Atari Falcon 030.. the Talented Home Micro!

Submitted by binaryvalue on Mon, 05/23/2022 - 14:20
Falcon 030

Released in 1992, Falcon 030 was Atari's last computer. Falcon was well ahead of its time by featuring the 68030 CPU plus the powerfull 56001 DSP from Motorolla, and by offering 24-bit graphics and 8 stereo PCM channels (50 kHz ). Falcon was more expensive than its main competitor Amiga 1200 and sold not too many units.

  • In the UK, it was sold for £599 with 1MB RAM and for £999 with 4MB RAM and a 65MB hard disk 
  • It is estimated that only about 29,000 Falcon 030 and 10,000 C-Lab Falcon units were ever sold

glanceTHE FALCON 030 AT A GLANCE

Falcon includes the 32-bit Motorola 68030, clocked at 16 MHz, while the CPU is supported by the Motorola 56001 DSP clocked at 32 MHz and running at 16 MIPS. Falcon includes the IDE and SCSI bus for connecting hard drives and CD-ROM drives. 

  • Falcon030
    Falcon 030 4MB/65MB hard disk: Photo from our collection
    Motorolla 68030 CPU (16 Mhz), 5.76 MIPS
  • Motorolla 56001 DSP (digital sound processing), 16 MIPS
  • 16-bit data bus and a 24-bit address bus
  • Videl video graphics (24-bit)
  • 16-bit Blitter at 16MHz
  • 16 PCM channels (50 kHz - 8 stereo channels)
  • 1/4 MB Ram (max 14 MB) and 512K ROM
  • TOS 4.01/4,02, and Multi-TOS Operating Systems
  • 1.44 Mb 3.5-inch Floppy disk (PC compatible)

variants Related Models

 In 1995, C-Lab purchased the rights to the Falcon hardware and started to produce their versions.

  • C-Lab released the Falcon Mk I, Mk II, and Mk-X (with TOS 4.04)

graphics Graphics & Modes

  • 640 x 480 SVGA with (256 colors / 65,535 colors)
  • 320 x 480 True color VGA (32,76 8 / 65,535 colors)
  • ST/STE graphic mode compatibility

 sound Sound Capabilities

Falcon-Motherboard
Inside the Falcon 030 -Original Image: Atari Forum (2018) unknown user

 The sound capabilities of the Falcon are amazing, including 8 stereo channels (50KHz). There is also the Yamaha Y3439 chip (3 channels) for backward compatibility with Atari ST, but also compatibility with the two 8 bits PCM channels of the STE.

  • 16 PCM channels (50 kHz - 8 stereo channels)

ports I/O Ports

 The Atari Falcon 030 offers a lot of ports, including a 2.5 inch IDE internal HD.

  • 2× 9-pin mouse/joystick ports
  • 2× analog joystick (compatible with STE and Jaguar)
  • 2.5 inch IDE - internal HD
  • 1.44 MB 3.5 inch PC compatible Floppy disk - internal
  • External SCSI-II connector
  • ROM/Cartridge port
  • 2x serial ports
  • Bidirectional LPT port
  • Local area network port
  • DSP port
  • MIDI IN and OUT
  • Stereo microphone for recording (1/8" mini-jack) & Headphone out (1/8" mini-jack)

upgrades Atari falcon 030 Upgrades

There are plenty of Falcon 030 upgrades, including a 68060 accelerator.

  • Falcon Box
    Falcon 030 Brown Box: Photo from our collection
    14 MB RAM expansion (easy to install)
  • 2.5 inch IDE - internal HD
  • Gotek drive (internal)
  • FPU 68881/68882
  • IDE and SCSI bus for connecting external hard drives and CD-ROM drives
  • 68060 accelerator (recently available)
  • VGA high-resolution upgrade

monitors Suitable Monitors

 You can connect the Falcon 030 to TVs, VGA, and other monitors.

  • TV mono output
  • VGA monitor (with adapter)
  • 15 kHz RGB monitor
  • Atari SM124 monitor (adapter)

SHOPFalcon 030 Shops

These are some Falcon 030 online shops around the world:

  • https://centuriontech.eu/product/f030vga-r2/
  • https://www.arananet.net/pedidos/product/falcon-vga-adapter-with-multisync-switch
  • https://www.exxoshost.co.uk/atari/store2
  • https://www.best-electronics-ca.com/falcon.htm
  • https://lotharek.pl/productdetail.php?id=277

 

■ Atari Falcon 030

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