7800 Pro Gamer Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 I had a copy of Water Ski for a long time and all of a sudden it started glitching during play. Most of the graphics weren't loading and the ones that did were screwed up. I tried all I knew to fix the cart but couldn't, so I got a replacement. I made sure the replacement worked and then shelved it. Tonight I tried playing it and the first level keeps repeating. I know what the 2nd level should look like, but it just reloads level 1. I even made it to level 3 but again, it was level 1 repeating. I tried messing with the switches and cleaning it but it doesn't help. With how expensive these games are becoming I won't be purchasing anymore, but is anybody else experiencing this with Froggo games? I know Froggo was kind of an odd company but I have issues with their games that I don't with other 7800 titles. RickR 1 Quote Watch 7800 Pro Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAtariNetwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossBow Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 Can you take a picture of the cartridge for me showing the inside of it as you look down into from the cartridge pins? I'm curious on something... Quote See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 It is weird and I've seen that before. The games load up but have weird glitches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossBow Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 2 hours ago, RickR said: It is weird and I've seen that before. The games load up but have weird glitches. That is why I was asking him to take a pic of the inside of the cart. Several of the later Activision and Absolute carts actually have eproms in them instead of masked roms. Over time, those carts can develop issues since eproms aren't designed to hold their data for as long as masked roms can. My guess is that some of the bits in the chip are starting to flip and essentially give you bit rot causing these issues. If you see a small IC chip horizontally installed just above the cartridge pins, that is very likely an inverter installed because the actual game is using an eprom instead of a masked rom. It wouldn't surprise me if Froggo carts also have eproms in them vs masked roms. It was cheaper back then to use eproms for smaller runs of games vs design and tooling for masked roms as I understand it. That is why later made games for the 7800 and I'm sure other systems went the eprom route in the later 80s. Quote See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 Understood. But I'm not sure I can open a Froggo cart without damaging the label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Pro Gamer Posted March 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 I'll be able to check in about 2 hours and I'll let you know. Quote Watch 7800 Pro Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAtariNetwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossBow Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 1 hour ago, RickR said: Understood. But I'm not sure I can open a Froggo cart without damaging the label. Don't have to open the cartridge. The inverter chip is usually visible just behind the contact fingers and is outside the enclosed case shell section. Or at least it is visible on the few I own that are this way. My copy of F-18 uses an EPROM inside it for instance and the inverter is easily seen behind the cartridge contact pins. Quote See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 15, 2022 Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Pro Gamer Posted March 15, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2022 Is this good. The fuzz is from a qtip I have to get some tweezers and get it out but I can't see anything. Quote Watch 7800 Pro Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAtariNetwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossBow Posted March 16, 2022 Report Share Posted March 16, 2022 Nope I can't see if it has it in there or not. But I'm going to guess it is still very likely. I don't any of the 7800 Froggo carts so I wasn't sure if they used Eproms or not and if they did, whether the inverter chip would be visible or not as it is on activision and absolute games. 7800 Pro Gamer 1 Quote See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Pro Gamer Posted March 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2022 I assume your right, I'll just play it through concerto as it's not worth i to find a cart that works perfectly. Quote Watch 7800 Pro Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAtariNetwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted March 16, 2022 Report Share Posted March 16, 2022 4 minutes ago, Silver Back said: I'll just play it through concerto That's what I'm doing. The cart looks good on a shelf. 7800 Pro Gamer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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