Is there a way to play classic PAL consoles on NTSC TV sets?

[+swlovinist]

Long story short is that I have a PC-50x compatible classic console(Acetronic) and I am trying to find a way to see if I can play this console on a NTSC Television set or monitor. Is there an inexpensive converter I can buy to make this work or is it not possible? I have tried several TV sets I own, including through a VCR and trying a Commodore monitor 1702 with no luck. Any help would be most appreciated.

 

A link to the consoles that I am pertaining to if that helps

 

http://ultimateconsoledatabase.com/others/pc_50x.htm

[Wooba]

Of course there is a way to play PAL on NTSC and vice versa. Most standard consoles usally use standard power adapters and most have simple mods, but the ones you listed are more niche so you'll have to spend a bit of money to get them to work. First you'll probably need a UHF Aerial to RF converter, which are fairly cheap and is what most of those consoles will use since they are so old. Next you'll probably need a step down converter because European consoles run at a different voltage than what Americans have at home, these can be a bit pricey depending on what you want to spend.

 

 

If you have an LCD or plasma it probably supports PAL, but if it doesn't or you want to run your consoles on a CRT then you'll need a PAL to NTSC adapter, the good news is that if you buy them from china they can be cheap. Do keep in mind that the consoles will still run at 50Hz.

[TheTIGuy]

See "PAL format" in the classic gaming forum.

[Atariboy]

I doubt he wants a step down converter. He wants to take 110v/120v up to 220v/240v, so he has to step it up.

[carlsson]

I could be mistaken, but doesn't this console take 9V DC input from a detachable power supply? If so, there is no need to step the power neither, just find a way to get the RF signal to display on a NTSC TV set, which probably will be a bit of a challenge. While I don't find any immediate results on A/V modding a SD-050 type console (Hanimex, Grandstand, Acetronic etc), it can't be much worse than most other systems.

 

Here is a disassembled Hanimex TVG 070C which I think is the spiritual big brother. The RF modulator seems to sit on a daughter board, with two wires for video and ground, though the signal might need amplifying using one of those 1 transistor + 2 resistor circuits plus a 5V source. The DIN connector I suppose is for hand controllers?

 

http://www.the-liberator.net/site-files/retro-games/hardware/Hanimex-TVG-070C-TV-Game-Programmable/hanimex-tvg-070C-tv-game-programmable.htm

 

If this works, you have reduced the problem to how to get a PAL composite video signal to display on a NTSC TV, for which I understand there are solutions. Vice versa, a lot of newer PAL TVs would accept NTSC composite video straight away but I understand this is not the case.