Atari 130xe to monitor via VGA

[tantagel]

Hello!

I've just purchased an Atari 130xe computer. I'm excited to learn some BASIC, find some games online, etc.

 

I've purchased an adapter online that will allow me to hook it up to my TV (via the Monitor output to RCA connector.) Is there an easy way to connect it to a computer monitor that uses a VGA input? I've searched online but can't find any relatively inexpensive solutions.

 

Thanks very much!!

[BillC]

The DVDO iScan^Plus and Iscan^Pro work well and can sometimes be found used at fairly reasonable prices.

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 201382422906 - Doesn't include power supply

[Kyle22]

The RCA connector is for RF output to the TV antenna connection. It is an analog signal. The DIN5 connector is for a video monitor. You will need some kind of box to convert to VGA.

[tantagel]

Thanks guys!

[morelenmir]

You might want to consider a "VBXE" board from Lotharek. Some people call them a difficult install but they really are not. That will output to RGB SCART natively or at the least form a far better signal-out to pipe in to an upscaler/line-doubler than the native 'monitor' socket gives. A wise man once told me I would have my socks blown off by the quality of RGB SCART from the "VBXE".

 

And he was right.

[tantagel]

Thanks, I will check that out. I wish there was a cheap solution like some $8 adapter ;(

Edited August 9, 2015 by tantagel

[morelenmir]

Thanks, I will check that out. I wish there was a cheap solution like some $8 adapter ;(

 

There are £15 upscalers/doublers - but you very much pay for what you get... A bad upscaler or even a pretty moderate one can give output that looks worse than RF through coax! You can get synch and lag issues along with macroblocks and all the other things you might see in a crap youtube video. To get a really good upscaler that produces 1080p quality through HDMI you could easily be looking at £200+ for a top brand. Even then you would get argument about exactly who those top-brands might be; Denon, Onyoko, Marantz... Personal opinion is extremely divided in this area because - just like with Hi-Fi enthusiasts and sound - the results are very marginal and subjective after a certain point. What one chap might consider perfectly good display another might consider laggy and blurred. At the end of the day it is one of those situations where you almost have to sample the field and find one that suits you. I guess £20-£50 is a reasonable price range to shop among. At that level you should get concrete improvements from each up-tick of the price tag.

 

One option is to buy a late-1980's/early-1990's CRT monitor - specifically a model that can lock on to the super-low frequency an A8 outputs. That would give silky-smooth P/MG scrolling and the sharpest display - assuming a nearly 30-year old piece of analog tech still works well. But again you should consider ~£80-£100 to start. I personally would recommend getting hold of a European portable LCD TV - maybe 20-22inches - with specifically a SCART, SVIDEO and then whatever other standards come bundled. That would give you a very wide range of possibilities for input and also a couple of ports specifically tailored to simple output mods such as converting the 'Monitor' output to true SVIDEO and ultimate A8 display solution of RGB SCART through the "VBXE".

 

There are a good few threads here discussing the upscaler marker if you do a search.

[tantagel]

Great info morelenmir, thanks very much for your input!

[eeun]

I bought one of the cheap adapters (like link below) and it's still better - by far - than what we used to be content with using a TV and RF adapter. Very clean signal. I get no distortion, ghosting or other nonsense with my 8-bits.

 

ebay example

 

Just make sure if you're going to buy one that you get the composite/s-video to VGA, as there are identical looking adapters that go the opposite way.

 

 

And I will second morelenmir's suggestion about using a CRT. They're a lot more forgiving than LCD and provide a more authentic looking visual.

Edited August 11, 2015 by eeun