Stone

Strictly you don't need a soldering iron, SMD resistors (especially 0-ohm ones) are very brittle. Snap it off with a pair of needle-nose pliers and it should work fine (usually it leaves the terminations behind, stuck in their solder joints, but they're easy enough to remove when someone with a soldering iron gets there. I did a six-month project on how the terminations of ceramic caps can fracture with thermal cycling in aerospace environments once, does it show?) Stone

Thinking about it when I demonstrated my copy side-by-side with an error-free version at Jagfest all those years ago (2003?) there were some significant differences - mostly in the level order, if I recall. Is that error-free one the one neo_rg ended up with? Stone

This is incorrect, as Tyrant pointed out. I note that you've just said no betas are intended to be on the blacklist; as it's a beta it clearly is a bug in the blacklist. Since it was my ROM I'll have a word with Tursi and we'll try and fix it. Problem solved. (sorry I didn't spot this happening, I've not been following the forum as diligently as I probably should. Mea maxima culpa.) Stone

No problem, I'll do that. There'll be a week or so's delay as that particular princess is in another castle Stone

Hello everyone! They are both my units, yes. I will be selling them in future but I'd like to do a little more testing first to get both as them as fully working as possible. As a little background: The hardware is final (full production PCBs, but with version numbers inked onto the underside - this space is blank on retails). Neither JagCD has a BIOS ROM fitted - you are correct that Jeff used them to dev the VLM, but they were also used when finalising the CD access routines which ended up in the retail BIOS; that were done by the technical bods inside Atari, not by Jeff. The CD mech has a magnetic sensor which prevents operation if the circuit isn't complete - this is one of the two ways the retail knows if the lid is shut or not (there's also a switch engaged by a small pin on the underside of the lid). Again according to Jeff, they were supplied with a little metal object which held the CD down in use - on retails this is normally done by the rotating disc snapped into the lid. These have both been lost to time so I've been using a rubber grommet of the right size with a steel washer glued to it - this both clamps the CD to the spindle and lets the mech know the disc is locked in place, otherwise it won't let the motor spin. When I received them they had both suffered from long unsympathetic storage - one of them had a severely bent lower cart slot as the other had been stored on top of it and the pins had 'crept' through the solder, so I spent multiple hours desoldering the cart slot and replacing it so it was straight and the extension board could plug into the Jag. Both base Jags are green Stubulators, but with a ROM dated 4th May 1994 instead of the more commonly known 'final' 2 Nov 1994 version. At least one of them is modified by shorting the 'cart present' lines together so it can turn on without a cart in - no idea why this was done! (I suspect there may have been a plan to have the JagCD only show up as a connected cart once it had finished booting but this was then abandoned) By plugging an Alpine into the cart slot, the retail CD BIOS can be dumped into RAM and then executed from $4000 - this brings up the VLM loading screen, and spins the disc up, but then they give the ?disc? error. That was as far as I tested before replacing both mechs with NOS ones - I haven't had a chance to test them since then as I've moved house 4 times and it's a pain getting Jag, CD, Alpine, PSUs and a Win98 PC in the same place at once! A lot of stuff has happened in my life since I first got them so it's been hard to find time to do anything much with the Jag stuff, which is one of my reasons for selling it: I really don't use it enough to justify so I'd rather someone else had the enjoyment from it Your one of these JagCD units plus Alpine is the only other one I know to exist. Ironically I had never seen another soldermasked Alpine until the day after I listed that one as 'you'll never see another' Oh, there's a story attached? Is it one worth telling? Would it affect the prices? If so, best to speak up now & get the best bids possible on them The 4Mb one (which I didn't see listed, so maybe he's going to keep it?) if I'm not mistaken, was once owned by James "Purple" Hampton, producer of AvP. The other one (the 2Mb prototype) I think was acquired from Nick H at one of the JagFests, attached to one of the JagCD protos, but I can't comment much further on its history. I should have Tyrant on commission, you're almost as good at selling this stuff as I am The history of the 2MB one is as stated on the auction, and yes, I did get it from Nick (at Jagfest 2004, if I recall). I don't know anything else about it. My 4MB one is, as stated, previously owned (and signed) by Purple - so it was definitely used during the development of AvP. I got it from Jeff Minter - he only had a 2MB Alpine when developing Tempest 2000, so it wasn't done on my board. However Defender 2k is a 4MB cart, and he only ever had one 4MB Alpine, so... Jeff said that the pressure on 4MB Alpines was very heavy at the time as they were so stupidly expensive to build, so Atari were very stingy about loaning them out to developers. He didn't get one until he could show that D2K wasn't going to fit into a 2MB cart, at which point he got the one I now own. I'm hanging onto this one for the moment so I can continue testing the JagCDs, when I get my desk fully set up (I last moved house in April and I'm still living in chaos!). I could be convinced to sell it for the right money but it would have to be a very substantial offer. If anyone has any more questions, ask away! Stone

Wow, I never realised this was happening Neo's has differences. Stone's copy seems worth seeking out as it's trivial to swap a few tracks over from otherwise identical discs. In my version you can play all the way through the first 3 levels to the warpship, then there are graphical errors inside (RAM contents mapped onto textures, ugly!). Attract mode does work though. I'm prepared to share my copy if it helps you guys get closer to a release. Stone

Hi all, I already posted this in the marketplace so if I've overstepped the mark I'm sure a mod will thump me in due course As some of you know already from JagFest, for various I've decided to sell the vast majority of my Jaguar stuff. You may like to have a look! Items link: eBay Seller: stonejag Some of the highlights are: Original flash cart (eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160488032576) Prototype 2MB Alpine board (eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160488058170). Jaguar Extremist Packs 1, 2 and 3: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160488009818 (I also have a second auction for just pack 1 as I have a double) Primal Rage for JagCD: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487955870 Zero 5: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487962509 Protector SE: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487969146 Boxed Procontroller: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487990098 CGE 5th Anniversary JagCD: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487991783 Many of my auctions start at £0.99 with no reserve, and I ship internationally. If you want references obviously check my eBay feedback or ask Tyrant or Jay Smith. Following several questions I will combine shipping - ask at auction end and we can come up with something fair. Happy bidding! Stone

Sorry, I didn't mention that Yes, I will combine shipping. Obviously the more you buy the more you save! It largely depends on how much stuff ends up costing to ship - I'm not out to gouge so we can come to some arrangement depending on what you end up winning. Cheers, Stone

Quick update: I've just added a flash cart (eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160488032576) and a prototype 2MB Alpine board (eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160488058170). Strike while the iron is hot! Stone

Hi folks, As some of you will already know, for a combination of reasons I've decided to sell off the majority of my (extensive!) Jaguar selection. You can see my items for sale here: eBay Seller: stonejag. Here are some of the current highlights picked out for you: Jaguar Extremist Packs 1, 2 and 3: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160488009818 Primal Rage for JagCD: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487955870 Zero 5: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487962509 Protector SE: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487969146 Boxed Procontroller: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487990098 CGE 5th Anniversary JagCD: eBay Auction -- Item Number: 160487991783 Many of my auctions start at £0.99 with no reserve, and I ship internationally. If you want references obviously check my eBay feedback or ask Tyrant or Jay Smith. This is just the tip of the iceberg - I have an absolute ton of other items still to list, including some really extraordinarily rare stuff So check back often! (also I could use the money... ) I'll post in this thread if I list anything particularly good Stone

Oops, sorry It does look like a great idea though! Stone

Can you define 'released'? I'm not trying to be argumentative here, just to understand how it works - I'm currently confused as one unreleased beta of a released game (Ultra Vortek) worked, while another unreleased beta of a released game (Fight For Life) didn't. I haven't seen any of the promotional material for the Skunkboard beyond knowing it existed, but I'm sure I can't be alone in making the assumption that any form of programmable cartridge is just that, some rewritable memory in cartspace. As the Skunkboard is a programmable cartridge that accepts an upload of valid cart data, then inspects it and decides (based on a hidden list) whether or not to allow it to execute, for me it violated the principle of least surprise. That's my only point - please don't take it as a personal attack (I think I've spent enough money in the GOAT store to prove I'm not an 'orrible pirate! ) Out of curiosity, what will you do if a new game is developed and released for/on a Skunkboard, but then people share the binary without paying? Unless you have a way to individually update the revocation list of one specific cart based on what that user's paid for I can't think of an obvious way to allow legitimate users to play without allowing the same right to pirates... Like I said, it doesn't affect me as I have a 4MB Alpine and a flashcart anyway, but I seriously considered buying a Skunkboard for the convenience of USB uploads, and if I hadn't known about this feature in advance I would have been very disappointed when I found out. Stone

It was Tyrant's work but I won it from him in the SuperFly score attack Nice to see my table got some attention too (with the pair of caseless JagCDs on Stubulators at the front) Stone

Yes, it was a Skunkboard. I didn't try Battlesphere on it but betas of AvP, Tiny Toons, Virtual VCS, Rayman etc all worked, and the pre-release, faster build of Fight For Life didn't. I didn't know about the ban list at all so I was very surprised! To me any amount of false positives is unacceptable because you have no way of knowing what it will allow and what it won't - so they lost themselves a customer in me. Luckily I can fall back to my Alpine but using USB would be much more convenient... Stone

Well, I had great fun at JagFest. Nice to catch up with some names from the past and begin the sale of my collection Also it was awesome to have a play around with some of the new software and hardware that's been released since I was last paying attention. If you didn't come you missed out! (and yes, when I've finished taking pictures I'll be opening a sale thread in the marketplace ) Stone

Unlike older components, chips that small are not soldered pin by pin. Soldering paste is applied, and the whole board is "baked" in a special temperature-controlled oven. Trying to piggyback something that way would only cause a big mess, the process is definetely not designed for that kind of thing. Even if you managed somehow to piggyback an additional chip, it would be very fragile and unreliable. The solder joints of the upper chip would be tiny and wouldn't have enough mechanical resistance. You can't tinker with modern hardware like you could in the past Heh, of course you can tinker with stuff now. I've piggybacked components that small before, it's irritating but a simple enough process with the right tools. Anyway, good on you for saving me the effort of designing my own I had a play with some other carts at Jagfest earlier and was shocked when the 'ban list' thing came up - I have perfectly valid proto Jag code that runs from a cart and now I can't run it because someone somewhere has decided it's a disallowed beta? Sucky. Your cart sounds like a great idea to me! Stone

I'll be there this time, as I'm selling my whole Jag collection. It's a good one

Doesn't that also mean you can do, say: Jaglink<->Jaglink2<->Jaglink2<->Scatbox<->Scatbox<->Scatbox<->Jaglink ? As long as the Scatboxes are kept together in one group, then it should work fine with any number of units... Stone

Rubbish. From daily experience, RGB craps all over S-video from a great height. It's a lossy format, remember... Stone

Okay you buy it, I dump it Don't bother, that's the 1-player evaluation version which has been dumped for ages. Carl was still wrangling with Midway over a release of the [superior] 2-player version, last I heard... Nice that some of the old loaners are finally coming out though. Stone

I think it's unlikely but if it's possible at all it will happen, given interest. No shortage of interest. However both ROMs have a cheat enabled that skips a level if you press A+B, which makes it quite a bit harder to play for score I've considered knocking up a Robotron-style controller which prevents you pressing both buttons at once, that'd be good Stone

They are Korean, they turned up a while back Not the same plastic mould though - look at the dome, too small. Also the Jag has no flap on the cart port. Just another ripoff, albeit a cool one Stone

Try it. My local one's like that (went in to get an Xbox pad) but they have a service area off to one side where they keep all the games - the box they sell you is empty and you go off to one side after paying for it to redeem it for a shrinkwrapped version. The service area had a seperate queue area and a little sign up advertising resurfacing. HTH Stone

I had one of the commercially-produced RGB SCART cables made with ribbon cable for a while, but it picked up so much interference it worked out worse than RF Depends on your equipment setup, but I have so much electromagnetic mush flying around my room it's better to shield everything Stone

You rang? Probably too much current through the LED - try replacing the series resistor (on the underside of the board, from what I remember) for a higher-value one. Other things to try: - Different brand - Different voltage (all diodes drop a certain amount of voltage across them, which varies depending on what they're made out of. If the difference is too large compared to the diode you're replacing the resistor won't protect it fully and it'll die. I've seen LEDs sold with different 'forward voltage' listed - try a different one) - Not using a blue LED [other colours are made differently and have different forward voltage] Failing that you might have just hit a bad diode. You could try replacing it to see if the new one dies as well, but if it's too bright (indicating overcurrent and a premature death in the works) a higher-value resistor should fix things. Anywhere upwards of the existing value is fine, try 1k. Stone