exxos's Atari, Amiga & retro forum

hi, I'm a long time Atari fan (I should probably say hi in the introducing forum) with working 2600, 800, STFM, Lynx, Jag (even with the CD toilet) and Falcon. But it's the Falcon I'd like to give a bit of love to.
I've owned it since new, originally a 1MB machine, I added a 4MB expansion that uses 4 single sims relocated to the back of the floppy drive. I also added a martix screeneye which seem quite rare now. It was running fine a couple of years back, but I'm now too scared to power it on until I've at least done a PSU recap.
I'm pretty competent with soldering and have a full rework station. So basically I'd like to do everything I can to prolong its life and keep it in good condition.... as well as maybe give it some upgrades I couldn't afford back when I bought it.
So my main question is - what updates/mods should I do?
I see Exxos don't do a full board recap package so I'll order the mainboard caps from CPC for that, but anything else you think would be beneficial, like the RTC (which must be dead by now). I'm already on TOS 4.04 so presumably there's no upgrades there.
Is the clock buffer patch worth it? I do have an external scsi drive (that's currently dead) that I may try and revive.
My list from here so far is
PSU recap kit,
RTC replacement NVRAM, 
68882 FPU (when they're back in stock),
14MB RAM upgrade.

looking at the "mandatory" fixes thread I guess I'll add the clock buffer fix and get the uprated 4700uF kit from here too rather than just chuck another axial 4700uF in it.
Should be enough to keep me busy for a while....

PSU recap is top priority. Buffer patch will help with all sorts of odd issues, NVRAM needs changing as likely gone bad, though you should get someone to change it if you not good at soldering as a lot of people causes damages and then its difficult to fix afterwards.

Can also do the wait states mod for a free speed boost:
https://www.exxosforum.co.uk/atari/last/FALCWS/index.htm

Ct60e boosters are currently available to buy as well, if you want to spend some money. I guess you could sell the screeneye for funds (if you don't use it)

I'll have a look at the wait states mod. My ROM has the exact same markings on as the ones in the shop, so I'm not sure if I already have a fast ROM or if the part number is the same on different chips.

Anyway I've just ordered the bits from the shop, and I'll get the mainboard caps on order now so wish me luck. 14MB for only £49, it was a £500 upgrade when I bought the Falcon :D

All I need now is a 68882 FPU, if exxos wants to chuck one in I'll happily test it ;)

Cheers guys

Was going to test some FPU's yesterday, only to find I don't have any at all :(

Plagued wrote: 02 Jul 2020 09:39 All I need now is a 68882 FPU, if exxos wants to chuck one in I'll happily test it ;)

Obviously I recommend buying from exxos when he has things in stock, but given that he doesn't have any 68882s, you can find those on eBay pretty inexpensively. The ones from China are very cheap, but take forever to arrive. I haven't heard of any them being fakes at least. But if you want them sooner and perhaps with more reliable delivery, there are also UK and European options on eBay.

Ahh yes, not much from China, I've ordered a couple so hopefully one will make it on one piece. It's waited 25 years to get an FPU so I think it can cope with the delay from China ;)
All the Caps are on order with CPC, I think I've got enough for two Falcons due to the minimum qty so assuming it all goes to plan I may see if anyone else needs a full set bar the 4700uf as I'm using exxos's kit for that.

Thanks for the super quick dispatch, arrived yesterday. CPC shipped out nice and quick but TNT have cocked up the delivery so I won't get the mainboard caps until Monday :(

I'll also chuck this in here while I'm tinkering, as I made a little case for the low cost VGA adapter while I'm waiting for the Falcon caps. Nice little adapter! Although the monitor I had hoped to use can't seem to handle colour mode. I'll need a new one. Happy to chuck the STL files up someone if anyone wants them, is there a thread for the adapter somewhere?