Atari Falcon : all new user and... not really all new problems I think ;-)

[gabortoulouse]

Hi!

I just finally bought that Falcon I dreamt on 30 years ago.

And this old bird has some problems.

I really dont know how to handle the problems, as there are a lot of informations on this forum... But I'm completely lost

* First, I changed some items on it (bought on Exxos) :
Exxos PSU+connector
Falcon 030 TOS 4.04 ROM Multilang
Bought a DFB1X Booster (all the problems below are the same when the card is in the machine or not)


I have a soldering iron, but I'm not electrician.


* Then, the HD is certainly out of service : it starts and then I hear it slowing and stop. I tried another hard disk (from an Amiga), and the HD continues turning (and it does not boot, but that is normal
I would like to change it, but I really dont know what to do : a SDCard ? A brand new/old 80Mo disk ? What is the best idea? I think put a SDCard, but how? And how to get software and put it on it? I really would prefer to get a real original HD

* Other problem, the floppy (changed by a new one because the old was completely out of service), appears sometimes and work... but the most of time, it does not appear on desktop. I bought a IDE to CF converter, but I would like to make a standard floppy work on it.

* Finally, what operations must be absolutely done on this Falcon? I really dont know. I'm not electronician, just an IT... I dismount the mother board to clean it a bit, but I really dont know where to begin...

Thank you to all advice, I'm a bit... lost (I really know my Commodore Amigas, but Atari machines... not at all...!!)

Nice day and kisses

Fabrice

[stephen_usher]

Welcome Fabrice.

Well, the hard drive spinning up and down is a known problem. The synthetic rubber bumper for the heads turns to goo and sticks the heads so thay can't move. Not a lot can be done about that without completely dismantling the drive and removing the rubber. Replacing with an IDE-CF or IDE-SD card unit in the same way as an Amiga A1200 would work. You'd then need a hard drive driver... but to do that you'd need a working floppy drive...

I've not heard about floppy problems on the Falcon, but others may have. You may like to test things using a Gotek and floppy images as you never know if the replacement floppy is faulty.

With respect to other things which "need" to be done, the real-time clock and NVRAM chip needs to be replaced (this needs someone very competent at desoldering!) and a clock mod fitting if there are issues with the bus timing. Other than that nothing else really. The Falcon doesn't have the same leaky cap problem that the A1200 and A600 have as it uses axial through-hole caps.

[gabortoulouse]

Welcome Fabrice.

Well, the hard drive spinning up and down is a known problem. The synthetic rubber bumper for the heads turns to goo and sticks the heads so thay can't move. Not a lot can be done about that without completely dismantling the drive and removing the rubber. Replacing with an IDE-CF or IDE-SD card unit in the same way as an Amiga A1200 would work. You'd then need a hard drive driver... but to do that you'd need a working floppy drive...

I've not heard about floppy problems on the Falcon, but others may have. You may like to test things using a Gotek and floppy images as you never know if the replacement floppy is faulty.

With respect to other things which "need" to be done, the real-time clock and NVRAM chip needs to be replaced (this needs someone very competent at desoldering!) and a clock mod fitting if there are issues with the bus timing. Other than that nothing else really. The Falcon doesn't have the same leaky cap problem that the A1200 and A600 have as it uses axial through-hole caps.

I'll do that to begin : find and try a gotek replacement of the floppy

A big thank you Stephen!

[HomeLate]

Is the new floppy drive compatible with Atari machines? In other words, is this perhaps a PC-compatible floppy drive? Chances are this needs to be modded for it to work in your Falcon. PC-compatible floppy drives are usually jumpered DS1 and this needs to be changed to DS0.

Next, like Stephen mentioned, the RTC clock battery might need to be changed if it's still the original one. And yes, like Stephen mentioned, these are not easy to desolder. Have it done by someone who knows how to desolder through hole components out of a thick PCB. Mine was already done in my Falcon, but the previous owner didn't do a great job.

Finally, you might want to recap the PSU. Exxos has a kit in his shop. Have it done by the same person who needs to replace the RTC

[Dlfrsilver]

Welcome Fabrice.

Well, the hard drive spinning up and down is a known problem. The synthetic rubber bumper for the heads turns to goo and sticks the heads so thay can't move. Not a lot can be done about that without completely dismantling the drive and removing the rubber. Replacing with an IDE-CF or IDE-SD card unit in the same way as an Amiga A1200 would work. You'd then need a hard drive driver... but to do that you'd need a working floppy drive...

I've not heard about floppy problems on the Falcon, but others may have. You may like to test things using a Gotek and floppy images as you never know if the replacement floppy is faulty.

With respect to other things which "need" to be done, the real-time clock and NVRAM chip needs to be replaced (this needs someone very competent at desoldering!) and a clock mod fitting if there are issues with the bus timing. Other than that nothing else really. The Falcon doesn't have the same leaky cap problem that the A1200 and A600 have as it uses axial through-hole caps.

Falcon caps are leaking and drying. On mine, the caps were leaking in the PSU, in fact they lost their waterproofing, and the internal electrolyte leaks through the poles under the caps. On the motherboard, the caps are drying. The big one at the center of the motherboard has its electrolyte that dries and that become "rusty". Better replace them than have the falcon going broken.

[alexh]

It's known that the IDE controller logic, SCSI Controller logic and Floppy Disk Controller logic are somehow interconnected.

If you have a dead IDE HDD fitted then both SCSI and the FDD will fail to work.

Unplug the broken IDE device then SCSI & FDD will work as normal again.

https://atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18840

[gabortoulouse]

Is the new floppy drive compatible with Atari machines? In other words, is this perhaps a PC-compatible floppy drive? Chances are this needs to be modded for it to work in your Falcon. PC-compatible floppy drives are usually jumpered DS1 and this needs to be changed to DS0.

Next, like Stephen mentioned, the RTC clock battery might need to be changed if it's still the original one. And yes, like Stephen mentioned, these are not easy to desolder. Have it done by someone who knows how to desolder through hole components out of a thick PCB. Mine was already done in my Falcon, but the previous owner didn't do a great job.

Finally, you might want to recap the PSU. Exxos has a kit in his shop. Have it done by the same person who needs to replace the RTC

For the floppy, I bought one on ebay, specifiquely modified for Atari Falcon. It seems to have work one time or two, and then, after some reboots, no more disk appeared on screen and I was unable to read disks anymore. I notice the "clic" of the floppy on powering up, but no more noise, and no LED light.
I was unable to desoldier the old original integrated floppy connector on the PCB : very difficult, i'm not good at all in electronics... and may be now, the problem is that something went wrong on the connector, even if I already tested and there are no short circuit. I'll retry to desoldier it and put the all new PCB connector bought on Exxos.

For the PSU, I completely changed it, buying a new one on Exxos website Very nice item

For the RTC, I bought a new one (second order...) and I wait to receive it now. I hope I will be able to desoldier the old one...

Thank you for these advice!

[gabortoulouse]

It's known that the IDE controller logic, SCSI Controller logic and Floppy Disk Controller logic are somehow interconnected.

If you have a dead IDE HDD fitted then both SCSI and the FDD will fail to work.

Unplug the broken IDE device then SCSI & FDD will work as normal again.

https://atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=18840

Hey, thank you, but already tried... Floppy does not work better...
I bought a brand new one on Exxos shop. Waiting for receive it.