Auctions,
CN, GBP, AU and so on. This means the eBay product listed is located in an
International country. CN stands for Canada, GBP stands for Great Britain, AU
stands for Australia and so on. You may have noticed the following
markings / symbols close to the Listed Price on
Auctions,
CN, GBP, AU and so on. This means the eBay product listed is located in an
International country. CN stands for Canada, GBP stands for Great Britain, AU
stands for Australia and so on.
There are many different Video (TV) standards thru out the World. The US uses NTSC TV (
National Television Standards Committee) Standard, there is also SECAM, PAL A, PAL B, PAL D, PAL I, PAL M to name a few International TV standards. For the PAL and SECAM standards there are also the extra factor of 110, 220, 230 voltages 50 / 60 Hz too. Canada and a few other International locations also use the US NTSC TV Standard.When Atari made a game Systems, Computers or Products for an International country, in most cases they had to make a dedicated motherboard / product for that countries TV Video Standards and line voltages. In most cases also they made a different group of Game cartridges for that International location. Basically the Game Cartridges / Software Atari made fall into two basic types, NTSC vs SECAM / PAL or 60Hz operation vs 50Hz operation.
Now a good percentage of International eBay sellers Do Not clarify (buyer beware) this point when they list an International version of an Atari game Cartridge or an Atari Video product that requires external Power Source.
What that means to an unaware New US eBay buyer is, if they bid on and win an Atari PAL/SECAM version 2600 / 7800 Atari Product or Atari Game Cartridge, when you plug it into to your US NTSC made Atari product, the TV screen will Roll because the Cartridge (the Game chip on the inside) is expecting to see 50 Hz Power to the Atari Product not the US 60 Hz. Depending on when the Exact Atari Cartridge was made / designed (early or last ones made), you may only get a black and white display using your PAL cartridge on a US system and also may not get any sounds.
Now if you bid on and Won an International Version Atari Powered TV product and expect it to properly run on the NTSC TV you are in for a Rude Awaking! The First thing your Atari International product will most likely come with a 220 or 230 / 240 Atari International Power Supply with different type of electrical contacts compared to the standard US twin blade. Because of the International Different Video Standards above and the different internal Atari RF TV modulators they use for each International location and different TV Broadcast channels use too (Atari made Products for the US use / broadcast on TV channels 2 or 3 VHS), the chances of the International Atari product (except Canada) Properly working on a US TV are Very Slim to None.
Trying to convert the Atari International Product back to the US NTSC standard in most cases, is not Cost effective, many many have tried, only a hand full have done it, spending a lot of extra money and time.
So PAL / SCEAM Atari 2600, 5200, 7800 Game cartridges are not fully compatible with the US NTSC Systems in most cases (one exception, the Atari 2600 PAL 32 in 1 Cartridge listed this Web site). Many Atari collectors do buy PAL Version Atari Game Cartridges and products, because some Atari made and Third Party titles / items were never released in the US Market place.
On Atari 8 bit (400 / 800 / 1200XL / 600Xl / 800XL / 65XE / 130XE) cartridges, there were some Atari 50 Hz versions made for International locations too.
On Atari ST Series computer products, there is extra factor to consider (besides the Internal 220 / 240 Volt Power Supplies used) when biding on eBay listed International Atari Computer Products. Each different International location in the world Atari shipped a computer into, had (and still does in most cases) different Keyboard Standards. There is the QWERTY (US), QWERTZ and AZERTY basic keyboard layouts standards / patterns
, plus each International country has a slightly different set of Keyboard Special Symbols / keycaps and keycap sizes. Atari Made Computer Keyboard assemblies for the US, France, UK, German, Swiss-German, Italian and so on for International Markets.Atari ST software is another question. Some of the early ST Game and Software programs had different software versions for different International locations. Toward the end, the last ST game and software programs that were produced would run on all International versions of Atari ST computers (in most cases).
Like anything in life there are a couple of exceptions to these general Atari rules. Atari Lynx Game Cartridges / Lynx I / Lynx II consoles (not Lynx Power Supplies) and Jaguar Game Cartridges (NOT Jaguar Consoles or their Power supplies) are Universal and will work on both NTSC and International version Atari Products.
Now if you are bidding on an Atari Non electrical product, like an Atari carrying case, Book, dust cover, Sun Screen, Paper product, cable, Atari collectable and so on from an International eBay Atari seller, you should not have any US compatibility problems. But any Atari product with any kind of external electrical connector, be aware.
Also be aware when bidding on replacement Atari Power Supplies from International eBay Sellers, you will not get an US 110V 60cycle power supply unless it is stated in the eBay listing, you will get an Atari made 220, 230 or 240 Volt 50 Hz version.
If you are not sure on an International eBay seller's Atari Auction, E-Mail and ask will this Atari product / item work on my US NTSC Atari product before you bid or E-Mail us!!! Many Many eBay sellers
never even return your E-Mail questions to them.Remember when you win something on eBay, it is like buying something at a local Flea Market "As Is". 99% of the sellers on eBay, sell their eBay items "As Is" with No Warranty, No after the sale customer support, No replacement parts or No reason to even help you after you receive your eBay item. It is a Flea Market type of sale, not a real world Company or Store type of Sale with full Customer support after the sale. Should your cheap eBay item arrive working but go bad a month or so latter, you will have No recourse with the eBay seller. Any experienced eBay buyer will tell you, they got some good deals on eBay, but also have many horror stories about being ripped off by eBay sellers and could not get any support from eBay and PayPal for their case. Should your eBay item get damaged in shipping, the hassles with the seller are just beginning. So make sure you carefully read the eBay seller item description. An experienced eBay seller who knows how to cover his tail with their eBay item listing, you will find eBay and PayPal will do very little to help you if the eBay seller covered themselves well in the item listing.
Even if the eBay seller out right rips you off, after many many E-Mails and hassles back and forth with the eBay seller, getting stock computer type of canned customer support replies and run arounds with E-Bay customer support and PayPal customer support, at best you may get most of your money back from PayPal (after going thru the hassles of sending the item back (another out of pocket cost for you) to the eBay seller)), but that same eBay seller goes on still selling the same item you returned or his other items to other eBay buyers. It is very very rare you will see eBay kick off a very bad (a lot of negative feed back) eBay seller.
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