******************************************************************************* ** Dreamcast Controler Port Repair FAQ ** ******************************************************************************* 12/03/00 Ver 0.95 By Jeff Hill oomap@aol.com **** WARNING!!! **** This modification MAY harm your Dreamcast, but after 20 hours of playtime I have seen no adverse effects as of yet! **** WARNING!!! **** By performing this modification, you will void any and all warranties that are still valid for your Dreamcast Note: This modification was performed on an American Dreamcast. I'm guessing the Japanese/Asian Dreamcast's circuitry is similar, if not the same. I would not advise trying this on an Asian/Japanese Dreamcast until this is verified. Go ahead and use this FAQ whenever, wherever you want to. This information is important for those of us who use the AgeTec arcae sticks, and I believe it should be free. This procedure was neither suggested nor is it endorsed by Sega. Dreamcast is a registered trademark of Sega Co., Inc. Update: A total of three Dreamcasts have been fixed with this procedure. No ill affects yet. -Version History- v0.95 Added information about the Fishing Rod controller and the 2 other Dreamcasts that were successfully modified v0.9 The first version. Complete details about the problem and the suggested solution/modification. -Introduction- Over the years my friends and I have had Dreamcasts, we've always had arcade sticks for the many great fighters that have been released for the system since. We all bought the AgeTec arcade sticks (official Sega sticks with the green buttons and knob), and have had no problems with them up until now. Not too longago, my friend reported a problem with his Dreamcast with which he could not use any controllers on ANY port. With my mild knowledge of electronics, I took a look at it and could find no problem. I then tried switching out the controller port board with the one from my Dreamcast. That seemed to fix the problem, but as soon as we plugged in the arcade stick, mine was fried as well. We ended up ordering new control port boards for each system, never using his arcade sticks again. Recently, MY arcade stick fried the ports of my OTHER friend's Dreamcast. It was at that point I decided to try to find out what the heck was going on. Through a little research and a simple modification, I seem to have fixed the problem. The explaination follows. -Modification- I learned from NCS (www.ncsx.com) that replacing the resistor marked F1 (on the top of the controller port board) would solve the problem. I knew that if I were to simply replace the resistor that it would just burn out again, so it was back to E&M Physics for me. I hypothesised that the arcade sticks somehow accepted or output too much power to the board. The board for the controller ports seemed to be connected to the rest of the dreamcast by only the data ribbon, so upping the ohmage (resistance) of the resistor should be safe. Moreover, the electricity flows FROM themain board not TO it, and only data travels the other direction. I dug up one of my old books and figured out the ohmage of the resistor that was there in F1. It is somewhere around 5 ohms. So I went to Radio Shack and picked up some 10-ohm resistors (less than a dollar for five). After switching out the 5-ohm one for the 10-ohm one, my arcade stick no longer fried the board (and still hasn't after 20 hours of gameplay). I'm happy to be able to actually PLAY again! Here is a step-by-step walkthrough of how to accomplish this. Please read all the steps carefully before proceeding, and if you are unsure of yourself DON'T DO IT: What you will need: -Soldering Iron -Solder (I used Silver Bearing, .022 gauge, %62 Tin/%36 Lead/%2 Silver Solder) (This is serial number 64-013 at Radio Shack) -Phillips head screwdriver (small enough to fit in the holes for the Dreamcast screws) -1/4 watt, %5 tolerance, 10-ohm resistors (Serial number 271-1301 at Radio Shack) -Needle-nosed Plyers -A steady hand -A kind friend who will trust your steady hand -Paper Clip (optional) You can pick up all of these items at your local Radio Shack (as if I hadn't noted that enough :) Step 1 - Remove all four screws from the bottom of the Dreamcast. You'll need to take off the modem to get to one of them. Step 2 - Remove the four screws holding the controler port board to the Dreamcast Step 3 - Remove the data ribbon. It is connected to the port board and the main board. You can just grab both sides and remove it from the port board. Step 4 - Remove the fan cable. This is kind of tricky. I used a paper clip to help me remove it without pulling on the cords too much. There are two obtrusions from the white connector that you can push forward with the paper clip. Once it is loose, you can remove it completely by pulling forward on the white cover to the ports and pushing back on the board. Step 5 - This is the beginning of the actual modification. The resistor is on the board at the location marked F1. If you look at the brown side of the board, you will see labels for each component, and this is where you will find the F1 label. The resistor you're looking for is blue with 5 color bands (standard), has two wires, and is kind of like a cone. You should make sure that your soldering iron is hot enough so that touching solder to it will make it melt instantly. Note the way the existing resistor is in place. If you turn the board so that the ports are facing away from you, you will see that the left wire on the resistor is thicker than the right wire. When you instal the replacement, you need to install it's wires the same way. Now carefully look at the bottom of the board where the components are soldered on to it. Take note as to where the resistor is soldered on (two points directly underneath the resistor wires). Have your friend pull gently on one of the wires of the resistor with the plyers (so he doesn't burn his/her hand). Now press the soldering iron firmly to the soldered point that is underneath the wire your friend is pulling on until that wire comes all the way out. Repeat this process for the other wire of the resistor so that it is completely off the board. Step 6 - You will now be replacing the resistor. Have your friend insert the thinner wire first (goes to the right hole when the ports are facing away from you). Place the soldering iron onto the solder point corresponding to that hole firmly (if you are underneath the board, controller ports facing towards your head, it will be the one on the left). As the wire starts to come through, move it out of the way, but be careful not to hold it there too long. Let the wire slide all the way through until the resistor itself (semi-cone- shaped part) is almost touching the brown side of the board, but still has a little wire between it and the board. Bend the thicker wire around so it will go in the other hole, and repeat the process. The wires will be much longer than the ones still soldered to the board, but we'll take care of that soon. Step 7 - The solder points are probably not very clean anymore, most likely more bunched up on one side. Cut a small wire of solder. Place the soldering iron on the side that has the least solder. Touch a very small ammount of solder to the iron, making for a small circle of solder around the wires similar to the other components on the board. Make sure this is not covering up any of the imprinted lines that represent the makeup of the circuitry. Repeat this process for the other wire. Step 8 - Now the wires should be firmly soldered, not messily, and the resistor should not come out when pulled upon (with moderate force of course). You now need to trim those long wires. I suppose you could use some sort of wire cutter, but I didn't have one, so I just rocked them back and forth until they broke off (anyone know a better way?) Step 9 - Put everything back together and play! -Credits- :Me :gosu@superrobotwar.com for letting me in on which resistor to replace, which he learned from ncs by giving their friendly staff a call (www.ncsx.com) As I said, this process has worked for me with three American model Dreamcasts. chris@murrayanimations.co.uk has informed me that he has encountered a similar problem with his Dreamcast. The difference is, a fishing rod controller was the cause of the problem in his case. It has shorted out his Dreamcast. I have yet to hear if he will go ahead with the modification. Anyone else encountering this problem with a fishing controller can email me. Any questions, comments, problems, other difficulty with controllers on the Dreamcast, offers for free cars, free computers, or free socks can be sent to oomap@aol.com (I hate AOL too).