Date : Wed, 21 Nov 2012 00:17:16 -0000
From : jumbos.bazzar@... (Mark Haysman)
Subject: Looking for hen's teeth
Hi Jason. (RetroClinic here!)
I do have a USA Spec Beeb, which although converted back to UK spec, I can
reconvert to USA spec for you, but I?d strongly recommend only doing the
power supply, as the change in frequency of the video output may upset some
games, so for maximum compatibility, keep everything else UK spec.
You?d be better off going for one of my Model Bs I sell that have the DataCentre
pre-fitted, an example of the last one sold is here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251186702302
I can do you one of those for the same price, converted to run on 110v and
fitted with a USA mains cable, so no need for a transformer or any rewiring.
I don?t have any available at the moment, but I intend to build another batch
in the next week or so. I do have a couple of Master 128s with similar internal
DataCentre setup ready to go.
As for the video output, do an eBay search for ?EXTRON DVS204?, they work
brilliantly with the beeb ? prices can vary, but you should be able to pick
one up in the States for $100 or so. I can supply the correct cable for
one for an extra ?10, and it allows you to use the Beeb with any PC VGA
LCD monitor, and produces a very nice sharp picture. There are other converters
out there, some people have messed with the China-cheapie Gonbes ones, with
some success, but they?re not up to the quality of the Extron one.
Hope that info is of some help, feel free to contact me direct on MARK(AT)RETROCLINIC(DOT)COM
if you need any more specific info.
Thanks, Mark.
From: Jason Thacker
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 12:06 AM
To: bbc-micro@...
Subject: [BBC-Micro] Looking for hen's teeth
I am an old-time user of BBC Micros now living in the USA. I would really
like to be able to carry on computing with BBC hardware which leads me to
a couple of options:
a) Buy a USA-spec model B (except I can?t actually find any)
b) Somehow get my UK-spec kit to work in the USA.
Option A is looking pretty impossible due to their rarity, so I am concentrating
on option B. I am aware that I can use a step-up voltage converter (like
this: http://www.amazon.com/Goldsource%C2%AE-Voltage-Converter-Transformer-ST500/dp/B0022QOSDK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)
to get the necessary 220-240V that I will need, but I do have a few questions:
1) Has anybody any experience with using these converters with old Acorn
kit and do they seem to work OK? Is there another brand than the one above
that they would recommend instead?
2) Are there any adapters that are suitable to convert the Beeb video
output to something that I can use on either a modern PC monitor or a modern
US TV set? I did find this (http://www.amazon.com/XD-990-Composite-Multi-System-Video-Converter/dp/B0062BS09O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353120366&sr=8-1&keywords=pal%2Fntsc+converter)
on Amazon. Again, has anybody used one of these and would it work OK?
3) I am also looking at purchasing one of the RetroClinic DataCentre
USB/IDE interfaces (http://retroclinic.com/acorn/datacentre/datacentre.htm).
Has anybody any experience with these and would they recommend it as a method
maintaining their BBC software collection?
Thanks in advance for any help given!
Jason.
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