Bacteria's portable DreamCast handheld console - IntoDream

Completed the assembly for attaching the case halves.

Please look on my Wordpress site (by clicking my sig) for details of how it was done. New section made for this, and PDF file for download.

:Rock: Also shows a sneak peak of what my system will look like when completed! :Rock:

*started a new thread for this mini-guide link* as it is an important part of case making.

 

Thanks! Keep the comment coming! :lol:

Needed to make the daughter board connecting the DC to the controller slim, so removed the ports, flattened the battery and wired it to the back of the board.





I could have reduced the board by about half size if needed to, will leave as is for the moment.

Also secured the perspex top to the main case by a couple of screws into the plastic posts - keeps everything in place.


Here is the fruit of just over 3 months work (project was started around 25 July originally, as I recall).

Left: DreamCast - drive unit dismantled, wired to use a TI card and 7805 to work off 7.4v; rewired the connection from the DC to the drive board, reset it, reduced parts of the drive surround, trimmed the DC board a little, added heatsinks and fan for the processors, relocated many of the capacitors, reduced the daughter controller input board.

Middle bottom: made a case out of tupperware and perspex, painted it, added screen, buttons (modded controller for button holder, also modded the buttons), speakers, d-pad (with own made assembly), rumble pack, VMU unit with see-through window (VMU was halved and re-wired), using different joystick, perspex shelf to hold DC system (secured in place by screws), shifted d-pad/screen controls.

Middle top: made a case out of tupperware and perspex and also PSone case top (modded), three sets of 7.4v 2amp Li-ion batteries, switches, shoulder buttons, exhaust fan, another fan to be added to drag in around case; plastic strip to secure case halves together.




Everything still works (phew), next job will be to use RGB instead of composite, and rig up the audio. I have never heard a DC boot up yet, just seen the images. Shoulder buttons work fine too, tested on Quake 3 briefly - interesting, when you fire a weapon, the rumble kicks in too - the rumble in my case is quite strong, although it is only one motor - about the same kick as holding the controller with rumble pack installed.

Case feels nice to hold, all controls and buttons are "just in the right place", weight ok, although it will be heavier when the DC guts are added!

 

one thing about this where the fan to keep the console cool
nice job looks cool it looks like a headaches doing this one
i do suffer from headaches and over heating

 

raylyd - the system will have 3 or maybe 4 fans - one to suck air over the two processors (done), one to suck air out of the case (done), one to move air around the case and into the case for good airflow (that is that the DC fan will do, however if it doesn't like to have longer fan wires, will use a 4th fan for that job.

And yes, raylyd, this project has proven to be a real royal pain in the butt, but highly enjoyable as the sense of achievement is worth it all.

Update:

Got audio rigged up, wired the screen to the main power source, wired up RGB - just got audio - then realised,*according to this site* pin 7 needed to be wired to grounding to enable RGB mode instead of composite or S-video. Crap, very fiddly work to get the iron in there, solder a 1mm wire in a 3mm gap (1mm each side) and not make a short with a blob of solder joining pins together. Easy solution would be to wire on the reverse of the board, however that isn't going to happen, can't turn the system over or everything will fall out or dislodge...noticed one more thing, one of the audio wires was loose, only got one speaker working...looked at the wire, moved it, sure it was loose. Rats - and it was against the drive unit and board, drat and double drat (to quote Dasterly and Mutley), took over an hour to solder these two wires back (and not touch a neighbouring pin carrying voltage that would have fried my screen), but before I did, hisssss - aaarrrgghhh - frazzled the drive ribbon by touching it with the iron! Anyway, had a spare ribbon cable, changed it; tested system, get RGB and proper stereo audio now! *phew*.

So, works fortunately, and in RGB mode - I think the colours are a little bright, on the guide above it talked about using a 220uf capacitor on each of the RGB lines, so will give that a go if I need to. More experimenting to do.

I wired directly to the pins, this would have been easier - someone asked for a pinout, so worked it out from my spare board:

 

Thought I would wire up my only spare DC (unmodded) to a/v cable, did that without removing all the guts, just hacked off a little of the plug surround on the outside of the case, and then very carefully soldered the 4 needed wires, and connected to my main television - worked fine. Played a little Cosmic Smash, one of only two CDR's that my PAL DreamCast's seem to want to play (all other discs are coasters); and a little Sega Rally 2 - wasn't bothered about that game, still, only cost me £1, so no bother. Then thought I would play Shenmue to see if I liked it - disc kept saying "wait while checking disc" (or similar message), then got a beep and the game started to load, after a couple of seconds, back to the DC menu. Rats, obviously the system was not good, laser probably worn out, so took off the top of the console and turned the small dial on the back of the laser 1/4 turn as I had read on many sites before, as that "recalibrates" the laser - this time, when the DC was turned on, most of the time went straight to the swirl and "DreamCast" word on the screen, then just the DC menu - the games working before ok no didn't. So much for the adjustment of the laser! Killed the system!

That means I don't have a spare DC anymore, will have to buy one when I see one at a car boot sale again in the next weeks. The weak point of the DC seems to be the laser mechanism, as I have read in many articles.

According to this site and its two articles: *1* and *2* a 220uf capacitor and 75r resistor is needed on each of the RGB lines to correct the RGB signals; I read this on other articles on other consoles too, so no surprise. Desoldered some capacitors from old boards I have lying about, the resistors are new as have a pack of them; wired up:



This is the stage where things get interesting, and I must admit, i'm rather nervous - system tested for final time, all works great, nice picture, RGB working, nice audio, all great. Next stage is to get the console inside the casing and shorten and re-attach wires as needed, and also rig the system up to the batteries; ie this is the stage where final assembly takes place, back of drive unit screwed into the case backing, and final project stage. Have to be very careful not to kill things now! ong:

 

I'm curious why you aren't using 30ga wirewrapping wire more often - you could save a good bit of space (especially making the fiddly GD-ROM connector easier to solder)




Anyhow, there are lots of things I would do differently but it's the end result that matters the most, isn't it

 

Don't know what gauge my wire is, what I do know is it is very flexible, easy to solder and great for general wiring. I buy them on reels, different colours.

Sounds a bit bitchy, marshallh? :fresh: :icon_bigg


Update:

Last project update for today, will have the wiring to do tomorrow. Cut off the power lines so can get system into case.

Hot glued a wire to two ends of the board to act as a crane to lift and lower the board onto the case and maneuver it into place.



It is in - to say there isn't a single millimeter to play with is not an understatement here, as you see, rumble motor moves freely, about 1mm from the board.



I will be most annoyed if anything goes wrong now with it!!

Got to check the drive unit is in exactly the right place, can move it about a few millimeters if need to, a dozen or so wires to reconnect, fix the DC fan, install a 4th fan (not going to risk extending the DC fan's wires - heard before it may cause the DC not to boot), fans take next to no power, so may as well just slap another one in there - to move air around case and also airflow over the heatsinked 7805.

Should have all done tomorrow, assuming no issues with the doctor - been having a constant minor gripe on my right side of my chest for weeks, barely anything but consistent - might be appendix, might be something else or nothing, seeing doctor in under an hour "to have a chat". Assuming all well, and on project tomorrow, and things working still and not frying on the project (so many things close to each other in the case) may have it done...

 

its must have been a good few hours and days to do this it relly good

 

Probably spent a little over 200 hours on this project.


Spent a while removing the power supplies (the 7805, TI card, etc) and rewiring them, also tidying up the wiring somewhat so the case will (should) shut, installing extra fan, etc.



I have made a few more mini videos for "part 2" of my WIP guide, however not uploaded them yet - intend to do that in the next days and probably compress the guide into just one 10 minute video for ease of accessibility - if not, into two parts.

So, here is the video just made - hope you enjoy it!


YouTube video


In the next days, when I get time, I will try and get the case gingerly closed and see if all is ok!

 

Yesterday's update (forgot to add it here)

Thought I would give an update on today. Spent the entire day on this - managed to move one of the fans a bit, the capacitors for the RGB lines (case didn't close), moved wiring a bit here and there; finally managed to get system to close - just. However, and here's the major pain in the butt - getting the DC drive unit installed fully into the case top - been a major annoyance - can do it but a CD catches the case as the drive unit can't quite be raised enough; having to work out how to do this. Will resume a solution today, one way or another.

Had case open and closed many times today, so hope nothing has come loose and everything still works ok - wise to test this out before trying a stratgy to get the case shut. That is my fear at the moment, no matter how careful you are, a short can happen on projects like this, or similar and instantly fry the whole system in worst case scenario.

I will probably have to relocate the ribbon cable on the DC drive board, so I can hot glue the drive unit to the case backing, at this rate, assuming that solves the issue. The problem is I need the back end of the drive unit to raise 2mm more than it does; and it is proving to be a problem - so the result at the moment is a CD is free on the spindle area but not the opposite end, so catches on the case. This has to be resolved.

Will keep you posted on progress!

Today's update:

The drive unit drops in perfectly into its space in the case top, however doesn't quite get into that position raising it inside the case, hence looking at securing the drive unit firmly into the case itself, which means I may as well fill in the screw holes made before as they won't be needed.

To keep it a little easier, rather than wiring directly to the ribbon cable port, I removed a spare one from a dead board by soldering all over the pins, then when the soldering iron was placed on the large blob, all solder heated including over all the pins, thereby enabling the port to lift off with pins intact. This was wired, and at the other end, soldered the wires directly to the ribbon. This was very careful soldering indeed - enough to secure a solder joint on the plastic cable but not to damage it.

The idea is that this cable acts like an extension cable; one end to extend the existing ribbon from the drive unit and the other to pop into the drive board port.

In theory, this should work.

 

Stunning work. The amount of circuit board cutting and wiring stuns me.

Just a quick note, the vast majority of PAL games will output 60hz- they have an option for 50/60/test before the title screen. As I remember, Pen Pen was one of the few that didn't have that option, but it still ran pretty smooth.

 

Thanks for the kind words. I must confess the amount of trimming, extending and rewiring on this project amazed me, looking back. Doing this project has really kicked me higher up the notches of portablizing, I am really pleased and proud with myself for what I have achieved so far.


I have the following DreamCast games:

Cosmic Smash
Ecco the Dolphin
PenPen
Q*Bert
Quake 3
Sega Rally Championships
Shenmue
Sonic Adventure
Unreal Tournament
Wacky Races
Worms Armadeddon

Cosmic Smash is japanese, only one I have found so far that works on my PAL system on CDR, and the only NTSC one I got working was Q*Bert - all others fail. Of the PAL games, only tested Ecco, PenPen, Sonic and Quake. Only Quake seems to ask about 50/60mhz; and will only run on my system/screen at 50mhz.


Hurrah!

This works - just tested it, to the start of a game. Looks like my cheap and cheerful home-made ffc connector worked like a dream! I couldn't find any fcc cables or on ebay that were suitable (16 pin 0.93mm pitch) let alone long enough; so making my own was THE option. Turned out to work well, and very cheap to make; issue is putting a hot soldering iron to a ribbon cable, but if you are careful, you are fine.

Pic of it working although of course a still photo isn't showing the disc rotating!



Now, just need to secure the drive unit in place with hot glue, and work out a clear path for the extra wiring to fill into so the case will shut. One issue after another, huh!

 

Hey bacteria, since you hacked up your dc pretty good there I was wondering if you might be able to answer a question I was wondering about.

I have a couple of spare DC parts and mainly a mainboard with controller board but a missing ribbon cable. (bought it as a defunct spare part unit in the first place, but didnt had any information of what was exactly missing.)

Now, are there any solder pads to go to for hardwiring the controller PCB back onto the dreamcast mainboard? Otherwise I wouldnt know where to get such a ribbon cable, so I might as well connect it back up myself. (To make matters worse this controller board has a blown fuse as well ;_

Maybe you know for certain if this works, sorry for sorta hijacking your crazy tale here:dance:

 

If I had a spare ribbon I would send it to you, however my system is using two and the third one I melted in error when the soldering iron touched it!

The DC motherboard has solder places for soldering wires to, as does the port on the laser; the problem is that you need a flexible cable to make it bend as the laser goes back and forth - ribbon cable is ideal.

Had intended to complete project today, however, was invited to be an Admin on CyberSteamPortables (click on it for link), a very new forum that will be devoted to modding and chat; so spent a while on it tonight, and will spend time tomorrow on it upping stuff. Feel free to join please! ;-)

Anyway, should hopefully have some time to get this project done tomorrow, all being well; will post when progress to report!

 

Ok, good news first:

* Case shuts, barely. Held it in place with electrical tape so it didn't come apart too easily. The system will have screws to hold it down of course.

* System clearly works and in the video, the d-pad and one of the buttons shows that.

* Nice to hold, although heavy at 1.5 kg. To compare, an unmodded DreamCast console by itself weighs in at about 1.2 kg.

Bad news:

* Seem to have some interference on the video line. might be positioning of the capacitors, etc, screen a little darker than before. If problem persists, may go back to composite instead of RGB. It could be that the batteries need recharging, possible.

* The VMU is being a pain, part of the middle of the screen is not showing, as per the video. This can be fixed, hopefully without removing the DC board.

* After about 30 seconds or maybe less, the system cuts out. It may be that the batteries are under too much strain, not sure; or need recharge, or a faulty set, don't know. I guess it may be the amps as the system turns back on again afterwards, and turns off again as before. If the batteries are under too much strain and can't cope, I will have to just run the system off mains, which isn't ideal. It could also be an issue with heat as to why the system shuts off, easiest way to know if the batteries are ok, and issue is heat, is to run system with cover off and see what happens.

These are set-backs, i'm hoping after all this work that the issues can be resolved. This project has been a right royal pain in the butt from start to end, feel like binning it, but won't! :x If the system stops working however, I may not be able to resolve the issue now project is so advanced.

YouTube Video Link

 

Think I may have found the problem. Me and my stupid wiring! *duh*

Looks like I connected the grounds of the three batteries together fine for a nice 6 amp system, but connected two of the positive connections of the batteries together but not to the third one, and the third one was running straight to the console by itself, not involving the other two cells!

This in effect means the system was running on just ONE set of cells, 2 amps - not surprising the system was cutting out, the protection circuit would have cut the power to stop the battery pack overloading!

That is interesting on a different level - the current needed was calculated at about 2.7 amps or thereabouts, yet a battery pack with only 2 amps managed to make it run - BTW, wasn't about 30 seconds, more like minute.

That also accounts for the screen looking ok some of the time and a bit dimmer the bulk of the time - of course it would, no enough juice!

Ok, that's fine. Just got to figure out the minute changes to the VMU needed to get it just right... and of course solder one more wire to the system to connect the batteries together properly!

Happy again, have to expect teething problems!

 

Ran the system for about 30 mins without issues, whilst seeing the the VMU adjustment. System running fine now the batteries are hooked up properly.

The VMU is VERY touch sensitive to adjustment. It would have been better in hindsight to have moulded the original case into my case rather than all this hassle however what's done is done.

I was dreading having to remove the guts from the system for this minor adjustment, which may or may not succeed, so prodded with a strong plastic thin tube to press in a couple of places accessible easily - worked. Hot glued the tube into place, will test again tomorrow or Monday, however seems this may (hopefully) have got all the lines on the VMU to work properly. Not sure with any minor flex in the case when closed if that will remain the situation, only one way to know though.

Excuse these two pics, they are rubbish! Rather than manouvering the case top around, being extremely careful, used a mirror to reflect what the VMU was showing - means of course although I can see the image perfectly, the camera can't get a good image from a reflection; so excuse the quality. You can see what I mean anyway:

Before:



After:



If this, or similar adjustments fail when the case is being closed, I will have to open the system up, which would be a setback. Will know tomorrow or Monday and will keep you posted.

 

Ok, work update, no pics today:

VMU is working fine, no missing lines, etc.

Opened case up several times and near closed case (didn't have to close completely for testings).

The RGB was too dark, removed the capacitors and resistors on the lines (they were recommended in the pinout I found to use them to brighten the screen) - no difference, image too dark. So, made the system work via composite again. Really, there is little or no difference with composite vs RGB on the Dreamcast on a PSone screen. Image now is bright and lovely again. Took a while to work out what the wires were to connect to the system with as everything is enclosed!

Tested using the joystick on Quake 3 - I think it works rather well actually!

One pain - the right shoulder progressive switch didn't work, it did before. Only thing I could think of was interference on the lines, after checking everything else. The wires from the right shoulder button are quite long in fairness, so I attached a second set of wires, shorter ones, to the contacts, and all is great now - can fire in Quake 3 now!

Talking of Quake 3 - tested controls in the game - move forward to pick up a weapon, the rumble really shakes the console quite noticeably, the red LED glows; etc. Same also when fire a weapon.

Boy, looking forward to showing you guys what this system can do in Quake 3 - you won't be disappointed!! :rambo:

Secured one of the four screw points with a screw, three more to go, then project will be finished....tomorrow.... :nod:

 

I've been silently following this project and I'm glad you've overcome all the problems you were having with it a few days ago. Great stuff, can't wait to see the final model.

 

Thanks, appreciate that.

Not overcome all problems unfortunately, managed to get the screws into the case fine, went in easily and hold system very securely, even beyond expectations.

Problem was that there must have been something catching or a short waiting to happen as when one of the corners was shut down, the DC only booted to the system menu and not to the game, when pressure released, all fine. Redid this many many times to find the issue, when I thought I cured it, the DC must have tripped as it only goes to the system menu now. Either the board is fried, issue with the power regulator (doubt it) or a wire is loose. If this can't be resolved, I will have to buy another DreamCast and rebuild the board again with all that fancy wiring! I know what I am doing now though, so will be much faster - still, would take a few days to get a replacement board...

I will make this work, and if I need to replace the board, I will make things fit better on it so this time around saving a couple of millimeters height and as such making the system better at closing.