DuoQ Review

Written by Brakken
March 2006 Introduction

The DuoQ is Team Omega’s first venture into the GameCube modification scene. Their modchip, like its competitor interfaces directly with the GameCube’s DVD communications port allowing for stealth operation. Going by this route has its advantages (price) and disadvantages (features).

Other chips work by hijacking the BIOS allowing for them to run custom code which in the end presents the user with an onscreen interface which brings forth many features. The DuoQ uses another method so you won’t be presented with any fancy onscreen graphics. All the chip does is boot a disc capable of being executed on the GameCube. Of course, to make up for this is the price of the chip. At 1/4th of the cost it’s a far cry from the ones that communicate with the BIOS.

Features

Jumperless Solution for USA, JAP and PAL
LED Indicator Lights
Low Power Design
Simple 6 Wire Installation Points
Supports Multi Games & Action Replay
Compatible with Originals & Imports
Compatible with Backups

Contents

DuoQ Modchip
DuoQ LED PCB

Installation

One might think that “cheaper is better”, but this isn’t true when it comes to installing the DuoQ. Once you’ve taken out the twenty eight necessary screws and removed some components you’ll be right in front of a very small group of connectors which you must solder onto. It’s a heck of a lot harder to solder in then the more expensive chips, but is possible.

The first thing you’ll want to do is to remove the top half of the GameCube case which will require you to use a custom GameBit which will allow you to unscrew the case. These “GameBits” aren’t something you can pickup at your local hardware store so if you’re going to be ordering a DuoQ I would strongly suggest adding one of these bits to your shopping list.

There is away around having to purchase the bit which involves a bunch of Bic pens and a lighter, but for the review sake I’ll skip this method. If you’re interested in learning how to accomplish this with a Bic pen please check out my Mod That Cube FAQ for a complete guide.

Once the top of the case is off you’ll want to locate and remove the back and front panels. The front controller assembly panel is attached to the motherboard with a ribbon cable, but you do not need to disconnect the cable to install the chip because what we’re aiming for is to remove the DVD Assembly.

First remove the two Phillips head screws that are on the fan/power unit and pull it off to the side and now you can remove the rest of the screws surrounding the DVD Assembly. The last four screws which hold down the grounding pads for the controller assembly are small and may require the use of a micro mini Philips head screwdriver to remove. After you have all of the eighteen screws removed simply lift the DVD Assembly off of the GameCube and set the rest of the parts aside.

Now you’ll want to turn the DVD assembly over and remove the six small screws which hold on the grounding shielding. Pull the shielding off and set it aside. Now you’ll want to locate your target which is a very small group of solder pads which at the moment are of a gold color.

The method I find best to approach soldering onto these small pads is to first tin them. Tinning is simply adding a small coat of solder to the pads before you attempt to solder any wires onto them. So I took the 15watt iron and applied some solder to the pads and then used some desoldering braid to remove the access solder leaving me with all of the pads silver (tinned).

Next I applied some soldering flux onto the pads and got the wire prepped. I used 30 gauge wires for the six (A-D, Ground and Power) points. I cut six ½ inch wires and then soldered them onto the correct points via the diagram provided on Team Omega’s webpage. After this was done I cleaned up the area with some alcohol (this removes the flux) and then set the chip in position.

One cool thing about the DuoQ and its LED Assembly is the fact it comes with double sided foam tape already applied to the bottom of it. So all I had to do is to remove the plastic covering the tape and attach it to the underside of the DVD assembly. Next I tinned the points on the DuoQ and attached the wires.

The last bit of the installation process was to solder some wires between the DuoQ and the LED Assembly. I used some 26 gauge wire for this and then attached the LED Assembly to the outside of the DVD. I then re-assembled the GameCube and was ready to test out the chip.

Usage

Due to the fact the chip boots transparently there is no onscreen menu to mess with. All you do is put in your backup or homebrew disc of choice and turn your GameCube on. You’ll be greeted by the GameCube logo and then the chip will inject the drive code which will skip the authentication check allowing the disc to boot. Unlike the other chip that directly interfaces with the DVD drive or some cheaper chips that interface with the BIOS the boot process was simple. There was only one spin down of the drive and then the backup booted.

Luckily, since I have already tweaked my pot and use the same type of media for every burn I didn’t have to do anything else to the GameCube as everything I threw at it booted just fine. I tried out MFE (the GameCube media player), my personal backup of Zelda and of course some of SoftDev’s emulators.

Conclusion

When all is said and done the chip does what it says it will do. Although the soldering process is a bit harder then the other chips it’s a good solution and for the price you can’t beat it. It can boot backups and homebrew disc perfectly and features the audio fix and multi-disc support so you won’t be left in the dust with half working games. It does however lack the functionality of it’s competitors chip when it comes to extended features, but for around $5-$10 less I would leave it up the to end user to decide which one to purchase. The LED is also a plus as we all love shining little things in our consoles.

Positives Price Quick Boot Time LED Module

Negatives Moderate Install No-Frills Solution Lack of Support

Links

DuoQ Homepage
Create a Homebrew Bootable Disc Guide
Mod That Cube -FAQ-



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