Atari C-lab Falcon For Sale!!

Hi all i am selling my c-lab Falcon which is housed in a spacecase 19" rack case.The specs are as follows:-

CPU - MC68030 , DSP - 56001 , TOS - 4.04 , RAM - 14MB , IDE HDD - 60MB , SCSI HDD - 1.9GB , Floppy drive

Also fitted is a Blow up 3 screen enhancer.

Includes external keyboard and mouse,15" vga monitor if required , Original manuals.

Also included are the two soundpool audio interfaces :- 8ch analogue and SPDIF that connect directly with DSP chip.

Original Boxed versions of Cubase and Lattice C are also included in this package!!

I would prefer this to be collected from Cardiff in Wales and will sell for £200

Many thanks...Pete

[arkanoid]

that's a nice deal for anyone that can get to it.

reminds me, must pop desktop Falcon on eBay one day

[keropi]

got 2 falcons , one with a 060 .... bunch of useless crap if you ask me. bah wasted money

Originally Posted by keropi

got 2 falcons , one with a 060 .... bunch of useless crap if you ask me. bah wasted money

"Useless crap" eh.....well considering this was/is the best midi controller computer ever made i dont think so!...More pro studios used these than any other machine...Why?....Because it was the best!!.....the DSP processor takes control of all the audio i/o stages and processes these at speed and with precision and quality!
I should know i have worked as a sound engineer at a few of the best studios around and with some top name bands of the 90's/2k's as well as on film track scores.....Guess what the midi sequencing was done on!!...Yes a Falcon!
Pete

[keropi]

true, I was reffering to it as a "retro computer of general usage"
MIDI is fine for those who have a use for it, but beyond that offers nothing of interest IMHO...
compared to amiga and it's uses it is very limited...

[arkanoid]

keropi: not sure why you would consider the Falcon "useless". Hardwarewise it stands toe-to-toe with the A1200 and in a lot of areas it actually beats our beloved 1200 hands down (DSP sound chip, YM sound coprocessor, real 24bit graphics, 030 as standard)

the only areas it really fails in for me is a lack of PCMCIA interface (which has been a god-send on a600/a1200s) and its OS. I don't think I could ever really get used to TOS/MiNT after the luxury of AmigaOS! But then that is more a personal preferance, as most hardcore Atari ST/Falcon owners say the exact same thing about AmigaOS

Despite being one of the rarest homecomputers of its era, the Falcon also has a very strong community. Particularly if you're into watching demos, there are some great demos on the Falcon!

The Falcon is one of the great homecomputers imo.

[DDNI]

Originally Posted by arkanoid

keropi: not sure why you would consider the Falcon "useless". Hardwarewise it stands toe-to-toe with the A1200 and in a lot of areas it actually beats our beloved 1200 hands down (DSP sound chip, YM sound coprocessor, real 24bit graphics, 030 as standard)

the only areas it really fails in for me is a lack of PCMCIA interface (which has been a god-send on a600/a1200s) and its OS. I don't think I could ever really get used to TOS/MiNT after the luxury of AmigaOS! But then that is more a personal preferance, as most hardcore Atari ST/Falcon owners say the exact same thing about AmigaOS

Despite being one of the rarest homecomputers of its era, the Falcon also has a very strong community. Particularly if you're into watching demos, there are some great demos on the Falcon!

The Falcon is one of the great homecomputers imo.

nah, despite all that, it is still a reATARdI

[Zetr0]

It amazes me why NO ONE ever attempted to port an Amiga-Like OS for the Atari, when you get to the medium + end of Falcons they are almost on par with an A3000...

such a sad shame...

although the Atari's had MIDI as standard, its nothing an Amiga cannot do, I have plenty of suits for that such malarky but its bugs me that the Atari ended up with a far better sound chip.... damn you commodore and your cheap cost cutting!!!!

[keropi]

Originally Posted by arkanoid

keropi: not sure why you would consider the Falcon "useless". Hardwarewise it stands toe-to-toe with the A1200 and in a lot of areas it actually beats our beloved 1200 hands down (DSP sound chip, YM sound coprocessor, real 24bit graphics, 030 as standard)

the only areas it really fails in for me is a lack of PCMCIA interface (which has been a god-send on a600/a1200s) and its OS. I don't think I could ever really get used to TOS/MiNT after the luxury of AmigaOS! But then that is more a personal preferance, as most hardcore Atari ST/Falcon owners say the exact same thing about AmigaOS

Despite being one of the rarest homecomputers of its era, the Falcon also has a very strong community. Particularly if you're into watching demos, there are some great demos on the Falcon!

The Falcon is one of the great homecomputers imo.

do you happen to have a falcon or tried to use one? It's ease-of-use is near to zero. The only good thing is that it outputs VGA , nothing else. There are a bunch of OS'es to choose from, software to register and all boil down to very limited usage. Unless you want it for midi perhaps, but I am pretty sure recent solutions are equal if not better.
Good luck trying to transfer the FreeMint 70+MB package using floppy disks... what? you need to use a scsi zip drive? and a harddisk? ofcourse, register HDDriver. need help for your setup? where to turn to? to the almost zero community? For crying out loud, you can't even order a ps2-mouse adaptor these days! Trying to play some falcon-fixed games on your blazing-fast CT060 falcon? tough luck, they all just reset the machine. Except some 40 falcon games , and demos (and having a machine just to play demos plain sucks IMHO) you are VERY VERY limited. The "atari scene" is nothing like the amiga one , and that was a GREAT dissapointment for me. So yeah, for me they are crappy. Good hardware needs good software too. In the same sence an Archimedes should be a super machine to use. but no.
and I have 2 falcons...

[arkanoid]

Keropi:

"do you happen to have a falcon or tried to use one?"

yes, I do. I also have a SCSI Apple Ethernet adaptor. So, for me, transfering files to its HD is not a problem. There's also the option of writing Falcon images directly from PC to HD floppy...which is an added bonus not possible with Amiga. I also have a PS2 adaptor which I created myself from iDemon's schematics.

I'm not saying the Falcon is an "easy" system to use. Far from it. It has a relatively TINY community compared to the Amiga, so "support" is slow in comming and sometimes you have to create your own solutions. But we are talking retro computing here, the quirkyness and figuring out solutions is all part of the fun. if I wanted pure "plug-in-and-play" ease of use I would stick to PCs.

"The "atari scene" is nothing like the amiga one , and that was a GREAT dissapointment for me."

again, what do you expect? there are FAR less people involved in the Atari demo-scene. But the guys who ARE involved are on par with the very best Amiga guys. Sure, Atari "design" in demos has always left a lot to be desired but the code from Falcon groups such as DHS and TSCC is equal if not better than the likes of TBL (technically)

You talk as though the Falcon community promissed you something and then failed to deliver. That's not true, the difficulties of using a Falcon are plan to see with a little research. If, before you purchased your Falcons, you had asked about the state of Falcon computing...you would have been given a CLEAR indication of how difficult using a Falcon can be if you do not know where to look and what you need. Setting up a usable Falcon system takes some time and patience, but once things are set it is a joy.

I suggest you sell you Falcons to someone who will greatly appretiate this rare system and perhaps has more ability to draw the best exprence from such a unique system.

[keropi]

Originally Posted by arkanoid

Keropi:

I suggest you sell you Falcons to someone who will greatly appretiate this rare system and perhaps has more ability to draw the best exprence from such a unique system.

typical atari fanboy saying... have heared that a million times debating.
noone promised me anything, but yeah I expected more. Not everyone wants/can build their own ps2 adapter for example. Not to mention the "mighty" atari users that frawn uppon mere mortals like me.
for me, it is still a crap machine with limitations. I don't care about it's specs, the software is FAR more limiting than on amiga.
And having used higher spec machines (like my csppc amigas with all their goodies) I found my self trying to use a 060 falcon. and I say trying because the software is miserable. bah damnit to hell. The 060 falcon stays with me , because it costed LOTS and I doubt anyone will pay for it, and the other one is being donated to a friend of mine.. so count 2 precious machines out

edit: I noticed that the falcon is a joy after setting it up... please tell me WHAT will I run on it so it will be a joy?

[arkanoid]

Originally Posted by keropi

typical atari fanboy saying... have heared that a million times debating.

"fanboy"? again, I'm not sure where you get that assumption from. I own ONE Falcon which I barely use, not because it is "crap" or "rubbish" (as you call it) but because there are only so many hours in a day to discover and draw the absolute best from a system. Look at my avater, I have *chosen* to spend my retro-computing time with my Amiga based systems (A600, A1200/060, Pegasos/MorphOS). Just as others have chosen to invest time in their Atari Falcons. I like Ataris, but I owned Amigas as a child and do not really have the same bond when it comes to Falcons. That doesn't make it a trash computer.

If you had ever seen a properly setup Falcon with CT60, or simply programmed one (as I have), you would perhaps appretiate exctly what it's capable of.

You seem to have little patience and _presume_ too much. Just as you spent hundreds (if not thousands) of dallars on not one but TWO Falcons and expensive upgrades - BEFORE you even knew the first thing about the system.

I'm not an Atari "fanboy" and I'm also not an Amiga fanboy. I just like and appretiate old systems and would never trash a fantastic system such as the Falcon....just because I forgot to pay a visit to Ye Olde Falcon Clue Shoppe before purchasing one.

[keropi]

you don't seem to get the main point which is: it is crap because there is no worthwhile software for it! no software = no userbase = no hardware

[Zetr0]

@Keropi

haven't you got a falcon ?

[keropi]

Z: yep, 2 of them...

[arkanoid]

Originally Posted by keropi

you don't seem to get the main point which is: it is crap because there is no worthwhile software for it! no software = no userbase = no hardware

again, you do not have a valid point. what "worthwhile" software were you expecting from a 16+ year old system that was undersupported (software wise) even when it was available in local computer stores?? on top of that it also has probably the smallest user-base (and so development community) of all the retro-systems. were you expecting Office 2008 or something? or Macromedia Director, perhaps?

I can only judge the Falcon based on my personal expectations. like 90% of Falcon owners today, I use the system to produce and watch demos (and play the occasional game). And for that purpose there is PLENTY of software available (music trackers, pixeling apps, compilers/assemblers, etc)

If you were expecting OS apps such as email clients and browsers, then sorry but i can only laugh.

[keropi]

you can only laugh at the silly amount of money I spent getting this crap .

[Paul_s]

I feel ANGER! ANGER inside me. I want an Amiga vs. Atari fight now. I want to punch someone's block off and have a fight like I was back in school

[johnroberts]

do`t care if its on par with amiga its still an atari yuk

[mfletcher]

@Keropi,

I think you'll find that the Atari Community is alive and well over at Atari-Forum; and they're a helpful bunch too!

Mark
(Amiga and Atari and Archimedes owner ;-))