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[BuddyC]

I've got an old GameCube with a faulty laser assembly. On the plus side, it's an old GameCube with the Digital Out and it's modded ...and I'd really rather never have to pry the heat sink off a GameCube CPU again.

So I was hoping to pick up another GameCube today and just swap out the laser assembly. Are there going to be any technical problems? Did Nintendo change any of the specs when they revised the GC hardware a few years ago? Am I better off just buying a refurbished 'Digital Out' system from Nintendo and re-modding it?

 

[SantaC]

you never tried to pot tweak that laser?

I assume that you get disc errors right.

 

[radioheadrule83]

You sound like you've opened one up before You could always give it a go.

I know from images of the ol' Cobra mods that the laser assembly is pretty self contained (some users needed to adjust a pot to make the laser read CDR/MDVDRs etc. tut tut evil pirates), but I'd have apprehensions about doing something like this myself on the off chance that I ended up with two bricked Gamecubes.

Gamecubes can be pretty cheap after all. Especially second-hand.
Are GCs with Digital Out that rare in NA?

you never tried to pot tweak that laser?

I assume that you get disc errors right.

Ah good point. The pot could also be adjusted for this reason. It sounds quite easy. A lot easier than swapping out the whole unit anyway. You mightnt even have to pick up another Gamecube.

 

[BuddyC]

you never tried to pot tweak that laser?

I assume that you get disc errors right.

You know, I almost forgot about that. Back then I did a quick search for multimeters and didn't like the prices I saw, but taking a more careful look now, I see they can be had for pretty cheap. And there's a chance I'd end up having to play with the pot anyways. Hrm..

Where's the pot located?

radioheadrule83:

GCs with Digital Out are pretty rare to find new these days. Used and refurbished are relatively common though.

 

[radioheadrule83]

http://snakecompatible.ngcdev.com/laser.htm

 

[SantaC]

You know, I almost forgot about that. Back then I did a quick search for multimeters and didn't like the prices I saw, but taking a more careful look now, I see they can be had for pretty cheap. And there's a chance I'd end up having to play with the pot anyways. Hrm..

Where's the pot located?

radioheadrule83:

GCs with Digital Out are pretty rare to find new these days. Used and refurbished are relatively common though.

I would try to pot tweak it since getting a GC with Digital Out might cause bigger trouble. Google some guides for it. There are several.

 

[biggreenmachine]

Gamecube modded? To do what?

 

[cvxfreak]

Gamecube modded? To do what?

Play imports.

 

[biggreenmachine]

Play imports.

cool..

 

[btrboyev]

or you could pay $40 and have nintendo fix it.

 

[radioheadrule83]

He's got the US/JPN mod. I don't think they fix it even if all you've done is open it up actually. I might be wrong.

 

[bumpkin]

He's got the US/JPN mod. I don't think they fix it even if all you've done is open it up actually. I might be wrong.

Yeah, they won't repair a system once it's been "tampered with." I was having button issues with my DS a month or two back, and I had mentioned that my father does home electronic repair so I might have him open 'er up and clean the button pads. The Nintendo rep said if I did that, then my only option would be to buy a refurbished unit; they wouldn't offer repair anymore. They cited some horse shit about it being a radio device... Some nonsense about only authorized repair people are allowed to open them.

'Cuz yeah, my father who's been doing home electronic repair for 20+ years and graduated from DeVry in electronic engineering surely is just some boob.

 

[BuddyC]

I picked up a multimeter at Fry's and spent the past few hours playing around with my GameCube. Oddly enough, the pot was already set pretty low (150-ish, 200 is generally recommended). Still, I played with it a bit - upping it to 200 and then slowly working my way down in increments of 25.

Unfortunately, the GameCube's still pulling the same stunt. Fifteen to forty-five minutes after I boot up a game, I get the same error message. Happens in both JP and US games. The part where it only happens after some time, and never at boot, is what makes me think the entire assembly's going out on me.

Thanks for the advice though, it was worth a shot.

So back to the original question - Anyone know if I can swap the laser assembly out of a newer, non Digital Out GC and throw in in an older Digital Out GC? I'd really, really perfer this than having to mod another one...

 

[hooo]

So back to the original question - Anyone know if I can swap the laser assembly out of a newer, non Digital Out GC and throw in in an older Digital Out GC? I'd really, really perfer this than having to mod another one...

It would be totally unethical to buy a used GC from EB or Gamestop, swap out the laser assemblies and return the newly broken unit for a refund. Or you could try ebay for an otherwise broken GC on the cheap.