800 XL chroma output

[texacala]

My 130 XE will output both chroma and luma signals to my Commodore 1084 monitor, but it seems my 800 XL will only do black & white (although composite works fine in color). Does this sound right or is something maybe broken? Is there a simple way to output chroma on an 800 XL? Thanks in advance.

[Rybags]

That's right.

 

By default the XLs for whatever reason didn't have the Chroma connected.

 

For the 800XL, the procedure is contained in this page http://www.wolfpup.net/atarimods/supervid2.html

 

Step 7 has the info you want.

 

Now we'll install the chrominance pick-off resistor. Select a 100-ohm resistor (brown-black-brown-gold), and to one end of it apply a length of insulation (stripped from wire) leaving only 1/8" of the lead exposed. Cut a 5" length of wire and strip 1/4" insulation from each end, then solder this wire to the un-insulated end of the resistor. Now experiment a little to find the smallest diameter heatshrink tubing that will fit over both the solder bulge and the resistor body, then snip off a length sufficient to cover the bare lead from the resistor body to the solder junction plus an extra 1/4" to overlap both ends. Slip the tubing into place, then warm it by holding the assembly 1/4" above your hot soldering iron while slowly rotating it for even heating. The tubing will contract to make a neatly insulated assembly (see Fig. 7). DO NOT use tape to insulate this resistor!

 

Solder the short end of the prepared resistor to the junction of R67-R68 on the foil side of the board. Solder the other end to pin 5 of the monitor jack, routing the wire through the gap between the ground plane foils as shown. Keep the wire close to the board. I later added a dab of hot-melt glue at the bend in the wire to secure it in place.

 

You can do that alone without bothering with any other part of the modification. I tried on of the Super Video upgrades on my PAL 800XL and wasn't happy with it.

 

I'd suggest just add the Chroma signal to your monitor jack using the insulated resistor/piece of wire before contemplating any other "fixes".

[texacala]

Thank you Rybags, that helps a lot. It's strange how the 800 XL didn't have Chroma connected in the first place. Definitely a limitation.

[+Philsan]

One of the best s-video mods is kjmann's one.

[Bryan]

Here's a thread I started a while back:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/41580-quick-easy-video-upgrade-for-800xl

 

Someday I hope to go back and improve it further. Yeah, Atari really screwed up on the XL video, and for no good reason.