AtariNostalgia Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 Would an 800XL Secam work on modern LCD monitors like PAL and/or NTSC versions or would it present additional problems? What about with timing in software? Does the secam version have a switch, like a 2 channel switch in the back? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 No SECAM machine I have ever hooked up to my LG LCD ever looked anything but awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 29, 2021 Author Share Posted May 29, 2021 Even with a monitor cable? I mean to SCART. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 Yes. I have tried several SECAM to SCART cables and they all looked like Hell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 31 minutes ago, flashjazzcat said: No SECAM machine I have ever hooked up to my LG LCD ever looked anything but awful. Isn't that format also limited to 8 colours? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 29, 2021 Author Share Posted May 29, 2021 (edited) Quick Q. If it has a B&W and color switch, is it a secam for sure? It has a QWERTY keyboard, don't secams have the French AZERTY standard? Edited May 29, 2021 by AtariNostalgia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivop Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 (edited) I have never seen QWERTZ or AZERTY keyboard for the XL/XE series. There is an Arabic layout for the 65XE though. It has different lettering on the keycaps, but the keyboard matrix is the same. Edited May 29, 2021 by ivop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 29, 2021 Author Share Posted May 29, 2021 (edited) So... to make a long story short... It looks like I bought a Secam XL by accident. ? I counted the pins in its SCART adapter, and there are 6 Edited May 29, 2021 by AtariNostalgia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pseudografx Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 SECAM Ataris should work fine with most PAL TVs. One (rather) major downside is that SECAM GTIA only has 128 colors (half the luminances are not present even in GTIA mode 9). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 29, 2021 Author Share Posted May 29, 2021 But that means most games colors will look strange right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeron Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 256 colors are only possible in GTIA mode 9 where the playfield feeds 4-bit luminance. Every other screen mode is limited to 128 colors anyway since the color registers are only 7-bit. From what I've been able to gather, there are some other color differences due to the way that the hue values are mapped to SECAM chroma. I've tried to emulate it based on some pictures, but haven't had much success matching them with an algorithm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 (edited) Another problem is that the monitor port seems to have 6 pins, so it wont accepts the traditional 5 pins for composite output. I still haven't figured out If the machine I got is a secam, but the b&w or color switch coupled with the 6 pin monitor port seem to suggest a secam machine. This is the back picture Edited May 30, 2021 by AtariNostalgia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 six-pin is secam. however, if you want to be sure - check the serial number: **ATS = Secam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 Yes, it starts with 84ATS. I fill silly now, what am I going to do with a Secam XL? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.atarimania.com Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 It's not the end of the world, my first Atari was a SECAM system and I didn't even know the colors were slightly different until I saw a PAL model years later. I didn't even notice the picture was merely average back in the day but, if it makes you more comfortable, a SECAM Atari 130XE is much worse in that regard. All titles will run flawlessly so it's perfectly usable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 Thanks, I needed some encouragement. Now to find a Fujinet, zaxon no longer has them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 23 minutes ago, www.atarimania.com said: It's not the end of the world, my first Atari was a SECAM system and I didn't even know the colors were slightly different until I saw a PAL model years later. I didn't even notice the picture was merely average back in the day but, if it makes you more comfortable, a SECAM Atari 130XE is much worse in that regard. All titles will run flawlessly so it's perfectly usable. The thing is, I have an Atari 800, 400, 600XL, 130XE that are PAL, so I know what the color should be, but I do hope I don't notice the difference, I really wanted an 800XL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CharlieChaplin Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 14 hours ago, Stephen said: Isn't that format also limited to 8 colours? Afaik, Secam A8 is limited to max. 8 luminances - even in Gr. 9... Ooops, pseudografx already said this in post #9... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 Anyone know where I can find a 6 pin din to SCART or to composite cable for this Atari? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Did the seller not list it as SECAM? I accidentally ended up with an NTSC machine a long time ago, wasn't listed as such but as I was in the UK buying from another person in the UK I presumed it was PAL. Seller refunded it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariNostalgia Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 He said it "might" be a PAL system, but wasn't sure. I should have payed more attention to the clues, like the 6 pin monitor port. It doesn't have that little plastic part that covers other secam machines, so I thought it was a PAL one. He is located in France, but again, seeing the QWERTY keyboard (and not researching enough to see that Atari never made a French AZERTY keyboard), I was convinced it was a PAL machine. This is the "little door I am talking about, the one near the power port. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 I can't imagine the owner didn't know what it was, I'm not sure what the output via composite would be, for me with the NTSC it was black and white and none of my monitors supported an NTSC output nor was their things like the Sophia out then. Never seen a SECAM machine myself.. Hope you can resolve the issues.. Paul.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 I wonder what it would take to convert this into a PAL system ??? Are there any good schematics of the SECAM Atari available online ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Too complex to even consider, I think. GTIA and board layout are totally different. Had several of these through my hands and was never especially sorry I didn't own them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.atarimania.com Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Come on, owning a SECAM system isn't like having the bubonic plague either 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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