Atari Jaguar
 | |
| Atari Jaguar with its controller | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Atari Corporation; made by IBM and later JVC[1] |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Released | 23 November 1993 (US test markets)[1] |
| Discontinued | 1996[1] |
| Intro price | US$249.95 (1993); US$149.99 (1995)[1] |
| Units sold | About 125,000 by the end of 1995 (Atari)[1] |
| CPU | Motorola 68000 (13.295 MHz); custom "Tom" and "Jerry" chips (26.591 MHz)[1][2] |
| Memory | 2 MB DRAM, four 256K × 16 chips on a 64-bit bus[2][1] |
| Storage | ROM cartridge; CD with the Atari Jaguar CD |
| Display | — |
| Sound | Jerry DSP, TDA1545 stereo DAC[2] |
| Power | 9 V DC, 1.2 A adaptor (Atari P/N 500273)[3] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
The Atari Jaguar is a home video game console released by Atari Corporation in November 1993. It was designed by Flare Technology around two custom chips, Tom and Jerry, with a Motorola 68000, and Atari sold it as the first 64-bit games console.[1] Atari added the Atari Jaguar CD drive in 1995 and abandoned the system at the end of that year.[1]
History
[edit | edit source]Atari launched the Jaguar on 23 November 1993 at US$249.95, at first only in New York City and San Francisco, with a national release in 1994. The consoles were built under a manufacturing deal with IBM. Atari cut the price to US$149.99 in early 1995. Atari's 1995 annual filing gave sales of about 125,000 consoles from launch to the end of 1995, with about 100,000 still in stock, and recorded that Atari had abandoned the Jaguar in November 1995. In 1999 Hasbro Interactive, which by then owned Atari's properties, released the Jaguar's patents into the public domain.[1]
Hardware
[edit | edit source].jpg)
Atari's schematic for the console, SCH. Jaguar Console (document 500162 Rev. 5.3, dated 21 September 1993), shows a single main board.[2]
| Position | Part | Function |
|---|---|---|
| U13 | Tom, 208-pin QFP (marked "Jaguar CPU", SC414200AT) | Graphics processor, object processor, blitter, DRAM controller |
| U15 | Jerry (marked "Jaguar DSP", SC414201FT) | DSP, sound, timers, serial and joystick interfaces |
| U29 | MC68000, 68-pin PLCC | Main processor |
| U23, U24, U33, U34 | 256K × 16 DRAM (HM514170 on the photographed board) | 2 MB main memory |
| U35 | 27C101 boot ROM | Start-up code |
| U7 | Triple 8-bit RGB DAC | Video output |
| U3 | MC13077DW | Composite and S-video encoder |
| U5 | TDA1545 | Stereo audio DAC |
| U4 | TDA1308T | Audio output amplifier |
| U38 | MC34163 | +5 V switching regulator |
| REG1 | LM78L05ACM | 5 V regulator for the audio circuits |
Positions and parts are from the schematic; the chip markings and DRAM type are from Evan-Amos's photograph of a 700026-001 board.[2][4] Wikipedia gives the clocks as 26.591 MHz for Tom and Jerry and 13.295 MHz for the 68000; the schematic's master crystal Y2 is marked 26.6 MHz.[1][2]
Wikipedia notes two production versions, identified by the first letter of the serial number: "K" consoles made by IBM and "M" consoles made by JVC. Early "K" consoles carry an analogue-to-digital converter for analogue controllers (an ADC0844 on the schematic), which later "K" and "M" consoles lack.[1][2]
Connections
[edit | edit source]The rear panel has the DC power socket, the DSP port and A/V port edge connectors, a channel switch and the RF output; the two controller ports, 15-pin high-density sockets, are on the front.[5][2] The A/V port carries RGB, composite, S-video and stereo audio; see Atari Jaguar RGB Upgrade. The power LED is red on NTSC consoles and green on PAL ones.[2]
Power
[edit | edit source]The console runs from a 9 V DC, 1.2 A adaptor with a centre-negative plug.[3] On the board a switching regulator (U38, MC34163) makes the +5 V rail, and the power switch circuit runs through the cartridge connector, so the console does not start without a cartridge.[2][6] There is no fuse in the input.[2]
Common faults
[edit | edit source]- Burnt main regulator U38 after the wrong adaptor is used, sometimes followed by no sound from a failed audio regulator REG1.[7]
- A solid red screen when the cartridge is not read.[5]
- Ageing electrolytic capacitors; the board has twenty.[2]
The Atari Jaguar Troubleshooting Guide covers each of these.
Documentation
[edit | edit source]- Jaguar console schematic, Atari document 500162 Rev. 5.3.
- Jaguar user's guide, Atari P/N 500339.
- Both are described on Atari Jaguar Documentation.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Atari Jaguar General Maintenance
- Atari Jaguar Troubleshooting Guide
- Atari Jaguar Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Atari Jaguar RGB Upgrade
- Atari Jaguar CD
- Atari Jaguar Documentation
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Wikipedia, "Atari Jaguar", revision of 10 September 2026: lead, "History", "Technical specifications". Used for dates, prices, sales, production versions and clock speeds.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Atari Corporation, SCH. Jaguar Console, document 500162 Rev. 5.3, 21 September 1993. Hosted here as File:Atari Jaguar Console Schematic 500162 Rev 5.3.pdf.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Evan-Amos, photograph of the Atari Jaguar/Jaguar CD adaptor model PP-912 and its label, 20 June 2014. Hosted here as File:Atari Jaguar power supply (PP-912).jpg.
- ↑ Evan-Amos, photograph of an Atari Jaguar main board, assembly 700026, 21 June 2014. Hosted here as File:Atari Jaguar motherboard (700026-001).jpg.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Atari Corporation, Jaguar 64-Bit Interactive Multimedia System User's Guide, P/N 500339: connections (p. 4) and troubleshooting (p. 14). Hosted here as File:Atari Jaguar User's Guide (500339).pdf.
- ↑ Porchy, "Atari Jaguar repair log", JAMMArcade.net, 14 December 2014. Personal repair log.
- ↑ rosewood, "Atari Jaguar Power/Sound Fix and Rotary Controller", retrostuff.org, 21 August 2016. Personal repair log.
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