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**                     Dreamcast Controler Port Repair FAQ                   **
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12/03/00
Ver 0.95
By Jeff Hill
oomap@aol.com

****   WARNING!!!  ****  This modification MAY harm your Dreamcast, but after 
20 hours of playtime I have seen no adverse effects as of yet!

****   WARNING!!!  ****  By performing this modification, you will void any 
and all warranties that are still valid for your Dreamcast


Note:  This modification was performed on an American Dreamcast.  I'm guessing 
the Japanese/Asian Dreamcast's circuitry is similar, if not the same.  I would 
not advise trying this on an Asian/Japanese Dreamcast until this is 
verified.

Go ahead and use this FAQ whenever, wherever you want to.  This information is 
important for those of us who use the AgeTec arcae sticks, and I believe it 
should be free.

This procedure was neither suggested nor is it endorsed by Sega.  Dreamcast is
a registered trademark of Sega Co., Inc.

Update:  A total of three Dreamcasts have been fixed with this procedure.  No
ill affects yet.




-Version History-
v0.95  Added information about the Fishing Rod controller and the 2 other 
Dreamcasts that were successfully modified

v0.9  The first version.  Complete details about the problem and the suggested
solution/modification.


-Introduction-
     Over the years my friends and I have had Dreamcasts, we've always had 
 arcade sticks for the many great fighters that have been released for the 
 system since. We all bought the AgeTec arcade sticks (official Sega sticks 
 with the green buttons and knob), and have had no problems with them up until 
 now.  Not too longago, my friend reported a problem with his Dreamcast with 
 which he could not use any controllers on ANY port.  With my mild knowledge of 
 electronics, I took a look at it and could find no problem.  I then tried 
 switching out the controller port board with the one from my Dreamcast.  That 
 seemed to fix the problem, but as soon as we plugged in the arcade stick, mine
 was fried as well.  We ended up ordering new control port boards for each 
 system, never using his arcade sticks again.
     Recently, MY arcade stick fried the ports of my OTHER friend's Dreamcast.
 It was at that point I decided to try to find out what the heck was going on.
 Through a little research and a simple modification, I seem to have fixed the 
 problem.  The explaination follows.

-Modification-
     I learned from NCS (www.ncsx.com) that replacing the resistor marked F1 
 (on the top of the controller port board)
 would solve the problem.  I knew that if I were to simply replace the resistor 
 that it would just burn out again, so it was back to E&M Physics for me.  I 
 hypothesised that the arcade sticks somehow accepted or output too much power 
 to the board.  The board for the controller ports seemed to be connected to 
 the rest of the dreamcast by only the data ribbon, so upping the ohmage 
 (resistance) of the resistor should be safe.  Moreover, the electricity flows 
 FROM themain board not TO it, and only data travels the other direction.  
     I dug up one of my old books and figured out the ohmage of the resistor 
 that was there in F1.  It is somewhere around 5 ohms.  So I went to Radio 
 Shack and picked up some 10-ohm resistors (less than a dollar for five).  
 After switching out the 5-ohm one for the 10-ohm one, my arcade stick no 
 longer fried the board (and still hasn't after 20 hours of gameplay).  I'm 
 happy to be able to actually PLAY again!  Here is a step-by-step walkthrough 
 of how to accomplish this.  

Please read all the steps carefully before proceeding, and if you are unsure of 
yourself DON'T DO IT:

What you will need:
-Soldering Iron
-Solder (I used Silver Bearing, .022 gauge, %62 Tin/%36 Lead/%2 Silver Solder)
     (This is serial number 64-013 at Radio Shack)
-Phillips head screwdriver (small enough to fit in the holes for the Dreamcast 
     screws)
-1/4 watt, %5 tolerance, 10-ohm resistors
     (Serial number 271-1301 at Radio Shack)
-Needle-nosed Plyers
-A steady hand
-A kind friend who will trust your steady hand
-Paper Clip (optional)

You can pick up all of these items at your local Radio Shack (as if I hadn't 
noted that enough :)


Step 1 - Remove all four screws from the bottom of the Dreamcast.  You'll need  
 to take off the modem to get to one of them.

Step 2 - Remove the four screws holding the controler port board to the 
 Dreamcast

Step 3 - Remove the data ribbon.  It is connected to the port board and the main
 board.  You can just grab both sides and remove it from the port board.

Step 4 - Remove the fan cable.  This is kind of tricky.  I used a paper clip to
 help me remove it without pulling on the cords too much.  There are two 
 obtrusions from the white connector that you can push forward with the paper 
 clip.  
 Once it is loose, you can remove it completely by pulling forward on the white
 cover to the ports and pushing back on the board.

Step 5 - This is the beginning of the actual modification.  The resistor is on 
 the board at the location marked F1.  If you look at the brown side of the 
 board, you will see labels for each component, and this is where you will find 
 the F1 label.  The resistor you're looking for is blue with 5 color bands 
 (standard), has two wires, and is kind of like a cone.  You should make sure 
 that your soldering iron is hot enough so that touching solder to it will make 
 it melt instantly.  Note the way the existing resistor is in place.  If you 
 turn the board so that the ports are facing away from you, you will see that 
 the left wire on the resistor is thicker than the right wire.  When you instal
 the replacement, you need to install it's wires the same way.  
     Now carefully look at the bottom of the board where the components are 
 soldered on to it.  Take note as to where the resistor is soldered on (two 
 points directly underneath the resistor wires).  Have your friend pull gently 
 on one of the wires of the resistor with the plyers (so he doesn't burn his/her
 hand).  Now press the soldering iron firmly to the soldered point that is 
 underneath the wire your friend is pulling on until that wire comes all the way
 out.  Repeat this process for the other wire of the resistor so that it is 
 completely off the board.

Step 6 - You will now be replacing the resistor.  Have your friend insert the 
 thinner wire first (goes to the right hole when the ports are facing away from
 you).  Place the soldering iron onto the solder point corresponding to that 
 hole firmly (if you are underneath the board, controller ports facing towards 
 your head, it will be the one on the left).  As the wire starts to come 
 through, move it out of the way, but be careful not to hold it there too long.
 Let the wire slide all the way through until the resistor itself (semi-cone-
 shaped part) is almost touching the brown side of the board, but still has a 
 little wire between it and the board.
     Bend the thicker wire around so it will go in the other hole, and repeat 
 the process.  The wires will be much longer than the ones still soldered to the
 board, but we'll take care of that soon.

Step 7 - The solder points are probably not very clean anymore, most likely more
 bunched up on one side.  Cut a small wire of solder.  Place the soldering iron
 on the side that has the least solder.  Touch a very small ammount of solder to
 the iron, making for a small circle of solder around the wires similar to the 
 other components on the board.  Make sure this is not covering up any of the 
 imprinted lines that represent the makeup of the circuitry.  Repeat this 
 process for the other wire.

Step 8 - Now the wires should be firmly soldered, not messily, and the resistor
 should not come out when pulled upon (with moderate force of course).  You now
 need to trim those long wires.  I suppose you could use some sort of wire 
 cutter, but I didn't have one, so I just rocked them back and forth until they 
 broke off (anyone know a better way?)

Step 9 - Put everything back together and play!



-Credits-
 :Me
 :gosu@superrobotwar.com for letting me in on which resistor to replace, which he
learned from ncs by giving their friendly staff a call (www.ncsx.com)

As I said, this process has worked for me with three American model Dreamcasts. 

chris@murrayanimations.co.uk has informed me that he has encountered a similar
problem with his Dreamcast.  The difference is, a fishing rod controller was the
cause of the problem in his case.  It has shorted out his Dreamcast.  I have yet
to hear if he will go ahead with the modification.  Anyone else encountering 
this problem with a fishing controller can email me.

Any questions, comments, problems, other difficulty with controllers on the 
Dreamcast, offers for free cars, free computers, or free socks can be sent to 
oomap@aol.com (I hate AOL too).




























