RIP My Sweet Dreamcast

[Weekend_Warrior]

You may have turned the console off in the middle of it loading a lot of info?

Mine has gotten messed up from that before. Usually I just throw in a couple real games (as opposed to burned) and it will eventually fix itself.

[Beak]

I will adjust the laser as a last resort; don't worry.

[Gnashvar]

^yeah, almost every DC operation problem is just dirt/dust related. For some reason, every DC I've opened has a mangled mess of hair/dust/lint on the "lid closed" switch.

Same here, are people throwing them into a catbox or what?

One unit even had some battery-like gunk in corners of the case. Like the cheap china toys in the 80s that busted up every battery leaving it leak its contents all over the battery compartment. Weirdly enough, there was nothing on the hardware that suggested it. Maybe the douchebag swapped parts or something. The PSU even had a buldging cap.

Oh boy, sad.

hmm this makes me curious if my DC has junk in it. it's working just fine...but you never know right? plus it's due for a small clean anyways.

Offtopic... is that Danny Choo in your ava?

[weasels]

Offtopic... is that Danny Choo in your ava?

you know, im not exactly sure. i was looking for him but i only found this. while looking, i found this ava that someone posted on a photo website so i decided to use it. And the whole "chat and date" thing, i really have no clue about. i just found it funny that i was using something like that along with the fact that there is a storm trooper dancing and it may or may not be danny choo. seriously, i love that guy though. i wish i had his moves.

[CRTGAMER]

Offtopic... is that Danny Choo in your ava?

you know, im not exactly sure. i was looking for him but i only found this. while looking, i found this ava that someone posted on a photo website so i decided to use it. And the whole "chat and date" thing, i really have no clue about. i just found it funny that i was using something like that along with the fact that there is a storm trooper dancing and it may or may not be danny choo. seriously, i love that guy though. i wish i had his moves.

That is a one of a kind, hysterical Avatar.
Reminds me of Disco opening in Gamecube Star Wars.
Wonder if anyone called that number for dance lessons?

[Niode]

DO NOT ADJUST THE POTENTIOMETER AS SHOWN ABOVE UNTIL YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED EVERY OPTION AND HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE! 90% OF THE TIME IT WILL NOT WORK AND WILL TOTALLY BONE YOUR SYSTEM! ANY TIME THE POTENTIOMETER FIX WORKS, IT IS BECAUSE SOMETHING ELSE WAS WRONG AND IT AFFECTED THE CALIBRATION OF THE LASER!

Is this guy trolling again? I just posted that tweaking was the last resort.

Actually the last resort is having to put up with "17DaysOlderThanNEW" non-courteous posts. Who are you to dictate and chop at other members suggestions again. BAN BAN BAN this guy already.

I honestly did miss you saying last resort, but everyone immediately says "POTS POTS POTS, SCREW WITH THE POTS!!!!" and then the system ends up in the trash can. I've seen it too many times. For some reason, everyone with a non-working system swears it could never be a dust/oxidation related issue and they jump straight for the potentiometer adjustment because it seems more 1337, only to completely screw their laser up.

Seriously, turn down the ego, you're about an 11, we need you at about a 3. This isn't my first repair rodeo, cowboy.

HAHA Classic. 17days telling CRT to turn down the ego... This guy really is deluded.

[MentalMan]

Seeing this picture reminds me of something.

On one of the many spare units, the drive is basically of no use, just behaves odd.

While starting to check the inwards I later came to cleaning up the GD-Drive and noticed after lifting the laser assembly like pictured, that the little screw is sorta, "angular". A tad a-skew if you will!

It's hard to explain, but basically it's not in there correctly and any careful pushing didnt solve it either, marking the location and moving the screw left and right didnt do anything either, I was thinking perhaps it pops back into the screw-thread properly, I dunno.

I know the question is ironic, but is it "safe" to try to unscrew it completly, and then screw it back on there? Trying to remember how often the screw went around its axis? I guess the drive is as good as done for anyway, couldnt hurt trying something to get it back in properly.

Its a shame too. Other then that the drive is fine. How can this even happen? Did the original owner smash the drive/system or what?

Edit: Oh I found out what happend. I got one of these units:

[17DaysOlderThanNES]

Seeing this picture reminds me of something.

On one of the many spare units, the drive is basically of no use, just behaves odd.

While starting to check the inwards I later came to cleaning up the GD-Drive and noticed after lifting the laser assembly like pictured, that the little screw is sorta, "angular". A tad a-skew if you will!

It's hard to explain, but basically it's not in there correctly and any careful pushing didnt solve it either, marking the location and moving the screw left and right didnt do anything either, I was thinking perhaps it pops back into the screw-thread properly, I dunno.

I know the question is ironic, but is it "safe" to try to unscrew it completly, and then screw it back on there? Trying to remember how often the screw went around its axis? I guess the drive is as good as done for anyway, couldnt hurt trying something to get it back in properly.

Its a shame too. Other then that the drive is fine. How can this even happen? Did the original owner smash the drive/system or what?

Edit: Oh I found out what happend. I got one of these units:

it's not a screw...at all. Potentiometers are a variable resistor. Most vary from max to min resistance every revolution. Say, if you started at min, it would keep getting higher and higher and higher, hit max, then the next degree it would go back to min again. If you spin more than 1 revolution, you're "spinning your wheels" so to speak. Futhermore, if you put the resistance too low, the current could get to high and fry the electronics.

Then again, listening to the feedback from most of the members of this site, I'm just a crazy person...

...see if you can figure it out Shat


"I...Have...no...idea...good...sir"

edit:

Finally found a website that backs up my previous statement about leaving the pots the f alone: http://sound.westhost.com/pots.htm

Trimpots
Then of course, there are trimpots (aka trimmers) - pots designed for "set and forget" applications. They are used for "trimming" the value of a resistor, and are commonly used for calibrating instruments, setting the bias current on power amplifiers, and a host of other areas where a circuit cannot be relied upon to give an exact gain, output voltage, or current. Naturally, a normal panel pot can be used, but these are very much bigger, and any calibration or setup control should not be made available for everyone to fiddle with as they please.

"set and forget" is the key word to take from this. Adjusting the potentiometer is like ripping out a resistor and replacing it with another one of a different value. I would argue that just about every case of a pot adjustment being successful was just blind luck and pure coincidence since they probably cleaned and "unjammed" the whole assembly just to take it apart enough to get to the potentiometer to mess with it.

here's a good pic showing off how it works:

[noiseredux]

DO NOT ADJUST THE POTENTIOMETER AS SHOWN ABOVE UNTIL YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED EVERY OPTION AND HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE! 90% OF THE TIME IT WILL NOT WORK AND WILL TOTALLY BONE YOUR SYSTEM! ANY TIME THE POTENTIOMETER FIX WORKS, IT IS BECAUSE SOMETHING ELSE WAS WRONG AND IT AFFECTED THE CALIBRATION OF THE LASER!

Is this guy trolling again? I just posted that tweaking was the last resort.

Actually the last resort is having to put up with "17DaysOlderThanNEW" non-courteous posts. Who are you to dictate and chop at other members suggestions again. BAN BAN BAN this guy already.

I honestly did miss you saying last resort, but everyone immediately says "POTS POTS POTS, SCREW WITH THE POTS!!!!" and then the system ends up in the trash can. I've seen it too many times. For some reason, everyone with a non-working system swears it could never be a dust/oxidation related issue and they jump straight for the potentiometer adjustment because it seems more 1337, only to completely screw their laser up.

Seriously, turn down the ego, you're about an 11, we need you at about a 3. This isn't my first repair rodeo, cowboy.

wait I'm confused... I thought you said he shouldn't adjust the pot, but now you're recommending he adjust it from an 11 to a 3?

[17DaysOlderThanNES]

wait I'm confused... I thought you said he shouldn't adjust the pot, but now you're recommending he adjust it from an 11 to a 3?

I recommended the ego-inducing pot be adjusted from an 11 to a 3, yes. The ego pot isn't a trim pot, so it's salright.