Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

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pmp174
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Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by pmp174 »

Ibluetooth mod for dreamcast notes/test

Hi Everyone, I recently installed and tested the Ibluetooth mod from hispeedido on my Dreamcast. This mod essentially makes your dreamcast compatible with bluetooth controllers, mice. and accessories. Here are a few notes.


Keep in mind I have multiple mods on my dreamcast so mine might not look like yours.

This is the store I purchased It from on aliexpress. https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568068 ... pt=glo2usa

Pico psu, Noctua fan mod, Gdemu and now the new ibluecontrol controller board
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Notes.

1. For the hole. Start at small drill bit like 3/22 and work your way up to 5/32. use a piece of scrap wood or a thick piece of cardboard underneath as a surface for the drill to fall on in case it keeps going. Be slow. Plastic is pretty easy to drill through but can break easily if you are too hard on it. Marking the hole is pretty easy. Put the controller port board on the plastic controller insert and mark it with a sharpie or if you are go getter like me, scratch the placement onto the insert with a screw driver. You might be able to get away with using a drill bit that is smaller than 5/32 but it just didn't work well for me and I made it just a bit larger. Looks stock.

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2. When installing you will have to disassemble everything up until the first metal shield. This way you can remove the plastic controller insert and drill into it.

3. If you have a 3 pin fan, you will use an included adapter ribbon. You can see it in the photo below. Because the ribbon was so large, I opted to roll it behind the ribbons main loop. I am not an electronics engineer and I can’t tell you if thats an ideal configuration but I didn’t want to risk any of the fan cables/ribbons getting into the fan itself. This may be different for people who have their original fans which probably have shorter cables.

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4.This kit comes with two boards. A Bluetooth board the sits at the bottom and connects to the console and a controller port daughter board. When assembling, I recommend putting the main bluetooth board down first and then putting the controller port daughter board down. Then you can attach both ribbons together. This makes it so that you don’t accidentally mess up the ribbon while adjusting the position of the board.

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5.This is what I am calling a blueretroclone. It uses its “own software” called ibluecontrol which runs on an electron browser. It is literally just an older version of the blue retro web config site with the word ibluecontrol slapped on it. I attempted to connect the system to blue retros web config site and it worked and let me change settings. However DO NOT attempt to update the device or reset it using blue retros web config. The manufacturer puts a warning about the device possibly getting bricked. I have tested VMU/Rumble config on this is so far and it works.

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6. The mod comes with documentation in a usb. Here are the files for anyone trying to research it. The battery in the mods instruction is not the correct model. See the correct model in the notes below. https://www.mediafire.com/file/eyj97j88 ... C.zip/file

A few extra quarks

It uses a ML1220 for the clock battery which is an odd choice. The one that came with my unit did not work and I replaced it with this one. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KT9HB9?re ... 1&newOGT=1

The device turns the power button into the bluetooth indicator. Green means it's ready to pair, blue means connected/paired, red means some issue (only experienced this when connecting my dreamcast controller into slot 2 during boot, will keep testing).
This connects pretty fast. One button press and it basically connects to your controller right away.
Tested using dual sense controller.

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Spleet
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by Spleet »

Neat. Does this utilize any remote on/off functionality?

Also, i have the same NB.... Are yours made in England?
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pmp174
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by pmp174 »

Spleet wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 8:56 am Neat. Does this utilize any remote on/off functionality?

Also, i have the same NB.... Are yours made in England?
No, currently the only bluetooth mod that supports remote on/off is dream port which is 190€ + 20€ shipping. ($193.68 + 20.39)
https://www.dreammods.net/dreamport.html

Which is designed to work with the dream conn wireless controllers https://www.dreammods.net/dreamconn.html

Regarding my NB they are made in Indonesia. I got them on sale for $60 at a local store.
https://www.flightclub.com/574-classic-crimson-u574rbk

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Spleet
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by Spleet »

I've got a dreamconn+ and know about the dreamport, but sacrificing controller ports for on/off is something I'm not willing to do. Was hoping there's another option. Dreamconn+ in and of itself is a mixed bag from my experience.

Agent X
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by Agent X »

Got some iBlueControlMod boards around June last year and soon I'm going to get some more.

They work great, and I want all my DC's fitted with them.

Just don't flash the BlueRetro firmware on them because if you do you will brick the iBlueControlMod board.

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pmp174
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by pmp174 »

Agent X wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 2:26 pm Got some iBlueControlMod boards around June last year and soon I'm going to get some more.

They work great, and I want all my DC's fitted with them.

Just don't flash the BlueRetro firmware on them because if you do you will brick the iBlueControlMod board.

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Yes 100%. They work great for what they do. Like I said they are compatible with blueretro web config but you can't update the firmware. Idk why they would make a clone that isn't compatible with the open source firmware. But the creators didn't think ahead. If blueretro adds features in the future this will not work unfortunately. Btw love the clear blue shell. Its really nice on the eyes.

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pmp174
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by pmp174 »

Spleet wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 11:52 am I've got a dreamconn+ and know about the dreamport, but sacrificing controller ports for on/off is something I'm not willing to do. Was hoping there's another option. Dreamconn+ in and of itself is a mixed bag from my experience.
I thought dream port actually interfaced with the controller board ribbon. At least that's what it seems to be doing in photos.

bingobongo
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by bingobongo »

What's the input lag on these boards like?

I remember messing around with the Sega Saturn last year, playing a golf game (Pebble Beach) and for the first few weeks I was using a wired pad. Then I got the Aliexpress wireless dongle and started messing around with that instead. When i fired up the golf game again, with the wireless controller, it was obvious there was a a split-second delay compared to wired. Golf games are actually a great way to test for input lag - because you have to press the button at a very specific point when you're hitting the ball, and you can clearly see exactly when you're pressing the button.

Play wired for a little while, then switch to wireless - and you can see the very slight delay/lag.

While no input lag is ideal, and if there's a split second delay you can still play most games just fine - when it comes to golf games that require very, very precise press of the button - wired is the way to go.

But how do these boards stack up? Is there a slight delay compared to wired? I've been close to buying one, but I'm still very much on the fence. I'm also noticing they've gone up in price. They were closer to 50 euros last year - now up to 60. Seems like electronic parts (in general) are getting a slight hike in price lately?

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pmp174
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Re: Ibluecontrol Writeup and Notes for installation

Post by pmp174 »

bingobongo wrote: Tue Jan 14, 2025 6:06 am What's the input lag on these boards like?

I remember messing around with the Sega Saturn last year, playing a golf game (Pebble Beach) and for the first few weeks I was using a wired pad. Then I got the Aliexpress wireless dongle and started messing around with that instead. When i fired up the golf game again, with the wireless controller, it was obvious there was a a split-second delay compared to wired. Golf games are actually a great way to test for input lag - because you have to press the button at a very specific point when you're hitting the ball, and you can clearly see exactly when you're pressing the button.

Play wired for a little while, then switch to wireless - and you can see the very slight delay/lag.

While no input lag is ideal, and if there's a split second delay you can still play most games just fine - when it comes to golf games that require very, very precise press of the button - wired is the way to go.

But how do these boards stack up? Is there a slight delay compared to wired? I've been close to buying one, but I'm still very much on the fence. I'm also noticing they've gone up in price. They were closer to 50 euros last year - now up to 60. Seems like electronic parts (in general) are getting a slight hike in price lately?
I don't really notice any major input lag on this. I would test this out with a rhythm game like spacechannel5 but I am not good at games like that and wouldn't be a good tester. The lag is about the same that you would get on a modern console like a ps5. I want to say that it's better than the dongles available on the market since the bluetooth chips are built into the controller board itself. If you have a good method to test input lag, I am willing to do a test.

Regarding price try buying them off aliexpress. They tend to be less expensive there than on a site like eBay for example.