You turn on a Dreamcast and you VMU battery is dead? Yeah, that beep.
I cut the wires for the tiny speaker inside the VMU from the board. So no more beep.
I don't put the secondary games on the VMU anyway. I just like it there for a screen.
That is all.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
RF-ectomy complete...
After much hassle (those damn grounding points), I finally removed the RF modulator from the PC Engine.
I also got an RBG amp for it, just because.
I'm thinking, since I'm not selling it nor do I have plans to sell it, I'm gonna go ahead and use the DB9 connector. Wiring it up is gonna be another thought process, but at least now I have a decently sized area to work with. I'm going off the plans on GamesX.com for a multi connector, but I'm still wondering if I should implement a +5V connection within the mod. I was gonna replace that pin that's suggested for +5V with composite video, seeing down the line when I start hardcore modding for RGB, the device I plan on using for RGB to the Wega's Component input probably won't need it.
More research to be done. I definitely do not want to rush this thing. I'm gonna use this PC Engine for all my RGB testing for now since it's the smallest and I have majority of the components to complete the mod. I'm hoping that as soon as taxes and/or my extra check comes in, I'll be able to get this RGB thing in high gear.
I also got an RBG amp for it, just because.
I'm thinking, since I'm not selling it nor do I have plans to sell it, I'm gonna go ahead and use the DB9 connector. Wiring it up is gonna be another thought process, but at least now I have a decently sized area to work with. I'm going off the plans on GamesX.com for a multi connector, but I'm still wondering if I should implement a +5V connection within the mod. I was gonna replace that pin that's suggested for +5V with composite video, seeing down the line when I start hardcore modding for RGB, the device I plan on using for RGB to the Wega's Component input probably won't need it.
More research to be done. I definitely do not want to rush this thing. I'm gonna use this PC Engine for all my RGB testing for now since it's the smallest and I have majority of the components to complete the mod. I'm hoping that as soon as taxes and/or my extra check comes in, I'll be able to get this RGB thing in high gear.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The soldering iron comes out tomorrow...
I have a PCE that needs an RF-ectomy.
I already got the case cleaned up, just need to get rid of the RF modulator since...heck, no one uses those things anymore. I'm still not sure if I want to get a mini DIN connector for it or just use the D-Sub's that I have. I have several days to think about it, but the RF comes out tomorrow night.
I already got the case cleaned up, just need to get rid of the RF modulator since...heck, no one uses those things anymore. I'm still not sure if I want to get a mini DIN connector for it or just use the D-Sub's that I have. I have several days to think about it, but the RF comes out tomorrow night.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Dreamcast revisited...
I had a quite day off today (read: No kids!), so I decided to take on the Dreamcast problem from my last post.
After opening it, I first noticed that one of the wires got pinched and was probably touching bare metal. After patching up that area, cutting the bad part, soldered and heat shrunk the connection, I decided to check the underside of the board at all my connections there. Other than the Horizontal Sync connection coming loose, everything was solid under there. Checked some of the components for bad ones and came up with nothing.
Since I had it opened, I rerouted wires and changed up the screws I had in the VGA connector for ones that didn't stick out as much for a tighter fit. I'm sure after closing up there are still some pinched wires in there, but for the most part, everything cleared.
I hooked it up to a monitor I had along with my headphones. Powered up and reset the calendar. I let it start without a disc. The startup sound came up....IN STEREO!
So it was that pinched wire that caused all the problems. Because I was tapping it from the AV connector itself, by having that wire short out, it also shorted out the left channel from the AV connector.
So yeah, problem solved.
After opening it, I first noticed that one of the wires got pinched and was probably touching bare metal. After patching up that area, cutting the bad part, soldered and heat shrunk the connection, I decided to check the underside of the board at all my connections there. Other than the Horizontal Sync connection coming loose, everything was solid under there. Checked some of the components for bad ones and came up with nothing.
Since I had it opened, I rerouted wires and changed up the screws I had in the VGA connector for ones that didn't stick out as much for a tighter fit. I'm sure after closing up there are still some pinched wires in there, but for the most part, everything cleared.
I hooked it up to a monitor I had along with my headphones. Powered up and reset the calendar. I let it start without a disc. The startup sound came up....IN STEREO!
So it was that pinched wire that caused all the problems. Because I was tapping it from the AV connector itself, by having that wire short out, it also shorted out the left channel from the AV connector.
So yeah, problem solved.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Dreamcast woes...
I should've tested it earlier. I just played it off as miswiring. Nope!
I've decided to play a little Dreamcast tonight (the one I VGA modded a while back). I noticed that the left side was a little off last time I tried playing it. I didn't think anything of it. Now, tonight, I decided to play with headphones on so not to disturb my wife while she was knitting/watching the winter Olympics. I had a little LCD VGA monitor and my headphones. I was playing for a few minutes until I noticed something wrong: Sound was coming out of one side.
Now, I may or may not have touched up on this when I finished the VGA mod the last time, but as it goes, the sound coming from the 3.5 phono jack that I installed didn't seem to be reproducing the left channel all to well...on my main TV (a 37" Vizio). It was faint, but I played it off since putting the original VGA cable produced the same effect: A really low, but usable sound from the left channel.
Fast forward to tonight, when I wanted to play Sonic Adventure (no real reason, just wanted to play it). With the headphones on, the left audio channel was not there. I was annoyed with that. I tried using my gaming headset that has RCA jacks instead of your usual 3.5 phono jack, with the stock A/V cable. Still, no sound through the left channel.
...
Right now, it's too late for me to dive in and check it. I'm trying REALLY hard not to let my OCD take over and open it up right now. I've posted up to NG.com to see if anyone would know what I could do. But in the meantime, I'm gonna have to wait until after work tomorrow until I can open it up and see what's going on...I hope it's an easy fix.
Oh, and I'll also add that the guy sent the PC Engine to a repair guy nearby him. Turns out that the PC Engine had a bad trace on it somewhere, so it's on its way back to me, along with a bunch of other stuff. The only extra I really wanted was a controller. But he's cool like that, and that's much appreciated.
I've decided to play a little Dreamcast tonight (the one I VGA modded a while back). I noticed that the left side was a little off last time I tried playing it. I didn't think anything of it. Now, tonight, I decided to play with headphones on so not to disturb my wife while she was knitting/watching the winter Olympics. I had a little LCD VGA monitor and my headphones. I was playing for a few minutes until I noticed something wrong: Sound was coming out of one side.
Now, I may or may not have touched up on this when I finished the VGA mod the last time, but as it goes, the sound coming from the 3.5 phono jack that I installed didn't seem to be reproducing the left channel all to well...on my main TV (a 37" Vizio). It was faint, but I played it off since putting the original VGA cable produced the same effect: A really low, but usable sound from the left channel.
Fast forward to tonight, when I wanted to play Sonic Adventure (no real reason, just wanted to play it). With the headphones on, the left audio channel was not there. I was annoyed with that. I tried using my gaming headset that has RCA jacks instead of your usual 3.5 phono jack, with the stock A/V cable. Still, no sound through the left channel.
...
Right now, it's too late for me to dive in and check it. I'm trying REALLY hard not to let my OCD take over and open it up right now. I've posted up to NG.com to see if anyone would know what I could do. But in the meantime, I'm gonna have to wait until after work tomorrow until I can open it up and see what's going on...I hope it's an easy fix.
Oh, and I'll also add that the guy sent the PC Engine to a repair guy nearby him. Turns out that the PC Engine had a bad trace on it somewhere, so it's on its way back to me, along with a bunch of other stuff. The only extra I really wanted was a controller. But he's cool like that, and that's much appreciated.
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