My Second Dreamcast

Anything Dreamcast related, including Dreamcast online functions.
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

My Second Dreamcast

Post by Warp2063 »

Well, I finally sat down and cleaned that filthy Dreamcast my brother handed me the other day. I scrubbed it for around four to four and a half hours. It was brown when I started, and my effort shows! Except for a few small dents on some of the corners and a couple dark lines and dots that I couldn't get off, it looks almost new! I even took it apart and cleaned most of the parts inside, including all the air vents. I blew off the dust on the circuit boards, removed the dust bunnies in the corners...

Unfortunately, when I hooked it up to test it... it wouldn't recognize my controller. :( I'm guessing that it has the blown fusing resistor problem that is fairly common in the Dreamcast. Either that or the port is too dirty inside to contact correctly... or I didn't hook the sub board up correctly when I reassembled it. I'll get around to ordering a fusing resistor next time I order a batch of components from Mouser.

Also, the GD-ROM drive motor sounds pretty bad. I'm not sure what's wrong with it, but until I can get past the "Enter Date and Time" screen, I can't really test the drive. I don't want to stick it in my good Dreamcast to try it out.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
User avatar
xDerekRx
Posts: 613
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:26 am
Location: Buffalo, NY

Post by xDerekRx »

One of the most common problems with use Dreamcasts is the non working controller ports.

I saw a guy on Digit Press forums saying he found 4 in a row at garage sales all with the same problem.

I still have the Dreamcast I bought as a kid and its still mint but Im waiting for the day of letdown :(
Netlink Games Owned:
-Duke Nukem 3D
-Sega Rally
-Bomberman
-Virtua On
-Daytona CCE Netlink Edition

If you wanna play just give me a holla!
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Post by Warp2063 »

Well, from what I've read, the resistor blows when there's a short in a controller cable. And shorts usually come from damaged controller cables. Since third-party controllers are usually lower-quality than official Sega peripherals, you're more likely to experience a short in a wire from a third-party controller.

So, long story short: use official Sega controllers and don't damage the cord. If you damage the cord, don't use the controller. If you follow these rules, your Dreamcast's controller port should be just fine.

And even if it does blow, the fusing resistor is fairly easy to replace; it's just a quick desoldering/soldering job. You just have to find a fusing resistor (that's important!) that has about a 5 Ohm resistance and a 1/4 watt tolerance. You could also replace the whole controller port board, but the resistor is probably cheaper and easier to get ahold of.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
User avatar
Manji
Posts: 255
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:03 am
Location: Indianapolis

Post by Manji »

as for the controller ports, before you start replacing things, check to make sure there isnt any really bad oxidization or bent pins.
Image
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Post by Warp2063 »

I'm not worried about oxidation. If the pins are dirty, it's more likely from the layer of brown I cleaned off of every surface outside the console, and some of the surfaces inside. The pins didn't look bent to me, but maybe I did something to them while cleaning, or failed to get the dirt off of them. Regardless, I'll run a few more tests.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
Trip Mercy
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:26 am
Location: Texas

Post by Trip Mercy »

use an air compressor if it's just dust.
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Post by Warp2063 »

Trip Mercy wrote:use an air compressor if it's just dust.
Dust blows off. The brown doesn't. I had to use bleach to get most of the last few remaining stubborn spots off.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
Trip Mercy
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:26 am
Location: Texas

Post by Trip Mercy »

what I would do if I was you, is totally mod the whole dreamcast. add a dvd drive into it somehow, replace the pins if need be. Or get some parts from a ps2 and find a new casing and create a system that plays Dreamcast and PS2 games and DVD's/CD's
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Post by Warp2063 »

Trip Mercy wrote:what I would do if I was you, is totally mod the whole dreamcast. add a dvd drive into it somehow, replace the pins if need be. Or get some parts from a ps2 and find a new casing and create a system that plays Dreamcast and PS2 games and DVD's/CD's
I take it you don't know much about modding. :(

I, myself, am only semi-knowledgeable about modding. But I can tell you right now that the plan you just outlined won't work. Perhaps I could come up with a system that would use only one of the types of controllers (that would actually be pretty easy; there are PS2-to-Dreamcast adapters out there, so I could use one type of controller for both systems.)

Unfortunately, the Dreamcast uses a very special type of disc: the GD-ROM. It has a few differences from a regular CD or DVD. For one, a CD holds 700MB, a DVD holds 4.7 or 9GB, and a GD-ROM holds about 1.2GB. The data is spaced out differently on all three of those discs. On top of that, a GD-ROM drive uses a different technology than a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. CDs and DVDs run at a "Constant Linear Velocity". As the rings towards the inner edge of the disc are shorter than the ones towards the outer edge, the drive motor slows down to keep the length of data that the laser traces on the disc the same. This causes data to be read from the disc at a constant rate. A GD-ROM runs at a "Constant Angular Velocity." In this system, the disc always spins at the same speed. As the laser gets closer to the outer edge of the disc, more data is read by the laser in a shorter amount of time, because the amount of disc that passes overhead is greater. This allows data to be read more quickly from the outer edges of the disc, making it a better place for video data and such.

Because of the fundamental differences between CD/DVD's and GD-ROMs, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to find a reader that is capable of dealing with both types of discs. The Dreamcast's drive is an obvious exception, because of its capability of reading CD's and GD-ROM discs. However, it was specially designed this way, while other drives are not designed to accept GD-ROMs. It could not be easily modified to read DVD-ROMs.

To create a modification like the one you suggested above, I'd have to have a system that contained both of the mainboards from both systems (as they have very different chipsets, and otherwise I'd have to develop emulation software which probably wouldn't work well... I rather doubt that the PS2 could emulate the Dreamcast quickly enough), I'd have to custom-design and build a drive that could be compatible with both the Dreamcast and the PS2, and figure out how to hook it into both of the boards.

There are other problems on top of that, but as you can see, it's no small engineering feat. While I can build circuits, I've never had to design one that complex before, and I definitely don't have the resources or knowledge to develop a hybrid CD/GD/DVD-ROM drive. I did hear a report once of someone who managed to rip a GD-ROM using a specific model of DVD drive, but it would be almost as difficult to find that article, find that model of drive, and then find a way to modify it so that it could work in both a Dreamcast and a PS2. And that still doesn't overcome the difficulty of the Dreamcast reading data more quickly at the outer edges of a disc.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Post by Warp2063 »

Sorry, I didn't mean that to sound so harsh.

Basically, it would be extremely difficult, and is far beyond my abilities. It is probably too difficult for most people, or at least difficult enough that it wouldn't be worthwhile to attempt. A project like what you suggested would be better suited for a team of professional hardware designers designing a new unit, rather than modifying existing ones.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
User avatar
Xranger60
Site Admin
Posts: 668
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm
Location: Long Island
Contact:

Post by Xranger60 »

Speaking of modding and the like, Warp, I feel like you'd love the PSP. It's been cracked open for a while now, and it's even been discovered that the headphone port is basically a serial port, effectively turning it into a SIO port. There's some great possibilities there, and what I've been looking into is implementing an IRDA stack up to the IRCOMM protocol so that I could communicate via the PSP IR port with one of my cell phones. That kind of communications potential sounds right up your alley.
Willing to play Bomberman, Duke Nukem 3d, Virtual On, Sega Rally. Send me a PM.
User avatar
Warp2063
League Veteran
League Veteran
Posts: 1594
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:28 am
Location: Virginia, USA

Post by Warp2063 »

I've already owned two softmodded PSP's (sold one), but have never even considered programming my own stuff for it, nor have I tried any physical mods for it. I'll have to think about that. I don't know if that specific IR project is something I want to tackle at the moment, though. Before I can get into a project, I have to have some interesting reason for doing so. I don't even know what you can do with your cell phone's IR port. I've never even seen a cell phone with IR before.
I have my Saturns, I have some of my games, I have a RasPi. Gotta put all this stuff together!
User avatar
xDerekRx
Posts: 613
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:26 am
Location: Buffalo, NY

Post by xDerekRx »

Warp it would be cool if you could a Saturn emulator to work on PSP for us :)
Netlink Games Owned:
-Duke Nukem 3D
-Sega Rally
-Bomberman
-Virtua On
-Daytona CCE Netlink Edition

If you wanna play just give me a holla!
User avatar
Xranger60
Site Admin
Posts: 668
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 7:00 pm
Location: Long Island
Contact:

Post by Xranger60 »

Haha, perhaps I didn't articulate myself well. I meant that as an example of what can be done, what I am concentrating on doing, rather than as a suggestion of why you would like it. I'm recommending the PSP in general to you, not my specific project.

When I talked about "communications potential" I was talking about the depth of possibility the PSP offers, which is something that sounds like it would pique your interest.
Willing to play Bomberman, Duke Nukem 3d, Virtual On, Sega Rally. Send me a PM.
Trip Mercy
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:26 am
Location: Texas

Post by Trip Mercy »

Well Warp, I do realize how difficult a project that would be, but I was just telling you that it's a project I would personally like to play around with. Probably with not much success, but it's could be fun
Post Reply