US and Australian Goldstar differences

[mattyg]

After reading with interest Bitrate's Sanyo comparison I thought I'd mention some between the US and Australian model Goldstars.
The Australian model was modified from the Hong Kong release and generally has later build dates than the US ones I've come across - the earliest Australian one that I have is Oct '95.

Appearance - At first there doesn't appear to be much difference until you look a little closer. The US apron is metallic in finish and the draw tray has the brand screened on in gold paint. The Australian ones have a matt grey finish and a raised plastic gold coloured brand logo. The US one is fastened with 4 clips and 3 screws to the top whereas the Australian one only has 2 clips and the 3 screws.

Mainboard - the major difference here is the positioning of the earthing wire. The US one has the earth running from the transformer to the CD caddy - on the Aussie board it is pre soldered at the front next to the controller port and attaches to the front of the caddy.

Despite the power boards carrying identical part numbers , the later Australian ones have a socket to power a small fan that sits on the chassis. Although the US chassis has the cut away for a fan there is none and no socket present on the power board.

The Australian Goldstars are 240v/NTSC (not PAL) and the US 110V/NTSC. The power supplies are definitely interchangeable on these models as the power output to the board is identical despite differing inputs.

These Goldstars share the same CD unit and sub board as the Sanyo model and the entire CD sections (caddy and all) are interchangeable between those brands.

The Goldstar FMV unit works fine in PAL or NTSC models

During start up the US Goldstars display the 3DO logo , the Aussie units display the logo plus the words "3DO encrypted" below. When the FMV cart is inserted both models show the words "digital video" below the logo.

I hope this is somewhat useful and maybe someone can shed some light on the reasoning for the differences.

[3DO Experience]

That's really cool. I'd like to see some pictures one day.