Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) After 20 years of waiting, I finally own a Falcon 030. 4MB. I finally talked an old friend into giving it to me since it was in disuse. It was really dirty from years of spilt soda and severe cigarette smoke "tarnish" but after a good cleaning of the case and keyboard (completely taken apart and cleaned), it's in good shape again. There were a couple broken keys, and I only had ST keyboard replacements, so I replaced more falcon keys for ST keys to create a unique looking keyboard. I've got her hooked up to a 21" CRT VGA monitor. It's been years since I used TOS and GEM, and I was still a beginner when I did remember anything, so I'm pretty much a newbee all over again. I could use some suggestions for connecting a CDR drive, and the best desktops or OS for having colorful desktops with wallpaper, etc. Also suggestions on upgrades, etc. What it will take to successfully get it on the internet, etc. I think my best option for that will be LAN from my PC which is connected via wi-fi. Edited April 2, 2013 by Gunstar 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlazer Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) Nice, welcome to the club! Why does the pic look blurry? Get the latest TOS 4.04 for it if it doesn't have it and also get a 14MB RAM board. Edited April 2, 2013 by tjlazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CyranoJ Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Welcome to the Falcon club, Gunstar Before you ask your next question, here's the answer: CLICK HERE I'd recommend starting with Wings of Death.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidLittleMan Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 ... Also suggestions on upgrades, etc. What it will take to successfully get it on the internet, etc. I think my best option for that will be LAN from my PC which is connected via wi-fi. Well, first what you need is some hard disk, or better CF card (and adapter for it). Internet may be not too good experience, considering today sites filled with graph, pictures, scripts etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CyranoJ Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Or grab an old 2.5" laptop drive out of the trash and plug it in. Job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caterpiggle Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Hello Tjlazer, I do have my Atari Falcon 030 with 14 Mb ready expect HDD is rotten bad. DO you know how to installed a new HDD or used HDD and re-installed the complete OS System ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) Nice, welcome to the club! Why does the pic look blurry? Get the latest TOS 4.04 for it if it doesn't have it and also get a 14MB RAM board. smudging on my camera lens I didn't see until I loaded the picture up and saw it like you. Edited April 2, 2013 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Or grab an old 2.5" laptop drive out of the trash and plug it in. Job done. My Falcon already has a hard-disk, weren't these built-in to start with? Or did falcons not come with a HDD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Well, first what you need is some hard disk, or better CF card (and adapter for it). Internet may be not too good experience, considering today sites filled with graph, pictures, scripts etc. All I need out of the internet for my falcon is to check e-mail, come to sites like AA and download games and apps, I think the Falcon (after upgrades) could manage that much... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyIII Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Congrats! This is my dream ATARI to own. It looks pretty good with the pattern you chose to place the white keys. Also glad to see it rescued to a safe place. 14mb ram and you should be set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Congrats! This is my dream ATARI to own. It looks pretty good with the pattern you chose to place the white keys. Also glad to see it rescued to a safe place. 14mb ram and you should be set. Thanks. I knew I wasn't going to have just two white keys, one was the number 7 on the keypad and the other broken key was the return key, so I knew i would have to come up with a good pattern so the keyboard still looked good. Yes, 14Meg ram...I was suprised to see that the Falcon doesn't use simms like the STE when I opened it, how hard is it to find 14MB ram boards for the Falcon (or is it 2, 7MB boards?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyIII Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Yes, 14Meg ram...I was suprised to see that the Falcon doesn't use simms like the STE when I opened it, how hard is it to find 14MB ram boards for the Falcon (or is it 2, 7MB boards?) I'm new to the ATARI ST / Falcon scene, but have been doing research on my Future Dream Machine. Here's some links of a SIMM Adapter for the Falcon. The top one is a seller who makes them and the bottom link is of a installation of one. Lots of cool pictures. http://www.volny.cz/boban07/RAM_kartice/ http://povcd.info/falcon.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) I'm new to the ATARI ST / Falcon scene, but have been doing research on my Future Dream Machine. Here's some links of a SIMM Adapter for the Falcon. The top one is a seller who makes them and the bottom link is of a installation of one. Lots of cool pictures. http://www.volny.cz/...07/RAM_kartice/ http://povcd.info/falcon.html Thanks! I may buy that upgrade, but since it's overseas and exchange rates and shipping can be high, I'm going to see if a U.S. retailer has a 14meg upgrade for sale. The Best electronics catalog lists an Atari original 14meg board or they also have a Wizztronics simm one similiar to what you showed me, listed. If they still have them in stock, I'll get it from them. B&C might have some too. Were the second slots (apparrently for memory) on the left side of the Falcon MBO ever used? it looks identical to where the 4MB memory module is plugged in on the right...maybe two 4meg boards can be used for 8MB? I'm 99% sure I'll upgrade to a full 14MB anyway (some of the listing call them 16MB, can the Falcon only access 14MB? Why not 16MB? 14 seems...odd. Edited April 2, 2013 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Welcome to the Falcon club, Gunstar Before you ask your next question, here's the answer: CLICK HERE I'd recommend starting with Wings of Death.... Thanks for the link, I'll definately use it. What about games made for the Falcon? I'm sure I can find them, but if you have a link... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) how can I tell what version of TOS I have? Desktop info doesn't say. I'd also like to find out just how big my HD is, right now it partitioned into drives C-F...I could do the byte math under drive info, but...maybe there's another way? Also, what is the best and most advanced desktop for colorful graphics, maybe at least 256 but hopefully high or true color desktop with wallpapers and screensavers, etc. The Gem desktop seems about as primitive as the Mega STE I owned, and I don't see options for wallpaper or anything. I used to have Neodesk 3.0 on my ST/STE's and it was ok, I could have wallpaper and full-color (16-color) icons, but the wallpaper would also effect the icon colors and I didn't like that. Edited April 2, 2013 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Neodesk/Geneva and Jinnee/MagiC are both good comibinations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) Neodesk/Geneva and Jinnee/MagiC are both good comibinations. Thanks, I'll look into those OS/desktop combos. I take it that if I want to upgrade to the most advanced OS's and desktops I need to leave TOS in the dust? Are there newer versions of TOS than 4.04? I remember reading about high-powered Falcon/TOS clones so I thought maybe the torch for TOS had been picked up and new versions produced? Sort of like SpartaDos on the 8-bit machines, that can take advantage of all the new upgrades? I'm not biased toward TOS or anything, I just want to get straight to the most advanced OS's and desktops and get this Falcon running as "modern" as I can. Has neodesk gone beyond 4.x? Neodesk 4 was the last thing I had heard about, but was too much for my ST system at the time so I settled for Neodesk 3. How compatible are Geneba and MagiC to TOS? will all TOS games and apps run still? I want the top of the line for my falcon, but i don't want to get so crazy it loses further compatibility with ST software or Falcon TOS software. Edited April 2, 2013 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DarkLord Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 TOS v4.04 was the last available TOS version for the Falcon, as far as I know. If you have v4.02, it's always recommended that you upgrade. There is quite a bit of software development, some quite active, but it is mostly on the MINT side of things. Teradesk is still updated and supported, last time I heard. BTW, if you install Atari's extensible control panel and use the general CPX, you'll find RAM and TOS version details under "status". HTHs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Thanks, I was just about to say I think I'm going to go with Geneva/Neo, but if most new develpopment is for MINT, then I'll look at again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 The Falcon has a new owner? When did Han sell it? Did Chewie have any say in this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToasTuk Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 With regards to the 14/16mb ram upgrade, the system reserves 2mb for the system, I.e there needs to be somewhere for tos and the hardware to live so the system blocks ram access to the upper section to allow space for these and thus leaves 14mb. To use the Internet you'll need software like 'sting' and hardware to access it like 'netbus', there are some new boards being built again soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 The Falcon has a new owner? When did Han sell it? Did Chewie have any say in this? What would I need with that piece of junk? I have a GUNSTAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 (edited) With regards to the 14/16mb ram upgrade, the system reserves 2mb for the system, I.e there needs to be somewhere for tos and the hardware to live so the system blocks ram access to the upper section to allow space for these and thus leaves 14mb. To use the Internet you'll need software like 'sting' and hardware to access it like 'netbus', there are some new boards being built again soon. Thanks for clearing that up, I'm just used to system memory references including all memory, including the memory it is commandeered by OS's, etc. So then is the 4MB board really 6MB? If not, you can understand my confusion, with that situation and every other computer I've ever used. If other memory boards for the falcon don't count the memory used by the system either, then it's the first computer I've noticed (i.e., told to me by you) that refers to ram total excluding memory used by the system. Do I have to go back to every computer I've ever known, and rethink how much total memory every computer really has? As far as I'm concerned, it's 16MB, regardless of what resources for which memory is used/allocated. Again, thanks for clearing that up. Edited April 3, 2013 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToasTuk Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 No. On the falcon the bus has 16mb addressable space, 2mb is reserved for the hardware, leaving 14mb to fill the space, a 1mb card fits into the 14mb gap ok as does the 4mb card. 16mb however cannot fit into the 14mb space so it ignores 2mb so it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunstar Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 (edited) No. On the falcon the bus has 16mb addressable space, 2mb is reserved for the hardware, leaving 14mb to fill the space, a 1mb card fits into the 14mb gap ok as does the 4mb card. 16mb however cannot fit into the 14mb space so it ignores 2mb so it will work. Ahh, now THAT makes sense to me. I needed the "addressable space" to get on the same page. So anything more than 14MB would require bank-switching of some type, like with the 8-bits and 6502's with 64K of addressable memory. Thanks! Edited April 3, 2013 by Gunstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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