Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!apple!sun-barr!newstop!texsun!alanya!lupe From: lupe@alanya.Germany.Sun.COM (Lupe Christoph - Sun Germany Consulting - Munich) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Using PAL Amigas in the USA Message-ID: Date: 26 Sep 90 20:22:38 GMT References: Sender: news@texsun.Central.Sun.COM Lines: 77 cl3a+@andrew.cmu.edu (Chee Lee) writes: >This is just a note to dispel some myths about using PAL (UK Versions) >Amiga in the USA: > I brought my PAL (not NTSC) Amiga from Singapore and intended to get a >RGB Analog Monitor and a Power Supply to connect to the machine. The >Power Supply I had back home accepts the Commonwealth Standard of 220V, >which is apparently different from the 110V being used here in the USA. I thought UK is using 240 V, so that ought to be "Commonwealth Standard". 220V is used in most countries all over the world. I believe it has advantages to use a higher voltage from the perspective of the supplier. > Since what the Amiga 500 requires is an input voltage of +5V, -5V and >+12V DC, I would expect a power supply purchased here would work fine on >my machine. I was told by several people (vendors, Amiga-users) that >this is not the case. I can't use a PAL 500 with the Power Supply or >RGB Monitor here. I was told that in order for my machine to work, I >would have to change the crystal, and replace the custom chips to turn >my PAL machine into an NTSC one. You can also use a step-down transformer. A friend of mine in Phoenix is running his German Atari (boo, hiss) from the supply voltage for his washing machine, which is 220 V. I was surprise to hear this, as I always thought that there is only 110 V. (Comments, Americans ?) The other rarely mentioned side-effect of the 110V/220V issue is that the US net is running at 60 Hertz, while most of the rest of the world is using 50 Hertz. This applies to synchronous motors, like they are used in mechanical digital clocks to use the very stable frequency to get an exact time base. Or in older disk motors. I believe newer ones use DC motors. This frequency difference is probably what makes people think that they have to change the timing base of their video. This is not true. In fact, the crystal they told you to change provides this timing base. And the timing provided on the horizontal and vertical synch lines of the Amiga must be matched by the monitor. You can use any monitor able to match this timing and display analog RGB. Like a VGA monitor with flexible timing (avoiding a trademark here, can you guess it ? :-). So if you *have* a monitor that runs with the Amiga, why should it change it's timing when it's run off 110V/60Hz ? I would *hope* it does not derive it's time base from the line frequency. > I almost resorted to changing the chips, till I found a A500 user who >was kind enough to let me try my PAL CPU with his Commodore Power Supply >and Commodore Analog Monitor. At this stage, I had no choice but to >take the risk of destroying both my Amiga and my friend's power supply. While it's true that you *can* destroy some flexsync (hope this is not somebody's trademark ;-) monitors with wrong timing, or a synch AC monitor, you can't do this to a computer. At least not one I know. Supply voltages are dictated by the chips, and chips are chips, where ever you go. You will even find 5V chips in the USSR. This leaves the pin assigment of the power connector. Now, I'm *extremely* paranoid about connector pin assigments changing quietly. I would have measured the voltage on the pins before connecting and compared them. > When I turn it on, bingo! My PAL machine works perfectly with the 110V >PS and the output to the (presumably NTSC) Monitor was PAL! Happens that NTSC and PAL are not that different in timing, so many monitors might synch up, even if not labled XyzSynch. > So,... the moral of the story is that PAL Amigas does work in the USA, >we just have to get a decent RGB Analog monitor and a Power Supply. Maybe you should mention the type of the monitor. Standard CBM ? > The only drawback for this configuration, perhaps, is the inability to >output the PAL Amiga Graphics produced into NTSC Video. -- | lchristoph@Sun.COM (Internet) | Disclaimer: | | ...!unido!sunmuc!lupe (German EUNet, "bang") | My employer has a | | lupe@sunmuc.UUCP (German EUNet, domain) | non-exclusive license | | ...!suninfo!lchristoph (Sun Germany customers) | to my opinion. |