Dreamcast-Talk.com

Hi there,

I recently purchased a Dreamcast and it finally showed up in the mail today. (For reference, I purchased from Lukiegames. I know they aren't held in universally high regard but they've been good to me in the past.) I plugged everything in (controllers included-- I've done my research and don't want to fry the controller ports now that I've finally got the console), switched my TV to AV mode, and booted up the system.

The orange light turned on and the VMU screeched (all normal things, to my understanding). But, nothing showed up on the display and there was no sound. The VMU, plugged into the front slot on the first controller, displayed a big "B." This all baffled me. For reference, I tested both with and without a game in the system. Results were identical either way. I did a bit of reading, and it seems that the usual culprits are:

A) I might be an idiot and plugged into the wrong ports (this is possible, I don't have a good view of the back of my TV, but unlikely since I unplugged my N64 right as I was plugging it in; also I checked and it appears everything is good).

B) Something is potentially wrong with the AV out port on my Dreamcast. (I unplugged the AV at both ends a few times and retried to no greater success.)

C) Something is potentially wrong with the power supply on my Dreamcast. (Similar situation to B.)

D) Something is potentially wrong with the motherboard on my Dreamcast. (I have my doubts; the console doesn't smell of smoke when it's running, and also the VMU in the controller seems to get power so stuff seems to be passing through the motherboard.)

E) Something is potentially wrong with the grounding in the case. (I have no idea.)

What are some things I might be able to do to fix this? Long range I hope to get my hands on an HDMI adapter to do this that way, but that's a later purchase. I need to consider university expenses here, so I intend to look into solutions that don't involve any extra purchases before solutions that do involve extra purchases.

Thank you in advance. Any help here would be very appreciated.

Update:

Turns out the answer to my above conundrum was a variation on "A) I might be an idiot and plugged into the wrong ports (this is possible, I don't have a good view of the back of my TV, but unlikely since I unplugged my N64 right as I was plugging it in; also I checked and it appears everything is good)." I plugged everything into the TV right... But I didn't plug the AV cable into the Dreamcast as tightly as I was supposed to. I feel rightfully stupid, but on the plus side I now know the console does indeed work! Sorry for the trouble.

That said, this does lead to another question so the new thread isn't a total waste. Should it be difficult to get the AV cable in all the way? I'm not a bodybuilder or anything, but no cable I've done before has given me this kind of trouble to get in all the way. Is it intentional that is so difficult? Is there something potentially up with my particular model? Any information would be appreciated.

No the AV cable should be very easy to insert. Might double check for obstructions in socket and make sure nothing is bent on the plug

You might want to bring a bright light and magnifying glass to the Dreamcast's AV port to inspect it - there might be debris which needs to be cleared from there.

Maybe it's some aftermarket/3rd party AV cable? My VGA cable (don't know the brand of it) is a pretty darn tight fit, even tho AV port is clean.

Hmm... Seems this is a problem of some kind then. Honestly, I have no idea if the AV cable is third party or not. What I can say is that the coloured plugs for putting into the TV are kinda short and stubby as compared to the N64 and the PS1. I know the plug itself isn't bent, so I'll have to check out the port for cleanliness later on. Thank you for the suggestions. xD

You might want to post photos of the port and plugs - it would help tremendously to diagnose your problem.

why don't you just contact the site and tell them they sold you a defective unit