Jaguar CD video issue... Anyone seen this before?

[Mobius]

A couple years back, I purchased a Jag CD of unknown condition. When I got it, I continually got the red screen when powering on. I resolved that by cleaning the contacts, but then it wouldn't read any discs. The lens transport seemed to be stuck, and I resolved that by just giving it a bit of a push to unstick it. After that, the unit powered on and read discs correctly, and it still does. The problem is that there were some video artifacts down the left hand side of the screen. I didn't pursue it any further at the time because I didn't have any games I really wanted to play.

Now, I think I want to get some new games, but I don't really want to play them like this. Has anyone seen this? Any idea what the issue is? There are two vertical bars of blue static running down the left side of the screen. See the attached pictures:

54005401

This does not occur with regular Jag games. Sometimes it doesn't show up immediately, but it always appears within a minute or so. Since I know a lot of 90's electronics are plagued with bad capacitors, I opened the unit up to see if I could find any bad/leaky ones. I didn't notice anything odd. No bulging, no leaks.

Additionally, the Jag CD cart slot does not work at all. I can't get any games to boot from it. That doesn't particularly bother me, but it might be worth mention in case it's somehow related.

Help!

[APE992]

A couple years back, I purchased a Jag CD of unknown condition. When I got it, I continually got the red screen when powering on. I resolved that by cleaning the contacts, but then it wouldn't read any discs. The lens transport seemed to be stuck, and I resolved that by just giving it a bit of a push to unstick it. After that, the unit powered on and read discs correctly, and it still does. The problem is that there were some video artifacts down the left hand side of the screen. I didn't pursue it any further at the time because I didn't have any games I really wanted to play.

Now, I think I want to get some new games, but I don't really want to play them like this. Has anyone seen this? Any idea what the issue is? There are two vertical bars of blue static running down the left side of the screen. See the attached pictures:

54005401

This does not occur with regular Jag games. Sometimes it doesn't show up immediately, but it always appears within a minute or so. Since I know a lot of 90's electronics are plagued with bad capacitors, I opened the unit up to see if I could find any bad/leaky ones. I didn't notice anything odd. No bulging, no leaks.

Additionally, the Jag CD cart slot does not work at all. I can't get any games to boot from it. That doesn't particularly bother me, but it might be worth mention in case it's somehow related.

Help!

Never seen it myself but it could be age related problems such as caps going bad or solder joints cracking or becoming intermittent and causing EMI. The cartridge slot up top might just need retensioning to work again.

[Mitch]

How is it hooked up to the TV. If you are using RF then that may be the cause.

Mitch

[Mobius]

I tried cleaning the cart slot even more, and started to get some results from it. I got two games to boot (though four others wouldn't). But when they do start, the distortion is even worse! It ends up covering a good third of the screen.

The system is hooked up via RF, but I doubt that's the issue, unless the Jag CD itself is introducing interference that it shouldn't. The picture is fine without the CD unit.

[APE992]

If cleaning it somewhat improved things then likely retensioning the slot will fix it.

[Mobius]

If cleaning it somewhat improved things then likely retensioning the slot will fix it.

Yeah, but unfortunately, I'm more interested in getting the picture fixed, and that's even worse with cart games.

[Mitch]

The system is hooked up via RF, but I doubt that's the issue, unless the Jag CD itself is introducing interference that it shouldn't. The picture is fine without the CD unit.

I've found that the Jag CD does cause a lot of RF interference. Getting the Jag CD forced me to stop using RF for the Jag because of the bad RF interference.

Mitch

[Mobius]

I've found that the Jag CD does cause a lot of RF interference. Getting the Jag CD forced me to stop using RF for the Jag because of the bad RF interference.

Mitch

Looks like you were right! I built an s-video cable, and now the picture is absolutely crystal clear perfect! Somehow, the cart slot even started working consistently. I don't know why or how, but I'm not going to question it. I now have a perfectly functioning CD unit. And if I recall correctly, I only paid $15 for it!

[Mobius]

I did a write-up on how to build a Jaguar S-Video cable. Thought some folks here might be interested:

http://www.retroreviewproject.com/how-to-build-an-atari-jaguar-s-videocomposite-av-cable/