Dreamcast SD Card Mod - Play Homebrew And Games From SD Card

Just showing a mod I recently found out about. I've installed an SD card slot in my Dreamcast to allow booting games and homebrew from a regular SD card. I've not seen too many videos of this mod and it doesn't seem to get a lot of attention so I though I'd do my own.

Parts I used were from Maplin (UK electronics store). The following are the exact parts I used in this video.
1x Electrolytic capacitor 47uF 25V (Maplin part #VH32K)
1x Decoupling ceramic disc capacitor 0.1uF 50V (Maplin part #BX03D)
1x Metal film resistor 470ohm 0.6W (Maplin part #M470R)
1x 3mm LED (Any should do - for example part #N20FN)
1x Stripboard (Maplin part #JP46)
1x SD card interface - I bought a cheap multicard reader and gutted it for parts.

Original schematic by jj1odm
http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz194/sabbath_dude3/dcserialsdcardif2.gif

Stripboard Layout I designed using schematic
http://i827.photobucket.com/albums/zz194/sabbath_dude3/xbox360/dcsdstripblayo...
(My first attempt at designing a stripboard circuit - might not be the most efficient layout but works fine)

Dreamshell developer's site and downloads
http://www.dc-swat.net.ru/news/13/
(right click "Save link as" on the Dreamshell download links - this confused me at first, lol)

PART 2 - RENDERING

Category:

Gaming

Tags:

• SDHC
• SD card
• reader
• dreamcast
• sega
• modding
• homebrew
• sdiso
• dreamshell
• beta
• operating system
• retail
• iso
• hacking
• crack
• solder
• jtag
• burnt
• exploit
• case mod
• paint
• custom
• mario
• sonic
• nintendo
• hard drive
• led
• stripboard
• cicuits
• tutorial
• loader

[OverruledDood]

im sorry but the stripboard layout you posted makes absolutly no sense. is there any other stripboard layouts for this mod?

[RetroGameTech]

@OverruledDood What part are you having trouble with? A stripboard/veroboard circuit is the easiest and tidiest way to build this. It can't be simplified much more than it already is. I also posted a diagram of the original schematic in the description.

[nathanallan1]

So in theory this could be done externally, which is awesome. I will follow the information, I have a few of these SD card readers I can use as donors. Beautiful mod!!

[RetroGameTech]

@nathanallan1 Thanks and yes, some people have used the Dreamcast coders cable (very expensive and hard to find nowadays) to create an SD card reader dongle. It's effectively the same as what I did but can be detached/unplugged when not in use.

[CellularProductions]

what are the blue and red marks in the schematic?

[RetroGameTech]

@CellularProductions those indicate jumpers and cuts on the stripboard. Where there's a red square you cut the track. Where there's a blue line you connect the two points with a wire.

[ShenmueJKD]

is ther a video tutorial ? 

[jcrowley1985]

What's the easiest way to gain access to the serial port? I opened my dreamcast and removed the power supply board. But the metal shielding is still blocking the serial port. Seems I would have to remove the gd-rom drive as well. Is there any easy way to access the port without taking everything apart?

[97AlanD]

The next customized mod/hack/homebrew should be wi-fi for the Dreamcast. Someone needs to try putting a wi-fi antenna in one.

[MegaSonicdude10]

My mod won't boot Sonic Adventure 2 with Dreamshell 4.0

[MegaSonicdude10]

@tigh Just saw your comment. Probably already know this, but Dreamshell 4.0 has that feature. I copied some data from one vmu to another using it. The data is the type that won't let you copy it from one vmu to another but Dreamshell allowed me to do it. You can also copy them to the sd card.

[jakeeenator]

Hey im just wondering what kind of wires do you have to use?

[theTIck197]

I have a 47 uF 10v capacitor. Do you think I will be able to get away with using this?



[hitachi088]

what about if your dreamcast Cd drive dont work anymore?

[vip2oo4]

i have ModChip ... How to make SD card .. runner boot

[james42519]

so this is the same thing that you could buy made in a nice package then?