Bacteria's portable DreamCast handheld console - IntoDream

[bacteria]

Unsure at this stage. Each battery pack is about 99g in weight; one on either side of the case balance each other out, the left side has the 3rd set of batteries though; however most of the DreamCast guts will be on the right side, so will probably even it out...

I will know better when system built!

If all goes well, I should get this completed within the month, however there is a lot more to do yet before this is done, so nothing is certain - might be finished in 3 weeks, might be 2 months:

* Wire up controller, including to the VMU and rumble pack.
* Install rumble pack.
* Reinforce the sides of the case to make strong and rigid.
* Hope the DreamCast still works - it is complicated bit of kit, and quite heavily modded.
* Hardwire the controller wires to all controls, and to the mini board.
* Install the DreamCast guts into the case , keeping the components in the right place, and also secured in place.
* Turn system on and hope everything works, no shorts, etc.

[IcKy99]

is the rumble pack really that nessasary? I mean you can save some room without it and i dont think it would even benefit you because it will be inside that casing and just rattle around.

[bacteria]

I have space for a rumble motor next to the joystick. Rumble motors don't rattle around when secured in place by hot glue, but do give a gentle vibration to the case as a whole, as it should.

If i've done my calculations right, there should be barely just enough space for the rumble motor nearly against the joystick and nearly against the DC board...hopefully...

[weasels]

is the rumble pack really that nessasary? I mean you can save some room without it and i dont think it would even benefit you because it will be inside that casing and just rattle around.

i agree but i also think it might add some more unnecessary weight to it also.

[IcKy99]

another thought.

what if your playing a rumble heavy game, such as Tony Hawks pro skater 2. And your doing a lot of grinds which cause the motor the rumble, dont you think after a while that it would affect the batterylife?

[bacteria]

Good points, the motor will add to the battery drain, I can't remember the power requirements of a rumble motor, I think it is something like about 300mA (a figure in the back of my mind), when used - ie when viabrating, so probably averages more like 50-100mA in real use. I have a rumble pack, so may as well use it though!

[bacteria]

Small update, but worth mentioning.

Removed one of the batteries, drilled out the part of the PSone case under it and reglued the battery back. This reduced the amount of space the battery stuck out into the other case half by about 8mm, which makes all the difference in the case to finally close when at that stage. That took over an hour to complete.

Worked out how to make the case halves reinforced and also meet - going to use a set of "teeth" on both case halves to loosely interact, and a strip of steel wire to provide the strength to the cases; not at the stage yet to do that, will do. When done, I intend to spray paint the part the two case halves meet, to look cool - probably in black.

Changed the positions of the drive unit and its board a bit, by about 2cms; hoping it still works ok, will test in next days. Assuming it does, work on the case should start to get fairly swift in the project. The batteries are in now, the controller needs rewiring and all the connections connected to it (which will take a while to complete), that is the last part of the core project completed, assuming it works ok when the system is turned on and tested.

[MrPopo]

the controller needs rewiring and all the connections connected to it (which will take a while to complete),

Having just finished rewiring an SNES controller I can say that this is true. Rewiring a controller is a pain in the ass.

[bacteria]

I feel that I am on the "home straight" now on this project, which is good news.

Cut a strip of thin steel and put the end over a piece of the thermal gunk from the other DC board, on top of the BA3986FM chip on the drive daughterboard. This chip normally connects to the metal plate around the drive unit, so presumably gets warm. The metal strip should remove the heat, and the air moving in the case will keep the plate cool.

Jiggled the positions of the drive board on the motherboard, and the placement of the drive unit on its own board, being very careful to keep the ribbon cable behind straight. The plastic holder for the drive unit has been cut back so the drive unit is slightly over the fan keeping the processor chips cool - this means the board will fit in the case without needing trimming (apart from corners maybe) and the drive unit will fit through the case backing hole made for it. Those processes took a good couple of hours to do, check, move some capacitors about a bit, etc.

I then turned the system on, hoping all works still ok; did! If not, and I had a short, I might have either had to spend a few hours trying to correct the fault, or far longer starting a new DC from scratch... anyway, all ok, so no issue!



To keep the drive unit in place, used some plastic tubes, hot glued to the board below it.



I have a few DreamCast games, this one is a strange but amusing one - PenPen. Got it for £5 on ebay (including postage), arrived a couple of days ago.

As it turned out, 4 packs of batteries would be possible, just; however I prefer to keep more airflow in the case, and somewhere to put controller board in, so will keep to 3 packs (6 amps).

So, the system works, the case front works, the system section fits in the case now (pretty sure), work remaining:

* finish wiring the controller board
* wire everything to the controller board
* wire the power to the relevant parts
* wire the PSone screen to the system and the system to the controller
* wire all other switches, etc
* install the DC fan in place
* install the rumble pack
* mod the board connecting the controller to the motherboard
* make a section to secure the two case halves together, and make it easy to get into the system if needed

This is "home straight", perhaps just another 10 hours or so work remaining, then can get on with testing the system and make improvements as needed. I also want to see if connecting the system to RGB instead of composite is not only better, but also plays some NTSC games that currently scroll (RGB mode might stop that).

[bacteria]

Had to remove the battery from the other side, use a drill bit and carefully work away the PSone screen casing, to then re-set the battery in place as it was before. This lowers the battery by several millimeters, so worth it - makes the system close.



Had a corking idea for strengthening the case sides and also making the two halves meet nicely and stay secured - had thought about making "teeth" however that would be bulky and time consuming. I remembered a strip of plastic I retained in case it was useful for project work - from a replacement car window wiper strip! Basically, it is a strip of plastic in an "H" shape, and the right thickness to support and fit the plastic from the case! The strip is fairly rigid, however can be weakened in strategic places so it moulds around the corners of the casing. One section will have the strip hot glued in place, the other case half will pop into place, and just need a few screws to secure it together - probably four might be enough, two on top and two on bottom.

I like thinking laterally to problem solve!



Recharged the batteries in the case from an adapted battery charger.



More updates to follow hopefully today, if not, certainly tomorrow.