WTB: Nintendo NR Reader (NTSC) (UK)

I have a PAL Reader and NTSC discs... I purchased an NTSC unit and it arrived with a video chip issue, so I am looking for a cheap NTSC unit. I'm actually prepared to purchase the guts of one as my unit could be made to work again, so if you have one that works but looks like it fell down a flight of stairs then no problem. Just confirm it actually works before you go any further then PM me!

Suffice to say, if you have a fully working unit then any decent unboxed unit around the £60 mark would be considered. If I obtain one, then a spares / repair unit will become available on AG ;-)

Parris

I also have a single, fully working Japanese PS2 Test for trade if that would suit!

 

I have tested this myself, give it a try if you want to.

NR Readers are identical to retail units except for the optical drive. I can put the NR optical drive into a normal GC and it becomes an NR reader, and vice vera if I put a regular optical drive into my NR Reader it will read retail discs.

I have not tried cross-region NTSC/PAL systems however, and that may throw a wrench into the works.

 

Many thanks, I'll let you know what happens when I try this out! I'll have to obtain a cheap as chips NTSC GC. I had been led to believe that the NR Reader differed in other ways to a retail. Interesting to know. I assume it's the depth of the laser that is different?

 

I dont think anything is different, besides the optical drive.

 

i have a purple NTSC Cube with the U/J switch fitted.....

 

Arrrr, that'll be the one for me Jim Lad! (Unexpected pirate voice!)

Let me know the £ and I'll take it off your hands for some silver...:033:

Note* As I fast approach my 3000th post, I am trying NOT to post so often because I don't wish to run the risk of someone saying 'You only posted that to get over the 3000 mark'

 

I've got a PAL NR Reader also and was told the same thing; just change the laser and it will read NTSC-U games.

Let me know how you get on (also..) because I am in the same boat.

 

no probs parris, I had hoped to use but tbh i will never get around to it.. will send you a P.

 

Good to hear the GCs going to some decent use!

 

According to ASSEMblers page on the NR cube, many companies would modify their own cubes. I'm assumming it's just the depth of the laser then, meaning that swapping out the optical drives (which just plug into the mobo) will work. Parris if you wouldn't mind creating a tutorial while you do it yourself I think would be awesome.

 

Okay, however the credit must surely go to those who have posted this information. I am wondering whether there is any means of measuring the depths (I have no oscilloscope) to determine just HOW MUCH of a difference there really is?

 

It's the NR drive F/W that does all the work.

 

Ah, okay.... you kind of knew it wouldn't have been as simple as tweaking the laser depth otherwise we'd all already have NR Readers made in all colours! :thumbsup: - Thanks!

 

OE is correct. NR discs and NR readers exist to offer developers the ability to create games in disc format that can be read using a different encryption method than retail.

The reason for this is because only Nintendo has the ability to create a retail GC disc... any publisher that wants a game released needs Nintendo to mint the discs for them. Since Nintendo doesn't give developers/publishers the ability to create retail discs, they need another method to create disc-based test copies. Thus was born the NR Reader/Writer hardware for development purposes.

You are right in hearing that devs would often modify GCs for development use, however more often than not this simply meant allowing the GC to read the regular unencrypted DVD minidiscs through the use of mod-chips for development purposes. This saved a ton of money for the little guys. Others decided to go the T-dev route which was also a little more flexible.

Since the optical disc drives (to my knowledge) between NTSC and PAL retail units are identical (the real difference is in the actual system hardware/firmware), strapping an NTSC NR optical drive to a PAL retail body should work just fine

 

Agreed,

its been sitting on myshelf looking sorry for itself since i got it as i never got around to getting any games! lol