Removing vertical lines from 65XE?

[AlecRob]

I was doing some research on this, and mostly only came up with several year old threads on the subject. Does anyone have a reliable method of fixing the video output on my 65XE? Ugly lines are visible on my CRT even in RF. though I'm wanting to set it up so I can switch between s-video and composite for different games... I get the thin jail bars and thicker faint lines on the left side of the screen. I hear this is caused by some kind of power line in the system that needs to be bypassed with a wire or something. Anyone have pics of a good video mod I could do on this computer?

Edited March 15, 2017 by AlecRob

[Atari Nut]

I get the same lines and bars with my 130XE. I'm using s-video. I'd love to hear of a simple way to correct this...preferably with some kind of filter/modified s-video cable.

[AlecRob]

I've heard there's a special cable that helps. Any input from somebody experienced would be very appreciated

[bax001]

I have the same problem with 65XE. On my LCD TV is not so bad, but on Dell monitor it is terrible. I'm waiting for UAV video upgrade and I hope it will sort out that lines

Edited March 16, 2017 by bax001

[+DrVenkman]

I have the same problem with 65XE. On my LCD TV is not so bad, but on Dell monitor it is terrible. I'm waiting for UAV video upgrade and I hope it will sort out that lines

 

If you read through the two threads about Bryan's UAV (the original thread that resulted in the Rev C boards and the second one for the Rev D), you'll see lots of people with XL and XE machines with these lines; I have them to some degree on my 800XL in fact, even with a Rev D UAV installed. Some XL/XE motherboard designs are just more prone to them than others. The noise appears to be associated with RAM access and/or SIO operations (loading/saving data, which also interacts with the RAM of course). The Rev C wasn't terrible, the Rev D is better, but the lines are still present, most noticeably when the screen is mostly empty and one solid color, and when the brightness/contrast settings are turned up. Fortunately, in actual use the screen is rarely just a blank "Atari blue" screen loading/saving data, so there's not much to complain about.

 

In my experience, these lines on my 800XL are more visible with a composite connection than an S-Video connection, and either way, the picture is a lot better than RF ever was.

[AlecRob]

Is there an internal mod one can do to reduce or eliminate the lines while still using the monitor output connector on the back of the console? I've heard disabling composite helps, but I'd like to actually use composite.. (For games that use artifacting colors)

[1050]

The 'refresh' vertical lines on the left side of the screen are

the hardest ones to get rid of. Each ram chip needs bypassed

way more better than Atari did it and some claim decent results

by building a shield over the top of the ram chips. But they

run hot to the touch as is and above all YMMV by quite a bit.

 

decoupling is the new word for bypass which will probably

always be in use anyway.

http://www.atmel.com/images/doc0484.pdf

 

To date that I'm aware of at least, no magic bullet exists for

the 'refresh' lines, some are just really horrible too.

 

BUT any video mod seems to be way better than none at all and

also RAW RF out is the worst of the three choices every time.

[AlecRob]

The 'refresh' vertical lines on the left side of the screen are

the hardest ones to get rid of. Each ram chip needs bypassed

way more better than Atari did it and some claim decent results

by building a shield over the top of the ram chips. But they

run hot to the touch as is and above all YMMV by quite a bit.

 

decoupling is the new word for bypass which will probably

always be in use anyway.

http://www.atmel.com/images/doc0484.pdf

 

To date that I'm aware of at least, no magic bullet exists for

the 'refresh' lines, some are just really horrible too.

 

BUT any video mod seems to be way better than none at all and

also RAW RF out is the worst of the three choices every time.

Hm. So from my research there seems to be no standard and commonly-accepted method to remove the junk from XE screens? If only there were some expert I could just mail my Atari to with a wad of cash who can magically mod away all my worries hahahaha

[+Stephen]

Few choices:

1 - New GTIA updated in a CPLD - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/258702-new-development-gtia-in-cpld/?view=findpost&p=3721303&hl=%2Buav

2 - VBXE2 (google search)

3 - UAV board (cheapest and easiest) - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/260267-the-uav-rev-d-video-upgrade-thread/?view=findpost&p=3720226&hl=%2Buav

[AlecRob]

UAV looks promising. VBXE looks hella pricy

[+Stephen]

UAV looks promising. VBXE looks hella pricy

It is pricey, but it is an entire new graphics chip for the Atari. It is far more than a simple video upgrade, I just wanted to point out the 3 basic options at this time.

[AlecRob]

I could also do with a quick and dirty solution to just make it better. I don't need RGB or new video output ports or anything I'm mainly looking for just more clarity from the stock monitor port... I've heard removing the RF helps.