Dreamcast-Talk.com

The following events are a TRUE story...

Quick back story:

Bought a DC from a private seller. Got it cheap because the controller ports were not working. (Easy fix)
After fixing the controller ports, the system was working fine. The system also came with 2 controllers.
A candy red one and a black Sega Sports one.
I liked the look of the Sega Sports one and decided IT would be my primary controller.

The main event:

I plugged the controller in, powered on the system and got a black screen. I could hear the system fan going. The orange light was on. But ZERO activity from the rest of the Dreamcast.

Then it occurred to me, THIS must have been the controller that fried the controller ports to begin with! So I unplugged the controller and looked at it for any damage. Nothing on the outside as far as I could see. Wire looked ok. I blew in the plug in case it was dust and put it back in the system and tried it again.

This time... nothing. DEAD CONSOLE. Nothing. My heart almost jumped out of my chest.
Did this Sega Sports controller just FRY my Dreamcast?!? Nooo... NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Off and on in a panic... nothing. The system was a BRICK! ... Or so I thought.

I opened it up to see or smell anything burnt or damaged. But it all looked fine. So I put it all back together and tried to power it on... SUCCESS! It works! Obviously I'm NOT using that controller... EVER, until I find out WHAT is wrong with it.

The final conclusion:

It's not up to fate to decide when a Dreamcast will die. It's up to the Dreamcast to decide. Maybe this Dreamcast has already died and come back to life numerous times. Or maybe... just maybe... It's a zombie Dreamcast.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

An update to the Sega Sports controller...

The controller works fine, provided there are no VMU's in it. Adding a VMU kills the system.

I swapped the guts of a working DC controller with the Sega Sports controller. The ONLY thing I left the same was the wire because the Sega Sports one is black and a regular one is gray.

Same results with the Sega Sports controller with a different board. Which tells me the board is fine and it HAS TO BE the black wire. There must be a break or something in the wire or the plug is faulty. The connection from the cable to the board itself is fine.

SO, it works fine as a controller without a VMU. Adding a VMU kills the Dreamcast. The VMU's work FINE in other controllers. Which means whatever mini wire in the controller wire sends or receives data or voltage to the system is faulty, or the plug is faulty.

Bottom line, I'm on the hunt for a black Dreamcast controller wire.

Cheapest black-cordéd controller I could find is this Yobo at $11.
https://www.amazon.com/Yobo-Sega-Dreamc ... controller
Even if that's too expensive, it might give you an idea what to look for, anyway.

Thanks. I just don't know if the port on the board is the same, as that is a third party controller.
I'm keeping my eye out for a used official controller. I might find one cheap if there is physical damage to the face of the controller.