US Turbo Duo consoles, what PCE stuff can they play?

[PCEngineTrev]

I had to sell my PC Engine Duo a few months back which was heartbreaking but I needed the money at the time. Im looking to start a collection over again but Im having difficulty finding a PCE Duo that Id like to buy, mainly via Ebay, there doesnt seem to be many of then on there right now.

The other option Im considering is a Turbo Duo, Im guessing they might be more common and less expensive if I grab one via Ebay US. Just wondering what compatibility issues I might have with Japanese PCE HuCard/CD-ROM2 stuff. I know Turbo Duos can play Japanese CD-ROM2 games out of the box, what about Super CD-ROM2 games. Also I know Turbos cant use Japanese HuCards without a converter, does this mean that you will need a converter to add an Arcade card to the Turbo to play Arcade CD-ROM2 games?

Any help from you guys would be awesome....

 

[hoobs88]

The US Turbo Duo will play any CD ROM game (3.0 and under) of either region. A region converter will be needed to Japanese Hu cards as well as Arcade CD ROM games. There are a couple ways that you can go about playing the entire NEC library:
1) Buy a PC Engine Duo to play all your Japanese Hu cards and US/Japanese CD ROM games and an American Turbo Grafx to play US Hu cards. This requires you to have 2 systems and the controller ports are different so you can't use the same controllers on each system.
2) Buy a US Turbo Duo, region converter, and Arcade Duo card. Fairly convenient but the region converters are expensive.
3) Buy a US Turbo Grafx CD, region converter, and Arcade Pro Card. The problem with this one is that the Turbo Grafx controller port does not support the 6 button pads.
4) Buy a system with a region switch installed or have it modded by someone.

[nectarsis]

Yet the "whle nec library" ignores the PCFX, and Supergrafx games 

[PCEngineTrev]

Thanks for the info, Im pretty knowledgeable about PCE stuff in general, but not when it comes to the US versions which Ive never owned! I think Ill get myself a Turbo Duo on ebay as there does seem to be more of them then PCE Duos, and they tend to be boxed unlike the PCE Duos Ive seen.

In fact I might head over to the buying/selling forums and see what I can find on there 

[Black Tiger]

Turbo Duo's are a special collector's item to non-PC Engine fans and normally sell for much more than PC Engine Duos. The cheapest and quickest way to play everything is to just buy a non-boxed PC Engine Duo (ideally either incomplete or mismatched with a different pad) and a cheap TurboGrafx-16 for North American Turbochips. All you'd need after that is an Arcade Card Duo and you can play every Turbo/PCE CD and HuCard game.

[ceti alpha]

Something else about the US Turbo Duo you should consider is the sound issue, which is very common with this console. The audio capacitors in the US Duo are not very good, so many people (like myself) buy a US Duo on ebay and end up having to get the sound issue fixed. I guess it's not a crazy hard fix if you've got any soldering skills. If you buy a US Duo, your best bet is to just ship it out to someone right away to get new capacitors put in it, along with the region mod and any other mods you want. Some hassle, but she's a beauty. 

[jperryss]

Turbo Duo's are a special collector's item to non-PC Engine fans and normally sell for much more than PC Engine Duos. The cheapest and quickest way to play everything is to just buy a non-boxed PC Engine Duo (ideally either incomplete or mismatched with a different pad) and a cheap TurboGrafx-16 for North American Turbochips. All you'd need after that is an Arcade Card Duo and you can play every Turbo/PCE CD and HuCard game.

^^ What he said.

I spent a few weeks mulling it over before I pulled the trigger, and discovered that even the PC Engine Duo-Rs (and sometimes RXs) seem to go for less on eBay than the American Duos, AND they don't have the audio capacitor issues that the first Duos had. Plus, I think the white Duo-R looks cooler. 

I ended up getting an unboxed Duo-R, two controllers, a tap, and arcade card. Once I get my US TG16 console, I'll be able to play anything (yeah, except the SG and PCFX stuff, I know).

[ceti alpha]

Good choice!!

[PCEngineTrev]

I saw a Duo RX on ebay for cheap, boxed and everything, ebay were kind enough to offer me 20% off anything I buy this week so I might go for it. I like the six button control pad that comes as standard but Ive heard there are compatability problems with the pad on certain games, similar to the Avenue Pad 3/6 issues?

[Necromancer]

Black Tiger has the right idea.  US Duos are almost always more expensive than a Japanese Duo.

Something else about the US Turbo Duo you should consider is the sound issue, which is very common with this console. The audio capacitors in the US Duo are not very good, so many people (like myself) buy a US Duo on ebay and end up having to get the sound issue fixed.

Good point, but doesn't the PCE Duo have the same problem?  I think you have to stick to Rs and RXs to avoid the crappy caps.

I like the six button control pad that comes as standard but Ive heard there are compatibility problems with the pad on certain games, similar to the Avenue Pad 3/6 issues?

They should have the same mode switch as the Avenue Pads, so you shouldn't have any troubles as long as you have it on the correct setting.

[PCEngineTrev]

They should have the same mode switch as the Avenue Pads, so you shouldn't have any troubles as long as you have it on the correct setting.

6 button Street Fighter 2:CE goodness here I come!

[Dazz]

Thanks, this answered alot of my questions.

[ceti alpha]

Something else about the US Turbo Duo you should consider is the sound issue, which is very common with this console. The audio capacitors in the US Duo are not very good, so many people (like myself) buy a US Duo on ebay and end up having to get the sound issue fixed.

Good point, but doesn't the PCE Duo have the same problem?  I think you have to stick to Rs and RXs to avoid the crappy caps.

I'm not sure. Could very well be. Something I'd like to know for sure actually, since I may buy a DuoR at some point as a back up. 

[jperryss]

Something else about the US Turbo Duo you should consider is the sound issue, which is very common with this console. The audio capacitors in the US Duo are not very good, so many people (like myself) buy a US Duo on ebay and end up having to get the sound issue fixed.

Good point, but doesn't the PCE Duo have the same problem?  I think you have to stick to Rs and RXs to avoid the crappy caps.

I'm not sure. Could very well be. Something I'd like to know for sure actually, since I may buy a DuoR at some point as a back up. 

I think I read (here, actually) that ALL black Duos could potentially have the sound problem because the internal layout is the same. The Duo-R and RX aren't known to have the problem.

[Spriggan]

The region switch isn't to hard to make. It cost around $20 total parts included. You will need to etch the board yourself and install a few multiplexers but it is the most convienit way to do so and the cheapest. I paid $150 for a DUO-RX and $20 parts to make a region bypass board and switch. Now I can play any region HU card and CD with only one console. By far the cheapest way to go and less mess having two consoles. PM me and I can make you a board and sell it you for around $30 shipped if you trust your soldering skills. If you don't trust your soldering skills the converter can be found here for $50 brand new.

http://www.telegames.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=329_107_108&products_id=7922&osCsid=1a03bc1bb6463cd70787e3574b31d3d4

Also if you get a PC Engine and want to play US games you will still need to ground a pin inside of the DUO's. As for the US version no modifications to the console are required. But the DUO-R's and DUO-RX's are a lot less prone to audio failure than the US/JPN DUO's in my experience.