By using minus you will only get the columns that are in the first table and not the second. If this is the result you're looking for, then I suggest using specific column names rather than *, unless you want all columns. If you want everything that exists in both tables, use union. If you're having trouble getting minus to work, look at the syntax in the sql reference here: sql ref for "where not exists".

There is no way around using db links when accessing different databases.
-kw