jhillestad Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I picked up a cheap 800xl on ebay the other day and noticed that when I plugged my monitor cable into it the colors were off... blue is kinda black and white characters are blue... I have jiggled the cable connection, pushed it in tight... but no go... the only time I see proper color is when I first plug the cable in and its there for a split second then i get the wrong colors... This cable and monitor (1702) are used on all my other Atari's and the displays are great so I know the cable is fine.... I was thinking since the atari 800xl's power cable and monitor connection use the same din connector if the previous owner put the power connector to it and messed it up... but never knew since he used the rf connector... Was this a common problem for the 800xl ? What would happen to the monitor connection if you accidently plugged your power din into it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorgle Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I could be wrong, but I believe there is a potentiometer accessible from the bottom of the case to adjust color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warriorisabouttodie Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I could be wrong, but I believe there is a potentiometer accessible from the bottom of the case to adjust color. I had the same problem with a 130xe. I sold it online and it worked fine, when it got to the buyer he complained the colors were off. I suggested he open the case and adjust the potentiometer andthat did the trick. Apparently with some Atari's the trauma of shipping the machine can cause the colors go off like that... thankfully it is an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puppetmark Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I would agree the color pot is most likely the issue. Also, I would check the power supply on another Atari and vise versa to make sure the power supply is OK. The quality of the potentiometers especially in the XEs leaves a lot to be desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 +1 colour trimmer pot. There's a thread around somewhere relating to palette colours, with at least 2 programs which display all 256 colours - it's the ideal way to aid adjustment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhillestad Posted February 2, 2008 Author Share Posted February 2, 2008 I would agree the color pot is most likely the issue. Also, I would check the power supply on another Atari and vise versa to make sure the power supply is OK. The quality of the potentiometers especially in the XEs leaves a lot to be desired. I did open the case of the 800xl .... the only pots I saw were on the RF modulator .. there were none by the monitor out jack... Here's the funny part.... I screwed the case back on and now the colors are fine ! how about that ? I did not do anything but unscrew the case and examine it.... weird! Would those 2 pots on the rf modulator control color for the monitor out port ? it did not look like it when examining the board... Thanks for telling me about the pots because it caused me to open it and somehow fix it by screwing it back together.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rybags Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 The colour trimmer is accessable without opening the case - through a small hole on the bottom. On my 800XL, it's under the left Shift key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNXGUY Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Here's the funny part.... I screwed the case back on and now the colors are fine ! how about that ? I did not do anything but unscrew the case and examine it.... weird! LOL maybe it just needed aired out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSprinter Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Computers are quite the fickle pieces of electronics, aren't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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