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SECTION ONE

INTRODUCTION


1.0 Overview


Falcon is the latest design in a series of Atari computers which extends the TOS compatible product line. Falcon provides enhanced video, graphics, and sound as well as greater bus bandwidth and operating speeds.

The Falcon architecture revolves around the Motorola MC68040 microprocessor running at 33 MHz. The MC68040 supports on-chip data and instruction caches which can be filled with bursts of 32-bit data fetches. The MC68040 also includes an internal floating point coprocessor.

The system includes a VME bus for expansion that conforms to the latest revision C.1 VMEbus specification.

In order to function in a multi-system environment, the system contains an on-board LAN port, and an I/O port with DMA capability. The system also includes an internal modem port and two RS232 serial ports.


1.1 System Features


The Falcon system contains many basic features which include:


Main System

	•	Motorola MC68040 Microprocessor at 33 MHz
	•	Up to 15MB od dual purpose (system/video) RAM
	•	Up to 32 MB expansion RAM
	•	512KB of 32-bit ROM


Audio/Video Subsystem

Video Modes include:

Color

	•	320X200 16 Color
	•	320X480 256 Color
	•	640X200 4 Color
	•	640X480 16 Color

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Duochrome

	•	640X400 2 Color

Monochrome

	•	1280X960

	•	New programmable video modes featuring Packed Pixel formats\
	•	Programmable video timing
	•	Powerful graphics coprocessor
	•	Internal audio amp and speaker


I/O Subsystems

	•	Parallel I/O Port
	•	Two aynchronous serial I/O ports (Up to 19.2Kbaud)
	•	High-speed SDLC serial modem and LAN ports
	•	Real-Time Clock with 50 bytes of non-volatile RAM
	•	Floppy Disk Controller
	•	Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
	•	Atari ST compatible cartridge port
	•	SCSI interface
	•	Expansion I/O port
	•	Multi-slot VME bus