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Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:19 pm
by DR TEAMCAST
i just thought of this, does the dreampsu leave enough room in the dc case to house some kind of battery that could power the system for a reasonable period of time?

it sounds like a silly idea, but it would probably inspire all sorts of crazy mods

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 2:21 pm
by Gumbo
DR TEAMCAST wrote:i just thought of this, does the dreampsu leave enough room in the dc case to house some kind of battery that could power the system for a reasonable period of time?

it sounds like a silly idea, but it would probably inspire all sorts of crazy mods


Excuse the old picture attached, but i think you could probably fit a battery pack in there... no idea how long it would last though.

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2018 11:51 pm
by The-Amazing-Mr_V
Could the 5v hook up on the pay run a raspberry pi or vga-hdmi converter?

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 7:21 am
by Gumbo
The-Amazing-Mr_V wrote:Could the 5v hook up on the pay run a raspberry pi or vga-hdmi converter?

Yeah :)

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:24 pm
by The-Amazing-Mr_V
Gumbo wrote:
The-Amazing-Mr_V wrote:Could the 5v hook up on the pay run a raspberry pi or vga-hdmi converter?

Yeah :)


So for a guy like me who knows nothing about this stuff, what is needed beside a usb port?

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 5:31 am
by Roareye
This would be a buy except the new power port on the back isn't doing it for me.

Could you not use the original black figure 8 port and attach it to this board (or the correct volt/amp equivalent)? That way it wouldn't look modded but would still reap all the benefits.

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:22 am
by dreamcast ™
@Roareye: No. The port you're referring to is for AC input. The new board runs entirely on DC, hence the use of the barrel-type connector for connecting external AC - DC "bricks" (Think laptops, etc. The conversion from AC to DC is done outside of the Dreamcast.). If you tried to use the AC connector purely for aesthetic reasons, it would be confusing and someone would likely mistakenly try to feed the DC board with AC voltage.

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 8:38 am
by Gumbo
The-Amazing-Mr_V wrote:So for a guy like me who knows nothing about this stuff, what is needed beside a usb port?

There are several ways you could do it, You could chop the end off a Micro USB cable and solder it to the pins on the DreamPSU (not ideal). You could see if there is a premade Micro USB to 2 pin header cable out there (i searched, but couldn't find one), or, the way i would do it,connecting the pi to power via the GPIO pins (which pins depends on which pi your using) by using a Dupont female to female wire like this > https://i.imgur.com/PXHX7zX.png, They are readily available on amazon in a strip of 40 usually.
Hope that helps out :)

Roareye wrote:This would be a buy except the new power port on the back isn't doing it for me.
Could you not use the original black figure 8 port and attach it to this board (or the correct volt/amp equivalent)? That way it wouldn't look modded but would still reap all the benefits.

I would have to echo what dreamcast said on this. It could get confusing for some people.
If its just the colour you don't like, The plan is it ship the DreamPSU's with both black and white rear adapters.

dreamcast ™ wrote:@Roareye: No. The port you're referring to is for AC input. The new board runs entirely on DC, hence the use of the barrel-type connector for connecting external AC - DC "bricks" (Think laptops, etc. The conversion from AC to DC is done outside of the Dreamcast.). If you tried to use the AC connector purely for aesthetic reasons, it would be confusing and someone would likely mistakenly try to feed the DC board with AC voltage.

I appreciate your very accurate response, put it better than i could have :D

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 6:58 am
by Roareye
Hmm. Fair enough, the black would be better so I'm glad it's given that option.

The other question I have is regarding how generic the new power port is. Bearing in mind the difference between plug shapes and types across the globe. Is this designed with a particular make of external power brick in mind? How easy is it to source that port shape in other countries (Bearing in mind the figure 8 plugs are everywhere globally)?

My Dreamcast is loud, and it's internals are clean, so I am interested in this, especially if it quietens the console's operation. Fitting a Pi in the empty space would also be a Godsend for cleaning up adaptability. This is awesome, just a few questions is all. Keep up the great work :)

Re: DreamPSU - Dreamcast Replacement Power Supply

Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:18 am
by Gumbo
The plug shape used on the DreamPSU / SaturnPSU is a generic 5.5mm / 2.5mm DC Barrel Jack plug.
They can be found on billions of devices all over the world, Probably even more so than the figure 8 cable.
Its not designed with any particular power supply brand in mind, although its recommended to use a good quality supply to avoid any A/V noise issues from crap power supply's (12v 2amps or more).
You can find more detailed information available here > https://www.retropsu.com/store/dreampsu-faqs/ :D

The DreamPSU wont help reduce noise from the fan unfortunately due to the Dreamcasts fan always operating at the same speed no matter the internal temperature.
However, if you are able to print or source 3d printed parts, there is a fantastic mod by collingall available here > https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2308549 that enables you to use a slightly larger, much quieter fan than the stock Dreamcast fan.
When i have that installed, I wouldn't know my Dreamcast is on if it wasn't for the light :D

Hope this helps out and clears some things up :)