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Author Topic: Hop-M3  (Read 453 times)

Debvgger_

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Hop-M3
« on: May 05, 2015, 05:29:06 AM »
Ok, not to repeat myself (I asked a similar question a few years ago) but I'm in need of buying a replacement lens for my PC Engine Duo.

Back then Electronix had it in stock but I hesitated because after writing them asking for the shipping costs I never got a clear answer (I'm in Europe).

Today it seems easier to find one: Electronix no longer has it on stock, but it's easy to find them on ebay or aliexpress, and the prices seem right and the shipping costs are clear. The problem is, I fear getting a knockoff copy.

So, has anyone got one recently? I would appreciate if someone can point me to a known legit seller that ships known working duo lens pickups :-)

Thanks a lot!
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DragonmasterDan

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #1 on: May 05, 2015, 05:59:36 AM »
Quote from: Debvgger_ on May 05, 2015, 05:29:06 AM
Ok, not to repeat myself (I asked a similar question a few years ago) but I'm in need of buying a replacement lens for my PC Engine Duo.

Back then Electronix had it in stock but I hesitated because after writing them asking for the shipping costs I never got a clear answer (I'm in Europe).

Today it seems easier to find one: Electronix no longer has it on stock, but it's easy to find them on ebay or aliexpress, and the prices seem right and the shipping costs are clear. The problem is, I fear getting a knockoff copy.

So, has anyone got one recently? I would appreciate if someone can point me to a known legit seller that ships known working duo lens pickups :-)

Thanks a lot!

From what I recall Electronix had OEM Hitachi made laser assemblies. The ones you see for sale most places today are after-market and have a reasonably high defect rate. Hopefully someone here can recommend or has known good lasers.
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--DragonmasterDan

Debvgger_

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2015, 07:20:36 AM »
Yeah, the Electronix lenses were "the ones" :-) Too bad I hesitated too much.

I was fearing getting charged more from the shipping rather than the actual lens pickup. I was burned because a few weeks before I had to pay an extra 60$ for a Game Cube AC adaptor that I got for free because it was included in some stuff I needed to receive (not a Game Cube). A bit of bad luck in combination of FEDEX + import duties left me a bad taste in the mouth...
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thesteve

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2015, 08:31:08 AM »
actually the Electronics units were knock-offs as well, their quality control was just good
as for the ones on ebay/alex they should be Chinese knock-offs, and last few batches got me a 20 to 30 percent defect rate
note half of those just had the laser pot set wrong
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Debvgger_

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #4 on: May 05, 2015, 09:17:48 AM »
Wow, 20 to 30% is... too much  #-o
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thesteve

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #5 on: May 05, 2015, 09:59:49 AM »
it is, so if you buy, buy more then 1, test them all and resell the good ones
if they are all good, tell us where you got them
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Debvgger_

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #6 on: May 05, 2015, 10:44:55 AM »
I suppose I will have to take the risk then... :-/
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kale_criss

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #7 on: May 05, 2015, 11:15:09 AM »
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Debvgger_

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #8 on: May 05, 2015, 11:23:23 AM »
Taking into account the shipping it's twice the price over the chinese sellers, but it's probably half the risk too :-) Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences kale_criss. I'll probably get one of these.
« Last Edit: May 05, 2015, 11:37:39 AM by Debvgger_ »
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thesteve

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #9 on: May 05, 2015, 11:46:47 AM »
dalbani has been a solid supplier for most things, but that looks like a repop
original
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Debvgger_

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #10 on: May 05, 2015, 11:55:20 AM »
« Last Edit: May 05, 2015, 12:00:35 PM by Debvgger_ »
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thesteve

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #11 on: May 05, 2015, 12:09:48 PM »
yes that is a repro
repro doesnt make it bad, its all about testing
these lasers predate the pioneer hologram sensor so production has always had a high defect rate (even hitachi BITD)
thats why CD players stayed so expensive for so long
LCD production was the same way, only it was defects per square inch
thats why bigger LCD panels didnt exist
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Debvgger_

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2015, 04:16:29 AM »
Interesting information, thanks :-)

Ok, I finally went with the aquawayindustrial pickup. Let's hope I have a bit of luck with this ;-)
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thesteve

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #13 on: May 06, 2015, 07:07:20 AM »
if theirs look like the pic chances are your good (and NOS)
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Debvgger_

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Re: Hop-M3
« Reply #14 on: May 06, 2015, 10:18:40 AM »
It should be. The picture is from the item description :P
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