GUIDE: Use a PC-CDROM lens in your Dreamcast

[Bob Dobbs]

As always, you rock! Really miss our chats...

[Radkin]

What Dobbs said. Keep up the good work.

[SMiTH]

As always, you rock! Really miss our chats...

We had quite a few epic chats a few years back for sure.
Maybe I'll finally get back to being active here again?

What Dobbs said. Keep up the good work.

Thanks Radkin

[alvin777]

Hi. The ribbon is easy (if usually one has damaged it cause you were transferring parts to revive one more Dreamcast). In an electronics shop, I just aligned the ribbon contacts when I was buying and found a wider and longer and aligns with the distance of the ribbon's teeth. The one I found is printed: Sony Chemicals AWM 20696 80C VW-1. It needs to be cut to length- width wise (the longer length I believe won't be a problem, it's only a centimeter longer and centimeter wider), maybe tape things down and careful cute with cutter or craft knife with the original cable on it (taped) and a steel ruler over that.

Also I think if one is going to revive a DC by reviving the GD-ROM lens, it's best to just buy a new lens (although that diminishes the all original factor of a collection, coz' if it's just to make things work, play games without regard for the holistic all original experience, its just better to emulate but nothing's perfect), instead of hunting for a defective one with hopes it's got a good GD-ROM which from the start may look 4 to 8 times cheaper but defective DCs (coz' most are unit only, no power cable to test) would sometimes have a bad GD-ROM but power on or a laser that moves (you can see the light) , rotator that spins but somehow doesn't read).

The only difficulty was bearing with sometimes impatient staff while you align the ribbons and do a trial and error, though.

God bless, Rev. 21:4

[krssn]

If you're talking about the cable that connects to the lens, it's a 16pin Type A FFC (flexible flat cable) with a 1mm pitch...

[itsthinkingstill]

Found another guide that list some more possible pc drives that work
"SAMSUNG SC-152 (also called CD Master 52x, you get anywhere in EU and mostly for 1 €)
CREATIVE CD3228 (less common in us, more US, normal price)
LG GCR-8521B (later model to 2002, expensive)
MITSUMI CRMC-FX4830T (almost only available in Japan, very expensive)"

[BaffleBlend]

Hey, CoCoOo, if you're still around here, or if anyone else knows how to contact him, Photobucket went hostile. The pics in the OP are gone. Could you please migrate them to Imgur?

[boye]

How do you tell you have a Samsung drive?

[srilanka888]

I haven't really seen any drive replacements for the Dreamcast. I know i have one laser that isn't really moving or hear it moving. If compatible drives are still around i might try this on one of my dreamcasts.