Question for SG-1000 Owners

[Mr Fwibbles]

I'm thinking of getting an SG-1000, or SG-1000 Mark II. What's putting me off is that I'm not sure it would be compatible with the TVs I have access to. I currently live in England and have an LCD TV (my PAL Atari 7800's RF connection doesn't work with this, the TV never finds the signal) and a CRT from around 1998. I know that American TVs have slightly different RF slots - the RF cable that comes with a US SNES doesn't fit into a UK TV. I presume the Japanese RF cable used with an SG-1000 would fit an American TV.

So here are my questions. Would it be possible to get an SG-1000 working on an English TV (any British owners here)? If so, what would be needed? I plan on being in Canada for the next few months; would it just be plug and play on a Canadian TV or is some modding/converting necessary? I've seen another thread that mentioned using channels in the 90s, but there was something about a "manual switchbox"? Are RF cables for other American Sega systems compatible? Should I just wait until I'm back in England? Need some advice please.

[Breetai]

In North America, the RF signal is different that in Japan. That is why the TV needs to be on channel 90-something (96 in my case) in order to get a signal. The SG-1000 need a manual switchbox. The old NES RF auto switch will not work on it. You needs one with an actual switch, much like the old Atari systems came with (those will work). Other American Sega RF switches will NOT be compatible. I went though this a year or two ago when I first got an SG-1000. If you search, you can probably find my thread about it here (or on the Assembler forums, I forget which one it's on).

Why do you want an SG-1000? Unless you want every old Sega system you can get, I HIGHLY recommend a Mark III or Japanese Master System over the SG-1000. They both have composite AV ports built in.

I don't know if the Mark II has built in AV or not. Just get a Mark III or SMS-J and be done with it.

[Mr Fwibbles]

Thanks, I'll look into the Japanese Master System and the Mark III. There's two reasons I'm drawn to the SG-1000. I have all of the US-released Sega systems in their original boxes, and thought it would be cool to have the full set (because all of them have a nice amount of great games). Secondly, I already have a European SMS and an American one, as well as a Master System Converter II, so I thought it would seem a bit silly to have 4 different ways to play SMS games. It's not my favourite system by a long shot! XD

Edit: And going by a recent eBay auction, the Mark II doesn't use AV either...

[Ed Oscuro]

All you need is a Japanese SMS and the SMS Power! bent style converter.