Atari 130XE video cable

[Keneg]

I took a chance on an 130XE on eBay no video cable or power supply. I have tested it with the power supply I made for my 800XL and the video cable from the same that only has composite video and audio. If I buy a cable that has separate luma and chroma, that should improve the video, right? Thevideo is already better than on the 800XL, but since I need to buy a cable anyway, I want to get something optimal.

[+DrVenkman]

I took a chance on an 130XE on eBay no video cable or power supply. I have tested it with the power supply I made for my 800XL and the video cable from the same that only has composite video and audio. If I buy a cable that has separate luma and chroma, that should improve the video, right?[/b[ Thevideo is already better than on the 800XL, but since I need to buy a cable anyway, I want to get something optimal.

 

Yes, exactly. Composite video is a combination of the chroma (color) and luma (brightness) signals into one. It's a lot cleaner and sharper than RF for sure. The 800 and 130XE models both also output separate chroma/luma signals at the monitor port, as well as composite and audio. For some unknown reason, Atari deleted the chroma signal from the monitor jack of the 1200XL and 800XL. I have no idea why they did this yet still kept the luma signal connected - perhaps so people could still use monochrome monitors, but I don't know for sure. In any case, connecting the chroma signal to the jack inside the computer is literally a matter of soldering one wire. Anyway, separating the chroma and luma instead of overlaying them as one signal results in cleaner and much sharper output as compared to composite. At any rate, the 130XE restores the chroma signal to the jack and actually produces a very sharp, clean signal. My 130XE is pretty much on par with my 800's in terms of the chroma/luma signal, and definitely better than a stock XL with the chroma signal restored (XL video is just jacked up - best solution for those is a UAV board, but Bryan is currently out of them and won't have more until at least the fall).

 

Of course, once you have a chroma/luma cable you have two choices for connecting it to your display. Older monitors like the Commodore 1701/1702 models have two separate female RCA jacks - one each for chroma and luma, as well as a separate third RCA jack for a composite signal. More modern displays like many 90's and early 00's CRT TVs have an S-Video connector. This is basically a specific DIN plug that contains both chroma and luma signals through a single plug. So the cable you buy for your Atari will have one or both types of connectors at the end - either an S-Video jack for a modern(ish) TV, or separate chroma and luma plugs.

[_The Doctor__]

get a cable that does both... that way you can get awesome rezz when needed and can get artifacting when you want as well

[Keneg]

Ok, thanks for the answers. I just looked at the inputs on the LCD-TV I am using. It has two AV inputs, both just have video, L, and R. It has component and DVI inputs. I don’t think those help unles I mod the Ataris. It has VGA that I use for the Win10 machine I run RespeQT on. It doesn’t have separate Luma and Choma, unless they are part of component. It does have an S-Video port, so I guess I know what cable to buy.

[Keneg]

I finally found a cable with both S-video and composite. Seems to be a rare item.

[JR>]

You can also buy adapters with 2 RCAs on one end and s-video connector on the other. This would alow you to use the same cable for s-video or separate chroma luma inputs.

[Keneg]

You can also buy adapters with 2 RCAs on one end and s-video connector on the other. This would alow you to use the same cable for s-video or separate chroma luma inputs.

Good to know, but I already ordered a cable.

[256 colors]

I finally found a cable with both S-video and composite. Seems to be a rare item.

 

It's pretty easy to find this cable does S-video and composite

 

https://lotharek.pl//productdetail.php?id=198

[Keneg]

I got.my s-video with composite cable today. WOW, I cannot believe how much better the picture is! This plus extra RAM makes the 130XE my favorite Atari 8-bit. If you connect the luma to the video port on an 800XL, how close does that get?

[+DrVenkman]

I got.my s-video with composite cable today. WOW, I cannot believe how much better the picture is! This plus extra RAM makes the 130XE my favorite Atari 8-bit. If you connect the luma to the video port on an 800XL, how close does that get?

 

It's the chroma that needs to be connected on the 800XL and 1200XL, but the answer is … eh, maybe 50% as good on the 1200XL, and 80% or so on the 800XL. The reality is, Atari royally fubared the 1200XL video circuit (the story is long and there has been much written about it over the years). They did better on the 800XL but even with the chroma line reconnected to the video connector DIN, it's not nearly as good as the 800 was. I haven't looked all that closely of the details of the 130XE video circuitry but whatever else Tramiel's engineers did, they did things right: they created a quite excellent stock video signal, and they reconnected that darn chroma line, finally!

 

Anyway, there are a number of mods you can do to improve the stock XL video. Some are just removing and/or replacing a few components, others are removing and replacing a LOT of components, and some (like the UAV, currently unavailable) basically cut the existing circuitry out the loop entirely and replace it with circuits on a completely new modern PCB that you wire into the existing jack. There are two other current mods worth mentioning - the VBXE, which adds a bunch of new video modes that not much software uses, but provides an RGB output, and the SOPHIA, which is simpler cheaper than the VBXE, and is available with either RGB or DVI output. I personally intend to put a DVI-version SOPHIA inside my 1088XEL machine later this year, as I have no RGB-capable displays.

Edited July 2, 2018 by DrVenkman

[Keneg]

I’m probably going to sell my 600&800XLs as soon as I make two more power supplies. I only have room for one Atari 8-bit. I did buy the RAM chips to upgrade the 600XL to 64k. That seems simple and should increase it’s value.

[BillC]

 

It's pretty easy to find this cable does S-video and composite

 

https://lotharek.pl//productdetail.php?id=198

8-Bit Classics does too, selling both Commodore 1702 and s-video versions. The cables are good quality, the prices are lower, and for USA/Canada shipping should be lower as well.

 

https://www.8bitclassics.com/product-category/computers/atari-8-bit-computer/?orderby=rating

[+Nezgar]

Some additional sources I found recently:

http://iec.net/?s=atari&post_type=product - Some oddball monitor cables, also Serial & Printer cables compatible with 850/P:R: Connection/MIO (Mentioned by Kevin Savitz on ANTIC Podcast #51)

 

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/m.html?_ssn=reidcircuits&_nkw=atari - Newfoundland Canada seller, with cheap shipping, some nice Svideo, Compositie, and RCA Luma/Chroma cable options (ie for Commodore 1702)

Edited July 13, 2018 by Nezgar