Issue with Atari Jaguar CD (disc with a question mark)

[Talitor]

Hi,

 

So I was able to snatch myself an Atari Jaguar CD, which I already knew had issues reading discs (upon booting up the console and inserting disc, it spins for a while and shows disc icon with question mark, a relatively common issue). I figured it'd be a simple solution by just changing the laser unit, which I did... only to have the same issue persist. Of course, it could be due me somehow wrongly installing/soldering the new unit (I had to cut the connector from the old one, as the new one had different, bigger one, and solder it to the new cables), but I fear it may be something else entirely. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this? It pains me to not be able to play it after finally acquiring it after so many years of waiting.

Help is very much appreciated. I live in EU (Finland), and as far as I know, there are no capable people who could fix this in EU were I to send it to them.

[LinkoVitch]

Have you tried other discs? it should read/play standard music CDs.  Make sure the disc is clean.

Do you see / hear the disc spin through the window?  Does it make a noise like slipping plastic or spin up nice and quietly?

[+cubanismo]

Be sure to test with real CDs , not CD-Rs. Those things are real picky about CD-Rs.

[SparkTR]

It could also be the quality of the replacement disc drive, I went through about 3 of them before I found one that worked well. I also recapped the CD unit which seemed to help relaibility. If all else fails, get the upcoming Phode ODE, which will replace the optical drive with an SD card to launch games.

[Talitor]

On 7/15/2023 at 11:17 PM, LinkoVitch said:

Have you tried other discs? it should read/play standard music CDs.  Make sure the disc is clean.

Do you see / hear the disc spin through the window?  Does it make a noise like slipping plastic or spin up nice and quietly?

I have tried my Starsailor CD (a music CD) which had same issues. It's a genuine article, too. The disc seems to spin just fine. I had to adjust it quite a bit before I was able to get the disc spinning without it hitting anything.

 

On 7/15/2023 at 11:49 PM, cubanismo said:

Be sure to test with real CDs , not CD-Rs. Those things are real picky about CD-Rs.

I'm fairly certain that both the game and music CD were genuine.

 

On 7/16/2023 at 7:00 AM, SparkTR said:

It could also be the quality of the replacement disc drive, I went through about 3 of them before I found one that worked well. I also recapped the CD unit which seemed to help relaibility. If all else fails, get the upcoming Phode ODE, which will replace the optical drive with an SD card to launch games.

Now this is something that is hard to tell. What my concern is is the fact that the issue was exactly the same with the original laser. I think it's far too good for a coincidence, however these things do happen. I haven't tried anything with the system, as I don't have any real idea on what I should be doing to fix it at this point.

 

*EDIT, I'm also wondering about tightening some screw that apparently has effect on the strength of the laser reading. I might've found the correct one last week, but am uncertain of what the actual screw should be.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Talitor

[Isgoed]

If the laser-unit is brand new, I would not touch that screw.

 

Be sure that the contact "plate" that fits in the Jaguar-slot and the inside (slot) of the Cd player is clean and makes good contact.

Since you've already replaced the laser it should be easy for you to dismantle the unit again for checking this plate-slot connection.

 

Are you sure that the PSU is giving the correct voltage and amps? 

Maybe you should check that out first.

 

 

[+Stephen Moss]

15 hours ago, Talitor said:

*EDIT, I'm also wondering about tightening some screw that apparently has effect on the strength of the laser reading.

I am with Isgoed in not adjusting that, they are factory calibrated not jsut set to some random value nad with out knowing the limits of the LASER any proper monitoring of its volatege and current while you are adjusting it you could end up brining it out.

 

With the lid open you should be able to use a small scredriver or other item to activate the lid closed switch, then switch on without a disc inserted, the optical head should move towards the center of the CD to read its TOC (CD's are read from the center outwards) and you should see the optical head move up and down as it tries to focus on the disc.

Check whether or not it appears to be doing that, if not then there is no chance of it reading the disc.

[Talitor]

On 7/17/2023 at 10:11 PM, Isgoed said:

If the laser-unit is brand new, I would not touch that screw.

 

Be sure that the contact "plate" that fits in the Jaguar-slot and the inside (slot) of the Cd player is clean and makes good contact.

Since you've already replaced the laser it should be easy for you to dismantle the unit again for checking this plate-slot connection.

 

Are you sure that the PSU is giving the correct voltage and amps? 

Maybe you should check that out first.

 

 

What do you mean by contact plate? I'm not sure I follow.

What about PSU giving correct voltage and amps, how do I go about checking this?

 

On 7/18/2023 at 11:18 AM, Stephen Moss said:

I am with Isgoed in not adjusting that, they are factory calibrated not jsut set to some random value nad with out knowing the limits of the LASER any proper monitoring of its volatege and current while you are adjusting it you could end up brining it out.

 

With the lid open you should be able to use a small scredriver or other item to activate the lid closed switch, then switch on without a disc inserted, the optical head should move towards the center of the CD to read its TOC (CD's are read from the center outwards) and you should see the optical head move up and down as it tries to focus on the disc.

Check whether or not it appears to be doing that, if not then there is no chance of it reading the disc.

I actually did try that before, figured I'd see better what the laser actually does. It seems to move up slightly, but the question mark appears within like 5 seconds or so and the laser returns to original position.

[Isgoed]

If you use an original PSU, then skip the measuring and (in your case) take it for granted that voltages are good.

Otherwise let someone who knows electronics do the measuring for you.

 

I mean the vertical mounted plate as in the picture below.

You can take it out and clean the contacts of the plate and slot.

 

Also make sure that the cartridge slot of the Jaguar console is clean.

[Talitor]

On 7/25/2023 at 7:01 PM, Isgoed said:

If you use an original PSU, then skip the measuring and (in your case) take it for granted that voltages are good.

Otherwise let someone who knows electronics do the measuring for you.

 

I mean the vertical mounted plate as in the picture below.

You can take it out and clean the contacts of the plate and slot.

 

Also make sure that the cartridge slot of the Jaguar console is clean.

I just checked the plate, and it seems to be like new. There's nothing to clean. It's worth noting that the cartridges attached via the CD add-on work fine. I just got yet another replacement laser unit, but the same issue persists. I'm beginning to wonder whether it's actually something related to the board, maybe it's just some component in between that is causing the issue? I wouldn't even know where to begin in figuring out which part could be the reason for the system not recognizing discs.

[Isgoed]

I don't know about your electronic repair skills, or knowledge of how electronics work.

 

But if I may, I suggest you take the unit -including all the original parts that you dismantled/removed- to an electronic repair shop for a diagnose.