Hi guys, I recently bought a dreamcast and I'm quite happy with it. Already did the vga mod, and the picture is awesome. Now I'm looking at some instructions for the sdcard mod: http://www.dallaslive.de/vdr/projects/retro-consoles/dreamcast/index-en.php (already have such cheap usb readers from china that I can modify accordingly) I also found some pages that talk about that I need some additional components for the sd-card mod: ... Some things you\'ll need: A resistor 470. A capacitor 47 uf. A capacitor 0.1 uf. An LED (not mandatory). An SD Card port. (this schematic here: http://s46.photobucket.com/user/antdog817/media/dcserial_sdcard_if_2.gif.html) I guess the capacitors are just for smoothing the input voltage ? Did anyone experience any negative consequences by not using them? Another thing I was thinking about is, if I ever acquire a dreamcast link cable, I cannot use the serial port for it, If I soldered the sdcard reader directly to the mainboard since it would be constantly powered. Am I assuming correctly, that if I put a simple on/off switch just between the VDD cable that I could solve these problems, or are there other connections that I'd have to seperate? ------------------------ Another thing I was looking at it this one here: (SDCARD over G1ATA) http://www.dreamcastbrasil.com.br/2...amcast-sd-cf-melhor-opcao-de-um-mod-compacto/ G1ATA Mod with IDE->CF->MicroSD Card. I wonder if I could fit this inside the dreamcast somehow. 64gb MicroSD would be enough space for me, and it would be a cleaner solution than always carrying around a harddisk Btw, has anyone found a working IDE to SDCARD adapter, maybe something like that https://www.amazon.com/Secure-Digit...=1467896914&sr=8-2&keywords=ide+to+sd+adapter I know, that I would have to find one that I could jumper as slave somehow. But I could leave out the IDE->CFAdapter
Since you are planning to do an internal SD Reader mod, you should consider get one from Helder: http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/f-s-dreamcast-internal-sd-mod.49919/ Easier to perform, cleaner job. No need to add an on/off switch, if you want to use the serial port, just remove the SD card from the slot. As for those CF to SD Card adapters, I never tried it, but I ordered an IDE to SD Card adapter from china (it has the same Siltech chipset that one you linked above) I will see if it's possible to enable the slave mode on it in order to get it working with G1-ATA mod.
Good to hear that I don't need that switch. (one hole less in the case) Thanks for the link, but soldering shouldn't be that much of an issue I did some digging, and It also seems the capacitors are really just for stabilization and not needed. Two people in the german forum circuit board wrote that they had no problems so far with data transfer interruptions without the capacitors. https://circuit-board.de/forum/index.php/Thread/4560-Sega-Dreamcast-SD-MOD-Reset-Button-GD-SD-LED/ I could put in a toshiba air sdcard for wireless transfering of savegames to the dc ^^ I'm interested to hear if that sd adapter will work for you. The amazon link was just the first one i found while searching. If not I think this would be my next order, since it has a master/slave jumper and it also looks extremely compact https://www.amazon.com/uxcell®-Compact-Flash-Adapter-Converter/dp/B00EQVTYO2/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1467996559&sr=8-15&keywords=ide+to+cf+adapter
I did lots of these SD Card mods for DC and I do not use these capacitors either, never noticed any problem without them. There are even some other guides that ask to remove some SMD capacitors from the DC motherboard (C605 to C609) but again I never saw any difference with or without them, at least with Dreamshell use. Most important thing I've noticed so far is the wiring, avoid too long/crossed wires (I like to use flat cables) and take a special care for +Vcc and GND lines. Also if you happen to use an USB-SD Card reader as pictured in that tutorial, cut the traces which goes to that epoxi bubble. The IDE-SD adapter I bought is this one, it's possible to see its chipset description but unfortunately I was not able to find any datasheet of it, so it's actually uncertainly whether it has a way to operate in slave mode, but I'll try even so. I have some of those IDE to CF adapters you linked, they work well with DC using CF cards. Personally I do not like to use CF cards because they tend to be expensive here where I live.
