Weird behavior JagCD power brick(s) and WTR

[phoenixdownita]

I have an official Jaguar power brick 9v 1.2A and a Chinese 9v 2A.

With Orion original Alice mom rescue (looks like pressed to me) it doesn’t matter which power brick powers the JagCD and the Jag but with WTR (looks like a burn plus light scribe top) if the JagCD is powered by the Chinese 2A it simply doesn’t recognize the game (question mark), if instead I use the Atari 1.2A it works no issue.

 

I didn’t have time to test other CDs, the only other legit I purchased was Simone, the rest are all old burns … I ordered a second Chinese 2A to see what happens if I swap that in or use 2 2A we’ll see.
Right now the Jag alone doesn’t seem to care if I use the 1.2A or the 2A … so weird.

Edited May 7 by phoenixdownita

[phoenixdownita]

Tested with a new Chinese 9v 2A and it’s much better except with one game … Gorf which is on a Sony CDR instead of Memorex like the rest of my burns (I had to load Battlemorph twice though, first time got the question mark), even the Etsy WTR worked.

As I was at it I tried a Genesis 1 adapter (9v 1.2A) and it also fails at Gorf and some Memorex needed a second try, none of that with the Jaguar power supply, all the burns just work with it.

The 2 pressed CDs I have (Alice… and Simone) both work perfectly every time no matter the JagCD power supply I use, so it seems CDRs are the ones affected with WTR just happening to be one of those more impacted … if I have time I can read the ATIP and compare, I also have a few Taiyo Yuden around I could burn to see if they work any better with the various power supply … after all there are only a dozen JagCD games.

 

Is there a guide to calibrate the JagCD laser? Maybe raising a little the power could help.

 

As to how a seemingly working power supply can in any way impact the laser pickup is beyond me, if I open the unit a may just as well recap it.

 

 

Edited May 8 by phoenixdownita

[waali]

Rule of thumb for chinese power supplies, ie 99% of ebay/amazon/aliexpress.

 

Listed Ampage/3 = Actual Ampage

 

Not to mention the amount of noise they introduce due to bad design.

 

Only place to get power supplies that are at the rated ampage is digikey/mouser or the like.

 

 

[+madman]

I agree w/the above, I've used plenty of cheapo no-name Chinese power supplies for basic tasks, but in general I prefer to use something of higher quality with gaming systems. Even with cheaper supplies on a lower current cart based system you may see video interference. 

[phoenixdownita]

That’s why I tested with a Genesis/Megadrive 1 power supply which is a nominal perfect match to the Atari Jaguar one I still have issues, there’s something more to it imho but yeah I get the point.

 

I could lower the ripple, assuming it’s an issue, by adding a suitable capacitor (say a 16v 1000uF or alike) on the JagCD side and see if that helps … but it is weird given the Jag itself does not seem to care.

[Zerosquare]

Here's a tip for dealing with those cheap power supplies:

Don't.

 

The JagCD is already unreliable and rare enough as it is. Powering it from a source that likely has massive amount of electrical noise and voltage overshoots is only going to make things worse, and could even break it.

 

Also, most of those cheap power supplies are made with little or no care towards safety. And getting an electrical shock while playing Highlander would be a really terrible way to die.

 

Don't try to "fix" it. It's junk, and it belongs in the bin.

[+cubanismo]

Yeah, and good modern replacements aren't break-the-bank expensive. I listed some I've personally tested with the Jag/JagCD in the dedicated sticky thread.

[phoenixdownita]

9 hours ago, Zerosquare said:

Here's a tip for dealing with those cheap power supplies:

Don't.

 

The JagCD is already unreliable and rare enough as it is. Powering it from a source that likely has massive amount of electrical noise and voltage overshoots is only going to make things worse, and could even break it.

 

Also, most of those cheap power supplies are made with little or no care towards safety. And getting an electrical shock while playing Highlander would be a really terrible way to die.

 

Don't try to "fix" it. It's junk, and it belongs in the bin.

You mean even the original Sega Genesis mk 1602 is junk?

 

As I said it seems the brand of CDR seems to have an effect which is even more puzzling.

[Clint Thompson]

B&C list the original OEM power supplies all day along on eBay for under $20.

 

I would never trust a cheap power brick (or any alternate) to power what is now pushing in the range of a $400 console.

[Zerosquare]

13 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

You mean even the original Sega Genesis mk 1602 is junk?

 

As I said it seems the brand of CDR seems to have an effect which is even more puzzling.

If it's truly original, no, but the capacitor inside may be worn out.

[phoenixdownita]

On 5/9/2024 at 7:51 AM, Zerosquare said:

If it's truly original, no, but the capacitor inside may be worn out.

And that would be the same wrt NOS original/oem Jag power supply B&C has in store for almost 30y no?

Electrolytic can dry up not from usage as we all know.

 

The digikey one linked in the power supply thread is cheap and tempting ( https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/triad-magnetics/WSU090-1300-R/3094978 ) but not sure how they handle returns in case.

[Zerosquare]

It's from a reputable brand, so it's unlikely to cause problems. And Digikey is a major electronics distributor, so they probably have a return policy.

[phoenixdownita]

8 hours ago, Zerosquare said:

It's from a reputable brand, so it's unlikely to cause problems. And Digikey is a major electronics distributor, so they probably have a return policy.

Just ordered it, 8.17 US$ for the power supply and 5 US$ for shipping USPS ground advantage (cheapest option available ) … let’s see if it makes any difference, somehow I doubt but I’d like to be proven wrong.

 

For now the JagCD is on the Atari power brick and the Jag on the 9v 2A no name and everything works.

[phoenixdownita]

@Zerosquare @cubanismo 

Success!!! I confess I did not have faith but it works now:

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/triad-magnetics/WSU090-1300-R/3094978

 

Tried Gorf, WTR and a couple other burns and no problem, no more question mark.

 

So this is where I offer my apologies for not having too much faith and obviously I was wrong ... to be certain though the fact that the kind of CDR mattered, that even the Genesis MK 1602 failed and how finnicky it all is, leads me to believe the JagCD could do with a better power circuit but be as it may it's all good.

Edited Wednesday at 10:31 PM by phoenixdownita

[Machine]

This makes me want to order some of these for my systems. Seems smart even with original power bricks.

[+cubanismo]

Yeah, I like these. As noted in the power supply thread, they're far more efficient as well, especially if you (like me) leave your Jag/JagCD plugged in to a live outlet all the time.

[+Stephen Moss]

8 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

to be certain though the fact that the kind of CDR mattered, that even the Genesis MK 1602 failed and how finnicky it all is

Personally, many years ago now I always found that any writable disc that has a colour tinted surface as opposed to looking silver like a factory pressed glass mastered one will only reliably work on the machine that burnt it, which is why since then I will only ever use the ones with a surface that look like a regular CD. 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I can't remember off hand but I believe I'm using a mk 1 genesis PSU on my JagCD and have for over a decade. But, I will also state that I don't really use any burnt media with mine and it has only played actual CDs from back in the day. I don't have WTR so that isn't something I can test either. But I was always under the impression that both the OEM jag and genesis PSUs were the same as they have the same housing and pretty much the same printing on them. I've always assumed they were made in the same factory.

 

That said, it is time for OEM mk 1 Genesis PSUs to get their caps replaced. I've had 2 that I've done over the past few years that had obviously leaked and leaked badly that I had to clean up and correct when I replaced their main filter cap inside them.