Monitor for Atari520ST

[melongrower]

I am not a computer buff, so simple answers please. Clearing an attic space I found my late husband's old Atari 520 ST with a load of discs and manuals, but no monitor. I have a spare digital monior for a desktop computer. Is this likely to be compatible? I assume not. If not is the computer etc. likely to be of use, and can I find out if it works without a monitor. Thanks.

[clh333]

Short answer: Probably not. Depends on what the "digital monitor" actually is (manufacturer, specifications, etc.) but the Atari ST has a non-standard video output that is not likely to match your monitor's input. Even if you found a suitable cable the signals are likely to be incompatible.

There are work-arounds but they cost money to implement; estimated $100-150 USD. Without a monitor it will be very difficult to tell if the Atari is working at all, let alone properly.

-CH-

[siriushardware]

melongrower, we can't see where you are in the world but if you have a TV which has a SCART connector on the back you can buy a cable which goes from the 13-pin monitor socket on the rear of the machine to the SCART socket on the TV. Search online for 'Atari ST SCART Cable'.

That will allow you to use the colour modes (low resolution and medium resolution), which are the ones used by most games.

If you find you have a need to use the high resolution monochrome mode you can buy another cable which will connect the ST to any older computer monitor which has a 15-pin 'VGA' connector - but - even though the monitor will be colour, you will only get a high resolution black and white picture this way. For this type of cable, search 'Atari ST VGA Cable'.

As the previous post suggested, there are a very small number of 'legacy' multisync-type monitors which can handle all three of the ST's video modes.

If you could perhaps state the model / brand of the monitor you have, we may be able to say what you can do with it. But probably your easiest path is to buy a cable to use the ST with a TV, provided the TV is old enough to have a SCART socket. TVs made in the last 1-2 years tend not to have SCART sockets now.

[czietz]

Short answer: Probably not. Depends on what the "digital monitor" actually is (manufacturer, specifications, etc.) but the Atari ST has a non-standard video output that is not likely to match your monitor's input. Even if you found a suitable cable the signals are likely to be incompatible.

That's not true for the black&white mode. This will work with (almost) every modern monitor that accepts a VGA signal. A custom cable is still needed, though.

@melongrower: Check if the Atari has an RCA type connector at the back -- or post a photo of the connectors, if unsure. That would be the RF modulator output that can be connected to the antenna input of a TV. Maybe the cable needed for this is somewhere in the hinge you found...

[siriushardware]

The model is stated to be 520ST (No 'M' in the model number) so I assumed that this was a model which does not have RF or composite video out, hence the advice to obtain a SCART cable.

My own STFM (with an integral floppy drive and modulator) actually has the letters 'FM', very small, on the model number badge above the keyboard.

[Atarieterno]

The cable for high resolution (VGA) works on any LCD; The cable for low and medium resolution (SCART or AV) does not work on all monitors.

http://retrocables.es/tienda/index.php? ... &id_lang=1

[mpattonm]

And then there is ST2VGA:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/centuriontech.eu/posts/
https://www.facebook.com/centuriontech. ... H4&fref=nf