Insert the cart and back it out 1mm to avoid the red screen of death!

[D.F.]

Hi everyone! I am here looking for some feedback on a rather minor issue: nine out of 11 of my carts have to be backed out just a WEE BIT in order to load. (Which two carts don't require that? Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, interesting!) It's more of an inconvenience than anything; the only time it was a real issue was after about an hour of AvP, the cart must have succumbed to gravity, fell a few nanometers, and then the game locked up (I'm just assuming that's what happened, because I've never had a console game lock up on me before.) You know the feel: insert the cart firmly and it wants to stay down there, pull up ever so slightly for that sweet spot because it will come right back out with just a little force. With some carts it takes a few tries.

 

When I first purchased the thing several months back, I opened the case and examined the cartridge connector with a bright light and magnifying glass. If someone told me the connector was new, I would have believed it. I bought the unit for a VERY competitive price and was happy that it was in such great shape (other than having to replace controller port #1.) I've definitely seen the sticky post about cleaning and performed the recommended steps for both the cart connector and the pins on each game. I used isopropyl alcohol and Deoxit (link here). (Through work an associate recommended it for audio jacks and connectors which oxidize over time.)

 

How many folks share this situation? Has anybody found a solution? I've been brainstorming and wondered if I should put a tiny sticker or a few layers of Scotch tape on the bottom of the carts. Or maybe apply a few thin strips of tape on the console itself where the edges of the cart land. I've cleaned the pins on all my carts several times, and consistently Doom and Wolf3D are the only two that don't need to be backed out in order to properly boot. Or is there some creative solution with the hardware itself?

 

As always, I do appreciate everyone's time who stopped to read this and anyone who offers their own experience. Maybe there will come a day when my experience with electronics will be able to help some of you with an issue in the future.

Edited January 30, 2023 by D.F.

[neo_rg]

Close up photo looking straight down the cart slot might give a few clues 

[Seedy1812]

Sounds like the Jags had a hard life.  From your description and what i guess neo_rg is implying that the teeth have been spread apart a little more than usual ( could be bad rom insertions or somebody cleaning the connector and applying pressue whcih accidentally increased the gap ) . It might be easier to replace the connector instead of adjusting the pins back together.

[sirlynxalot]

I regularly do this on any cart console that is having an issue loading the game. NES, atari 2600, etc. 

[Guest]

1mm = .039” 😊 

[+LS650]

5 hours ago, Zeptari1 said:

1mm = .039” 😊 

OK.

[Machine]

An "Oakie Fix" would be to put a small shim(like thin cardboard) in the bottom so the cart can not fully go down. 

Ultimately you are gonna want to fix it the right way.

[+Sauron]

Problems like this have come up here several times in the past, and there's never been a "one-thing-fixes-all" solution for it. Outside of cleaning the cart slot and the leads on the carts, also make sure that none of the pins in the cart slot are bent (even a very slight bend can lead to problems), and that there's nothing that may have fallen in there that may prevent a perfect fit for the carts (although this doesn't seem to be the case for you). Outside of that, there's been some carts that I could never get to work properly no matter what I tried, and that was usually evidenced by the cart having a different fit in the slot than most others. Again, though, with this happening with most of your carts, I doubt it's the issue with all of them. Would be interested in hearing if you do end up figuring out a permanent solution.

[sirlynxalot]

This topic reminds me. For a little while I used to see videos about cart tilting, where people would intentionally tilt a cart in say a sega Genesis to deliberately setup glitches or corruption (graphical or otherwise) in the game. The point was just to see how weird you could make the game while still allowing it to load.  Probably not the best thing to do to a system, but has anyone ever tryed that with jag carts? 

[PFG 9000]

I do this with my Jaguar, but also with my Lynx and my TurboGrafx.  I actually returned my TurboGrafx at one point because I couldn't get it to read any hucards or my converter device...come to find out that pulling the cart out slightly made all the difference, every time.

[D.F.]

On 1/30/2023 at 3:09 PM, Zeptari1 said:

1mm = .039” 😊 

Oh I was just guessing at the 1mm. It is strange how consistent it is though... push the cart down, and with much delicacy lift up just a hair (hairs are 1mm, right? hehe). It blows my mind that two carts don't require it though.

 

On 1/30/2023 at 9:33 AM, neo_rg said:

Close up photo looking straight down the cart slot might give a few clues 

Every time I've looked straight down, nothing has really stood out. Now I'm not some Jaguar expert here (far from it) so maybe I don't know what I'm looking for... For what clues should I look? Years ago on another thread someone said that individual pins can be lifted back to the proper spot with a thing and sturdy copper wire. 'Spose I'll look into the belly of the beast and see if there are inconsistencies with spacing or alignment.

 

 

But yeah I was under the impression that many people just live with the condition, and take care to prevent it from getting worse. I'll probably still test the spacer / shim theory on just one cart to start out with... apply a few layers of scotch tape to the bottom edges of the cart to try and achieve that ~1mm (the width of one human hair) sweet spot. But I shall also find the best magnifying glass I can and really inspect it again. Thanks everybody! If I find anything interesting I shall report back...

[Seedy1812]

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