Jap Dreamcast Woes

[Killer 7]

Hi,
Have looked at some videos on youtube about the disc reading errors and adjusting the dial ect:,if anyone can help i'd appreciate it very much,
Have a JAP Dreamcast,never had any problems untill 2 months ago,when i insert official JAP games(all i use on it) all i get is "please insert game disc",have tried cd's ect but to no avail.

So it's not reading atall,has the laser assembly packed up?
All i'd like to know please is that the end of the machine or can it be repaired atall?

Many thanks in advance..

[Pavey]

Change the laser, easy job from what i remember. There should be a you tube vid on it.

[Link83]

It really depends how much its been tweaked - you only need to make tiny adjustments, and I do mean tiny (fractions of a milimeter) Even 1/16th of a turn can be hundreds of ohms difference. You really need at least a digital multimeter to set it correctly, otherwise you are kind of fiddling 'in the dark' (Although to properly tweak a lasers pot you need to use an oscillopscope, but thats way out mine and most peoples budget!)

If the pot has been turned too much you may have accidentally overpowered the laser and it could be properly dead, but if you havent turned it too much much theres still a good chance it can be repaired.

If worst comes to the worst it could mean you need to buy a new laser - which im afraid usually isnt worthwhile as you can often buy another Dreamcast console for cheaper (however please dont throw your old one away!)

Do you know what type of laser it has - an R48G or an SPU-3200?

If you can let me know more info ill try and help if I can

[Killer 7]

Thanks for all your info,i'll try adjusting this slightly and find out what laser model it is.

thanks so much

[Killer 7]

Ok,

Well i have made very minute adjustments to no avail,so i suspect the laser may have gone,can't see the model no??

I originally bought this from Raven Games,as it has a built in RGB switchable scart,ive just checked their site and they say they can repair it for ?40??

maybe thats my best option.

Thanks again,

[Link83]

Ok,

Well i have made very minute adjustments to no avail,so i suspect the laser may have gone,can't see the model no??

I originally bought this from Raven Games,as it has a built in RGB switchable scart,ive just checked their site and they say they can repair it for £40??

maybe thats my best option.

Thanks again,

'RGB Switchable Scart' - whats that about? Surely a standard scart cable would be better?

If you have a digital multimeter I can tell you the rough range you should be aiming to set the pot at.

£40.00 for repair seems very excessive to me, simply buy another cheap Dreamcast and swap over the whole GD-drive assembly- it would be much cheaper!

Alternatively I might have a spare GD-Drive you can have for a much cheaper price, or I could have a go at fixing it for you - PM me if your interested

If you look at this picture you can identify your laser by looking at the different shapes - SPU3200 is on the left, and R48G on the right.

[belmondo]

Or alternatively I have a Jap Dreamcast in my sale thread:

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/showthread.php?t=85142&highlight=import%2Fretro