Internalized DreamPi Adapter

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Internalized DreamPi Adapter

Post by |darc| »

Just a little something I've been working on.

I used a Dreamcast kiosk's blank modem shell to create a WiFi adapter for Dreamcast (DreamPi based, of course).
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This is my custom black dyed Dreamcast, with 100% recapped motherboard and power supply, authentic GDEMU with all games including online patches, Noctua silent fan, DCHDMI output, battery, resetting fuse.
(That's a Phillips Hue light my girlfriend turned purple in the background -- the console is genuinely black black)


I always wanted a black Dreamcast (NOT Sega Sports) but didn't want to spend the money on the official Sega black one that's super expensive. Now I've successfully made it, but with the ultimate setup for DC gaming, too.

I think I've only seen one other person do this, but with a regular modem shell and a hole on the back. Most people who internalize their DreamPis do it inside the Dreamcast itself and look the phone cable back inside, but what if you want to cleanly swap for a Broadband Adapter? I do own the black Sega official Broadband Adapter for this custom black console too:
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Of course sometimes I'm going to want to use this pretty thang too, so I want to freely swap! The black on this BBA matches my black dye job on the console perfectly, too. You can't tell they're two different color plastics at all.


If you're interested in reproducing something like this for yourself, I have started a basic WIP guide here:

https://dreamcast.wiki/Internalized_DreamPi_adapter
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Re: Internalized DreamPi Adapter

Post by not just souLLy now »

That’s pretty awesome, I saw it on reddit earlier and didn’t spot the username.
I’ve been thinking of getting a new DC for a while and I’ve been looking at all the modern modding options, so this is definitely one for the shortlist. Currently to keep it low cost I’m just starting with an unofficial gdemu and the battery mod, although the ODE looks really interesting.
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Re: Internalized DreamPi Adapter

Post by |darc| »

not just souLLy now wrote: Sat May 09, 2020 10:46 am That’s pretty awesome, I saw it on reddit earlier and didn’t spot the username.
I’ve been thinking of getting a new DC for a while and I’ve been looking at all the modern modding options, so this is definitely one for the shortlist. Currently to keep it low cost I’m just starting with an unofficial gdemu and the battery mod, although the ODE looks really interesting.
I wouldn't bother with the MODE, unless you wanna use it on Saturn. The GDEMU basically does everything you'd ever want and you can fit the entire library on a 400GB card. People complain about it not being drag and drop but if you just spend a moment and use the GUI program to set up an SD card with the whole library you don't have to mess with it ever again unless you want to add a new leaked unreleased game, add a fan translation patch for a Japanese game, or you need to patch a game that was just brought back online for the new server addresses. And you'd only spend 5 mins tops doing any of that.
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Re: Internalized DreamPi Adapter

Post by devsfan1830 »

Hey there. saw a link to your project in a reddit search and am considering doing this for my own Dreamcast. I bought a premade modem adapter with an in internal LVI mod. So I'm assuming I would just leave it in place as is and move to the step of desoldering and joining the 5V supply and the phone line leads right?

This is what my adapter presently looks like:Image
Also, I don't plan on having it running while the Dreamcast is on since having to sudo into it every time i play the dreamcast to shut the pi down gracefully would kinda be a pain. I saw you sealed the old phone jack hole up on yours. Is there room in that spot to perhaps glue in and solder a small switch so that I can switch 5V power on and off at will to the pi?

Edit: Ok I reread you post again. Didn't register with me the first time that you using a Kiosks shell means you didn't have a hole to seal up. Whoops lol. Guess my question still stands though. I'd use that hole, with maybe a 3d printed cover, to mount a switch for power.
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Re: Internalized DreamPi Adapter

Post by |darc| »

devsfan1830 wrote: Sat May 01, 2021 5:11 pm Hey there. saw a link to your project in a reddit search and am considering doing this for my own Dreamcast. I bought a premade modem adapter with an in internal LVI mod. So I'm assuming I would just leave it in place as is and move to the step of desoldering and joining the 5V supply and the phone line leads right?
Yep! You'll probably still need to remove the jack from the USB modem though, to make enough space.
devsfan1830 wrote: Sat May 01, 2021 5:11 pmAlso, I don't plan on having it running while the Dreamcast is on since having to sudo into it every time i play the dreamcast to shut the pi down gracefully would kinda be a pain. I saw you sealed the old phone jack hole up on yours. Is there room in that spot to perhaps glue in and solder a small switch so that I can switch 5V power on and off at will to the pi?

Edit: Ok I reread you post again. Didn't register with me the first time that you using a Kiosks shell means you didn't have a hole to seal up. Whoops lol. Guess my question still stands though. I'd use that hole, with maybe a 3d printed cover, to mount a switch for power.
As I understand it, the DreamPi software should be fine with just cutting the power to shut it down, if all you're using the Pi for is DreamPi. I certainly don't ssh into mine and shut it down gracefully. Still, I can understand wanting to reduce unnecessary power draw and since your modem already has a hole there, it makes sense to try to mount a switch there. A simple switch to cut 5V from the Pi/USBmodem/voltage converter should do the trick.
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