does a u.s atari play in the uk

[jeves17]

im going to buy a american atari off my friend from the U.S and i want to know if it will work in england what with the diffrent power conector and if the rf cable will be ok thanx for any help jason

[BigFairy321]

ull need a NTSC compatible TV. Most new TV's have both pal 50hz and ntsc 60hz modes. U will need to check...

[PaulEMoz]

You'll also need a step down convertor for the power, or you'll probably blow it to smithereens....

[jeves17]

what about the rf signal my tv is a toshiba 60H will it be ok u think or will the colour and picture be crap and does it play pal games seems like a stupid question lol

[rasty]

AFAIK, you'll have to RGB mod your NTSC 2600 in order for it to display correct colors on a PAL tv set! Plus, as mentioned, the TV will also have to support 60hz of course.. but I think all do now!

 

Good luck!

Rasty.-

[jeves17]

kool thanx but what kind of mod would it have to be i dont think ill have the heart to start messing about inside my lovely sunnyvale lol

[tearex]

AFAIK, you'll have to RGB mod your NTSC 2600 in order for it to display correct colors on a PAL tv set! Plus, as mentioned, the TV will also have to support 60hz of course.. but I think all do now!

 

No, if your TV accepts *broadcast NTSC* it will be all right. Many newer PAL TVs accept baseband NTSC (such as from a newer VCR or a DVD player, or newer gaming consoles) but *not* broadcast NTSC such as from an Atari 2600. So check this beforehand.

[tearex]

Oh and by the way... just use a PAL Atari power adapter, or any other 9V DC, 400 or more mA adapter made for European voltage... no need to get any expensive converters.

 

And, of course only NTSC game modules will work correctly!

[jeves17]

thanxs for the info m8ty

[tearex]

You're welcome!

 

One more thing... the Atari "broadcasts" on a VHF frequency, and AFAIK in the UK the VHF frequencies are no longer in use; after the end of your old 405-line B/W TV system, everything in the UK happens on UHF only. So your TV would have to accept *a broadcast NTSC signal on VHF frequency*, to be exact about the requirements.

 

Maybe VHF is in use for cable TV in the UK, though, I don't know about that, in that case all TV sets should be able to handle it.

 

Take care.

[Clock]

Atari consoles are not normally that expensive in the UK (although a boxed one does triple the value). This may be a lot easier than bringing one back from the US and you won't need any converters and are guaranteed perfect compatability.

 

Unless you're after a heavy sixer which is quite hard to find in the UK and will be NTSC anyway.

[jeves17]

yeah the heavy sixer im getting if froma m8 over in the u.s. hes a sod he knows how hard it is for the uk to get a nice atari box and its almost im possible to get a heavy sixer boxed lol anyway my tv is 60 hz and it says ntsc compatibale so im hopeing it will work whats worrying me is the shipping cost lol

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Plus, as mentioned, the TV will also have to support 60hz of course.

That doesn't depend on the type of the console, but only on the cart you are using.

 

So when you mod your NTSC console for RGB output and use PAL carts, it will create 50Hz.

[jeves17]

people say about theses mods what mods are theses as i said be fore i dont want to go opening up and killing my baby sunnyvale lol

[DeV0]

With my true famicom i found it to work using to tvs and an rf splitter, Sound on one tv and visuals on the other,

[rasty]

Plus, as mentioned, the TV will also have to support 60hz of course.

That doesn't depend on the type of the console, but only on the cart you are using.

 

So when you mod your NTSC console for RGB output and use PAL carts, it will create 50Hz.

Very very true indeed!

I assume he's not going to throw away his carts collection and replace it with PAL ones...!

 

Ciao!

Rasty.-

[jeves17]

my tv has the 60hz and it ntsc compatible so im thinking it should work after what ive been told by u usefull people lol just wondering thou ive been told some pal game could work on on my sunnyvale but is there a way of getting it to play all

[Thomas Jentzsch]

I assume he's not going to throw away his carts collection and replace it with PAL ones...!

I thought he is living in UK.

[jeves17]

yeah i live in the uk

[tearex]

just wondering thou ive been told some pal game could work on on my sunnyvale but is there a way of getting it to play all  

 

There's nothing *in principle* that prevents PAL games from working on NTSC hardware.. just

 

1.) The refresh rate is determined by the module, so they will be ca. 50Hz (not absolutely exactly because the CPU frequency of the consoles is not quite identical, but very close)

 

2.) Colors will be screwed up. Badly. Ugly. Hut-my-eyes-ly. This-Atari-is-on-LSD-ly. Deal with it or don't do it.

[Spirantho]

Maybe this should be in an FAQ somewhere..

 

The bottom line is:

1) Power is no problem, use any old Tandy 9V DC adaptor, just make sure the polarity is correct ( +.) - )

2) Your TV needs to support 60Hz NTSC

3) Your TV also needs to tune into VHF frequencies. Very few do this! However, many VCRs do.

4) PAL games may come out in black and white as the TV may assume 60Hz means NTSC, though this is not necessarily the case.

5) You may lose a bit of the top/bottom of the display.

6) You will almost certainly need to tweak the variable resistor in the console to get any sound, and even that may be impossible (haven't tried it yet myself)

 

The solution:

1) Buy an NTSC TV. Guaranteed to work then!

or

2) Buy an NTSC TV card for your computer - this will work and is a load cheaper!

or

3) Mod your Atari.

 

Modding the Atari costs about £3 in parts and takes me about 3 hours but is worth every second.

If you could see the picture I get out of my heavy sixer... you'd understand.

 

Of course there's nothing to stop you getting a modded Atari anyway if you don't want to defile your Sunnyvale 6er (if it really is heavy) - I've got one I'm about to stick on eBay if it's any help - a woody 4-switcher.

[tearex]

3) Your TV also needs to tune into VHF frequencies. Very few do this! However, many VCRs do.

 

4) PAL games may come out in black and white as the TV may assume 60Hz means NTSC, though this is not necessarily the case.

 

6) You will almost certainly need to tweak the variable resistor in the console to get any sound, and even that may be impossible (haven't tried it yet myself)

 

ad 3) This applies only to the UK, of course, because VHF was only used for the old 405-line system there. Most PAL countries use PAL on both VHF and UHF, and their TV sets have no problems with either. Also pretty much any TV that can handle broadcast NTSC should be able to handle VHF frequencies.

 

ad 4) No; a PAL game will give 50Hz on any Atari. The game program determines the refresh rate, not the console. But they may still come out in black and white as the TV may assume 50Hz means PAL. And, the color encoding is determined by the console, not the game program; thus a PAL game in an NTSC console will give you a 50Hz NTSC signal (NTSC-50) that some TVs, even though they can do NTSC, might not accept as a color signal. Those that do will still give you the wrong colors in the PAL-game-in-NTSC-Atatri case, since the mapping of color numbers (used by the program) to actual colors is quite different on PAL and NTSC Ataris.

 

ad 6) If the TV can actually handle broadcast NTSC (in color) it will also be able to handle the NTSC 5.50 MHz sound subcarrier. If not, I doubt that the coil can actually be adjusted all the way up to 6.50Mhz as used in the UK's PAL-I system. Maybe if you give it another core with less inductivity.

[Spirantho]

ad 3) This applies only to the UK, of course, because VHF was only used for the old 405-line system there. Most PAL countries use PAL on both VHF and UHF, and their TV sets have no problems with either. Also pretty much any TV that can handle broadcast NTSC should be able to handle VHF frequencies.

 

True. The original poster is in the UK though, so I was being specific to him.. should have said so really!

 

ad 4) No; a PAL game will give 50Hz on any Atari. The game program determines the refresh rate, not the console. But they may still come out in black and white as the TV may assume 50Hz means PAL.

 

Indeed - When I said the TV would assume 60Hz equates to NTSC I meant really to say that it would assume 60Hz is the indicator of an NTSC signal, which it isn't. However, some devices do use this assumption, so it will come out black and white.

 

ad 6) If the TV can actually handle broadcast NTSC (in color) it will also be able to handle the NTSC 5.50 MHz sound subcarrier.

 

Unfortunately, I've never found this. I have several devices which tune into VHF NTSC signals with colour, but not one can grab the sound.

 

Of course, YMMV. Best thing to do is try it and see what happens!

[jeves17]

Best thing to do is try it and see what happens![/quote

 

best bit of advice so far lol

[tearex]

best bit of advice so far lol  

 

I agree... oh and sorry Spirantho if I came across as Mr. Know-It-All... you're probably better informed about all this than I am.

 

Take care,