Dreamcast VGA mod

witnessmenow

Last weekend my buddy asked me to pick him up a dreamcast from adverts there and it renewed my interest in my own. The thing that put me off from using it so much was I only had an RF cable, and i basically do all my gaming on my monitor

So either this weekend, or next weekend considering the weekend thats in it :P, im going to do the VGA mod. And strangely enough I havent been this excited about a mod in yonks, I dont know what it is exactly that has me so excited I guess I've grown a little bored of modding the usuals, a lot of the modding I've been doing lately has been a little mundane ,flashing 360s, softmodding wiis & xboxs, its not exactly challenging and is fairly repetitive.

The xrebooted hack is obviously an exception to this, but my problem isnt with the mod or the procedure, its with the RROD fixed xbox thats its on. I use my "good" xbox fairly infrequently anyways so im not really sure will the xrebooted save that...

But anyways I've strayed miles OT!

Ok so im following this guide

The what i needs are:

3x 220uF capacitors - Bought 10 on ebay*
2x Silicon diodes - Using the ones from the Xrebooted
2x 4.7Kohm resistors - Bought 50 on ebay
2x 150ohm resistors - Using 100ohm ones from xrebooted, can add some 22 in series to boost it up if needs be.
1x Slide or toggle switch - Bought 5 off ebay*
1x Female VGA port - bought 3 from maplin (delivered to the lassy in the UK, although shes just after telling me that Maplin is quite close to her!)
1x 3.5mm stereo audio jack - bought 5 off ebay*
Solder
Electrical tape

* indicate off same ebayer, cheaper postage


Mid post edit: while getting the links i noticed i never payed for the fecking 4.7K resistors, i may have something at home to do the trick


So im going to try do a fairly comprehensive mod log of it when ever i get to do it.


Anybody here do it before?

KeRbDoG

Ah, wouldn't mind doing this myself yea have enough parts to sell on to me so I can have a go to?

TouchingVirus

I've not owned a sega console since the mega drive, but I'm interested in detailed mod logs. I'll be embarking on a watercooled 360 some time in the future along with some case modding, should be fun and I hope to modlog it too.

Will be following this one with interest, best of luck

witnessmenow

So i decided to go at this this evening.

Bullin with myself, I ordered 4R7 instead of 4K7 resistors , dont know how i managed it cause as soon as i opened the envelope I knew they werent the right ones but they are the ones i ordered, so it will be next week before its done

I decided to do what i could without the resistors so i soldered the other components to the matrix board. I will give more detailed pictures and fully explain the layout when its finished.



The i went about case modding. So first job was to crack that baby open! And i have to say, its probably the easiest console to take apart I have ever come across! I have a few pictures of being taken apart but unless anyone wants to see them i dont think there is much point throwing them up (all photos will be uploaded to here at some stage)

So with fully dissembled i first marked off where i could put the VGA port



The max line was as high as you could go with out going through thicker plastic, the line similar in length to that is roughly where i wanted the VGA to go, the two vertical lines also had thicker plastic there so i didnt see the point disturbing it so I wanted to stay in between the two. So once I marked out my limits that I had to stay in, I got a VGA cable and traced roughly the hole i needed (the back of the VGA socket was slightly bigger but once the solder pins where through I would be able to line it up better) Remember when lining it up to consider the disc drive.

So i used my dremel type tool to cut the large majority of hole in the plastic, And i used a file set for the final 20-30%

I did a similar method for the switch too and for the Audio port I used a cordless drill and a 5.5 wood drill bit (I have to double check the size)
Here is the end result, which i'm really pleased with





So hopefully when i get the right resistors I'll be able to get it going ok.

@ Kerb yeah man if you want them I can sort you out with a set of stuff

TouchingVirus

Loving the cutting done in the case, very neat

witnessmenow

Ok I finally got a round to finishing this tonight. It took way longer than I thought, I'd say in total i was 6hrs at it

so back to the pictures

first thing i did was solder up everything



Handy enough solder points, while i was there i decided to throw in a switch for the region changer disc.

I then had to route the cables so they wouldnt be in the way. I sent up all the VGA wires up near the fan and all the other wires up near the power supply.



I then tested was the thing working still!



Was still working fine. I then set about tidying the cable and properly re-assembling it, I used some heat shrink to keep the cable together where it needed to be and insulating tape to keep the excess wire down. I also hot glues the switches in place.





And with that it was all finished.



The quality of the VGA signal is superb, was really surprised how good it was






Only thing left to do now is secure the VGA socket in, im probably best doing this with bolts rather than the hot glue gun so i might wait till i get some.

It's not the easiest mod, but its a great feeling when you see that dreamcast logo come up on screen!

Myrddin

Well done man. Looks VERY neat, and looks sweet on that monitor. Im not sure about that "homebrew" disc though

KeRbDoG

witnessmenow wrote: »

@ Kerb yeah man if you want them I can sort you out with a set of stuff

Yea got a complete 'package' of stuff left from your project still? I'm still interested

witnessmenow

Yeah kerb give me a pm.

Noobsaibot21

Hi,

I was wondering if you could advise me of how much wire I'll need and how many individual wire's I'll actually be using (I bought 10 metres of a very general, thin wire - would that be enough?). I have managed to get all of the parts from Peats of Parnell street (Much cheaper than Maplins).

I have limited experience working with components and stuff (Only major thing I've done is fix the PS2 slim power connector issue). With regards to the strip board, did you leave it to the right of the disc drive? If so, should the copper side have electrical tape covering it or is that dangerous?

Or, is it dangerous to have the wires taped directly to the board underneath as they go from the back of the DC to the front where the strip board will be?

Cheers,
Noobsaibot21

witnessmenow

Thanks for the message (user Pm'd me but i asked him to copy it here as their is good questions in it)

I was wondering if you could advise me of how much wire I'll need and how many individual wire's I'll actually be using (I bought 10 metres of a very general, thin wire - would that be enough?). I have managed to get all of the parts from Peats of Parnell street (Much cheaper than Maplins).

I have limited experience working with components and stuff (Only major thing I've done is fix the PS2 slim power connector issue). With regards to the strip board, did you leave it to the right of the disc drive? If so, should the copper side have electrical tape covering it or is that dangerous?

Or, is it dangerous to have the wires taped directly to the board underneath as they go from the back of the DC to the front where the strip board will be?

Cheers,
Noobsaibot21

10m of wire should be plenty, but you do use a surprising amount of wire. you'll be needing around 11 20-30cm wires
Good to know about peats being cheaper, I buy off maplin as a last resort.

Its not easy soldering, but def not hard either, I'd give 2/5 for difficulty so if you havent soldered much before just get a bit of practice, do the strip board first. I didn't do my strip board the same as my link, but its all the same really.

Yup I left my strip board to the right of the disc drive, fits like a glove Yes you are right it would be dangerous (not life threatening dangerous, certainly dreamcast threatening though) to have the copper touching the metal. I lined where i was putting it with electrical insulating tape aswell as the bottom of the strip board (lining where it is being put is better as its a flat surface and the tape will hold better, but no harm in doing both)

No, once the cable still has all its shielding there shouldn't be a problem. I had to cut a small bit of the heat sink thats under neath the motherboard to get the cables out without squashing them (the cut is almost directly below where the strip board is, only a cm wide or so. Make sure you line the edges of your cut with tape so not to damage the wire.

Any more questions feel free to ask

Noobsaibot21

Cheers,

Was just wondering if you could further help me. The 220 uF capacitors.... Does it matter if the solder from the negative is touching the positive? They are on the same copper track. Or, would I be able to space the positive and negative further apart on the same track if I have the room?

Here is a pic:

http://img228.imageshack.us/i/dcvga2nd2vm1.jpg/

witnessmenow

They can be on the same track, but you need to cut the copper between them, it can be making no connection at all. It seems like you cut them already, but i cant see from the picture if they are fully cut.

This is the same for all components on the same track, if you dont cut the copper the signal will bypass going through the component at all.


Will you take a picture of the top of the board?

Noobsaibot21

Hi, that wasn't a picture of my soldering skills unfortunately. Here are my extremely limited skills in action:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42384483@N05/4427756129/sizes/l/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42384483@N05/4428521214/sizes/l/

I realize it's not the tidiest of soldering in the world but I am pretty sure the breaks are okay and I don't believe there are any connections between tracks (I have corrected the one in the Blue track spilling onto the green by melting the solder and pushing it back into place then using a blade to separate any solder between the tracks if any). Apart from the messy solder, do you see any problems with it? And yes, I have the same laptop as you.

I got this in Peat's for 95 cent (as opposed to Maplins €2.15) but I haven't a clue how to actually stick it into the DC - Is glue advisable?

http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?view_product=1&id=1855

I can pretty much put this on the back burner as it will be a week before I get the switch and the VGA port. Incidentally, are they glued on or did you screw them on/in?

For anyone else interested, Peats is definately the place to buy (apart from maybe online):

VGA port - €1 (Maplins price €2.65)
Mini Switch - 30c (Maplins have a limited range of horrible looking switches)
3.5mm Stereo connector - As above
220 uF 25v capacitors - 13c each (None in Maplins)
150k resistors - 89c for 100 (Maplins 16c each)
1N4148 Diodes - 13c each (None in Maplins)

witnessmenow

Maybe they are and I just cant see it, but you need to cut the track between the two legs of the capacitors anyways (its the same for all the components)

Noobsaibot21

I have decided to abandon the project as I cant solder to the board - It's just too small and, being unemployed, cant afford to get a pro to do it. Does anyone want my components and such?

KeRbDoG

So I've built the circuit and connected it all up and it worked great! Amazing how clear the Dreamcast is on VGA.

Massive thanks to Witnessmenow for posting his excess parts for this project Yea still gotta let me know how much I owe yea for the bits.
I decided to take a load of pictures with my phone. The 'auld cameras are getting better eh?

It took awhile as I still don't have a work bench and I was just back from holiays and knackered but I was determined to get it working last night.

I used mmmonkey's guide for this mod but ignored his RGA/VGA issues. I won't be using any other cables (I hope)

1. Firstly, I prepped the wires which I would use to connect everything up - this took me ages. Must get a solder dip thingy in the future. Doing this right will be at least 90% of your project made a hell of a lot easier.


2. Then I prepped the VGA connector. The heat shrink stuff is great to ensure the wires don't move and touch each other if yea strain the wires


3. Built the small circuit, mental note read the instructions before yea start work should have placed the capacitors after the resistors/diodes. Would have made life a little easier.


4. Now stripped down the Dreamcast - Sega really did a great job on this console. Very easy to dismantle (and reassemble).
I then got soldering to the Dreamcast's motherboard video connections.
My soldering is getting better the prepping of the wires before hand is 95% of the work IMO.


The 'auld Aldi glue gun I bought for €15 a year or so ago keeps paying it's way. Much better than tape, more secure. Yea don't want wires getting snagged and ripping traces off your mobo.

KeRbDoG

6. Threw everything together so I could test it without cutting holes in the DCs case and bam! It worked! Amazing to see how clear the Dreamcast looks. Was using my main TV with its VGA input. I've tried S-Video cables/connectors and they always looked fuzzy so this is great. Threw on MSR and tried to play with with one hand while holding the CD door button closed, fun times! A 'boot' disk didn't like the VGA output so must find a way around that. Need some Toyko Bus Guide testing Don't laugh, it's actually a laugh in a sick kinda way.

Gotta see about nabbing a Dremel type cutter to cut the case for the on/off switch, 3.5mm audio out and the VGA connector. Will find some screws to hold the VGA connector securely when I'm at it.



Yes, that Guinness did help

Noobsaibot21

kerbdog wrote: »

6.......A 'boot' disk didn't like the VGA output so must find a way around that...

That's what your switch is for

kerbdog wrote: »

Gotta see about nabbing a Dremel type cutter to cut the case for the on/off switch, 3.5mm audio out and the VGA connector. Will find some screws to hold the VGA connector securely when I'm at it.

I have a Dremel tool if you happen to live near Blanch.....

KeRbDoG

Noobsaibot21 wrote: »

That's what your switch is for

Self booting 'backups' after patching for VGA seems to be the best work around. The switch trick doesn't really work

Noobsaibot21 wrote: »

I have a Dremel tool if you happen to live near Blanch.....

Currently up to my nads in work so might not be able to grab it off yea

KeRbDoG

I eventually found a Dremel and finished off this mod - still gotta find screw/bolt to hold in the VGA connector - anyone completed this mod that might know the item number on Radionics/Maplins?

Reamer Fanny

I only threw out a dreamcast not so long ago

witnessmenow

:eek:

I think you should leave :pac:

Reamer Fanny

Will do