New to Jaguar - need some advice - keep or return?

mtarallo · April 19, 2018

Hi guys - need some advice. I don't know enough about this console to make an informed decision.

Basically, should I keep this or return it?

I bought a Jaguar on eBay for $315 with A/V Cable, Controller, PS and 6 games - Cybermorph, Alien Vs Predator, Dino Dudes, Raiden, Wolfenstein 3D and Mcfur something. The outer shell was in decent shape.

When I first hooked it up it worked just fine with Wolfenstien, but every game after that gave me a RSOD. I attempted to clean it and was able to get stuff to work sporadically. However, I need to re-clean, re-seat the carts.

At one point, I got all the carts to work, but then a day later got the red screen and needed to go through all this again.

Is this how these things are? Am I being too picky? OR is there something more wrong with this that I am not aware of.

The seller is offering to accept a return, but I may not want to return it if I'll have the same problem with another one. I see some consoles with no games are about $250. I know Wolfenstein is probably the better of the games for my collection, but the rest are so so,

Should I keep this for my collection, or did I get screwed and could have gotten a more reliable one for the money I spent?

Thoughts?

Thanks

Mike

Flojomojo · April 19, 2018

It's 20+ years old, it's likely to be a little flaky.

I'd much rather have $315 than a flaky Jaguar and the games you mention.

I'd send it back and take the hint that the universe is trying to give you.

Others will tell you to reframbulate the potentiometers and desolder the pam69 chip or something. They are smoking crack, don't listen to them.

Zerosquare · April 19, 2018

I'd bet on a worn-out cartridge connector on the Jag (they are known to be finicky). If I were you, I'd return it -- we're talking about more than $300 here.

+madman · April 20, 2018

If you are otherwise happy w/the purchase I would ask for a partial refund and send the Jag to Best for installation of a new cart connector. Accepting this sort of thing from a 20 year old console isn't normal.

PhoenixMoonPatrol · April 20, 2018

I'd definitely return it.

I've had two Jaguars over the years,both work fine and still do to this very day.

In contrast I've burned through 4 PSOnes,3 Saturns, a X360, OGXBox, and a PS2 that stopped reading DVD movies but plays games okish.

I guess you're mileage may very, but for me the Jaguar is a tough s.o.b. in my experience.

Sometimes I get the red screen of death but I take a swab with some alcohol and clean the cartridge ports with it,or the game itself and all is fine after that. But no,what you're experiencing isn't normal at all,Jaguar systems don't usually give you that much hell when playing the games,its a solid system and works very well.

I'd check the sellers ratings on Ebay,if its pretty good then try for another Jaguar from him.

I'm not sure what the going rate on a used Jag is anymore but $300+ is abit pricey, as those games are all commons too. Maybe just have the seller send you another Jaguar and return the games,see if he bites on that.

Thats the least he can do for all the trouble you've gone through. Good luck.

+Stephen Moss · April 20, 2018

You might just want to check that you are putting the cartridges in correctly, before returning it/asking for a partial refund. It is possible to get the cartridges in at a sight angle so one end is full seated but the other is not which may create a bad connection at one end causing the RSOD.

flux · April 20, 2018

When I got my jaguar out of storage, not a single one of the carts worked. I cleaned the heck out of the cartridge connector and the game I was trying to play both with first a can of compressed air and then rubbing alcohol, and it worked just fine and reliably. Then I thought maybe I had the issue fixed but for each additional cartridge I tried, they'd all initially red screen until I gave them a pretty vigorous cleaning with alcohol. The fact that it seems to work reliably with Wolfenstein makes me inclined to think your console is fine. Or it could be your copy of Wolfenstein is just more tenacious or has some specific characteristics that make it make contact when other carts fail. You can't be too sure. But my recommendation would be to clean the heck out of another cartridge and see if you can get it working reliably before you send it back. I used a microfiber cloth and drenched it in rubbing alcohol. Shoved it in each side and scrubbed it back and forth.

Edited April 20, 2018 by flux

ColecoGamer · April 20, 2018

The Jaguar I recently purchased from a member here doesnt have the problem you mentioned. Everything I play on my system works fine the first time. However, I have purchased a couple of games off eBay that had issues, and they would repeatedly produce the RSOD until I cleaned their connectors.

There could be something wrong with your Jaguar. Have you attempted to clean the systems cartridge port? If that doesnt work, I suggest getting a refund.

Edited April 20, 2018 by ColecoGamer

SFRush · April 20, 2018

I'd definitely return it.

I've had two Jaguars over the years,both work fine and still do to this very day.

In contrast I've burned through 4 PSOnes,3 Saturns, a X360, OGXBox, and a PS2 that stopped reading DVD movies but plays games okish.

I guess you're mileage may very, but for me the Jaguar is a tough s.o.b. in my experience.

Sometimes I get the red screen of death but I take a swab with some alcohol and clean the cartridge ports with it,or the game itself and all is fine after that. But no,what you're experiencing isn't normal at all,Jaguar systems don't usually give you that much hell when playing the games,its a solid system and works very well.

I'd check the sellers ratings on Ebay,if its pretty good then try for another Jaguar from him.

I'm not sure what the going rate on a used Jag is anymore but $300+ is abit pricey, as those games are all commons too. Maybe just have the seller send you another Jaguar and return the games,see if he bites on that.

Thats the least he can do for all the trouble you've gone through. Good luck.

Not sure how you having a bunch of disc-based systems fail relates to this topic--the lasers in those probably will fail. Every secondhand cartridge-based system I've ever had (and bought secondhand cartridges for it) has been spotty with how reliably it played cartridges, often times no matter how well I cleaned the contacts. The OP could return the system, buy another from a different seller, and be right back at square one with another flaky system. Get a partial refund and send it to Best to get it refurbished. Then you'll at least have a reliable console.

ColecoGamer · April 20, 2018

Not sure how you having a bunch of disc-based systems fail relates to this topic--the lasers in those probably will fail. Every secondhand cartridge-based system I've ever had (and bought secondhand cartridges for it) has been spotty with how reliably it played cartridges, often times no matter how well I cleaned the contacts. The OP could return the system, buy another from a different seller, and be right back at square one with another flaky system. Get a partial refund and send it to Best to get it refurbished. Then you'll at least have a reliable console.

Good advice. He could always have the cartridge port replaced, as mentioned earlier in the thread, if the issue worsens.

Flojomojo · April 21, 2018

Even if that repair were cheap, easy, or free, $300 is too much to pay for a broken Atari Jaguar, especially for someone "new to the scene."