Post by Admin on Aug 12, 2018 20:28:07 GMT 1
Is AntiX safe to use ?
AntiX has been tested for countless hours on various machines. I tried very hard to damage AntiXs, the ANTICs or the rest of the machine by deliberately switching between ANTIC chips dozens of times while power was ON (after having run countless hours straight). Of course the computer crashed, but a simple RESET solves that.
I see differences between colors in PAL and NTSC mode ?
Yes, that’s normal. Both systems use slightly different color encoding, nothing we can do about this, it is the best Atari came up with, we have to live with it. IMHO the NTSC colors are usually better in the older games.
Will AntiX work with my RF output ?
To be honest: I have no idea and I wouldn’t count on it. It is 2018 and I can’t believe people are still using RF. The picture this produces is absolutely horrible. I strongly advice you to use at least composite or (better) S-video or even better, Sophia for RGB/Component or DVI output.
Will AntiX work with all ANTIC versions ?
As far as I have tested: YES.
Does it matter where I put the PAL/NTSC ANTIC ?
No. The board is merely a dumb switch. It doesn’t “know” which position is what so you can put them on whichever position you want. However, we advice you to use the original ANTIC on position 1 and the “other system” ANTIC on position 2. Just because it feels logical.
Does AntiX turn my machine in a 100% PAL/NTSC machine when switched ?
No. AntiX only switches the ANTIC chip. A full switchable “conversion” would require an extra PCB and extra GTIA plus crystal and lots of supporting parts. The speed difference between a real NTSC machine and a AntiX PAL machine switched to NTSC are impossible to “feel”….you’d need a frequency counter to notice the difference.
Can I have VBXE and AntiX in my machine ?
No. VBXE and AntiX both go on the ANTIC socket so you can’t have both.
Is AntiX compatible with 400/800/600XL/800XL/1200XL/130XE/65XE/800XE/XEGS/1088XEL?
I have tested AntiX in several machines including 800, 800XL, 600XL and 130XE. I think for almost all machines the metal shield needs to be removed…but who still has these installed with all the upgrades of today? By checking pictures, I believe that all XL and XE models have enough space “behind” the ANTIC socket to be installed in all of those. Keyboards on 600XL and 800XL can be a tight fit but should fit. I don’t own a 1200XL, if anyone wants to send me one I can test it. As mentioned I successfully tested AntiX on my 800PAL. However, it does not fit inside the metal shield. I have developed a little adapter PCB with ribbon cable that will make it possible to mount AntiX in another spot in the 800 (hopefully 400 too). I have only made one test set-up for this though, which seems to work OK but further testing is neccesary.
Is AntiX compatible with <insert your favorite extension here> ?
I have tested AntiX extensively in my 600XL which also has Stereo Pokey, U1MB and Sophia RGB installed without any issues. However there are SO many internal and external upgrades (that I don’t own) that it is impossible to know for sure. Especially any turbo cards might be a problem because AntiX does add a bit of resistance on the signals it switches. So the answer is: I don’t know, and I can’t guarantee anything.
Will AntiX work in a 5200
Well…..yes I guess it would do something, but there is simply NO point in running a PAL ANTIC in a 5200 as they all were NTSC machines only
Will my light-gun still work ?
Well….as long as you use a 50/60Hz CRT monitor or television YES (This has been tested).
Does AntiX add any extra graphics modes/resolutions/colors/Bluetooth/Wifi ?
No. It’s a switch. Nothing less, but certainly nothing more. This is also a big advantage. It is 100% transparent for software and thus 100% compatible.
AntiX has been tested for countless hours on various machines. I tried very hard to damage AntiXs, the ANTICs or the rest of the machine by deliberately switching between ANTIC chips dozens of times while power was ON (after having run countless hours straight). Of course the computer crashed, but a simple RESET solves that.
I see differences between colors in PAL and NTSC mode ?
Yes, that’s normal. Both systems use slightly different color encoding, nothing we can do about this, it is the best Atari came up with, we have to live with it. IMHO the NTSC colors are usually better in the older games.
Will AntiX work with my RF output ?
To be honest: I have no idea and I wouldn’t count on it. It is 2018 and I can’t believe people are still using RF. The picture this produces is absolutely horrible. I strongly advice you to use at least composite or (better) S-video or even better, Sophia for RGB/Component or DVI output.
Will AntiX work with all ANTIC versions ?
As far as I have tested: YES.
Does it matter where I put the PAL/NTSC ANTIC ?
No. The board is merely a dumb switch. It doesn’t “know” which position is what so you can put them on whichever position you want. However, we advice you to use the original ANTIC on position 1 and the “other system” ANTIC on position 2. Just because it feels logical.
Does AntiX turn my machine in a 100% PAL/NTSC machine when switched ?
No. AntiX only switches the ANTIC chip. A full switchable “conversion” would require an extra PCB and extra GTIA plus crystal and lots of supporting parts. The speed difference between a real NTSC machine and a AntiX PAL machine switched to NTSC are impossible to “feel”….you’d need a frequency counter to notice the difference.
Can I have VBXE and AntiX in my machine ?
No. VBXE and AntiX both go on the ANTIC socket so you can’t have both.
Is AntiX compatible with 400/800/600XL/800XL/1200XL/130XE/65XE/800XE/XEGS/1088XEL?
I have tested AntiX in several machines including 800, 800XL, 600XL and 130XE. I think for almost all machines the metal shield needs to be removed…but who still has these installed with all the upgrades of today? By checking pictures, I believe that all XL and XE models have enough space “behind” the ANTIC socket to be installed in all of those. Keyboards on 600XL and 800XL can be a tight fit but should fit. I don’t own a 1200XL, if anyone wants to send me one I can test it. As mentioned I successfully tested AntiX on my 800PAL. However, it does not fit inside the metal shield. I have developed a little adapter PCB with ribbon cable that will make it possible to mount AntiX in another spot in the 800 (hopefully 400 too). I have only made one test set-up for this though, which seems to work OK but further testing is neccesary.
Is AntiX compatible with <insert your favorite extension here> ?
I have tested AntiX extensively in my 600XL which also has Stereo Pokey, U1MB and Sophia RGB installed without any issues. However there are SO many internal and external upgrades (that I don’t own) that it is impossible to know for sure. Especially any turbo cards might be a problem because AntiX does add a bit of resistance on the signals it switches. So the answer is: I don’t know, and I can’t guarantee anything.
Will AntiX work in a 5200
Well…..yes I guess it would do something, but there is simply NO point in running a PAL ANTIC in a 5200 as they all were NTSC machines only
Will my light-gun still work ?
Well….as long as you use a 50/60Hz CRT monitor or television YES (This has been tested).
Does AntiX add any extra graphics modes/resolutions/colors/Bluetooth/Wifi ?
No. It’s a switch. Nothing less, but certainly nothing more. This is also a big advantage. It is 100% transparent for software and thus 100% compatible.