Dreamcast-Talk.com

I want to post an update on this. I did this mod again with a model B modem and it works no problem. I also modified the modem housing and made it look at lot nicer.

In the modem housing I did as before and removed most of the post except one. From test fitting i found everything can fit with the one post left. This also allows me to attach the metal cover with the original screw and make the whole thing a lot nicer to look at and easier to insert and remove from the Dreamcast.

Also I took the first post that I removed and cut it to make two small post. I then superglued the small post so I could use them as mount points for the Raspberry Pi Zero W. Finally I cut a slot to allow the micro SD card to be accessible from the outside.

I circled in red what was removed and circled in black what was added. I did everything as before in my tutorial post and here are some pictures of the wiring and it put together. In this picture you can see I used some screws to attach the Pi Zero to the case to keep it from moving. I still thinking wiring could use some work. The one thing that is different is I removed the RJ-11 connector from the dreamcast modem. This allows the Pi to be closer to edge and makes the microSD card slot we cut to be usable. Modem front and back pictures. In this section I want to discuss things I have tried and things I will attempt in the future.

The first thing is I have been trying to find a way to add the wireless information without using a another Pi. My end goal is to put in the microSD card and power it up and have it work. I have tried modifying the wpa_supplicant.conf but it never takes it and deletes the file when I boot up. I have attempted to do a headless bluetooth setup so I could then use Wi-Fi Configuration Wizard in a terminal from my phone or laptop but can never get it to connect. I have looked into a headless WiFi setup but foresee a problems with when trying to switching networks. Currently I have to resort to booting DreamPi on my Pi2 to enter my WiFi information and move the microSD to my Pi Zero. I am at a loss any help or guidance would be much appreciated.

The second thing I would like to do and should have something in the following months is to design a 3D printed moden case. This would allow us to keep the original plastic intact. This would also make a much nicer looking slot for the microSD card and more secure mount points for the Pi. Ultimately this allow for faster and easier prototyping and modifications in the future.

A few other things I have been thinking about is how to compact the wiring. The first thing I have been attempting to figure out is what kind of component is the two blue things on the modem PCB. The markings on both of mine are very small and faint and I can't make it out. I can't tell if they are capacitors or something else. These are the biggest thing in the case. They make positioning tricky and if they could be replaced with something that is smaller but equal it would make the whole design slimmer and cleaner. The second thought I have is maybe some kind of HAT that could be designed similar to this iUniker board. The idea is to make so only four soldered connection are required to the Pi Zero and potential include the rest of the components as well. I know the line voltage inducer could be made a lot smaller and if we could also add the USB modem this would make this project a whole lot simpler. I know the HAT idea is a long shot but I just want to mention it here to see if anyone even had the expertise to do something like that. The biggest thing in my eyes are the 3D printed modem case and finding a smaller equivalent to the blue components on the modem.

I hope you all enjoy my tinkering.

This is bloody incredible, I love it! I like how in this version you recycled the posts and made it sealable with a screw for long lasting durability so it is not so prone to opening. I love how the ingenuity of the community never ceases to amaze me.

Did you use a hand file for the SD card access port?

Anthony817 wrote:This is bloody incredible, I love it! I like how in this version you recycled the posts and made it sealable with a screw for long lasting durability so it is not so prone to opening. I love how the ingenuity of the community never ceases to amaze me.

Did you use a hand file for the SD card access port?

Thanks for kudos it means a lot! For the SD card access port I used a Dremel with a cutting wheel to make the initial slot and a sanding drum to try and give it that beveled looked. It looks a little beat up because I tried to shave some more off with an X-acto knife when I needed more clearance. Here is a picture from the side that shows a different view. I'm not to happy with how it turned out but I should be getting a 3D printer soon and I hope to design a more polished version.

Hey man, function over form hehe. But I really do like this idea though, you put a lot of work into perfecting this for sure. If only I wasn't such a novice at soldering.

uglybuddy6 wrote:... I'm not to happy with how it turned out but I should be getting a 3D printer soon and I hope to design a more polished version.

If you need a hand with creating a 3D-printable model, let me know.

Oddly enough, there's nothing to be found on Thingiverse - yet...

Nice project! I did something similar with mine awhile back but yours is alot more compact and tidy I really like it!

When I want to edit the pi I just ssh into it from my pc or tablet. This works great when I am at home, but if I wanted to take it to a friends house I'd be SOL. What would be really cool is if someone better at linux than me would be able to write a script where if the pi doesn't detect a known network, it would go into AD HOC wifi mode or start broadcasting its own wifi, which you could then access via a SSH client from your mobile device!

I have no idea how to implement this however. Hope this at least gave you some ideas!

Still really enjoying your project uglybuddy6. I'm currently working on a different one, but yours was the inspiration.

My goal is to create a modem wifi with an Ethernet plug. In this way the final user will be able to simply plug his modem to an Ethernet cable and play or if he wish choose to go with a wifi configuration.

I'm doing my tests with a Raspberry Pi Zero (without the W therefore without wifi). Right now I only unsoldered and resoldered the Ethernet plug from an ENC28J60 and connected the ENC28J60 board through GPIO to the Rapsberry Pi Zero. The goal is to put the Ethernet plug instead of the phone plug on the modem case.



I configured the Raspberry so it uses its new Ethernet entry. Everything worked flawless on the first try however on the following day I played with the DNS settings of my router and couldn't have my installation working. But it might also come from the batteries simulating the line... I still have to make tests.



Here is a final image of an Raspberry Pi Zero, connected through Ethernet.

The next step will be a test with the 5V -> 18V booster and an "internal" (meaning coming from the DC) power supply.

hawkzer0 wrote:Nice project! I did something similar with mine awhile back but yours is alot more compact and tidy I really like it!

When I want to edit the pi I just ssh into it from my pc or tablet. This works great when I am at home, but if I wanted to take it to a friends house I'd be SOL. What would be really cool is if someone better at linux than me would be able to write a script where if the pi doesn't detect a known network, it would go into AD HOC wifi mode or start broadcasting its own wifi, which you could then access via a SSH client from your mobile device!

I have no idea how to implement this however. Hope this at least gave you some ideas!

Thanks I appreciate it a lot! I have also been pondering that idea. I am not opposed to the SSH idea because I use it every day but I'm trying to think of a more user friendly option. I was even going as far to think what if a small web server was setup that would present a nice web page when you connect to the DreamPi AD HOC wifi and then you could enter in the appropriate network information. That is the only option I listed that I haven't tried. Maybe I'll give it a try here soon and start of with SSH and then work my way up!

MrBlueSky wrote:Still really enjoying your project uglybuddy6. I'm currently working on a different one, but yours was the inspiration.

My goal is to create a modem wifi with an Ethernet plug. In this way the final user will be able to simply plug his modem to an Ethernet cable and play or if he wish choose to go with a wifi configuration.

I'm doing my tests with a Raspberry Pi Zero (without the W therefore without wifi). Right now I only unsoldered and resoldered the Ethernet plug from an ENC28J60 and connected the ENC28J60 board through GPIO to the Rapsberry Pi Zero. The goal is to put the Ethernet plug instead of the phone plug on the modem case.

I configured the Raspberry so it uses its new Ethernet entry. Everything worked flawless on the first try however on the following day I played with the DNS settings of my router and couldn't have my installation working. But it might also come from the batteries simulating the line... I still have to make tests.

Here is a final image of an Raspberry Pi Zero, connected through Ethernet.

The next step will be a test with the 5V -> 18V booster and an "internal" (meaning coming from the DC) power supply.

I'm glad to have inspired other ideas! I'm curious on what kind of speeds is the Pi getting from the Ethernet over GPIO?

Please keep me update I am very interested in the outcome of your project!

@uglybuddy6 What zener diode did you use in your build? I'm also making a PAL LVI and can't find any info on that.

Is it a 1W 18V zener diode? Or does it have a different voltage?

Raen wrote:@uglybuddy6 What zener diode did you use in your build? I'm also making a PAL LVI and can't find any info on that.

Is it a 1W 18V zener diode? Or does it have a different voltage?

I used a 1N4741A which is 11V and 1W . For PAL I think a 1N4746A should work that is 18W. I bought mine through amazon it came in a pack like this. https://www.amazon.com/Chanzon-Assorted ... 07BTKVRG8/