VBXE - Dumb Questions

[Xebec]

I'm debating getting a VBXE from Lotharek, but curious about a few things:

 

1. Is the VBXE a good way to hook up an 800XL to a modern LCD? Are there better choices for this?

 

2. Using the VGA out (i'm in the USA) - will both PAL 800XL's and NTSC 800XL's work decently through VBXE? Will I need an LCD that supports 50 Hz for PAL?

 

3. For the Software that supports VBXE - is it pretty much all PAL? (i.e. don't bother installing VBXE on a NTSC 800XL?)

 

4. Are there any US based Atarian's that I could pay to solder the VBXE in for me (+ maybe a U1MB)? I was able to install a U1MB successfully, and even resoldered some ram chips with sockets, but I don't trust my skills for this.

 

Thanks..

John

[Rybags]

1. Not necessarily. The default output is 16 KHz RGB so popular monitor options are ones that were made for Amiga and ST. Few modern monitors support that format. I've run mine with an arcade type adaptor board that converts it to 60 Hz VGA and it's not too bad.

 

2. 50 Hz video can also be a problem, many modern monitors won't support it.

 

3. Although most VBXE software around was developed on PAL it should work OK on NTSC.

 

4. The biggest task is soldering the precision socket for the board to go where Antic normally is. If you've done socketing for Ram then it's not hugely different.

[Xebec]

Thanks Rybags! I have one of those 16KHz --> modern monitor devices laying around that I could try. I have a pile of 17-19" 1280x1024 monitors I'm assuming they'll work OK for this use.

 

Any idea if VBXE would play nicely with an 800XL with the PAL ANTIC swap but nothing else? I know the color pallette can be off a bit, but I have an older monitor here that works just fine with it and I'm able to play PAL games nicely now (i.e. Last V8 is winnable). If yes then my christmas present to myself is the VBXE and another U1MB..

 

Thanks,

John

[leech]

Curious about the PAL ANTIC swap, seems like it might be a good idea for my system, since much like the Amiga, the Atari 8-Bits seemed to have a later life with PAL software.

[Xebec]

Curious about the PAL ANTIC swap, seems like it might be a good idea for my system, since much like the Amiga, the Atari 8-Bits seemed to have a later life with PAL software.

 

Search a bit around here - I bought a PAL ANTIC, plugged it into an 800XL, and it worked great. It handles the ANTIC timing correctly, 50hz games play at the correct speed. sound seems OK.. but the pallette is NTSC which is a bit different than PAL so that can cause some issues. I bought my PAL Antic from Best Electronics.

 

Now with that said, I believe others here have done the swap but found their monitor would no longer work (or couldn't sync to the new frequencies). I'm 'lucky' in that mine did -- an old Amdek unit.