Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Technical help for Dreamcast console, accessories and games only. Ask questions and find answers here. For Online help see the Online Forum

Moderator: pcwzrd13

opossumita
noob
Posts: 2

Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Post#1 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 1:35 pm

Hi all, time to shift to GDEMU but I have a VA0 and I'm not willing to mod the mobo (resistor mod), otherwise I won't be able to read GD-ROMs again. Now, there are a few options, but 1) I don't want to buy a MODE 2) I don't want to buy a VA1... So, I was wondering, would it be possible to transplant VA1 parts (mobo, controller port, cooling fan, easy to find) in a VA0 shell? Would they fit in VA0 shell plastics? If yes, do I have to replace also the cooling plate? In short, are VA0 and VA1 shells different? I've searched the Forums and Google, but I find just bits of replies about the topic... Thanks for attention. :) ;)

User avatar
dark
Shark Patrol
Posts: 2077

Re: Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Post#2 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 2:29 pm

There are some differences for where the posts are where you screw in screws for the fan and probably for the controller board. I don't know about the motherboard but wouldn't be surprised that the screw holes don't perfectly line up for that either.

Im sure you could find ways around that, like who needs four screws to hold in the mo bo if two match up, etc, but i'd just think it would be more expensive and more trouble than it's worth to try to source these individual parts and then gut your v0 to try and install them in your v0 case, than to simply but a full v1 console to put the gdemu in.

User avatar
megavolt85
Developer
Posts: 1782

Re: Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Post#3 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:55 pm

opossumita wrote:Hi all, time to shift to GDEMU but I have a VA0 and I'm not willing to mod the mobo (resistor mod), otherwise I won't be able to read GD-ROMs again.


who told you that GDROM will not work after changing the resistors?

opossumita
noob
Posts: 2

Re: Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Post#4 » Tue Aug 09, 2022 10:27 pm

@dark Thanks for reply, that's what I imagined. :(

@megavolt85 I didn't investigate on that actually, I just read the description of YT video in which they explained the mod -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3tNCkY3CY4 Is it --- I'm not technical, is there a way to perform this mod making it reversible? I want to be able to play the GDROMs as well. Thanks. :)

Lew3030
rebel
Posts: 18

Re: Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Post#5 » Wed Aug 10, 2022 1:25 am

The VAO is the same shell as the VA1. There’s basically still just 1 version of the Dreamcast but when it comes to modding you will see the difference. So the difference in swapping out parts is that the controller port pcb has 2 pins instead of 3 so right there you can’t swap the fan. You can change the PSU but it will either over-heat the VA1 or simply won’t power the VA0. But it helped me on mine because that was just a little loose.

User avatar
megavolt85
Developer
Posts: 1782

Re: Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Post#6 » Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:21 am

opossumita wrote:I want to be able to play the GDROMs as well. Thanks. :)

After replacing resistors, you can use both GDEMU and GDROM.

Lew3030
rebel
Posts: 18

Re: Is it possible to transplant a VA1 in a VA0 shell?

Post#7 » Wed Aug 10, 2022 12:40 pm

Answering for Opossumita that makes sense both GDROMs should be the same. And isn’t it the cpu or something that draws the energy in. I know that the PSU is different and that the controller port PCB is different but overall they are the same exact console.

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “Support”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users