As others have said, even if all this is capable of doing is homebrew that alone would open up the 'scene' at large. After all the dreamcast needs some sort of storage drive, and this would fit the bill.
So, what kind of transfer speed are we looking for on data, and what would reasonably be possible within that speed? I'm asking because of things like emulators, apps, and the like. What would be possible here in terms of homebrew that takes advantage of this?
I'll get one for sure.
Even thou I haven't been coding for my Dreamcast in a lot of time, I still love it! :)
I'd be a bit more interested in a way to hook up a hard drive, and index all my stuff on that, but I could see myself spending ~$30 on something like this. I'd rather have my emus on SD cards than discs; easier to fine-tune a romlist that way without wasting inexpensive discs that could be better wasted on something else :P
I'll have 2!
Could this possible be used as extra save storage space? or Only petty things like... drawing and playing home brew games?
DreamShell 4.0.0 Beta 2 support SD Card adaptor.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeric
http://www.dc-swat.net.ru/news/12/
Nice, that is a must have for me. My original VMU unit has a Godzilla game that I can no longer play (sadly) which I downloaded 9 years ago from the official Dreamcast browser portal, but with this I can play it again on one of my many VMU units I currently have within my possession since I found a site that has VMU games. :cool:
Yeah I'd definitely get one, I wonder if they are available yet.
I would be interested in buying one.
even though its been shot down, it would still be nice to run the dreamcast games i own (legally) and some how put them on the Card to run .. just saves the he** out of the laser...
but really good for homebrew because putting the binary on a Read\Write Format is not wasteful, but using 10MB out of 650MB (or 700MB) is just wasteful no matter how cheap the CDs will get..
plus this will be better than broadband adapter because now its more available to us! (by better than the BBA i meant for coding \ debugging) i'm buying one,
I am definitely keen on purchasing one...
I would like to point out exhibit A:
... and exhibit B:Quote:
fox68k el abril 24 2009 11:29:31
Me gustaria agregar un par de comentarios:
- He implementado un driver KOS, con lo que cualquier emulador/programa/juego (esto es, homebrew soportado por KOS) puede usar la SD directamente, sin cambios en el codigo fuente.
- Las tarjetas SDHC estan soportadas. Y la de 16GB? Si, lo esta. Y la de 32GB? Tambien. TODAS las tarjetas SD y miniSD funcionan -respecto a las microSD no tienen porque funcionar, aunque generalmente lo haran-. Por favor, no mas preguntas al respecto. Si es SD, funcionara.
Wiki Entry
To paraphrase fox68k's statement:
"It supports SDHC cards. And 16GB cards? Yes. And 32GB cards? Those too. ALL SD cards and miniSD cards (assuming you have the appropriate adapter) work. Please, no more questions in this respect. If it is SD, it works."
According to the Wiki, the adapter supports SD, miniSD, microSD, and SDHC to as much as 4GB (more is possible, but has not been tested). It supports cards formatted with FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32 filesystems, and includes CRC32 checking. Supposedly there is also a utility included to transfer files to and from VMU's.
Thought I'd add that to clarify things.
I MUST have one of these... if it's still in time, I want to purchase (request, whatever... ) one.
i'll keep an eye... if someone could contact me via email (neckilljo - gmail) or msn messenger (neckilljo - hotmail), i'd be very gratefull
Hello everybody ! My first post... I want to purchase one me too :)
Very fine forum...
I think everyone who has posted in this thread wants one... A very nice piece of hardware. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by japanese_cake
And welcome to DCEmu. :cool:
Once they have a system for pre-orders, I'll pre-order one. Everything should use SD cards these days! :D
Most things do:Quote:
Originally Posted by JLF65
Digital Cameras
GPS
Mobile Phones
Nintendo Wii
PDA
Pocket PC.
Though there are devices which use the ProDuo type, such as the PSP and my mobile phone... Everything should actually have a multi-card reader. :cool:
I will take 10 please
Can someone please blow up this forum? Theirs only 10 pages, and I personally know at least 50 people that would want this thing. Think of all those millions of people with a Dreamcast at home, most of them cant read discs, but with this device they could bypass that problem AND play the full game how it was meant to be played. This thing could sell like hot-cakes if someone could advertise it somehow. I'm going to other forums as we speak and posting in places that I know have interest in Dreamcast. Ill also be telling prospective buyers about the site. There is someone out there that could do it, we just have to reach them.
Id be after one! Is there a tutorial on home to make a DIY internal one?
Just to clarify to everyone interested in this, there is no way to load illegally downloaded games, or personally made back-ups of your games through this SD adapter.
It's purpose would be to supplement homebrew games, emulators, and utilities. It would also provide writable capabilities to the above mentioned uses, for example: Capability for the development of an operating system (OS) for the DC, or allowing VMU save transfers to and from your PC.
That being said I'll be waiting, waiting, waiting...
Yes what you have said is very correct. I see this as being the most important homebrew app that has been made for the DC as it opens new possibilities to the system. I will be very excited when I hear that OS's or emulators are taking advantage of this. I think the developer of the technology should take pre orders and then get the serial connectors made at a factory somewhere in china. Realistically there is a market for about 200-300 people. I could be wrong though. But look at the success of Pier Solar for the Megadrive. The Euro version has already sold out and it isnt even finished yet. This would suggest not to under estimate the popularity of Retro!
Anyways as there isnt a cable in production yet and possibly might not be I think its important for a detailed tutorial to made about how to make an inbuild one to the dreamcast which doesnt need the serial connector. I think I may do this as I have experience modding electronics but I havent been able to find any info on it. This would increase the amount of users with SD card slots and hopefully then encourage developers to support it.
OK ive found a diagram so i know how to build one. If I bought a job lot of the correct capacitors and PCB sockets(so you can easily disconnect it) would anyone be interested in buying them from me? You could either make an internal or external one without the need for a serial cable which are now very very difficult and expensive to come by.
My intentions are not to make a profit but instead to help people get an SD card adapter added to there DC without all the technical confusion surrounding what components to buy. This in turn would encourage developers to take advantage of the SD card function and therefore contribute to the community .
I may also write a tutorial.
Let me know if you are interested. liam(dot)d(dot)nicoll(at)hotmail(dot)co(dot)uk
i think that ppl who brought all this to this forum have forgotten to do some wip report...
Hey all, I just have one quick thing to say about the "can I load romz on it?" situation.
(not condoning it at all here)
People, it's gonna happen one way or another. Hell, if someone didn't crack the dreamcast's protection scheme, we wouldn't have homebrew at all. So, while piracy isn't exactly good for business, I view it as a necessary evil.
It's kinda like the drug problem - while some drugs have medical value and the potential to save lives, it's impossible to stop someone from lighting up a fat one.
AFAIK there has been no progress. They announced this prior to finding a good source for link cables. A few were made, and the spanish DC devs have them.Quote:
Originally Posted by neckilljo
I remember seeing about 10 link cable for like £1-£2 each when all the shops were clearing out there dc stock.... should have picked them up
The last time I bid on a link cable on eBay, it finished at almost $70... for a simple cable! If it wasn't for the custom connectors, the cable would sell for maybe $3 at most.
Hey MAXIMUSpowers - i just added you on hotmail
I'd be after one mate, if you could let me know if you can make me one.
If not/maybe aswell I'll still buy one from the other site.
Can I please reserve one :-)
Hi Spinksy. My original intention wasnt to actually make everyone one but instead sell them the parts to make one themselves. The benefit of my method is that it does not require an expensive serial cable(costing up to £70) but has to be hard wired inside the system. Are you experienced with modding i.e. soldering? I havent actually made one myself yet but have looked inside to see the procedure. This would be quite a difficult mod for a new comer to soldering as there are some small solder points. I was thinking of possibly setting up a system where people can send me their dreamcasts and i do it for them and send it back. I would charge around £20 for this to cover components,time and risk.
You would receive a dreamcast with an internal SD card slot located on the front of the system. Essentially looking like this minus the led light. http://f17.aaa.livedoor.jp/~takotako...d_layout_1.jpg
Ill update you on this after i have done a few trial runs with my dreamcasts.
Guys we want that in the market for Preorders...Why we dont have any news yet?
Why is taking so longggg....?
My guess: they don't have any way to get the Dreamcast-end connectors, nor any way to manufacture the things to start with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cast128dreams
Remember, these guys aren't a huge corporation with deep enough pockets to actually get things professionally made without paying dearly for it.
If you really want one that bad, the plans are all available online, you can build one yourself with just a bit of knowledge of soldering.
Also, IMO this topic's title never should have been worded the way it is. This is obviously not an official preorder thread for this thing anyway. The title is misleading at best.
It's that they made the grand announcement about this thing after having made one or two from some link cables they bought online....only to realize there isn't some random warehouse full of cheap DC link cables for them to cannibalize.
At least that's what I gathered from Neoblast when I asked him about it.
Some time ago, I have sent the letter on email Henry (hkems.com) where i asked it about possibility of manufacture by them SD adapter for Dreamcast.
After dialogue, where he asked me about possibilities SD of the adapter for Dreamcast, he has answered:
I think, if we make the collective letter or the petition with the request to make this adapter, we have a chance that will start it in mass production.Quote:
I see. We would consider to develop this product seriously.
Thank you very much for your valuable information.
P.S. Sorry for my bad english
DreamShell 4.0 beta 3 - Loading Iso from sd card
Video
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My SD adapter
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/6706/2ebp6lrmw6.th.jpg
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2...6q5gjaz.th.jpg
Hi Alex!! Awesome videos. I am soooo happy that someone is developing for the SD card reader. Is it possible to have an OS that loads data from the SD card slot when booting? This would make it possible to have personal settings and preferences without have to reburn a CD. This will also make it possible to save files on the SD card - great possibility for OS applications!. I wish someone would make a music package like what was on the Amiga! awesome.
I was wondering what connector you used for your SD card reader? Did you make another pin out on your DC so that you could use a different connector as Serial connectors are so hard to come by? Also is there any particular reason you put the capacitors half way down the cable instead of in the housing of the SD card reader?
I am in the process of making one but I am wanting to make an internal one instead so i can just solder straight onto the serial pin outs instead of having to butcher an overly expensive serial cable. It will also make my DC look sexy!
Your work is awsome Alex! If you need any help with graphics 3D or 2D give me a shout as I am a computer artist. Visit www.nicoll-gallery.co.uk
Hey MAXIMUSpowers, only just checked back on this thread (only just seen your reply to my post).
Yeah I'm well confident at soldering (fixed quite a few things with my trusty iron) so I would be ok to do it myself with the parts and some instructions:)
I'll 100% buy the bits when you have them ready so keep me posted please,
thanks!:cool:
ALSO
as said, great work Alex! Will hopefully be able to do that soon ;-)
Yes, it is possible on DreamShell 4.0 Beta 3 (Form SD Loader).Quote:
Is it possible to have an OS that loads data from the SD card slot when booting? This would make it possible to have personal settings and preferences without have to reburn a CD. This will also make it possible to save files on the SD card - great possibility for OS applications!
Burn DS_SD_Loader.cdi to CD and put DS folder(DreamShell OS) to your SD Card.
No, it is standard dreamcast with standard serial port pin out.Quote:
I was wondering what connector you used for your SD card reader? Did you make another pin out on your DC so that you could use a different connector as Serial connectors are so hard to come by?
I have made connector from old Data cable from mobile phone Siemens.
Simply they have not entered into the case. :DQuote:
Also is there any particular reason you put the capacitors half way down the cable instead of in the housing of the SD card reader?
Hey alex - any idea exactly what cable you made it from (as in what model phone is the data cable from) - if you know we might be able to see if Siemens still make the cable and use them (would be cheaper and easier than using DC ones.Quote:
No, it is standard dreamcast with standard serial port pin out.
I have made connector from old Data cable from mobile phone Siemens.
:)
http://pic.ipicture.ru/uploads/090717/35i81Fdr3I.png
Data cable for old Siemens mobile phone (s45, me45, sl45, s35i, m35i, c35i, c45, m50, mt50, sl42)
WIP guide:
http://www.dc-swat.net.ru/forum/inde...showtopic=1759