# Does this Dreamcast read pirated games?



## Metoroid0 (Feb 9, 2017)

I found some Sega dreamcast motel HKT-3030 AND I HEARD NOT ALL dc consoles read pirates...
Also he swid he doesnt know if dc laser works for games but it dos read audio cds....


----------



## sirhc1982 (Feb 9, 2017)

they all read pirated games, its just how you create the bootable disc, some of the older ones can read bootable disc with first track/session being a short audio, and the second track/session being game data, while the newer dreamcast can only read bootable disc where the first track/session is short data track, and the second track/session is game data


----------



## masenko (Feb 9, 2017)

i have two UK HKT-3030 and they both read backups fine but from what i heard the last batch of Japanese dreamcasts were fix to read originals only. best bet is to find a self boot dreamcast disk online (google) and see if it works


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

Just to confirm that i got the dreamcast, everything is perfect, i burnt CD's @ 4X the speed and it reads instantly! also 16X instant read....
HKT-3030 (EUR) Works with backups! 

Anyway there is anothe minor issue that im afraid dont become big one....ill make another topic but just saying... when i touch back of the DC's AV out picture is acting funny ant than its all black on the TV...i touch it couple of times and its cool...im afraid if its idk.. DAC or connections on MB, but i opened up the DC and everything seems fine, no phisical damage as i can see with naked eyes...


----------



## fille (Feb 17, 2017)

first thing to do is disconnect your psu and clean the contacts with isopropanol.
to do that you have to unscrew 2 screws,and gently pull out the psu,then you see-
6 silver pins,clean them good,its a known problem dreamcasts.
also try to reflow the contacts below the psu connector,maybe something loose or-
bad solder joints ect...


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

fille said:


> first thing to do is disconnect your psu and clean the contacts with isopropanol.
> to do that you have to unscrew 2 screws,and gently pull out the psu,then you see-
> 6 silver pins,clean them good,its a known problem dreamcasts.
> also try to reflow the contacts below the psu connector,maybe something loose or-
> bad solder joints ect...


Oh wow you know a lot..i will, thanks


----------



## fille (Feb 17, 2017)

clean those contacts verry good,but DONT!!! bend them.
thats all what i say.
within time all dreamcast gona have this problem.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

Oh, ok, i will!

I have one small question since you know a lot about these stuff..i dont wanna bother but...
i took out DC battery, it wont save time, but i have hard, like HARD time finding exactly the same one xD any better solution?
Is there a way to connect CMOS directly to power with resistors?
Im rookie in electronic stuff, dont take me for real, it was an idea xD


----------



## Daggot (Feb 17, 2017)

sirhc1982 said:


> they all read pirated games, its just how you create the bootable disc, some of the older ones can read bootable disc with first track/session being a short audio, and the second track/session being game data, while the newer Dreamcast can only read bootable disc where the first track/session is short data track, and the second track/session is game data


Not true, there are 3 revisions of the Dreamcast and they all have their own differences. It's also better to refer to them by the revision models that are circled on the sticker at the bottom so I'll do so. Revision 2 is a tossup with homebrew and etc(which I'll refer to as Mil-CD for the rest of this post). The Dreamcast revision 0 is the designation for the first retail models out of the factory on launch day in NTSC and NTSC-J regions and are rare(didn't even know they existed until one came into my collection and the chances of finding one in the wild are slim so most never list this one). They can play Mil CD, have heat sinks, metal cooling pipes, metal fan enclosures and radiators making their temps cooler than any other revision and are equipped with higher quality Japanese made GDRom drives as opposed to their younger siblings Chinese GDRom drives. There are drawbacks though. They use 5v power through and though and later models switched to 3.3v. This means that a GDROM replacement such as the GDemu can't be installed because the rev 0 will fry it. Revision 1(and 2) Dreamcasts have plastic fans and Chinese drives but there are a shit ton out there and the revision 1 at least can all play Mil CD games. Revision 2 Dreamcasts are where the arguments occur. There's a number of them out there that can't play Mil-CD games and it's a debate on weather its from the dying drives, the way the GDRom drives were produced at the end of the DCs life cycle or a BIOS update made to specifically block it from SEGA. Either way most people interested in Dreamcasts tend to avoid these later models.

Sorry for the shitty writeup but that's pretty much a crash course on Dreamcasts for those who needed to know.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

Daggot said:


> They have heat sinks, metal cooling pipes, metal fan enclosures and radiators making their temps cooler than any other revision and are equipped with higher quality Japanese made GDRom drives as opposed to their younger siblings Chinese GDRom drives.


Hey! my DC have metal fan!! what does that mean?? 

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



fille said:


> clean those contacts verry good,but DONT!!! bend them.
> thats all what i say.
> within time all dreamcast gona have this problem.



Oh wait, i just wathced the video..i dont have problem with console reset, but AV out port...


----------



## fille (Feb 17, 2017)

it could be the pins inside your av port


----------



## Daggot (Feb 17, 2017)

Metoroid0 said:


> Hey! my DC have metal fan!! what does that mean??


That's interesting. If you want to know the revision number I'm not sure about EUR but there is usually a number on the bottom circled. If you wanna know more about the 3 models internal differences since you're already poking around inside then check this video here. 





Metoroid0 said:


> Oh, ok, i will!
> 
> I have one small question since you know a lot about these stuff..i dont wanna bother but...
> i took out DC battery, it wont save time, but i have hard, like HARD time finding exactly the same one xD any better solution?
> ...




If you mean the battery inside of the DC it's a CR-2302 if I recall and I've never tried getting rid if it entirely so I'm sorry but I wouldn't know. Be very careful though and make sure to get a rechargeable variant of the battery though because the non-rechargeable ones that you would usually place in a VMU have been known to explode once inside the DC and nobody would want that.


----------



## fille (Feb 17, 2017)

i also hat that problem with hanzo vga box,he sended a new cable and problem solved.
if i where you,try new cable first.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

Daggot said:


> That's interesting. If you want to know the revision number I'm not sure about EUR but there is usually a number on the bottom circled.



This is my Dreamcast...


----------



## Daggot (Feb 17, 2017)

Metoroid0 said:


> This is my Dreamcast...



That's a PAL revision 1. Thats certainly a curiosity in itself. I've heard of a few PAL revision 1s that have metal fans unlike the rest of them, in fact they were even mentioned in the description of the video I linked earlier. I've never seen one myself though. Maybe they used some leftover fans from the revision 0s once they started shipping revision 1 units worldwide.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

Daggot said:


> That's a PAL revision 1. Thats certainly a curiosity in itself. I've heard of a few PAL revision 1s that have metal fans unlike the rest of them, in fact they were even mentioned in the description of the video I linked earlier. I've never seen one myself though. Maybe they used some leftover fans from the revision 0s once they started shipping revision 1 units worldwide.


Well actually i have no heat sink, like that big block, just fan frame is metal, screwed to motherboard from the bottom. and gd rom is also made in indonesia i think


----------



## Daggot (Feb 17, 2017)

Metoroid0 said:


> Well actually i have no heat sink, like that big block, just fan frame is metal, screwed to motherboard from the bottom. and gd rom is also made in indonesia i think


A revision 1 doesn't have a heatsink. The metal fan by itself is what I was mentioning. Yeah the GDRom drives are made around there too but I couldn't remember if it was Indonesia and China or Taiwan and China so I just said China to play it safe.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

Daggot said:


> revision 1 at least can all play Mil CD games.


What are Mi CD games??

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



Daggot said:


> A revision 1 doesn't have a heatsink. The metal fan by itself is what I was mentioning. Yeah the GDRom drives are made around there too but I couldn't remember if it was Indonesia and China or Taiwan and China so I just said China to play it safe.


I see...and what does "made in indonesia" means for me, and metal fan? im guessing regarding the fan, that metal shell means it better distributing heat than plastic....but im guessing its minor compared to heat sink pipes


----------



## Daggot (Feb 17, 2017)

Metoroid0 said:


> What are Mi CD games??
> 
> --------------------- MERGED ---------------------------
> 
> ...


It means the drive was built and assembled in Indonesia. Should be about the same quality as other rev. 1s and 2s.

Mil CD is a format developed to add multimedia features to music CDs like for the Dreamcast but when hackers got ahold of it they used the format to break the Dreamcast copy protection and make the current selfboot software. Mil CD support is support for burned games

Oh and few more things that you might be interested in. While you're replacing that battery try messing with the controller ports fuse. If you plug another controller in while the DC is on or unplug one the fuse has a chance of blowing and controllers wont work until it's replaced. These days though you can replace the fuse with a Polyswitch fuse. Heres a good tutorial for it

http://blog.kazade.co.uk/p/dreamcast-controller-board-fix-right-way.html

The website also contains a guide for building a dreampi which is DIY device that can take Dreamcast games online and allow some private servers. It's easy to put together but in the early days configuring the software was a pain but I can confirm that it work..

EDIT: accidentally deleted my comment on MIL CD games so I added it back in


----------



## fille (Feb 17, 2017)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIL-CD


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 17, 2017)

Daggot said:


> It means the drive was built and assembled in Indonesia. Should be about the same quality as other rev. 1s and 2s.
> 
> Mil CD is a format developed to add multimedia features to music CDs like for the Dreamcast but when hackers got ahold of it they used the format to break the Dreamcast copy protection and make the current selfboot software. Mil CD support is support for burned games
> 
> ...



Its ok. So mine has Mil CD support since it can play burnet games, i see... i was confused about that mil CD thing.

Thanks for guide. Ill be sure to do that with polyswitch fuse. i didnt know they exist... so its a regular fuse, but the difference is it reset it self when power is gone?

OH i saw that on youtube, i was seeing dude doing the mod with raspberry pi! cool! i dont remember is speed is as before or it depends on your internet.

Anyway, i have a question about battery if you might know... 
I have a hard timefinding 3V rechargable..i found actually but they are verry expensile. althought i found much more afordable alternative but its 3.6V not 3V .....will that harm my Dreamcast?

I mean this dude did it, but he did not said anything about higher voltage so i was wondering, since original one is 3V


This is the one he mention in the video that i found, but im just not sure....


----------



## Daggot (Feb 18, 2017)

Metoroid0 said:


> Its ok. So mine has Mil CD support since it can play burnet games, i see... i was confused about that mil CD thing.
> 
> Thanks for guide. Ill be sure to do that with polyswitch fuse. i didnt know they exist... so its a regular fuse, but the difference is it reset it self when power is gone?
> 
> ...



The CR-2302 has a higher voltage than the stock battery in the first place. I'm not sure what the effect of a 3.6v would be to be honest, the only different battery I've seen installed in a Dreamcast was this.

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ML-2020/G1AN/P046-ND/431505

This one isn't widely used because the legs don't fit the board well and require some bending to be used but it's actually the closest thing to the original battery on the market.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 18, 2017)

Daggot said:


> The CR-2302 has a higher voltage than the stock battery in the first place. I'm not sure what the effect of a 3.6v would be to be honest, the only different battery I've seen installed in a Dreamcast was this.
> 
> https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ML-2020/G1AN/P046-ND/431505
> 
> This one isn't widely used because the legs don't fit the board well and require some bending to be used but it's actually the closest thing to the original battery on the market.


Well legs can be welded, people i want to buy from do that kind of things, but as i know CR batteries, no matter the diameter, are not rechargeable, and might explode (in theory) if charged.
Well, the guy from video replied to me, and he said:

  "_The only problem I have is that the battery will slowly deplete, just like any other rechargable device. If I let the Dreamcast sit for a few months, it will not stay charged and will need to be played to recharge it._"

than i asked if extra .6 volts is not a problem, and he said:

  "_They never charge up to 3.6V in the first place, the voltage being feed to it is around 3.0~ in the first place._"

Can someone confirm this plese?
i mean its not logical that battery outputs 3V if its feed 3V, and battery it self is labeled to output 3.6V.
Why does it matter how much is being feed?


----------



## Daggot (Feb 18, 2017)

Metoroid0 said:


> Well legs can be welded, people i want to buy from do that kind of things, but as i know CR batteries, no matter the diameter, are not rechargeable, and might explode (in theory) if charged.
> Well, the guy from video replied to me, and he said:
> 
> "_The only problem I have is that the battery will slowly deplete, just like any other rechargable device. If I let the Dreamcast sit for a few months, it will not stay charged and will need to be played to recharge it._"
> ...


The rechargeable ones are lithium ion and go by the designation LIR2302. I thought that you'd have found them already but I'm sorry I guess I should've mentioned that a while ago. Yes if you play your Dreamcast then the electricity from the console will charge it back up. I'm not sure about the last question but the explanation sounds reasonable.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 18, 2017)

Daggot said:


> The rechargeable ones are lithium ion and go by the designation LIR2302. I thought that you'd have found them already but I'm sorry I guess I should've mentioned that a while ago. Yes if you play your Dreamcast then the electricity from the console will charge it back up. I'm not sure about the last question but the explanation sounds reasonable.



No i cant order it yet, because they are expensive and, quite rare where i live from, and i want to find it localy or at least to order it from my country. i found this one but those .6 volts bugs me...

Well yeah, it will recharge it back up, but im concerned about the discharge of extra 0.6V on CMOS...i dont know how will that affect dreacasn the in long run.... i really dont understand DC hardvare and how much extra energy can CMOS take with no damage. He said its nothing, but i dont want to just do it.


----------



## Metoroid0 (Feb 20, 2017)

OH jesus! I was opening my DC and noticed the GD rom drive is
actually *made in Japan!!! *

So euro PAL revision 1 made in indonesia, GDrom made in japan, and a metal fan.... 

Now im even more scary to touch this beauty haha


----------

