating systems, in expecting the pointer on screen to move exactly relative to the mouse being handled. This was entirely our aim in developing PeST. If we were going to use it, and if we were going to be happy with it, it had to work!

HOW IT WORKS
PS2 3-byte packets of information are received from the mouse. These are analysed by a programmable computer-on-a-chip. The resulting information is reflected on the Atari ST’s mouse port. Effectively our device is a PS2 to BUS mouse converter.

The computer-on-a-chip which performs the conversion has a similar amount of processing power to computers of the late 1970’s. It has 2 Kbytes of ROM and about 256 bytes of RAM, with a processing speed of about 1MIPS. The program necessary to make the interface work is about 700 bytes of optimised machine code.

Pest is fully "plug & play" and requires no software or hardware mods to work. Speed can be changed between four modes up to 400% over the original ST mouse. PeST has a vast range of compatibility with PS2 mice and any USB mouse can be used via a PS2>USB adapter.

USB SUPPORT
PeST can work with a PS2>USB adapter which is often supplied with mice. Please note that USB mice must have a genuine PS2 protocol to function correctly. Typically only Microsoft mice are known to have a genuine USB & PS2 protocol. As there are so many mice out there it is impossible to say if a mouse will or not work without trying it. Other adapters sold around the market appear to support USB , as they have a USB socket, though reading the small print they only work with Microsoft mice, simply because the firmware is a hack as a much older (freeware) adapter protocol which was a PS2 only software.

PeST has a much newer firmware and offers better performance with the maximum possible support of mice.Pest has a far superior firmware than the firmware used in many cheaper adapters. Pest supports a much wider range of PS2 mice, which gives you more chance of a USB mouse actually working. USB is not a reliable protocol which is why when we developed Pest we opted to use the PS2 protocol.

Be aware that "USB" adapters are not generally true USB but simply have a USB socket fitted with PS2 driven firmware. Be aware that your USB mice will probably not work with such adapters! Such adapters only work with Microsoft mice as they are one of the few which support genuine PS2 protocol. PeST can work in exactly the same way by using a PS2>USB adapter which gives the possibility of using USB mice that also support genuine PS2 protocol.

HISTORY
PeST was developed by exxos & the late Techie Alison. exxos developed the hardware and helped with ideas and a lot of coding. Alison coded the firmware in pure assembly and we produced one of the best selling mouse interfaces of all time.

PeST was discontinued in 2012 due to being on sale for some years and sales dropped to the point it wasn't worth producing them anymore. However there has been a lot of interest recently in producing a new batch of these.. so maybe one day they will appear in my store again..
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
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DrF
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Re: PeST INTERFACE ABOUT

Post by DrF »

This was THE adaptor to have, I am sure I ran into clones of it a few times over the years too?
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Re: PeST INTERFACE ABOUT

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DrF wrote: Thu Aug 24, 2017 10:14 pm This was THE adaptor to have, I am sure I ran into clones of it a few times over the years too?
Yeah, but most of those cheaper PS2 adapters used some freeware code at the time. Then I think some polish guys started making similar things at half the price and put us out of business :( They just stuck a USB connector on it and sold it as "new improved" which was rubbish but it still sold. I know a lot of people ran into issues with it not working. Though I am sure they faked all the sales they had on evilbay as they were selling like 10 times the amount we was even when the thing was in full swing and a new product.

I did drop the price of the last 10 I made, couldn't give them away at the time. But the polish guys were selling like 20 a day... hmmm! Well I just deemed they were just no longer going to sell, so I stopped making them.
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
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IngoQ
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Re: PeST INTERFACE ABOUT

Post by IngoQ »

How much was yours?

Two years ago I bought a Micromys made by icomp https://icomp.de/shop-icomp/en/shop/pr ... ys-v4.html

It's not chip with around 30EUR but it seems to be quite popular, and is universally usable.
Ingo :geek:

| Atari 1040STE@32MHz | Amiga 1200 (ACA1220) | Atari 800XL (U1MB, SIDE2) | Atari 130XL (Sophia DVI) | C64 (1541 Ultimate II, Rev3 RFMod Replacement) | TI 99/4A (F18A, 32k, FlashROM 99) | Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128 (Stereo, DivMMC) | Amstrad CPC664 (512k, M4 Wifi) | ... |
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Re: PeST INTERFACE ABOUT

Post by exxos »

PeST was selling for around £22 "back in the day". It helped fund further developments at the time. Though as said, sales dried up and "cheap clones" took over :(

I will be making some more at some point, though can't say when, as many projects on the go at once. I do have all the parts to build a batch of 10 up. So maybe when I'm in the mood one day, I will build them up and add them to my store :)
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/ All my hardware guides - mods - games - STOS
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/store2/ - All my hardware mods for sale - Please help support by making a purchase.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1585 Have you done the Mandatory Fixes ?
Just because a lot of people agree on something, doesn't make it a fact. ~exxos ~
People should find solutions to problems, not find problems with solutions.
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