/jj2/pst2/bin/user@pyuxjj.UUCP (/jj2/pst2/bin/user) (04/01/85)
A relative of ours from France is over here for a visit for the next two weeks. He is interested in purchasing a Commodore 64 here (because the price is so much less...) and taking it back to France with him. We know already that there is a difference in the voltage and current frequency between here and there. The questions we can think of at this point are: 1. Would a plug-in power adapter be adequate for getting the C64 to operate using the French current standards? (Not to be confused with 'current French standards'...) 2. Would any peripheral equipment have to be also made-for- the-American-market and run through the same/similar adapter setup in order to work (correctly)? (i.e., could he hook up a disk drive bought in France and still have it work correctly?) 3. European TVs (& monitors?) are based on a totally incompatible signalling protocol from American products. Is the C64 set up to send only "American-type" signals? Do most advanced RGB monitors handle both protocols? (If I'm really showing off my complete ignorance of this whole thing, please forgive me. My forte is far from EE!) If anyone has any ideas on any of the above questions or can think of other questions that must be answered, please mail your response to me ( also posting your response to the net is something I leave to your discretion). Please keep in mind that this relative will only be here for TWO weeks, so I would appreciate any responses as soon as possible. He would also be interested in purchasing a used C64 in good working condition, if anyone has one for sale. Thanks for any help you can give in this matter. Jeff Davis Bell Communications Research 50 Cragwood Road, SPL 1A-258 South Plainfield, NJ 07080 (201)561-7100 x2002
doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) (04/03/85)
I would recommend buying the 64 in Europe. The money that would be
saved buying it here would be lost in power converters, import duties,
and problems finding parts and service.
In regards to TV standards, C-64s are available in North America and
Japan for the NTSC standard, and in Europe for the PAL standard.
Unfortunately for you, France uses its own SECAM standard (hooray
for the "Not Invented Here" syndrome!) and as far as I know, there
are no U.S.-type computers or video games which are available for
use with SECAM.
The best way out is to buy a European "PAL" C-64 and a European "PAL"
TV or composite (not RGB) monitor. These will run off of French power
and will work with each other, but you wouldn't be able to watch French
broadcasts on the European TV. If you get a monitor, you do *not* want
an RGB monitor -- the C-64 does not have RGB outputs, and an RGB monitor
costs 3 times as much as a composite monitor (like the 1702) anyway :-)
--
Doug Pardee -- Terak Corp. -- !{hao,ihnp4,decvax}!noao!terak!doug