| This page was updated on: Sunday, January 02, 2000 |
Atari Jaguar
Additional Hardware
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The Jaguar had some great add-on devices. They were mainly produced by Atari, but there were also a numberof 3rd party companies involved as well. Here is a closer look at some of the Jaguar hardware add-on units.....
Jaguar Joypad - Atari had a long history of making inferior controllers. However, they did get things right with the Jaguar Joypad. The device consisted of a thumb-operated pad, three fire buttons, pause & option keys, and a 12 key numeric pad. The numeric pad would accept overlays that added additional functionallity to a number of games including Iron Soldier, and Troy Aikman Foorball.
Jaguar PRO Controller Joypad - This was the "advanced" controller for the Jaguar. The device consisted of a thumb-operated pad, six fire buttons, two "index-finger" buttons, pause & option keys, and a 12 key numeric pad. The numeric pad would accept overlays that added additional functionallity to a number of games including Atari Karts, Battlemorph, Highlander, and others.
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Jaguar Extreme Rotary Controller by Dark Knight Games - Dark Knight Games has recently released a rotary controller for use with the game Tempest 2000. The device features an arcade style joystick, three fire buttons, pause & option keys, a "spinner" control, and a 12 key numeric pad.
Jaguar Extreme Rotary Controller PRO by Dark Knight Games - Dark Knight Games has recently released a rotary controller for use with the game Tempest 2000. The device features an arcade style joystick, six fire buttons, pause & option keys, a "spinner" control, and a 12 key numeric pad.
JagLink Interface - This device was used to tie together two Jaguar units for multi-player games like DOOM. The Jaguar units could be connected up to 100 feet away.
Jaguar Team Tap Adapter - This device plugged into the joystick ports on a standard Jaguar. It would convert the existing two ports into four ports for such games as "White Men Can't Jump."
CatBox by ICD - This unit was produced by ICD, a name that most Atari computer owners should recognize. The CatBox is a Jaguar adapter that provides additional output and netorking capabilities. It attaches to the rear of the Jaguar, and provides a variety of industry standard output ports:
The CatNet is a differential pair network that is formed by connected multiple Jaguars/CatBoxes with RJ-11 telephone wiring. Up to 32 units can be connected, up to 1,000 feet apart.
Note: This particular device has been a sore spot for many Atari owners. Don't get me wrong: it is an OUTSTANDING product. However, the owner of ICD, Tom Harker, took a number of pre-orders for a second production run of these devices, and has not followed through on production or deleivery. Most people paid in advance, and have been waiting for as long as one year, and have still not seen their device.
Composite Video Cable - A cable that would plug into the back of the Jaguar that would provide enhanced video/sound quality to televisions/monitors that support composite inputs.
S-Video Cable - A cable that would plug into the back of the Jaguar that would provide enhanced video/sound quality to televisions/monitors that support S-Video inputs.
JagCD Unit - The JagCD was a double-speed CD-ROM drive. It was manufactured for Atari by Phillips.
The CD drive has an access time of 210 milliseconds, with a sustained data transfer rate approx. of 353K per second. The CD-ROM drive featured a modified data interface for direct access to the "Tom" and "Jerry" chips. This allowed for higher throughput rate for most sound and graphics. Typical CD capacity was 790 megabytes.
The CD-ROM drive plugs into the Jaguar's cartridge slot.
A "pass-through" connector on the top of the drive cartridge slot allows
cartridges to be used while the CD-ROM attached. Battery backed-up "Memory"
cartridges allow Jaguar CD games to be saved for later play, similar to the standard Jag
cartridge games.
The Jaguar CD provides full-screen, full-motion video at 24 frames per second.
The Jaguar CD has "Virtual Light Machine" built in. (Atari marketed an add-on
device for stereos in the late 70's that accomplished the same thing.) This program
plays audio CDs and generate accompanying color and visual effects that react to the music
and sounds. The user can control and select effects with the Jaguar controller.
Regular audio CD playback features (volume control, track programming, etc.) are also
available.
The Jaguar CD can also display CD+Graphics discs.
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JagCD Memory Track - This device is a cartridge that plugs into the top of the JagCD unit. It allows Jaguar CD games to be saved for later play. It would hold up to 128K of data.