Panasonic N-1005 3DO CD Changer
 | |
| ROBO N-1005 on its carton, with its manual and a Panasonic 3DO controller | |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Nicetec (subsidiary of Futaba Corporation), on Panasonic FZ-1 hardware[1] |
| Type | 3DO player with five-disc changer, for hotels |
| Released | 1995 (Japan)[2] |
| Intro price | ¥140,000[2] |
| Units sold | About 500 made[1][3] |
| CPU | — |
| Memory | — |
| Storage | — |
| Display | — |
| Sound | — |
| Power | AC 100 V, 50/60 Hz, 30 W[4] |
| OS / Firmware | — |
| Model no. | N-1005 |
The ROBO (model N-1005) is a 3DO Interactive Multiplayer with a five-disc CD changer, built round a Panasonic FZ-1 and made in Japan for hotels. Its carton calls it a "3DO-CD changer" (3DO-CDチェンジャー), and its manual the "ROBO 3DO Entertainment System".[5] Japanese Wikipedia gives the official name as ROBO alone, and the maker as Nicetec, a subsidiary of Futaba Corporation, which built 500 for love hotels.[1] Collectors' sites list it under Panasonic.[2][3]
History
[edit | edit source]The Video Game Kraken, a collectors' site, dates the ROBO to 1995 and gives its price as ¥140,000.[2] Consolevariations says it went to hotels and karaoke bars in Osaka, and the Video Game Kraken to love hotels in Osaka.[3][2] An owner who tested one in 2020 had read that such units were installed in inns and love hotels.[6] A few were sold in Akihabara.[1] All three counts agree on about 500 made.[1][2][3]
Design
[edit | edit source]A photograph of a boxed unit shows a POWER switch at the right of the front panel, and in the centre an ACCESS light and buttons marked MENU, 1, 2, 3 and 4.[5] Collectors' sites describe it as an FZ-1 in a special case with a five-disc changer, in grey or beige.[3][2] Japanese Wikipedia says the five CDs are loaded in advance and lifted into place by magnetism when one is selected, and that Panasonic's Video CD adapter is fitted as standard.[1] One owner's unit came with five game CDs giving five games.[6]
The Video Game Kraken lists an A/B mode switch on the back for a standard 480-line picture or a 240-line picture.[2] That matches the Japan-only FZ-1 variant in which a mode switch replaces the RF switch, with mode A standard NTSC and mode B a non-standard 240-line mode.[7] A unit sold on Yahoo! Auctions in 2018 was described as commercial equipment, supplied with its key.[8] The controllers seen with ROBOs differ: a Panasonic pad in one photograph, and a Sanyo TRY-version pad with another owner's unit.[5][6]
Maintenance and repair
[edit | edit source]The 3DO Development Repo, the Console5 TechWiki and the Internet Archive hold no service manual, schematic or repair account for the ROBO or its changer, and Nicetec's operating manual, seen in the photograph of a boxed unit, is not among the Internet Archive's holdings.[5] archive3do describes the inside as an FZ-1 with a Video CD module, modified to a five-disc changer.[9] The rear panel has a POWER ON/OFF rocker beside the fixed mains lead, the expansion port, the A/B mode switch, S-Video, composite and stereo audio outputs, and VHF aerial sockets with a CH1/CH2 switch.[9] Care, fault-finding and capacitors are covered on the Panasonic N-1005 General Maintenance, Panasonic N-1005 Troubleshooting Guide and Panasonic N-1005 Capacitor Replacement Guide pages, which draw on the FZ-1's documentation for the board inside.
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Grey and beige ROBOs -
Rear panel and rating plate
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Panasonic N-1005 General Maintenance
- Panasonic N-1005 Troubleshooting Guide
- Panasonic N-1005 Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Panasonic FZ-1 R.E.A.L. 3DO
- Panasonic FZ-1 General Maintenance
- Sanyo IMP-21J TRY 3DO
- Goldstar GDO-101M 3DO
- Capacitor Failure Symptoms
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 3DO, Wikipedia (Japanese)—link(accessed 2026-10-01) Model list, entry "ROBO": the official name is ROBO, not 3DO ROBO; a custom FZ-1 made in an edition of 500 by Nicetec, a subsidiary of Futaba Corporation, for supply to love hotels; Video CD adapter fitted as standard; five CDs held in the changer, lifted magnetically; a few were sold in Akihabara. Its source, a page at i-o.no.coocan.jp, is no longer online.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 ROBO 3DO by Panasonic, The Video Game Kraken—link(accessed 2026-10-01) Gives 1995, ¥140,000 and Nicetec as maker; FZ-1 based, five-disc carousel, Panasonic Video CD adapter, A/B mode switch, two colours, sold mainly to love hotels in Osaka, about 500 made. A collectors' site; it does not name its sources.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3DO Robo Console, Consolevariations—link(accessed 2026-10-01) Collectors' database entry: an FZ-1 in a special case with a five-disc changer, for hotels and karaoke bars in Osaka, grey and beige versions, 500 made.
- ↑ Rating plate on the rear of a ROBO photographed by archive3do (File:Panasonic N-1005 ROBO rating plate.jpg): "製品名 ROBO, 型式 N-1005, シリアルNo. 20080, AC100V 30W 50/60Hz, 株式会社ナイステック, MADE IN JAPAN".
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 IKiKI NaO Games, "3DO Robo 5 Disk Game Changer Panasonic", YouTube, 28 March 2017. The thumbnail photograph shows the carton marked "3DO-CDチェンジャー N-1005 ROBO", the operating manual titled "ROBO 3DO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM" with the name 株式会社ナイステック (Nicetec Co., Ltd.), and the front panel; hosted as File:Panasonic N-1005 ROBO 3DO CD changer with box.jpg.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 ヘンリー浜川 (@henlyh), post on X, 19 May 2020. An owner testing a ROBO: his came with a TRY-version controller; such units were reportedly installed in inns and love hotels, like Nintendo's Famicom Box; five game CDs give five games.
- ↑ Consoles, 3DO Development Repo, 9 January 2023—link(accessed 2026-10-01) "FZ-1 Mode Switcher": a Japan-only FZ-1 with a mode switch in place of the RF switch; mode A is standard NTSC, mode B a 240-line mode.
- ↑ 動作品 3DO 業務用 ROBO 本体 N-1005 ナイステック 鍵付, Aucfan (archive of Yahoo! Auctions listing k307654259), May 2018—link(accessed 2026-10-01) A working unit sold in May 2018, described as commercial-use equipment by Nicetec, with its key.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Commercial, archive3do.com—link(accessed 2026-10-21) Section "3DO ROBO": "Inside the ROBO is an FZ-1 with a VCD module modified to a 5 disc changer"; photographs of grey and beige units, the rear panel and a boxed unit, credited to the collector Bitrate (AtariAge).
