Finally the secrets of the China SEGA Dreamcast Portable revealed….
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Specifications
- 7” TFT 16:9 LCD Screen Monitor (probably vertical VGA resolution)
- PAL Dreamcast console (? or at least the cover)
- 12V Li-Ion 9800mAh (lower actual mAh) B quality battery
3 hours of battery life, according to the engineer
- Rotary encoder and dial (volume up/down)
- Headphones Out(?)
Had some time on my hands, so I have done a scaled rendering of the main parts involved in this design which I admit –although being thrilled at first- has extremely disappointed me in several ways, specially after seeing the behind the scenes footage. First of all, by it’s general structure analysis, it’s more of a cheap Chinese LCD generic monitor w/included generic cover -that after having holes drilled for buttons- was eventually glued to a Dreamcast console.
It's most certainly portable…although not my idea of a Dreamcast Portable. These are two completely different modules (TFT and DC) simply put together. Having the approximate measures of the original, it can easily build up to 6-7 cm of total thickness -obviously not taking into account the edges, where only the screen module is, that are thinner. So, in spite of the big screen, no great improvements in that department.
Second, it has an *external* battery therefore you will have cables -and the actual battery- hanging from the side while you are running like crazy in the subway to catch the train. Must say I do like the custom made aluminium housing for the external enclosure that holds the motherboard/GD assy/GD laser mechanism, it's pretty tight, although it has the exact same height of a regular Dreamcast -having all three parts stacked one on top of each other like the original arrangement in the console. I do need to praise the way the original DC cover fits the metal enclosure and closes perfectly.
I think having the motherboard on the outside is a mistake that makes it a weaker design. Such important and delicate boards should be better protected from the outside environment and better be within a metal housing as well as within a case shell. That and the external battery...mmmm. Although I like the VMU and Extension ports. Honestly, I think this certainly can be improved.
Dreamcatcher
p.s I've got the must sought-after blueprints for this machine, just in case anyone is interested...
