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Converting an NTSC Atari 7800 to PAL...

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NathanAllan

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Jun 1, 2003
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Are there any online guides? A friend of mine is wanting one, and I'd like to see if I can make it work out. They're gonna trade me an Amiga computer for it :)

Any ideas? Has this been done before?
 
Is there any particular reason that you want to do the conversion ? I guess it would be much easier to just buy a PAL version.
 
Remember there is a significant difference between converting a NTSC system to PAL and using a device that converts a NTSC video signal to PAL. The first option will allow you to play PAL specific games on the console, the latter option will only allow you to display the game on a PAL TV.
 
PacMan, my friend can't find a PAL 7800 anywhere and he lives in Germany. Amigas everywhere, but no Atari where he lives. I have a 7800 on the line already, but need to figure what to do with it once I get ahold of it.

Barythrin, I have seen converters like this one and it may work. Also have to worry about the power going in, he'll need a converter for that, too. A 10vdc power supply is not the problem, the cycling is the issue there. afaik Ataris aren't very tolerant of the different Hz of the juice going into it.

Interesting project...
 
Your friend will only be able to play NTSC 7800 games if you use an external video adapter. I've come to understand there is a difference between NTSC and PAL games, in particular since I believe they have a lockout mechanism?
 
NathanAllan said:
Also have to worry about the power going in, he'll need a converter for that, too. A 10vdc power supply is not the problem, the cycling is the issue there. afaik Ataris aren't very tolerant of the different Hz of the juice going into it.
Click to expand...
Unless the 7800 needs AC as well as DC (and I don't believe this is the case) you don't need to worry about line frequency.
 
Nathan, I'm sorry to say but your German friend must either be blind, lazy or ignorant. Perhaps all three of them. I did a basic search for Atari 7800 on eBay.de and easily found ten auctions. I strongly doubt they'll all be NTSC units. Here are five of them all well below 10 Euros:

Atari 7800 + 9 games. Starting at 1 Euro, ending July 19.

Atari 7800 + 8 games (most 2600 though). Starting at 1 Euro, ending July 19.

Atari 7800 + 48 games + 1 multicart. Currently 3.83 Euro, ending July 20.

Atari 7800 + 9 games. Starting at 1 Euro, ending July 23.

Atari 7800 + 4 games. Starting at 1 Euro, ending July 26.

Now... if you're looking to modify an Atari 5200 to natively run in PAL mode, that is a honorable project! ;-)
 
Oh wow, I guess he is just not looking! I'll be sure to let him know. I was really wanting to trade him an Amiga computer, I guess I'll keep looking, too. Seems it would be a very bad trade, esp. if I was to mod a 7800 when so many are available. Thanks, guys.

Nathan
 
As I mentioned before, games for the NTSC 7800 won't run on a PAL 7800 so in case your friend wants to run "US Only" games, he will need a NTSC unit. Possibly he will need an external video converter too depending on what kind of video signal (RF, composite etc) it outputs. Perhaps that is all he is looking for actually, but language barriers may cause confusion.
 
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