A little bit of info for any Aussies out there

[mrmonket]

Gidday Guys & Girls,
As I have purchased both a Viper and a Qoob Pro, both of them from the Aussie Distributers, I thought I would share my experience with you. If you have been reading these forums then you will probably notice that most recommend the Viper as the better alternative because of its price compared to Qoob Pro. I really like some of the features of the Qoob Pro, in particular for me the USB interface is really nice. The strange thing is, that for us Aussies, the Qoob Pro is actually cheaper than the Viper! I live in what could be termed a reasonably remote area of Australia, both my Viper and my Qoob arrived next business day, very impressive. I'm not here to sledge or rubbish the Viper, I love it, it has served me very well and is still the main unit that I use, mainly because it is hooked up to my big screen telly, but as the Qoob is cheaper here, it is worth considering. For those interested the Viper distributor is http://www.quantronics.com.au and the Qoob distributor is http://www.acegamestore.com. I don't work or have any association with either of these companies and customer service wise they were both excellent to deal with.

[MagicFitz]

Awesome! Thanks for the links I have been searching for a Qoob distributor for ages just to compare prices. At the moment my AR - GCOS method is a bit shonky. Not due to GCOS mind you, but I haven't ironed out all the kinks. Now if only I could find an australian store to order Ritek mini-dvds from then I'd be set. :)

[Kola]

MagicFitz, here's some mini DVDR, no Ritek though.

http://www.eyo.com.au/details_L-DVD-R-M-L10.html
http://www.eyo.com.au/details_L-DVD-R-mini.html

Hope that helps.

[mrmonket]

The first link http://www.eyo.com.au/details_L-DVD-R-M-L10.html is to a brand of disc known as Laser. I can confirm that these don't work. They are absolute trash.

[katz]

WOOOOOOOOOOT. Aussies!!

Im in Melbourne along with other members, does anyone know someone that installs either of the chips?


Australian Installers Directory ---> http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5623


.

[MagicFitz]

w00t Aussies indeed!

I am in Melbourne too and I have NO idea if anyone installs these chips.

I went to the australian Ritek website and they don't even list that they have 8-cm dvds available. :(

I understand that g05 dye seems to be the best but is there a general consensus on other dye types yet?

I know CMC is meant to suck (a few people seem to be okay with it), but what about AZO?

I have found a place in the city (near Melbourne Central) that cells 8-cm infosmart mini dvds at roughly $2.50 a disk but I don't have a clue what dye they use.

Thanks for the links to the mini-dvds but I checked out the pricing and I would have to pay $11 just for postage. I'd rather not have to pay that as I am simultaneously trying to finish setting up my marine aquarium (these are fuggin 'spensive) so any extra cost is like a knife in my poor little fishies backs.

[katz]

Yeah dood, try and stay away from anything that sounds nasty lol, like LASER and CMC.

If i were you, i would be heading down to the swapmeets and getting them from there. Make sure they are RITEK g04 or g05. Do not get anything else, as these are the best. I know ill be at the swapmeet this sunday.

Heres the link >>>>http://comtrader.com.au/swap/dates.php3

Its updated all the time, so just check the dates, and you will be set.

[mrmonket]

I have called Ritek Sydney directly. I can confirm that they do not import minis into Australia at all. The only minis that I have had luck with that are available here in Australia are Verbatim, but these cost me about $3 a pop. Best price for standard sized Riteks I have found is $35 for 50. Re installers, wish I could help, but I'm about a 3,000 km drive from Melbourne.

[Morien]

I never knew about the AceGameStore. Thanks!
For a quick price comparisson (Qoob Pro, all include postage to Perth):
AceGameStore.com - $103AUD
Foundmy.com - $104.20AUD (or $113.20 with securbit and 5pcs of mini dvd-r)
Freakware.de - $102.40

So they're all pretty much the same price to Aus (rare thing), however I'd personally go with Foundmy and get the securbit and media for an extra ~$10

katz, know of any swapmeets around Perth?

[katz]

mrmonket >>> Of all the mini-dvdr Verbatim you have used, do they all work ? Also if there are no ritek mini's at the swapmeets (I would suggest Camberwell and Collingwood swapmeets, as these are the biggest)we might have to look at importing riteks from overseas :(

Morien >>> Sorry mate no idea :confused:

[Xboxmodder999]

If there are enough of you guys, you could get a bulk order together and order from a site that ships overseas, that way you could all just split the shipping, which would save you a lot of money.

[katz]

^^^ Yeah thats true. But we need someone to install them. And im thinking its easier to just get the chip from the guy that installs it.

found a guy in Melbourne!! >>>> http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=49781#post49781

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by katz
mrmonket >>> Of all the mini-dvdr Verbatim you have used, do they all work ?
Only on a Pioneer and NEC burners, I have had no luck with them on Liteon, Matsushita (Panasonic) or BenQ burner. But then again, I haven't had much luck with full-size except on these 2 burners either. Not saying that they won't work mind you, they just won't work for me.

[katz]

hmmmm it seems as if NEC burners are the way for the GC. I personally have a LG burner, hopefully that works. If not, i will have to burn them on my mates Pioneer :mad:

[Xboxmodder999]

Originally posted by katz
^^^ Yeah thats true. But we need someone to install them. And im thinking its easier to just get the chip from the guy that installs it.


I was actually talking about the Ritek media;)

hmmmm it seems as if NEC burners are the way for the GC.

Yeah, NEC is the way to go. I have a NEC 3520a, with ritek G04 mini's, and I have never had a DRE.

[katz]

^^^ Dahm good idea. Well im ganna check out this weeks swap meet, and next weeks. If theres no Ritek's, it looks like we might have to pull out heads in together and maybe figure somthing out.

[katz]

Australian Installers Directory ---> http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5623

[Xboxmodder999]

Man stuff is expensive over there:eek: . How much is one Australian dollar compared to one USA dollar?

For me to supply the Viper, and install the Viper chip, I only charge $85 USA dollars plus shipping, and For a Qoob, it's another $15.

[katz]

130.00 AUD = 101.003 USD

Also shipping is more expensive. But yeah, in general we get screwed!

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by katz
130.00 AUD = 101.003 USD

Also shipping is more expensive. But yeah, in general we get screwed!
Not always the case though, you will find that in some areas we are actually better off. Case in point, many pieces of electronic equipment (brown and whitegoods from Asia), computer equipment (from Taiwan etc) are comparible, if not cheaper here. We are however getting screwed on some things though, I mean the PSP is going to retail for $429.00, yeah right, I am sure they will just walk out the door at that price!

[Xboxmodder999]

Originally posted by mrmonket
I mean the PSP is going to retail for $429.00, yeah right, I am sure they will just walk out the door at that price!

Thats insane, $429? Here, it's $249, and thats the value pack thing.

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by Xboxmodder999
Man stuff is expensive over there:eek: . How much is one Australian dollar compared to one USA dollar?

For me to supply the Viper, and install the Viper chip, I only charge $85 USA dollars plus shipping, and For a Qoob, it's another $15.
Currently, although knowing exchange rates this will be out of date as soon as I post it:

US$85 = A$109.32
US$100 = A$128.62

So yeah, slightly more expensive, but we also have to take into account that we have one of the highest taxing Governments in the world. Anyway, politics don't belong on this board, so I'll drop it there.

[.bin]

dvdcrave.com.au has the PSP japanese value pack at $419! Cheaper than what the aussie release will be!

The guy from acegamestore seems very friendly and I would reccomend them.

I would try stay away from those people in the local post/paper doing installs. Some didn't even have the gc chip listed on their site or advert (just cbox and ps2) but would do the gc viper for like $180, saying that the viper costs the majority of that price. If it was qoob it would still be a rip.

Anyway good luck, import your riteks in spindles from the US maybe off ebay, works out under $2 per disc including 3 day shipping. Just burn your images to cheapo 20cent dvd's to test before wasting a $2 disc tho.

.bin

[katz]

Originally posted by mrmonket
yeah right, I am sure they will just walk out the door at that price!

haha so true man. No way im paying that much.


Originally posted by
.bin
dvdcrave.com.au has the PSP japanese value pack at $419! Cheaper than what the aussie release will be!

The guy from acegamestore seems very friendly and I would reccomend them.

dvdcrave.com.au is an awesome site. It gets my recommendation, i have used them 5+ times and had flawless transactions all the time.

|
|
|

I have made a thread about Aussie Installers. If you know any post here --> http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5623

[Dreamcazman]

I can confirm that acegamestore is great to deal with. I got my qoob this afternoon but haven't gotten around to installing it yet.

I also got a few mini DVD-rs from JPL Displays. (http://www.jpldisplays.com.au/oscommerce/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=23_25&products_id=278) who are also great to deal with.

The discs are listed as Databanks, but I did a little research and they are supposed to be Riteks. I'll let you guys know how they fare in my cube once I burn something.

[katz]

^^Excellent im VERY curious to know.

[ruffnut]

Give the Databank mini dvdrs a go. Thats what I use and haven't had a problem with them. Around $1.50 each. Get them from http://www.jpldisplays.com.au/oscommerce/catalog/index.php or http://www.blankdvdsupermarket.com.au/index.php

[katz]

Originally posted by ruffnut
Give the Databank mini dvdrs a go. Thats what I use and haven't had a problem with them. Around $1.50 each. Get them from http://www.jpldisplays.com.au/oscommerce/catalog/index.php or http://www.blankdvdsupermarket.com.au/index.php


awesome news :) What burner do u have? And what speed do you burn them at ?

Thanks mate! :)

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by ruffnut
Give the Databank mini dvdrs a go. Thats what I use and haven't had a problem with them. Around $1.50 each. Get them from http://www.jpldisplays.com.au/oscommerce/catalog/index.php or http://www.blankdvdsupermarket.com.au/index.php
Can you do a disc info on it from Nero and report what type of media Nero says it is?
Much appreciated in advance.

[ruffnut]

Here you go.

[Dreamcazman]

Originally posted by mrmonket
Can you do a disc info on it from Nero and report what type of media Nero says it is?
Much appreciated in advance.

My discs get reported as being manufactured by GSC001 - not exactly Ritek :confused: but they work great nonetheless.

I just burnt Mario Tennis at 1x using Nero on my Sony DRU500a burner.

[mrmonket]

Thanks man, your a legend!

[Dreamcazman]

btw, does anyone know where you can get disc label scans for GC games?

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by Dreamcazman
btw, does anyone know where you can get disc label scans for GC games?
Give http://www.consolecovers.com/ a bash. One more favour from the guys that are using GCS001 mini's, can you tell me what drive revision you have in your cubes and what the current POT setting is on your laser.

[ruffnut]

Mine is a version 61. 2/4/2002. Don't know about the pot setting. Hasn't been adjusted from new though.

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by ruffnut
Mine is a version 61. 2/4/2002. Don't know about the pot setting. Hasn't been adjusted from new though.
Thanks for the timely response buddy; and I thought as much, my experience is that most drive units that were/are sold in Oz are 61's.

[Morien]

Is that good? I got a DOL-001 late last year but I have no idea about the drive.

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by Morien
Is that good? I got a DOL-001 late last year but I have no idea about the drive.
The thing I have found about these suckers (drive 61) is that the lasers resistance is a lot lower "out of the box". I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, it could mean that the drive is more hardy than others, it could mean that it needs to work harder to read media, it could mean nothing, I guess time will tell.

[MagicFitz]

I did a little googling of gsc001 and found this thread talking about PI/PO errors whilst burning various media (mainly gsc001 and gsc002 discs). I don't understand a lot of it myself but I thought I'd share it anyway.

CLICKY! (http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=207260&p=23)

Enjoy :)

[Dreamcazman]

My GC is a Japanese model that I imported in 2001, it is a DOL-001 unit, I can't remember what the drive revision is though.

The laser pot was originally 477 ohms and I tuned it down to 200. Reads everything great, not that it didn't before. I just didn't feel like having to pull the whole thing apart again to change the pot setting if I needed to.

[Dreamcazman]

oh, btw thanks for the link mrmonket :)

[mrmonket]

I must admit that I did not expect the amount of correspondance that this thread would generate when I first posted this. Let me say I am pleasantly suprised by the amount of Aussies that frequent this board: we should all catch up some time electronically, name the time, the place etc, I'll be there..........I'll even bring beer!



PS Please excuse my bad English, I am Australian :)

[Morien]

From my limited knowledge on the matter, the Databank look to be excellent with their PI/PO! Maybe my modding dreams are closer than they appeared to be!

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by Morien
From my limited knowledge on the matter, the Databank look to be excellent with their PI/PO! Maybe my modding dreams are closer than they appeared to be!

Yeah, but what does that have to do with beer :) In all seriousness though, I ordered some of these suckers today from the provided link, so I will let you know how I go when they arrive. One last thing, a popular brand here in Australia is a piece af crap called Laser, if they were on fire, I wouldn't waste my piss on them!

[joetilo]

i can confirm that those databanks 'gsc001' mini are sweet.. drive's 04/08 will read them without tweaking, and 06 drives need to be lowered (generally speaking)..

you can get them for $1 in bulk from that blankdvdsupermarket site - and that dude is also at the swap meets (c'well/boxhill/springvale/malvern if you wanna catch him there).. ive used hundreds of these and had no probs (pioneer burner).

btw - re chip prices, viper's are averaging around $90AU and qoob's are also $90 if you're prepared to drive a few km's.. (i've bought both now)..

cheers

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by joetilo
i can confirm that those databanks 'gsc001' mini are sweet.. drive's 04/08 will read them without tweaking, and 06 drives need to be lowered (generally speaking)..

you can get them for $1 in bulk from that blankdvdsupermarket site - and that dude is also at the swap meets (c'well/boxhill/springvale/malvern if you wanna catch him there).. ive used hundreds of these and had no probs (pioneer burner).

btw - re chip prices, viper's are averaging around $90AU and qoob's are also $90 if you're prepared to drive a few km's.. (i've bought both now)..

cheers

Thanks for the info on Databank Minis, I'm looking forward to testing those little fellas out. Re Qoob & Vipers for A$90, can you let me know where I can pick them up for that price. Cheers in advance.

[Dreamcazman]

Originally posted by mrmonket
..........I'll even bring beer!



PS Please excuse my bad English, I am Australian :)


lol, I'm more a spirits man myself, but if you're shouting... :D

btw, no need to excuse yourself, Australian english is the best english there is!

[mrmonket]

Just made an interesting discovery, **** Smith sell an cheap-ass 15 piece precision screwdriver set, cost me $7.95 on special. Brand name on the screwdrivers is Super-SNCM. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it has a 4.0x20mm driver in it, which opens your cube quite nicely. Hope someone out there finds this useful, and maybe saves themselves a few bucks.

[katz]

Originally posted by mrmonket
Just made an interesting discovery, **** Smith sell an cheap-ass 15 piece precision screwdriver set, cost me $7.95 on special. Brand name on the screwdrivers is Super-SNCM. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it has a 4.0x20mm driver in it, which opens your cube quite nicely. Hope someone out there finds this useful, and maybe saves themselves a few bucks.

Awesome!!! Now i dont have to use the pen method and can get a whole set for cheap. Cheers for the heads up! ;)

[joetilo]

re where to get the chips from, i found most of the people in the comtrader (www.comtrader.com.au) in their classified ads section (search for 'gamecube' and you'll see a few of them offering various chips/prices). most of them only list the price for the chip installed, but i haven't had a problem getting them to sell the chips by themselves do-it-yourself style.

the dude who is advertising the qoob chip is in melton, hence the km's ;) ($90 for the diy kit, which includes all the normal stuff, chip/sticker/usb cable/box etc).. there are a few people with the viper's - the xbox king guy had a bunch of them (not sure if he has any left) - but like i said, just give them a call and ask them for a price on the chip only - its easier than ordering them (and cheaper), especially if you're impatient and want it now now now! ;)

btw, you might be able to find them cheaper - but i just settled for the first person to answer the phone ;)

[mrmonket]

Thought this post needed updating as both distributors of the Qoob & Viper have dropped their prices by $10. Qoob Pro is now going for $89 from www.acegamestore.com (http://www.acegamestore.com) and Viper is now going for $99 from www.quantronics.com.au (http://www.quantronics.com.au). Interesting also is that Team Xtender now lists Quantronics as their Australian Distributor, but the cases are not listed on their site yet. Anyone know a distributor in Australia that currently has stocks of replacement cases?

[roadkill_009]

Hi guys :)
I'm one of the installers from Katz' Australian installers post (GCMODSMELB) and if any of you guys are located in Melbourne and are interested in picking up the Viper from me feel free PM, email (gcmodsmelb@yahoo.com.au) or call me 0411 613717 (if you are in Melbourne).

I will be selling them @ $80 AU if any of you guys are interested :)

And if you want to buy more, just let me know and I will work out a better price for you as well!

Have a nice day everybody!

[Dreamcazman]

Originally posted by mrmonket
Interesting also is that Team Xtender now lists Quantronics as their Australian Distributor, but the cases are not listed on their site yet. Anyone know a distributor in Australia that currently has stocks of replacement cases?

Quantronics are extremely slow in their site updates, which could explain why the cases aren't listed ;)

[mrmonket]

Originally posted by Dreamcazman
Quantronics are extremely slow in their site updates, which could explain why the cases aren't listed ;)
Just spoke to them, ETA is 15 days, no price yet!

[mightyboy]

Yeah! Aussie represent!

Just some notes:

Got my qoob pro for $79 from www.acegamestore.com.au the other day including free express postage! Very pleased!

Was in quantronics the other day and Clinton told me the GC viper cases were selling well. He only had purple (see through) ones with the LEDs but said he will likely be getting others in (I think). They were $40.

Would really like to hear some more australian media stories here, trying to find mini DVDs is difficult. Should I order the discs that were recommended in this thread from JPL displays or that other shop? Or should I look for something else at computer fairs? Anyone know what is avaiable at Parramatta or North Rocks computer fairs?

Lets get some more aussie talk on here! Too many poms and yanks :D

Cheers, mightyboy.

[Morien]

Just had a look at Agegamestore and Quantronics.

Qoob Pro - $79.00
Qoob SX - $50.00 !!!
Viper - $89.95
Viper Tops - $39.95 (various colours, but still has pre-order status)

$50 for a Qoob SX seems really good. Wondering if the benefits of a PRO are worth it now....