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Jaguar Test Cartridge?


Albert

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Is anyone aware of a good Jaguar Test Cartridge that allows you to do the following?\

  • Video tests
  • Audio tests
  • System tests (RAM? Test other chips?)
  • Controller tests (regular and pro controllers)
  • Jaguar CD tests?

I see Best Electronics has a cartridge they sell for a whopping $80.  Does anyone have this and know exactly what it does?

 

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

 ..Al

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1 hour ago, walter_J64bit said:

 Have you tried to calling Bruce from B&C Computer Visions he might be able to tell you and he might have that cart for less.

I'm not particularly interested in buying the cart from him, and I doubt he'd offer it for significantly less if at all.  I assume what he's selling is a reproduction of some cart Atari used for Jaguar system testing.

 

 ..Al

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Yes, you need to hook up the jag via serial cable to a machine with a terminal program. I use an old XP laptop and the hyperterminal program. You can hook up the jag to a serial port with either a catbox and null-modem cable or a jag-link and jugs adapter (or jugs clone). I have used both.

 

You could put the diag cart in unattended mode which runs through the tests and will give you any major errors on screen. But most of the low level diag data is fed to the terminal window.

 

Mitch

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Thanks, I'll take a look.  I wasn't aware that you needed to connect the Jaguar to the computer over a serial connection.  I'd probably need to get a USB->Serial device for such a purpose, it'd be a huge pain in the ass to get a computer old enough with a traditional serial port.  :D

 

 ..Al

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11 minutes ago, Albert said:

Thanks, I'll take a look.  I wasn't aware that you needed to connect the Jaguar to the computer over a serial connection.  I'd probably need to get a USB->Serial device for such a purpose, it'd be a huge pain in the ass to get a computer old enough with a traditional serial port.  :D

 

 ..Al

 

I have a nice little Compaq Deskpro circa 1998 that I could trade you for AA store credit ?

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25 minutes ago, Albert said:

Thanks, I'll take a look.  I wasn't aware that you needed to connect the Jaguar to the computer over a serial connection.  I'd probably need to get a USB->Serial device for such a purpose, it'd be a huge pain in the ass to get a computer old enough with a traditional serial port.  :D

 

 ..Al

I would normally say hit up a few garage/yard sales and you should be able to find an old laptop no problem. Unfortunately, right now you are probably limited to ebay.

 

Or, do you have an old Atari ST laying around? That would work too. I think that is what was used at Atari.

Anyway, let me know if you want to borrow one of the carts.

 

Mitch

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1 minute ago, doubledown said:

Here is a scan of the instructions from the test cart sold by Best.  It details the tests performed and how to use it.  I got it specifically for an easy way to test controller functions:

That's very useful, thank you!

 

 ..Al

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On 5/11/2020 at 3:13 PM, Albert said:

Is anyone aware of a good Jaguar Test Cartridge that allows you to do the following?\

  • Video tests
  • Audio tests
  • System tests (RAM? Test other chips?)
  • Controller tests (regular and pro controllers)
  • Jaguar CD tests?

I see Best Electronics has a cartridge they sell for a whopping $80.  Does anyone have this and know exactly what it does?

 

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

 ..Al

Al:

 

I've owned several of those Jaguar Factory Test Cartridges from Best over the years. Some had different version numbers or stickers on them but they seemed to function the same. There is a controller button test program, a shortened version of Cybermorph, a cool high-rez color image of a parrot, and a few other minor functions that I can't specifically recall. There wasn't any JagCD test function, though.

 

They're actually just regular Jag cartridges that you just plug in and "play", no external hardware required. I don't know if the ROM or ROMs have been properly preserved and made available, or if any "gameplay" video has ever been uploaded.

 

Atari must have made quite a few of these for Best to have had all these years. All of the ones I got were still in 20-plus year old plastic wrap with the above mentioned instructions sheet or something very similar.

 

As they are official Atari carts with unique programs on them and a bunch were made, some could easily consider these to be part of the Jag set.

 

I still own one that's unopened that I've kept as a cool novelty or for potential trade bait. I'd be happy to open it up and get some video and screenshots uploaded and then let you borrow it if you'll have a use for it.

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...and here's what to my mild amazement is the first ever uploaded "gameplay" footage for the Atari Jaguar Test Cartridge:

 

 

This is from the fully automated run-through. I also took a quick video of the Cybermorph game being played manually.

 

And properly enough, the footage, which I captured via an RCA and S-Video cable from Best Electronics, seems to show worse colors than I previously remember my system putting out. Is that normal?

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And a third video, this time over just basic Composite-out instead of via S-Video. As it shows, Composite out looks fine, and better than the S-Video out seen in the above videos. Just compare the parrots. So the Test Cartridge was certainly useful in highlighting that I might have either a cable or video output issue!

 

 

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On a final note, nothing different happened when I played it with my JagCD also connected to the main system, as it usually is (it's such a pain to remove and I worry about damaging it). The documentation also makes no mention whatsoever of the Jag CD, and the date on my remaining copy of the Test Cartridge, "VER. 5/3/94", would seem to be too early to have even had such extra testing functionality programmed into it. Does anybody know if there were later versions of the Test Cartridge that did have JagCD support?

 

And because I am a CIB kinda guy, has any box ever been made so that this will fit in nicely with the rest of my Jag games on my shelf?

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11 hours ago, Blazing Lazers said:

And properly enough, the footage, which I captured via an RCA and S-Video cable from Best Electronics, seems to show worse colors than I previously remember my system putting out. Is that normal?

No. The colors are definitely too weak in your capture. Check that your capture device's color saturation setting is at its default value in S-video mode.

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