9 replies to this topic

[the.golden.ax]

What console power cords have the same weird power scheme as Jag?


AX

[Zerosquare]

The Jaguar power supply specs are : 9 V DC, 1.2 A, center negative.

The Sega Genesis/Megadrive 1 (this is important - the Genesis/Megadrive 2 has the opposite polarity, which will fry your Jag !) is reported to be compatible.
In any case, double-check what's written on the power supply before plugging it in.

[boog]

EDIT: Nevermind, zerosqaure beat me by 1 minute...

Edited by boog, Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:18 PM.

[82-T/A]

Zerosquare, on Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:16 PM, said:

The Jaguar power supply specs are : 9 V DC, 1.2 A, center negative.

The Sega Genesis/Megadrive 1 (this is important - the Genesis/Megadrive 2 has the opposite polarity, which will fry your Jag !) is reported to be compatible.
In any case, double-check what's written on the power supply before plugging it in.

Yeah, just want to add that it should be painfully obvious which one you have because the power adaptor that works (the one from the Sega) looks 100% like the one from the Jaguar... they are actually identical and I would even assume they're probably made from the same company since the casing is 100% identical with the only difference being that one says Jaguar on it, and the other says Sega on it.

[kool kitty89]

Zerosquare, on Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:16 PM, said:

The Jaguar power supply specs are : 9 V DC, 1.2 A, center negative.

The Sega Genesis/Megadrive 1 (this is important - the Genesis/Megadrive 2 has the opposite polarity, which will fry your Jag !) is reported to be compatible.
In any case, double-check what's written on the power supply before plugging it in.

Apparently only early models had the 1.2 A supply (same used for Master System and Sega CD I beleive), later versions decresing it a couple times, with usints becoming less power hungry up to the final revision (VA7) which was almost identical to the early Model 2s internally. (and fully CMOS, using less than 1/2 the power of early models) So some PSUs might not supply sufficient current for the Jaguar. (later M1 PSUs also use 10 V rather than 9, but this really shouldn't matter, voltage reguators tend to be pretty tolerant)

As for the Model 2 PSU, I wouldn't worry about polarity as the connector is smaller, so you wouldn't even be abl to fit it in. One you would need to watch out for is NES power supplies, right connector (same goes for Famicom, Super Famicom, and EU SNES), voltage, and 1.3 A on my units, but they output AC current, with the console having a rectifier onboard. (apparently some PSUs are DC -with identical polarity to Genesis etc, I think all NESs are AC, but many Famicoms are DC, possible SFC and maybe EU SNES too) You could get around that problem by installing a rectifier diode in your jaguar. (which would have the added benefit of protecting it from wrong polarity)

One other thing to think about is that you can always hack an adaptor to reverse polarity (snip the wire ans solder it bact with connections swapped), I found a loose 9 V 2.0 A adaptor for $1 at goodwill, right connector, but wrong polarity, so if you find a scrap/spare one like that it's easy to hack it to make it work. (be sure to label th enew polarity on the unit )

Edited by kool kitty89, Sun Oct 18, 2009 2:06 AM.

[tz101]

Checking the spare adapter bins at Goodwill and Salvation Army stores can land you some diamonds in the rough. I picked up a PSU at Goodwill a while back that was made by some company called Sportcraft and outputs 9v DC at 1 amp. It has the correct polarity for Jaguar as well (critical). I only paid $1 for the unit.

[kool kitty89]

Neat, the opposite polarity is much more common with that size connector it seems, of course you coud "fix" that yourself with a little cutting and reconnecting of the wires. (flip the connections as I mentioned above) Still, it's nice to have a cable without a splice in it and a homemade label. (definitley mark any modified power supplise)

[Hyper_Eye]

I have 2 Jaguars fried by incorrect power supplies. I believe it was NES power supplies in both cases. I am thinking about trying to find someone on the board who wouldn't mind fixing them for a reasonable price. I have opened them both up and they look reparable but I don't have the skill to solder the parts or to get the right replacement parts.

[kool kitty89]

It depends what's fired, NES adaptors use AC current.... very bad for something meant for DC of either polarity. (NES had an internal rectifier diode to convert AC current to DC; DC power supplys of the matching polarity will also work -same as Jag/Genesis, but not the other way around)

I'm not sure if using AC current is quite as harmful as using actual DC reversed polarity, if you're lucky, maybe just the voltage regulator(s) is dead. (easy to replace, even radio shack may carry it) Also, if the jag has any kind of protection against reversed polarity (like a fuse), that may be the only thing needing replacement, I hope you're so lucky.

However, the way my VCS got fried, the Voltage reg was dead, replaced it, then found the main chipset to be fried (never tested all, but I think at least 2 were dead, one showed physical damage: either RIOT or TIA iirc -not the smaller 6507), if that's the case (damage to Tom/Jerry), you're pretty much screwed. There are a number of other components that should be replacable, like the 68k, probably BIOS ROM, and various discrete components. (capacitors, resistors, transitors, diodes etc)

I've got no experience witht he Jag myslf, sorry that I can't be more helpfull.

[Hyper_Eye]

There was a good thread here on what parts get toasted when the wrong adapter is plugged in. I opened my units up and I was able to identify the bad part on both (and it was different for each.) I will take some photos and upload them. That same thread notes what parts can be used as replacement (though I think even those need to be substituted now) and how to go about doing that.

The thread used to be pinned but it isn't anymore so I had to search for it. Here it is: http://www.atariage...._1

I think that was originally a post made in reply to a thread I created the last time I fried a Jag . It was so useful it got made into its own thread.