Panasonic Q + US power = ?

[pheria]

Hello!

I frequent this site, but admittedly don't venture onto the forums very often. I've been searching around for some answers regarding the Panasonic Q, but haven't found much information. So I thought this might be a good place to ask. So here's my question about the Panasonic Q. Perhaps about Japanese electronics in general:

Can the Panasonic Q operate at various voltages? AKA, can I plug in my US gamecube's power cord? If not, what should I be looking for?

Thanks!
-pheria

[Hobie-wan]

Japan's power is a little lower voltage than the US, but generally anything with a wall wart power brick from Japan will be fine here as long as you aren't running it somewhere very warm and you don't pile your dirty laundry on top of the brick so it can breathe. However being a more recent electronic item, it might be designed for a wider range of power anyway.

[theclaw]

Panasonic Q uses an internal power supply with generic "figure 8" shape plug. You probably already have one around, if not try almost any thrift shop.

Be warned the console is more difficult to repair. While mod info is harder to find for obvious reasons, most useful stuff for Gamecube should have alternate Q versions out there. It's possible to modchip. I think the GC BIOS language switch can be done somehow too.

[pheria]

Thanks for the tips. It sounds like it will be okay without a step down. I don't plan to mod it, since I don't want to break it. I ordered a GameCube action replay. I've heard it has a freeloader function that will let me play my U.S. games. Hopefully I'm not wrong about this?

[Forlorn Drifter]

Thanks for the tips. It sounds like it will be okay without a step down. I don't plan to mod it, since I don't want to break it. I ordered a GameCube action replay. I've heard it has a freeloader function that will let me play my U.S. games. Hopefully I'm not wrong about this?

If I remember correctly, the Q can play US and Japanese games, along with being able to play DVDs from many regions.

Ideally, it shouldn't need any modding.

I have a local store that has one. I'm somewhat interested in buying now.

[theclaw]

Personally I'm skeptical about the origin of that part. I mean region free DVDs, really?

Sounds more to me like a massive shipment of Panasonic Q's was touched by gray market importers.

[Thierry Henry]

If I remember correctly, the Q can play US and Japanese games, along with being able to play DVDs from many regions.

You mean right out of the box? No, it's definitely region locked on both games and DVD's (Region 2 DVD & JPN GC) I can attest to that. I used to own one of these, and obviously unless a mod has been done to it, it's region restricted.

[theclaw]

I'm pretty sure Q does not play 50hz encoded DVD out of the box either, even if region 2.

[Thierry Henry]

I'm pretty sure Q does not play 50hz encoded DVD out of the box either, even if region 2.

This is true. It's region locked to Region 2 for DVD playback, however the unit still needs an extra ram modification regarding the playback of PAL movies/material.

[pheria]

That's what I had heard as well. I found few pages stating that a second later model was region free, but since I couldn't find much else I just wrote it off as misinformation.

Should a GameCube Action Replay work to play game content from other regions? I found an Action Replay for a bit cheaper than a "Freeloader" standalone disc, and supposedly the action replay has freeloader included. Neither it, nor the Q have arrived yet. Here's to hoping!

If no one's sure about this I'll do my best to come back in a week or so and post my results.

On the subject of using US Power with it: I went ahead and ordered a step down. It wasn't very expensive. I got the impression that even though most Japanese electronics will run on US outlets with a little extra heat, that in the long term it may not be healthy for the PSU and I'd really like it to last. Peace of mind is generally worth the admission price, I've found.