Amiga 2000 PAL to NTSC

[mistermsk]

Hi All,

 I am in a NTSC area. I have a NTSC 1084S monitor connected to an amiga 2000. I am getting a PAL 2000 motherboard.

The questions I have are:

1) Will the power supply for my Amiga 2000 NTSC work with the Amiga 2000 PAL motherboard?

2) Will my 1084S work since it is using RGBi input? I assume the monichome out will not work with NTSC but is RGBi out affected as well?

3) What would it take to make it a NTSC motherboard or even something that can switch in between?

4) Can a get a flicker fixer to hook up to a VGA monitor for it?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Zac67]

1) NTSC vs PAL doesn't matter for the PSU. But a PAL Amiga is bound to have a 220 V PSU.
2) You're probably using RGB, RGBI is 4-bit digital as with CGA. RGB PAL and NTSC are compatible, so that won't be a problem. Vertical sync / size may be a problem but is usually adjustable.
3) If the Agnus on the board is a universal type you can just close J102 (or fit a switch) to make the system boot up in NTSC. For genlock or advanced video compatibility swapping the clock oscillator will be necessary.
4) yes. Most monitors will work in NTSC mode and some also in PAL.

[ChaosLord]

Hi All,

2) Will my 1084S work since it is using RGBi input? I assume the monichome out will not work with NTSC but is RGBi out affected as well?

Rule #1: 1084S is awesome

Rule #2: Never use RGBi for anything ever.  It is complete junk.  It is an IBM pc format that only allows 16 colors and makes all Amiga gfx look hideously ugly.  Never use RGBi.


1084S has an RGB  input.  Use that.  That is what everybody uses and it rox.

1084S does not work with flickerfixers.  Flickerfixers are great and everything but they require a 31.5Khz monitor.  When u r ready to buy a 31.5Khz monitor I will look around my house at all mine that I guarantee work and tell u the model #s to give u an idea where to start.

1084S has awesome beautiful saturated colors.  Better than any other monitor or TV I have ever owned and I have owned a lot.  The only way to beat a 1084S in colors in to get a Plasma screen.

1084S is totally 100000% compatible with PAL and NTSC.  You have nothing to worry about in that regard.

Please don't waste a 1084S using monochrome.  Why would u do that?

[ChaosLord]

3) What would it take to make it a NTSC motherboard or even something that can switch in between?

All Amigas can switch from NTSC to PAL using a palboot utility.  Its just a simple program to switch modes.  Except some very early Amigas from 1985 to 1988.

However if u end up with an old A2000 that can't switch, then u all u hafta do is buy the "Fat Agnus" chip for it and plug it in and then u can switch video modes as u like.

[Zac67]

However if u end up with an old A2000 that can't switch, then u all u hafta do is buy the "Fat Agnus" chip for it and plug it in and then u can switch video modes as u like.

... unless it's an A-model (German) A2000 with DIL Agnus. You'd need to replace it with an NTSC Agnus.

[ChaosLord]

Wow, hadn't heard of a DIL Agnus.

Anyway its better to leave the Amiga in PAL mode all the time anyway.

I have lots of NTSC Amigas and the first thing I do is mod them to always be in PAL, if the mod is ez.

Massive numbers of games require PAL mode.  Only a few games require NTSC mode.  It just saves time to default to PAL mode.

I started out life with ancient Amigas that could not switch between PAL/NTSC.  That sucked.  Once I plugged in the "Enhanced Agnus" / "Fat Agnus" / whatever u wanna call it, then I could switch back and forth as I pleased.  I was very happy with my Amigas ever since. :knuddel:

[mistermsk]

Thanks, Everyone. The reason for the switch is I have a bad 2000 motherboard. I bought a whole Video Toaster setup. When I turned it on, it didn't boot. I removed all the cards, etc... and looked at the motherboard. Acid over about a 1/6th of the motherboard. A frown hit my face. I hope it didn't hurt any cards or chips. Anyway, bought a new motherboard from over seas on Amibay. However, it is possible that that is a PAL motherboard. I wanted to cover my bases since I didn't want to cause any more damage to the amiga equipment then I already have. Since the Power Supply seems to be in order and the 1084S works, I'll just use that then. I was just saying for the flicker fixer if the 1084S wasn't compatible.

I will probably do what is suggested and keep the system PAL, if it is. I'll probably post the Video Toaster card on Amibay, since all I wanted was the 2000HD.

The 2000HD has a pretty cool card in it. Looks like Fast Ram, a Hard Drive, and a 68E030 chip with a math co-processor in it. I hope it still works. I notices that it shows version 1.03 on it but I have no idea what card it is. Also, it has a dual serial board. Not really know why it needed a dual serial board but no loss.

Thanks, Again. I'll let you know how it works out.

[ChaosLord]

I will probably do what is suggested and keep the system PAL, if it is. I'll probably post the Video Toaster card on Amibay, since all I wanted was the 2000HD.

AFAIK Video Toaster has a severe allergy to PAL.

Also, it has a dual serial board. Not really know why it needed a dual serial board but no loss.

Running a BBS in the olden days.