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Psy
03-10-2008, 04:41 PM
I recently had the video go dark on my Saturn after a long session of use. After fiddling with the wires and a rest it is back to normal but the weird thing is I don't think it is the cable as fiddling the cable I couldn't cause the problem to reoccur.

So what is the most likely cause, over heat? A Fluke with the power supply?

Just curious if my Saturn is dying or not.
mick_aka
03-10-2008, 05:17 PM
I'm pretty sure from how you decribe it that it's a power board issue (overheating and/or power drop)

I know that overheating VDPs tend to cause random garbage as opposed to just blackening the screen and an overheating CPU will cause random resets.

How long is a "long session of use" ?
TmEE
03-10-2008, 05:26 PM
my longs sessions are 4+ days in a row. I have no idea if Saturn survives it or not.... MD does, and DC did very well too.
Psy
03-10-2008, 05:39 PM
I'm pretty sure from how you decribe it that it's a power board issue (overheating and/or power drop)

I know that overheating VDPs tend to cause random garbage as opposed to just blackening the screen and an overheating CPU will cause random resets.


Sounds likely, I no longer have any signs of a problem with the system.



How long is a "long session of use" ?
About 15 hrs of constant use.
mick_aka
03-10-2008, 07:06 PM
About 15 hrs of constant use.

Not suprising then really, I've been planning to add a small fan in the side just over the power board, it gets DAMN hot.
Scooter
03-10-2008, 07:44 PM
I have a spare Saturn power board if you think it needs to be changed. PM me if you are interested in it.

Oh, it's a model 80000A, round buttons, 1996.
Psy
03-10-2008, 08:02 PM
I have a spare Saturn power board if you think it needs to be changed. PM me if you are interested in it.

Oh, it's a model 80000A, round buttons, 1996.
Like I said it works okay now, so it seems to been simply a temporarly failure due to heat.
FoxHound
03-11-2008, 04:07 PM
Not suprising then really, I've been planning to add a small fan in the side just over the power board, it gets DAMN hot.

I would like see that. what size of fan are you going to use? and where would it draw in cool air from? maybe you could use a fan from a broken dreamcast..small and powerful.
mick_aka
03-11-2008, 04:50 PM
Unfortunatley all my Dreamcasts are functional and I don't want to butcher one for the fan, I will be looking for one a similar size though.

Perhaps even one in either side of the casing, a blower and a sucker.

I've not worked out the technical aspects yet...
Psy
03-11-2008, 05:06 PM
Unfortunatley all my Dreamcasts are functional and I don't want to butcher one for the fan, I will be looking for one a similar size though.

Perhaps even one in either side of the casing, a blower and a sucker.

I've not worked out the technical aspects yet...

An old 486 CPU fan might work but you'd still need to modify the case to create better airflow and such modifications to the case probably drop the temperature significantly even without a fan as heat would be allowed to escape easier.