Hi, does anyone here know how he did that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egv_LBMp-qM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yruN_oTKSH0 I can't find any info on this mod :shrug: Besides ... is there a list of laser pickups which are compatible with the Dreamcast in the event a dead diode ? Asking because, there will be a time where obtaining working DC lasers is going to be expensive / impossible (if not already). So I want to be prepared Thanks, iCEQB
Over in the mods section you can find a mod that will let you swap the laser from certain CD-ROM drives into the DC. My connection is being a little pissant so I can't watch the section video but if he has made it ejectable with a tray that is possible too. Saw some soldered wire extensions on there.
Yeah problem is, no every laser pickup works because of the pinouts. So it would be cool if someone with the knowledge could figure out the pinout on the DC laser pickup. "Funny" there are no datasheets for laser pickups :/
Using an oscilloscope. Or tracking the wires back to the chips and finding those pinouts. Or owning a service manual.
Given that DCs are $5 a pop here I don't know why anyone would bother with replacement laser units from other devices, except for technical curiosity. Fact is, there will be cheap, working DCs for a long time to come (and those other drives that are compatible will probably be dead too by that point). And even if every Dreamcast laser in the world inexplicably dies in a decade's time, someone will come along with a workaround. Much ado about nothing, IMO.
The real problem with the DC isn't the optical pickup. The fact that SEGA used brush motors in a 12x CD-ROM drive is the real problem. An very decent fix would be mod the drive to use an brushless spindle motor. That would make it last at least 2x longer than what it currently does.
