Aquaricart: The Aquarius Album Cartridge

[jaybird3rd]

After about eighteen months of development, I am pleased to announce the availability of the Aquaricart, the first and only multi-cart for the Aquarius Home Computer System!



For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Aquaricart is a collection of ALL of the original cartridge software ever released for the Aquarius, along with several unreleased, prototype, and enhanced titles. It also includes the original instruction manuals and overlays, exclusive historical information and trivia, and Quick Reference guides ... all in electronic format, so they can be printed with the Aquarius Thermal Printer or viewed on-screen!

NOTE: The original Aquaricart shown above—which was built using repurposed Night Stalker cartridges—has been unavailable for some time. I have since switched to a new form factor based on the Intellivision cartridge design; see here for pictures. In addition to making the cartridges smaller, and easier to ship and store, this new design allowed me to reduce the price to $60 per cartridge (postage extra). Send me a PM, or e-mail me at aquariusproject@jaysnellen.com, if you're interested!

Here is a complete list of the cartridge titles in the Aquaricart collection:

• AD&D Treasure of Tarmin
• Astrosmash
• Biorhythms
• BurgerTime
• Chess
• Demonstration Cartridge
• Extended BASIC
• FileForm
• FinForm
• Logo
• Melody Chase
• Mini Expander Diagnostic (an unreleased Radofin diagnostic tool)
• Night Stalker
• Shark! (an incomplete prototype of Intellivision Shark! Shark!)
• Snafu
• Space Speller
• TRON Deadly Discs
• Utopia
• X10 Command Console (the software for the unreleased Aquarius X10 home automation system)
• Zero In

Plus, as a bonus:

• The 1541 OS ROM (an enhanced version of Extended BASIC)
• The Demonstration Cassette (the six mini-games originally included with the Aquarius on cassette tape—Stalactites, Macho-Man, Torment, Cute Cubes, Alien Quest, and Mad Mould—converted to cartridge format for instantaneous loading)
• "BurgerTime Plus" (an slightly enhanced BurgerTime which fixes two issues with the original that have always annoyed me: it increases the maximum number of peppers and lives from 9 to 99, and it removes the extra "junk" characters from the screen border)

Each of these cartridges, along with the instruction manual text and other extra content, can be accessed through an easy-to-use menu interface that you can control from the keyboard or the hand controllers. Or, if you prefer to skip the menu, you can use the "Quick Boot" feature to jump immediately to the cartridge of your choice on startup. The Aquaricart is fully compatible with a stock Aquarius computer console, so no Mini Expander or extra RAM are required (although some of the cartridges in the collection recommend or require extra RAM).

Here is a video by The Immortal John Hancock which demonstrates the Aquarius and the Aquaricart in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HbjOnC-JSE

I'm offering fully assembled Aquaricart cartridges for $60 each. They include a color cartridge label and a printed manual. Here is the current design:



If you're interested in adding the Aquaricart to your collection, contact me via PM—or, if you're not an AtariAge member, click on my profile and use the e-mail link. Be sure to include your shipping address so I can calculate the postage and give you a final total. If I have an Aquaricart cartridge ready to send, we will exchange information and complete the transaction; otherwise, I will provide an estimate of when it will be available (usually within one week). I won't accept payment unless I have a tested product that is ready for shipment, so you won't be kept waiting for your order any longer than necessary.

I'm in the process of putting together a web site for the Aquaricart, which will offer complete scans of the original instruction manuals and other useful Aquarius resources. In the meantime, if you're interested, please see the product thread in the Intellivision/Aquarius subforum for more details and ordering information. You can also follow the eighteen-month development history of the Aquaricart in the original project thread, which includes reviews and testimonials from Aquaricart owners.

Thanks for your interest and support!

[CPUWIZ]

About time.

[jaybird3rd]

Okay, I now have THREE complete Aquaricart cartridges left. Because the holidays are coming up, and because several people have expressed interest in picking up an Aquaricart for Christmas, I'd like to make the following offer to anyone who might still be "on the fence" about it:

 

For the next two weeks, while supplies last, I'm offering my remaining Aquaricart cartridges for $72 each (a $5 discount), and my Aquaricart "upgrade kits" for $50 each (a $15 discount); shipping is extra. The upgrade kits are an especially good deal at this price, for anyone who has a donor cartridge handy or who would be willing to pick one up from another source. Here, for example, is an eBay seller (not me) who is offering six NIB copies of Aquarius Logo:

 

eBay Auction -- Item Number: 220896603841

 

By picking up one of these cartridges along with my discounted upgrade kit, you can assemble your own complete Aquaricart cartridge for about the same cost as a regularly-priced upgrade kit. I provided some tips on opening the cartridge and installing the Aquaricart board in another thread.

 

Remember ... this offer lasts only until December 2nd, so get 'em while you can!

[+save2600]

Printing the game instructions to the little thermal printer... how cool is that? Really nice job on this project Jaybird.

[jeffgamer]

I'll buy one. PM sent.

[psquare75]

To any Aquarius owner that does not have one of these, you NEED one.

[krslam]

I'm in! PM sent for kit version

[jaybird3rd]

Just a reminder ... about two days to go, and ONE complete cartridge left!

 

EDIT: My complete cartridges are now gone, but upgrade kits are still available. Thanks everyone!

[jaybird3rd]

I've picked up four more NIB Aquarius cartridge donors, so for anyone who missed out on the Aquaricart last year, I can now offer four more complete Aquaricart cartridges. I'll even extend the sale price mentioned above: $72 for a full cartridge, or $50 for an upgrade kit (shipping extra). Thanks!

[jaybird3rd]

Just "bumping" this to let everyone know that, after running out of cartridge shells earlier this year, I now have enough in stock to build two (one!) more complete Aquaricart cartridge! This is probably the last complete cartridge I'll be producing, at least until a more reliable source of shells can be found.

 

I'm offering it for sale for $65 through the remainder of this month (shipping is extra), so if you haven't yet picked up an Aquaricart for your Aquarius, get it while you can!

 

(I'm still offering the $50 "upgrade kits", for those who have an extra cartridge to use as a shell donor.)

[cparsley]

yah, now if I had an Aquarius, I would be all over this lol

[jaybird3rd]

yah, now if I had an Aquarius, I would be all over this lol

I might bundle a loose Aquaricart cartridge with one of my extra Aquarius systems and Mini Expanders. I'll post an update once I put everything together, for anyone who might be interested in an "instant Aquarius collection."

 

In the meantime ... one complete Aquaricart left to go!

[+swlovinist]

I strongly advise anyone on the fence to consider this AMAZING PRODUCT. Very few homebrew projects are of this upmost quality.

[the-topdog]

These carts are soooo worth it! ...and Jay is a great guy to deal with!

[+wood_jl]

I'm not into the Aquarius, because I'm spread too thin over too many platforms, already. However, I'm impressed with this effort, and remove my hat. Good job, Jay!

 

Now make one for the Atari Jaguar!

[owen2471]

Got my cart the other day. Many thanks.

[jaybird3rd]

Bump!

 

Well, it's already been about eighteen months since the release of the Aquaricart! I suspect that it's just about run its course commercially by this time, but for anyone who may still be interested in one, I thought I'd post a quick update.

 

As I mentioned in a new thread, I'm switching to a new cartridge design for the titles I will be publishing for the Aquarius, including the Aquaricart. I've got a handful of original cartridges and boards left, enough to last me until the new cartridges are in stock some time next month. So, if you're still on the fence about getting an Aquaricart, and if you want it in an original authentic Aquarius cartridge shell instead of one of the new ones, you've got one more month to order! I'm still offering them for $65 each, or $50 for an upgrade kit.

 

Thanks again for making the Aquaricart a success! I hope to begin work on even bigger and better Aquarius projects soon!

[ckblackm]

Are these still available?

[jaybird3rd]

Are these still available?

Certainly! I've got a few upgrade kits left, and with the new cartridge design I mentioned above, I can offer complete cartridges at a lower price. Fully assembled cartridges are now $60 each, and the upgrade kits $50 each (shipping extra). Send me a PM if you're interested and we'll take it from there!

[+BBWW]

Certainly! I've got a few upgrade kits left, and with the new cartridge design I mentioned above, I can offer complete cartridges at a lower price. Fully assembled cartridges are now $60 each, and the upgrade kits $50 each (shipping extra). Send me a PM if you're interested and we'll take it from there!

OK, time to buy one. I'll take an fully assembled. I've been putting it off.

[mckafka99]

PM sent

[jaybird3rd]

I'm very pleased that the transition to the new cartridge design that I mentioned earlier is now complete, thanks to the new labels that arrived today!

 

 

These new labels are intended to match the original Aquaricart manual that I printed years ago, which itself was designed to resemble Mattel's original manuals for their non-game releases (such as the RAM modules):

 

 

With this development, I'm tweaking the prices and options a bit: the new Aquaricart cartridges are $60 each, and they are presently the only option I provide for a fully-assembled cartridge. I'm still offering the "upgrade kits" for those who would prefer to have an Aquaricart in the original Aquarius cartridge shells, and I'm dropping the price on those to $45 each.

 

I am also offering a 10% discount to Aquarius collectors who would like to buy an Aquaricart and a 32K RAM Module (shown above in the Mini Expander with the Aquaricart) together, and I would be glad to combine shipping as well.

[+sixersfan105]

Hey @jaybird3rd - thank you, again, for creating the Aquaricart. It's such a fantastic cartridge and it's clear that a lot of time and effort went into its creation. How's Aquaricart Volume 2 coming along? ?

[jaybird3rd]

On 4/26/2022 at 4:37 PM, sixersfan105 said:

Hey @jaybird3rd - thank you, again, for creating the Aquaricart. It's such a fantastic cartridge and it's clear that a lot of time and effort went into its creation. How's Aquaricart Volume 2 coming along? ?

Thank you so much!  I'm so glad that so many people have been enjoying the Aquaricart over the last 10+ years(!).  It seems to have helped to generate renewed interest in the Aquarius during that time, and several Aquarius owners have shared wonderful stories about how it has added to their usage and appreciation of their systems, and I couldn't ask for more.

 

I've had to pretty much set aside my retro computing projects these last few years, but I do (still) have a few ideas about "Volume 2."  What I'd actually like to do first is complete a "code refresh" of the original Aquaricart.  I'm very happy with how it turned out, but several features were added very late in its development, and there are a few little things—most of which have probably gone unnoticed by everyone other than me—that I've always wanted to go back and improve.  I thought of doing this in late 2021 for the 10th anniversary, but I'm thinking now of releasing an "Aquaricart Anniversary Edition" in 2023—in time for the 40th anniversary of the Aquarius.  The content would be essentially the same (so owners of the original Aquaricart needn't feel they are missing out), but it would include a new label and manual, new menu software, and a new cartridge board.  These new additions would also be incorporated into "Volume 2," which would be a collection of the best third-party software originally released on cassette, modified to run entirely from the cartridge (among other possible enhancements).  I'll share more details when I finally have time to get back to work on my Aquarius ... hopefully this summer, once school settles down a bit.

[+sixersfan105]

@jaybird3rd all of this sounds amazing! Thank you for your contributions to the Aquarius community. Looking forward to your future projects