Problems with Solaris Carts - Why are they so prone to failing?

[Evanlor]

Hi Everyone,

I've owned a good dozen or more Solaris carts, and have run into difficulties with at least half of them.  The most common difficulty is that the cart only displays in Black and White.  Another difficulty is it just flat-out does not load, usually with some kind of squiggle screen or blank, depending on how many times I reseat it.

 

I'm beginning to wonder if many of the Solaris carts in the US are actually PAL.  

 

Has anyone else had this much trouble with Solaris carts?  Is there any way to tell if it is a PAL formatted cart or not?  Thanks everyone!

Evan

[Starshipscavenger]

I don't have the problem with that specific game, but I did notice with other games that there are a lot of NTSC versions out there in Europe, I've had 3 Jungle Hunts go through my hands before finding a proper PAL one. Most games I have hsve either the P on the end label or the sticker on the back but sometimes the stickers came off.

[Evanlor]

On 5/27/2020 at 1:50 PM, Starshipscavenger said:

I don't have the problem with that specific game, but I did notice with other games that there are a lot of NTSC versions out there in Europe, I've had 3 Jungle Hunts go through my hands before finding a proper PAL one. Most games I have hsve either the P on the end label or the sticker on the back but sometimes the stickers came off.

I don't know if there was a way to tell Solaris NTSC vs. PAL on the cart itself.  Right now half (!) of my Solaris carts (about 4) come up as Black and White - a sign they may be PAL.

 

Does anyone know how to determine if this is so?  Thanks!

Evan