Dreamcast Power Supply 12V removal

HyperionAlfa

New member
This mod is useful for users of GD-EMU, USB GD-ROM, and Dreamshell hardware mods which remove the GD-ROM.
You have a few solutions for this.

1. DreamPSU. This is a very recent power board replacement designed for the Dreamcast. It doesn't cost much but it's not widely available yet.

2. Pico PSU can be modded to the Dreamcast specifications. This costs even less than the DreamPSU, but you still need to buy another cable with a transformer, and you will also need to either mod the case or use a 3D print to tidy things up and fit inside your Dreamcast case properly.

3. Last but not least and the subject of this tut is to simply remove the 12V voltage regulator from your original Dreamcast power supply. This is the least expensive of all assuming you have a soldering iron already, as you will only need to buy some desoldering braid. Extra solder might come in handy if the existing solder is difficult to wick away. Once done your Dreamcast power supply still fits and works as normal, the only difference is that it will not power the GD-ROM drive, so if you are ripping your games you will want to get your entire library backed up before you complete this mod.

The steps to do this are simple.

1. Open up your Dreamcast case and remove the power supply.

2. Look for the 12V voltage regulator; you can find this by looking for the metal heat sink near the front of the power supply, close to the socket that plugs the power supply into the motherboard. Facing the front of the power supply, you'll see two black chips which are bolted to the heat sink. The one on the right happens to be the 12V. It is soldered to the motherboard via three legs. Here is a photo of an NTSC (USA) power supply with the 12V regulator removed. (Not my pics) Note that PAL power supplies have this regulator in a different spot as the board is laid out slightly different, but I have no photos of this.

View attachment 3

3. With the power supply removed, look on the underside. Compare it to the photo here in order to find the legs of the voltage regulator, right next to a small surface mounted resistor. You will need to heat your soldering iron, and hold a desoldering braid to the solder points here until the heated solder wicks up into the braid. If the solder does not flow easily, try adding a small amount of solder to these points, then heat again with your desoldering braid and it should come away. Desoldering bulbs or solder suckers work too if you have one.

View attachment 4

4. Once you've removed the solder, turn the power supply back over and use a Philips head screwdriver to remove the bolt holding the regulator to the heatsink, and pull out the regulator along with its legs.

5.That's it, you're done. Power up your Dreamcast and enjoy the optical drive emulator of your choice without the risk of dangerous heat buildup in your Dreamcast.
 

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megavolt85 said:
HyperionAlfa said:
The only component that needs this is the GD-ROM drive.

RGB SCART use 12V

For aspect mode selection, right? Pardon my ignorance but is that needed for Dreamcast? (Only NTSC TVs for me here.) Let me know and I'll update the tut with info/warning.

Also, if it was not clear, the resistor in the photo above does need to be removed as well as the regulator.
 
i would blow either my dreamcast or myself up if i messed with it, im a hopeless person when it comes to tech
 
wullie13 said:
i would blow either my dreamcast or myself up if i messed with it, im a hopeless person when it comes to tech

I've lost count of the number of times i've shocked myself messing with shit when its still plugged in :lol:
 
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