Replacing the Jaguar's cartridge connector

[Zerosquare]

I recently had to replace the cartridge connector on two Jaguars, which had been damaged by prototype PCBs whose edges weren't beveled enough.

 

I was originally going to write a guide explaining how to do this, but I found out (afterwards...) that OMF has already written a good one : http://reboot.atari.org/new-reboot/omfreplace.html. To my knowledge, it hasn't been posted here before.

 

So I'll just add a few comments to the guide :

 

- usually, it is possible to repair bent pins without needing to replace the connector. Use a piece of solid copper wire, give it a hoop shape, and gently lift the pins back into shape. It's tedious, you'll probably need to try a lot of times before it works, but it's a lot easier (and cheaper) than replacing the connector.

 

- new Jaguar cartridge connectors are available from Best Electronics ; it's the only place I know that sells them. They're currently (January 2013) $15 each + shipping.

 

- despite what the Best Electronics site says, you don't need a SMD soldering station. But you do need good quality tools, experience and patience. It is not an easy nor a 15 minutes job; don't attempt this if you're not already familiar with soldering.

 

- important points in the guide:

* do NOT use a screwdriver to lift the plastic remains of the connector. I made this mistake on the first Jaguar, and it damaged several tracks on the motherboard (I had to repair them with wrapping wire).

* before plugging the new connector, check that each hole is completely clear. The pins bend and break really easily (one of them did ; fortunately, it was a ground pin, and there are several of those).

 

- variations:

* instead of using a dremel tool, I broke the connector into several pieces using wire cutters. The plastic is quite hard, so you need strong ones. Don't apply too much force either, because you could damage the motherboard.

* I removed the solder using solder wick alone (no drilling); it can be done without damaging tracks, but you have to be very careful. If you can't remove all of the solder from a hole, don't wait for too long or press hard on the soldering iron (you would damage pads or tracks): instead, add fresh solder, heat the joint for a few seconds, and try again.

* when removing pins, you can heat the solder joint from the top instead of the bottom. It works and it's easier to see what you're doing that way.

 

It was a lot of work, but my two Jaguars are now healthy

[LinkoVitch]

It was a lot of work, but my two Jaguars are now healthy

 

Well, except for the fumes they give off

[mtshark7]

Good job!

[omf]

- important points in the guide:

* do NOT use a screwdriver to lift the plastic remains of the connector. I made this mistake on the first Jaguar, and it damaged several tracks on the motherboard (I had to repair them with wrapping wire).

* before plugging the new connector, check that each hole is completely clear. The pins bend and break really easily (one of them did ; fortunately, it was a ground pin, and there are several of those).

 

- variations:

* instead of using a dremel tool, I broke the connector into several pieces using wire cutters. The plastic is quite hard, so you need strong ones. Don't apply too much force either, because you could damage the motherboard.

* I removed the solder using solder wick alone (no drilling); it can be done without damaging tracks, but you have to be very careful. If you can't remove all of the solder from a hole, don't wait for too long or press hard on the soldering iron (you would damage pads or tracks): instead, add fresh solder, heat the joint for a few seconds, and try again.

* when removing pins, you can heat the solder joint from the top instead of the bottom. It works and it's easier to see what you're doing that way.

 

It was a lot of work, but my two Jaguars are now healthy

 

i think i did say using a screwdriver was a bad idea in the guide

 

that is why i drilled, no chance of remainder, just perfectly round hole.

 

solder wick can be an arse, you can very easily overheat the small pads so they lift ( this was another reason why i drilled )

also you can apply heat and the solder just wont come out, in my experience anyway!

 

 

i just basically documented what i had done, that was the second time i had replaced the cartridge port on this particular machine so i had to be careful about over heating as it had one go already

but yes, i see your points, perhaps this info can be merged into my guide to provide a better one?

[sh3-rg]

I can add zero's info as a note, cheers to both of you.

[Zerosquare]

i think i did say using a screwdriver was a bad idea in the guide

You did, I'm just agreeing with you - it's a pity I didn't discover your guide before

 

sh3 : thanks !

[+af0l]

http://reboot.atari.org/new-reboot/omfreplace.htmlis gone, and hardly any pictures can be found on the wayback machine... Too bad, I really need this. One of my Jags was twitchy since I got it. I have located the offfending pin, but all my attempts to staighten it have made it disappear into the innards of the connector... Dremmel time, I'm afraid...

[omf]

http://reboot.atari.org/new-reboot/omfreplace.htmlis gone, and hardly any pictures can be found on the wayback machine... Too bad, I really need this. One of my Jags was twitchy since I got it. I have located the offfending pin, but all my attempts to staighten it have made it disappear into the innards of the connector... Dremmel time, I'm afraid...

 

no, not gone.....

 

 

Notes from ZeroSquare:

* do NOT use a screwdriver to lift the plastic remains of the connector. I made this mistake on the first Jaguar, and it damaged several tracks on the motherboard (I had to repair them with wrapping wire).

* before plugging the new connector, check that each hole is completely clear. The pins bend and break really easily (one of them did; fortunately, it was a ground pin, and there are several of those).

 

- variations:

* instead of using a dremel tool, I broke the connector into several pieces using wire cutters. The plastic is quite hard, so you need strong ones. Don't apply too much force either, because you could damage the motherboard.

* I removed the solder using solder wick alone (no drilling); it can be done without damaging tracks, but you have to be very careful. If you can't remove all of the solder from a hole, don't wait for too long or press hard on the soldering iron (you would damage pads or tracks): instead, add fresh solder, heat the joint for a few seconds, and try again.

* when removing pins, you can heat the solder joint from the top instead of the bottom. It works and it's easier to see what you're doing that way.

 

It was a lot of work, but my two Jaguars are now healthy

 

 

Over to OMF...

Broken cartridge port replacement.pdf

[+af0l]

Thank you! I have, meanwhile, managed to get to the sucker that seems to be causing the problems - it broke off cleanly. So I'm hoping to be able to rebuild that, otherwise I'll have to put that tutorial to use...

 

[+af0l]

Success! I managed to hack in a pin from a destroyed Lynx flex connector (the Lynx is fine too ). Fixed it in place using Pattex Repair glue. It's not a place where soldering is to be successful so I knited around using a wrapping wire - and it lights up like a charm!

 

Operation postponed, for now.

 

 

 

 

[Starcat]

There is a bent pin in my Jag cart connector.

It is the WAITL line http://www.jagware.org/.../glenn_bruner.../cart_sch.htm
Cam somebody tell me what exactly it does?

 

For some reason I still get a green screen using the skunkboard, but games do not boot from flash (might be a different problem).

The Jaguar CD does nothing. I don't have a regular cart here to test.

 

So my assumption is that the skunk initially uses a different cart access mode than the Jag CD or a regular cart and when it switches to a different mode the bent pin might cause problems. Can somebody tell me if this may be true?

[Zerosquare]

Are you sure it's the right pin? According to the schematics, the WAITL line is not used by the Skunkboard, and not used by the JagCD either.

[Starcat]

It's definately WAITL in the schematic, assuming looking down at the cartridge port,

http://www.jagware.org/jag_uploads/dev/glenn_bruner_atarishowroom/cart_sch.htm

 

The damage to the cart port happened due to a reproduced Skunkboard that did not have beveled edges and even though I tried being careful. Obviously I wasn't careful enough. It's on the Jaguar I have used for years and never had any problems.
The WAITL pin is visibly crushed, I couldn't find any other damage. Maybe the pins were "widened" by the thicker cart so they don't make proper contact anymore?

The Skunk still boots to a green screen, but can't run any games from flash.

In that console my Jag CD doesn't do anything anymore. Just a black screen, the CD doesn't spin either.
I'm pretty sure regular carts would behave the same, although I can't verify this right now.
What other explaination could there be?

[Zerosquare]

To be honest I don't know. I'd guess there's one (or more) damaged pin(s) somewhere else, even if they look OK, because it makes no sense otherwise.

[+af0l]

Ok, so my fix was good for some time, but it fell apart after some use. It was time to dig out the connectors i bought a while a go and go nag my pops to fire up his trusty Weller...

 

Now, he's a pro, he's been soldering daily for the last 55 years or so, and he was battle hardened in the dark ages, when you could only get parts over here by desoldering them. But he used just a good soldering iron to get the pins put, and the built in pump to clean the contacts.

 

I was only useful to chip apart the old connector and sweat

 

 

He made short work of this, we were done in about 2 hours. It plays as on day one.

 

 

 

[oakcitycomics]

Did this today myself. Picked up a broken Jag of ebay few months back. Someone had damaged the cart connector and pushed one of the pins through the board breaking a trace. Took me about 40 mins from start to finish. Glad that B&C still sells the cart connector on ebay. I wouldn't advise someone who has never soldered before attempt this.