Aquarius Help Needed Trouble Shooting a Peritel Aquarius

[Oscar G.]

Hello,

I have just acquired a Scart / Peritel Aquarius 1 computer and the computer does not display certain colours properly on my plasma TV. I do not think that the plasma TV is a problem as other Peritel consoles (including the Intellivision 1) run properly on it.

I have been testing the machine with an Aquaricart as well as normal carts and most of the splash screens appear all dark. See picture 1. The only splash screen that displays properly is the one of ADD Treasure of Tarmin.

Certain games function properly after the splash screen (e.g. Burger Time or Astrosmash). However, other games like Snafu or Chess do not display certain colours making it impossible to play the game (see picture 2).

I wonder if someone has experienced similar problems.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

Picture 1

Picture 2

[jaybird3rd]

Hmmm ... I've never seen a SCART Aquarius in person (that interface is virtually unknown in the US), so I can't speak from experience, but my first guess is that one of the color pins in the SCART connector is simply not making good contact. The colors definitely appear to be off in the screenshots you posted. Does the SCART Aquarius also have an RF modulator that you can try?

It could also be a problem with the video circuitry in your Aquarius. The TEA1002 color encoder chip that the Aquarius uses receives an RGB signal from the chipset, along with a separate INV signal to output high-intensity or low-intensity colors. A problem with those signals could also explain the odd colors you're seeing, and why some colors appear correctly while others do not. For example, I seem to recall that the AD&D Treasure of Tarmin title screen, and maybe one or two others (perhaps Zero In and the Shark! prototype?) use a low-intensity Cyan background while most Aquarius games use high-intensity Cyan. That might also explain why the "rainbow" in the first screenshot stands out while the rest of the screen is almost invisible.

[Oscar G.]

Hey Jay…

Thank you very much for your comprehensive answer. It is really appreciated.

I will look into it and report back.

Thanks again!

[Oscar G.]

It could also be a problem with the video circuitry in your Aquarius. The TEA1002 color encoder chip that the Aquarius uses receives an RGB signal from the chipset, along with a separate INV signal to output high-intensity or low-intensity colors. A problem with those signals could also explain the odd colors you're seeing, and why some colors appear correctly while others do not. For example, I seem to recall that the AD&D Treasure of Tarmin title screen, and maybe one or two others (perhaps Zero In and the Shark! prototype?) use a low-intensity Cyan background while most Aquarius games use high-intensity Cyan. That might also explain why the "rainbow" in the first screenshot stands out while the rest of the screen is almost invisible.

 

Over the weekend, I finally had some time to check my Peritel Aquarius. Sorry for the delay in getting back.

I tested both of Jay's theories: the Scart Connector and the Video Circuitry. I checked the Scart Connector and all the pins seem to be in good state. On the other hand, Jay's description of the problem with the low/high intensity colours signal from the chipset seems to explain the problem. For instance, the problem is present not only with the high intensity cyan title screen but also on the background colour of Snafu.

By the way, I followed Jay's suggestion and I connected the computer using the RF modulator and every things seems to work fine. The title screens of the games and the background colour of Snafu appear in their right colours. So the problem seems to be localised on the Peritel output.

Unfortunately, I do not know how to fix the problem with the colour encoder chip. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you very much for your help.

PS I would like to particularly thank Jay for his help in trouble shooting the problem and for creating the Aquaricart as this fantastic device has made it so easy to check the problem with different games.

 

[jaybird3rd]

Thanks for the report, and I'm glad you like the Aquaricart! It's good to know that the RF output is working, since this means that the TEA1002 color encoder chip itself is functioning properly; if it were not, you wouldn't be getting a good picture through the RF modulator either.

 

Those same color signals that feed the TEA1002 are probably also being used by the circuitry that supports the Péritel (SCART) connector, and you're probably correct that the problem you're having is located somewhere in that circuit. I'd love to see that circuit myself, just to know how it works, but since it isn't present in Aquarius computers in the US, I'm afraid I can't be of much help in troubleshooting it.

 

Have you tried opening your Aquarius? I'm guessing that the Péritel (SCART) circuitry is probably on a daughterboard of some kind; if so, one obvious way to check for problems would be to look for loose or broken wires.

[Oscar G.]

Thanks for the advice. I will try to open the computer and I will post some pictures.

 

I will try to do this over a weekend as weekdays are quite hectic.

 

Cheers and thanks again!