Stayed up until 3am to snipe this...

[Stayed up until 3am to snipe this...]

 

I've tried both approaches - putting in my maximum bid right off the bat or waiting until the end and sniping.

 

If you put in your maximum bid say a day into the auction, 9/10 times someone will bid, see that they're being automatically outbid and just keep upping until they beat you.

 

So, 6 days left and your max bid was $40, now the item is $41.

 

A lot of people have no clue what the value of an item should be. If they see a high bid right off the bat their eyes fill with dollar signs (because they think they're buying something rare/valuable etc) and they'll just outbid you.

[7800 PAL VERSIONS............ one or more?]

 

I'm presuming (but I'm not sure) that Atari made different PAL versions of the 7800 for Europe, would be this correct?

 

I know in Holland the sound is carried on a different frequency (or something) and in Germany they use PAL-M, then you have France with SECAM....etc.

 

All the 7800's I've seen on offer all have the same boxes and instructions (all in English) .

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[1200XL questions]

Hi Kepone,

 

Jetbook Jack is right, you can use the 800/810 etc PSU or the PSU that shipped with the XF-551 disk drive. Best Electronics are a good place to source from.

 

Obviously, regardless of where you buy from, that PSU might be relatively pricey for shipping because of its weight.

 

The 1200XL originally shipped with a cable to switch box, designed for old style TVs. Using a new RF lead will bypass that problem.

 

You can set your 1200XL to output to tv channel 2 or 3, just make sure you remember which one you have it set to when tuning in. You should get a black screen with "ATARI" in multi colors when you power up your machine without a cartridge inserted.

[Atari 1200XL on a PAL tv]

 

I've got an NTSC Atari 1200XL , trying to hook it up to a PAL tv. Both the tv and my VCR will display NTSC no problem, the VCR will take any signal and display it as whatever - pal, secam, ntsc etc.

 

I can't get a picture, but I'm not sure what to expect. The XL has a channel 2/3 selector for tv output. This relates only to NTSC tvs, so not sure if my tv or video would cover them.

 

The switchbox tv connector is the reverse of what it should be for a UK tv, so I'm just using a straight computer to tv lead.

 

Should I be getting a signal of some sort or would I have to try and source an atari to s-vhs lead or similar to get around the NTSC issue?

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Does the Atari 130XE have a Desktop Screen???]

 

Is Contiki a web browser?, I've only heard it mentioned a couple of times.

 

Do you have a link?

 

Sounds fantastic, if it is indeed a browser client.

[UK power supply for American Atari ??]

They've got the usual Atari monitor and RF tv outputs.

 

I've got a psu somewhere that I'm hunting for now in lots of old boxes so I'll see what its like when I get it going.

 

I'll also do some digging to see if there are some cables anywhere, there would have been some 8-bit to scart cables made at some point by someone.

[UK power supply for American Atari ??]

jon-paul,

 

Thanks for that. There are 2 Atari PSUs that would fit the bill. Thanks for clearing the clouds!

 

On the NTSC issues, I'm sure I remember Atari nuts running NTSC stuff quite happily, the only issue being compatibility with some UK only software.

 

However, having said that, I've got nagging doubts. I'm thinking black and white display, possibly no sound etc. Would this be right?

 

I doubt personally I'd be able to rig up a cable so I'll do some looking and see if I can source one.

[Atari's best selling 8bit?]

 

When you consider the 65/130/800 XE's had a production life of almost seven years compared to the 800XLs two, then you'd probably say one of the XE models had the 'most sold' issue in the bag.

 

The 130XE never sold in huge numbers due to price. Also, the eastern european markets just didn't compare to western europe, the UK and north america when you consider market size.

 

I would say the 800XL is overall, the biggest seller, followed by the 65 XE. The 800XE seemed to be an Eastern European version that made its way westward. They crop up in Germany and Holland.

[Atari's best selling 8bit?]

 

Yeah, Atari announced it was discontinuing the 400 and 800 as they launched the 1200XL.

 

Improvements in the OS, plus the new design, put a lot of people off and they rushed to snap up remaining stocks of 400s and 800s.

 

The 1200XL was around for just a year before Atari scrapped it and launched the 600XL and the , sexy, 800XL.

[UK power supply for American Atari ??]

 

This may sound like a really dumb question.

 

I have an NTSC 1200XL without power supply. Can I use a UK power supply (for example a UK PSU that would ship with an 800XL) or would I need to get an American PSU and then use a step down converter?

 

Failing that, does anyone know of an off the shelf power supply that would work?

 

Thanks for your help.