Spice Orange Gamecube Plus! Unbox, Service and "No Cut" Region Mod

In this video we unbox a Japanese Spice Orange Gamecube. We install a battery holder to replace the factory soldered in battery. We increase the strength of the laser by calibrating the potentiometer. Finally, we do a "no cut" region mod switch.
Music for this video provided by my friend "Shiddy Beets":
Let Em Roll In Stardust
Time Flies from Spaceeeee
Aspartame

[@blough]

Awesome video! I just did this mod myself and it was my first time soldering. Was soo excited when it turned on and worked. 😅

[@tomgetzke3266]

A very informative video showing a neat modification to allow both US and Japanese formats. Nice use of the camera and sound 👌.

[@OkiDingo]

Genius! I never thought about putting the switch there. I personally will cut in a switch to the side of the network door since I use SD2SP2 on the side you used.

[@71dembonesTV]

Nice video. Replacing the disc drive capacitors (as well as the main motherboard) is advisable as well. They aren't known for bad caps and I haven't seen one with rot from leaking caps yet. However, these machines are reaching the rated service life of the capacitors and it's a good idea to replace them before they start having issues. I like the no-cut switch location but I went for the rear mounted switch still. Properly bolted in, no glue. I'm working on a couple of cubes right now. Recap, region mod and Xeno chip. might get some footage posted soon. if you don't have another setup yet; i strongly recommend the Bitfunx component cable since you have the DOL-001 cube with the digital out

[@the-dan3974]

I didn't know about the Bitfunx cables, those look awesome! I'll absolutely be getting one of those. I've been using S-Video, which is pretty decent on these but I was super bummed after reading so many good things about the carby/insurrection cables and then finding out you can't get them any more. I didn't think about recap but you're right, I should have grabbed a console5 kit for this guy while I was in there. Thankfully these guys aren't super annoying to take apart, I will add a recap to my list!

[@71dembonesTV]

@@the-dan3974 I agree the S-video output from the cube looks nice; especially on a CRT. I'm sure the Bitfunx or any other component cable would shine the brightest on an "Enhanced Def" CRT but, it really does look nice on my 7-8 year old Samsung HDTV. Since I got that set; everything that didn't use HDMI natively got hooked up to composite video. By a stroke of luck, this TV has excellent internal processing of composite video and I can honestly say I've never seen a modern TV "shake hands" so nicely with retro consoles. But, after seeing what my GC, Wii and DVD player look like thru component; I've decided to dedicate this set to that purpose. The older systems look better on the CRT anyhow and I feel S-video is the most appropriate standard for that era of gaming! I would strongly recommend investing in some hot tweezers if you're going to get into recapping any amount of SMD stuff like the cube. Speaking from experience, it can be done other ways but, you won't like it as much!

[@the-dan3974]

@@71dembonesTV This is a great reminder for me to get a set of hot tweezers :) I keep forgetting to get a pair then every time I need a pair I don't have one. Any particular pair you recommend?

[@71dembonesTV]

@@the-dan3974 think my comment might have got auto-nuked for putting the ebay link in there. It might be in your "awaiting approval" tab on your channel, too. Anywho, long story short you can get a cheap pair of ebay for about 50 bucks. That's what i have and they work good enough. :)

[@the-dan3974]

@@71dembonesTV Thanks! I grabbed a pair :)

[@kylehepworth1582]

Is there a link to the products you use on amazon?

[@DontPaniku]

So why not use a Xenochip instead of a region switch?

[@tonysmith916]

So if you only wanted to play US games could you just solder a wire across and not use the switch?

[@John6-40]

Ah, the Spice Orange GameCube. The hipster's favorite. For those who like this color, cool, but it seems like a lot of people get it just because it's less common. Personally, I don't like the color and there's no nostalgia with it. All the nostalgia for me is with the purple, black or (my personal favorite) silver.

[@SpookyDollhouse]

I groaned

[@PringoOrSomething]

Cant you 3d print a holder so you can just have the switch stick out the side?

[@the-dan3974]

A 3d printed holder is an excellent idea :) I'm surprised there isn't already one!

[@stefanp5098]

I've got a spice orange Japanese region locked model Gamecube but I'm not going to attempt doing this lol.. any suggestions on where I could purchase a service on region unlocking my Gamecube?

[@the-dan3974]

I haven't used or heard of any place that I know personally does this type of thing but it seems estarland has decent reviews on reddit and they have a gamecube region mod service for $35. Might be worth giving them a call and see how you feel about their service. Problem with the gamecube region mod is that trusted quality shops like Voultar don't make enough money off it to offer a service for it unfortunately or I would recommend Voultar for sure.

[@PringoOrSomething]

What would happen if you flicked the switch while the gamecube is on?

[@the-dan3974]

I imagine the GC only checks for the region register on boot. I'm sure its fine to switch while its running.

[@jimmaay123]

Hi, can you still use the Gameboy player?

[@the-dan3974]

Yep! the GameBoy Player is region free. The discs however are not and since I have the Japanese GBplayer disc I need to have mine in "Japan Mode" to use my GBplayer. I use "America Mode" for all my NTSC games the rest of the time.

[@leighmaynard3675]

I wonder if doing the region unlock would allow the console to play PAL games too?

[@the-dan3974]

This method only works for US or Japan unfortunately. Been awhile since I did this though so probably some other options available today :)

[@afgaming3609]

Would a switch with two terminals get the job done ?

[@the-dan3974]

Yep :)

[@usavideogames7599]

Hi. I bought a spice orange GameCube. It does not have a switch on it. It plays USA games but the menu is still in Japanese. When a memory card is inserted, it asks to initialize format the card. Also sometimes the error code will pop up "An error has occurred Turn the power off and refer to the Nintendo Gamecube instruction booklet for further instructions". I want the system to play USA games, keep an English language menu and want that error to stop showing up here n there. Can you tell me what might be going on and how to fix it please ? Do you think it's a half way done mod gone wrong ? Thank you. Anybody knowledgeable please reply soon.

[@the-dan3974]

I think what is likely going on is the drive was region modded. When someone does the solder mod as shown in this video, the menu language changes to that region. For your error message, you can try increasing the intensity of the laser as shown in this video. If that has already been done by the previous owner, you might still be able to squeeze some more out of it still, but the drive has likely reached the end of it's life

[@2BAMaster9]

Where’d you buy the console?

[@the-dan3974]

I got this on ebay. My favorite retro seller from Japan on ebay is hit-japan. hit-japan is usually more expensive than the other sellers but I have always had a great experience from them. They are rarely the cheapest option though but I have gotten what was shown in the auction with really quick shipping every time.

[@2BAMaster9]

@@the-dan3974 Oh okay. Thank you for the reply!

[@juanmontoya64]

Can you hit the z button when loading up the console

[@the-dan3974]

Whoa! What?! That's so random! It makes monkey sounds and some giggle noises haha. I tried it in both US and JPN mode and both do it. Reminds me of Banjo Kazooie for some reason! What an insane thing to include with the consoles, crazy Nintendo.

[@71dembonesTV]

@@the-dan3974 try it with four controllers and you get another sound!

[@the-dan3974]

@@71dembonesTV Oh geeze I don't even have that many controllers but I do need to get some more! I will try it for sure then.

[@camaboz07]

Thanks im 11 and want pikmin 2 but it cost so much that i mod my game cube to japanes region