Ben Heck’s Dreamcast Portable Part 3

Learn more about Design Challenges at element14.com
element14.com/tbhs - Ben is no stranger to making your favorite consoles portable and this time he has decided to build a portable version of the Sega Dreamcast. In this episode Ben designs the case, wires up the unit and plays some games!
Like the Ben Heck show at - / benheckshow

[@danxepha4535]

This video was great, although a very long time coming! I'd really like to see you make another one without the disc drive and using the SD card mod instead to see how much smaller you could make it.

[@johnathangomez38]

Holy craps it looks freaking great I wish I could do things like this.

[@augustwest5356]

i just found your channel and now im just hooked. most of the stuff you say and do I can't even begin to comprehend, but it thoroughly interests me. There are very few KZbin channels I watch that I can honestly say that I learned something from. I'm almost glad I didn't discover this channel until recently. It means I can binge watch the hell out of all the wonderful videos. Great video, great channel, great info and great host! He looks a little like Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys. Anyway, can't wait to see what else you whip up. Its all cool as hell.

[@RussellTeapot]

"it's _cool_ as _hell_" while I understand, the irony staggers me

[@rogrtorr9886]

Most professionaly done project I've ever seen on YT. All the process and the final look are awesome. I would love to see more detailed footage of the final piece and the disc device. Congrats!

[@MindMeetMaker]

Great project Ben, love seeing the manufacturing choices in the case design fliping between 3D prints to lazer cut and CNC to produce really professional looking results, inspiring as always!

[@bcsuda]

Awesome build! That looks "awesome possum" as all get out. I have a suggestion/request: would you please elongate the time spent showing off finished units. I'd especially like to see them shown off from all angles or perhaps rotated on a lazy Susan and filmed. Something we never saw on this build was the completed disc loader and latch. I could even see these things shown off in a mini episode or combined with a skit for a fun in between episode. Anyway thanks to you and the team for your awesome content! Best of luck!

[@element14presents]

Brian Suda Thanks for watching and the suggestion, we'll see what we can do :)

[@bcsuda]

Awesome! Thanks!

[@88oscuro]

deleted

[@absojake]

That's his way of saying no, because they can do it, it's not rocket science to rotate the product lol.

[@element14presents]

Thanks for the feedback, Brian Suda! We've been doing this more in recent episodes. Great idea!

[@mertrixmagna]

The finished product looks so nice. Love these portable console builds.

[@The_Nonchalant_Shallot]

Hey Ben. I love your projects and I'll admit that most of the stuff you do and talk about is completely foreign to me but I still enjoy it immensely. I just wanted to say thank you for all the cool stuff you do. It's awesome to see someone get as much enjoyment out of doing these things as it gives us to watch you do them. Keep it up bro and high fives to you!

[@menghis7286]

this is the best/cleanest looking portable dreamcast i've ever seen besides emulation, props

[@mooncabbagere]

I have to say this is one of the best looking portables Ben Heck has made.

[@SwankeyMonkey]

The MadCatz Dream Pad controller is the best controller for modding into these projects, because it's PCB uses Common Ground, the trigger buttons aren't Hall sensors but Potentiometers, and the Dream Pad controller's PCB is already 6-button layout.

[@02337755]

Wow I'm really surprised how good this design turned out! Congrats on all the hard work! Now sell to me!

[@i208khonsu]

This build was absolutely mental, love the finished product!

[@cSqualo]

After so much time used for making this video, I would have liked to see more of the finished product. Changing disks, playing a real video game, battery life... Good work!!

[@janekmorel]

Holy crap, I can only imagine the hours it took to make it. This has to be one of the best looking portables you've made. Really nice work!

[@metalmanjakson01]

I'm a big fan of Sega and the Dreamcast, this is something I've wanted to see done for a while. I would have tried it myself, but I'm better at repairs rather than modifying. Very well done.

[@VinnyGjokaj]

when i made a xbox 360 portable i ran into the same issue with having to split the controller in half... it took well over 100 solder connections to get it to work.. i know his pain!! Good work ben.

[@johnk3167]

I got to say Ben you really make this mod look so good,keep up the great work. Technology is so amazing there is so many ways you can make it even better.

[@Sparkfist]

@Dan Xepha for those of us who have been around Ben for years. This portable has been years coming. He had named the project Dreamcast-away (reference to Cast-Away). So to see he finally built it is great.

[@spokehedz]

What I would have done differently: 1. Remove that optical drive. GDEmu is easy peasy to install, and would reduce the power requirements and thickness of the whole case Not to mention you could actually play more than one game on it... And reduce load times... Plus loads more. 2. VMU is like more than half the reason the Dreamcast was amazing. I would have figured out a way to stick it in there somewhere. It was one of the few redeeming features on the console at the time. Plus, soldering the memory card in there basically made it impossible to play most of the later games--such as Shenmue--because of how much memory blocks they take up on the memory card. 3. Bigger screen, 1024x768 RGB monitor output. The Dreamcast was outputting the highest resolution images at the time, and you are wasting it with that rinky-dink PSOne Screen using Composite... Blech. 4. Headphone jack. Portable console that you have to make everyone around you hear. How annoying.

[@animedrawer69]

***** Can you even buy the GDEmu anymore. I nver see any for sale on his website

[@neozeed1984]

***** he used composite for sync, not video. It is RGB.

[@spokehedz]

neozeed1984 Ah. Okay then. That one is taken off then. I didn't think those screens had RGB accessible to them. Adrian Smith I never thought that they would be out, but you are right. Damn! There is news of a new board coming out 'soon' but yeah. Sucks.

[@dctaken]

***** not to be rude but is this hinting on a future project for you? or do you not have the tools for it? im curious to see your added ideas.

[@spokehedz]

No, he asked for a bit of advice on what I would have done differently. I have ZERO skills of an artist when it comes to making the portable consoles.

[@robgowman2473]

Hey Ben! I've really enjoyed your videos for years. Why do you hate doing these type of projects now? It's what brought me to you and you're really good at it!

[@lautarocondor]

I was kinda losing faith with this show because of a few of the last episodes, but this was pretty cool. And for those that keep saying "why not emulate?" its not the point. My 11 year old daughter can download an emulator for her phone and make it work, but she wouldn't be able to design a case, cut/rewire the controller, etc. This takes skill, time and multiple-disciplines to accomplish. great work!

[@AndrewNicholsSeattle]

Great episode Ben! The hard work you put into this really shows.

[@augustwest5356]

i agree though, I'd definitely like to see the finished product far more. all that time and effort, show off that bad boy!!!

[@OscarTorresWork]

Awesome build enjoyed seeing the process including enclosure creation and how you went about it 👍👊💯💯💯

[@imbadwrench]

So Ben Builds a Dreamcast to play Atari Games?

[@weedpot100]

Thank you, took the word outta my mouth. Why not play sonic adventure 2 or power stone? I MEAN COME ON!!!!!!!!!

[@redbull6911]

Clearly says it was the only game at the local store

[@CJT3X]

@@redbull6911 get outta here with your logical reference to the commentary from the video. Ugh

[@ZED-nr6lx]

omg right.... i was expecting crazy taxi or somthing!

[@mrbastey777]

Man you should've still called it the DreamCastAway! Nice work as always, been checking your stuff out for years.

[@hakim8688]

god what i would pay for you to customize my dreamcast , you are so talented and knowledgeable

[@MrMrSaldana]

the exact way you did the videos were perfect,,i don't understand why people are complaining about time spent on this or that,,,your a smart man with awesome ideas,,,good job,,keep them coming,,

[@haze42082]

this was absolutely epic, I'm amazed.Ben Heck is THE MAN

[@loganjorgensen]

I really like how it turned out, the screen lid, the centered GD-Rom, the indented triggers, the new D-pad, kudos on an awesome design. :D I guess the loss of the VMU screen is too bad but understandable, still a lot games use it. I guess the VMU could have stuck out the bottom but then the screen would be upside down.

[@JANDLWOODWORKING]

I would like to say I am not a gamer but this was an AWESOME build. Your channel is the best!!

[@DarkKnghtZ]

New sub here. Ben you are amazing. Enjoyable to watch and educational, all wrapped around a great pastime. I also really like that you critique your own work and ask for feedback. This attribute is truly the sign of a good engineer. Keep up the awesome work.

[@kenzito6753]

You had me at "Time... to cast.. some dreams!" LMAO!! Well played my friend! Great job!

[@1234garrett1993]

that thing is so awesome man thanks for sticking through all the bs while building it, it is truly a work of art, i really want to build my own someday, and the only console mod i ever tried was to make a portable N64 i got about half way done and gave up, im hoping to finish it soon, and i would love to mod an original xbox

[@leandro48468]

congratulations for this wonderful project and outhers videos about Dreamcast.

[@JeromeHowardPhotography]

OMG, I love this channel. I've always been interested in engineering and tinkering, and basically everything you guys do are things I dream up in my head. Now its time I start doing more learning so that I can start doing my own projects along side you :) Keep up the great work and I can't wait to see what you have lined up next.

[@3DJapan]

Great build, just a shame you lost the VMU screen, a number of games used that. I have no idea where you would put it though.

[@MrPs103]

Very good job. The amount of work shows.

[@mourngrym1969]

This guy is one of the Elder Build Gods, knows his stuff!

[@RockstarMazy]

Ben, you are AWESOME!!! I love your work. My two faves are the Xbone and the Dreamcast. How you did those was amazing. thank you for sharing these sir.

[@simonkudsk]

6:57 I had a mouse just like that, randomly disappeared a week ago.. Ben?

[@aliabdallah102]

Element 14 doesn't pay for everything, you know.

[@element14presents]

Simon Kudsk >.>

[@MrDrozo]

3 videos about a portable dreamcast and the guy turns it on for about a min an a half, besides the atrocious lack of video after you finished it-great job

[@waynenoonan1234]

Think this project was spot on. looked cool and my hats off to ben that looked like a hell of a lot of work.

[@LinkTheKiller13]

That is the coolest dreamcast I seen. You did a awesome job.

[@saberpeep]

This actually turned out really well

[@BenMelling]

Awesome project. I have an idea for a project you could do. A smart watch or something like google glass. A wearable piece of technology!

[@Letfordlay]

Hey Ben, do you think you'll ever do a portable GameCube? I would really love to see what you could do with it, and i would most likely make one of my own

[@y0mgi3d]

So where are you at with making a portable game cube?

[@RelliKsReliCsTheBeerNinja111]

I want one so bad!!! Do a kickstarter run of this!! I would give you money!

[@portersherman5311]

watching you make designs reminds me of my C.A.D.D. class in highschool

[@wojiaobill]

Ben you're freakin awesome! I would love to see an even smaller version that runs ISOs off of flash memory. You could do away with the optical drive and fan , which would make power consumption much less too of course

[@metalrott324]

I would have turned it into a miniature desktop arcade machine with fighter style joystick and 6 button competition layout and with additional controller ports. I play Capcom VS SNK 2 on it mostly so it would be somewhat dedicated to that. I wish I could work in your shop ! Awesome job !

[@sjheiss]

Took like 2 months, but it was totally worth it! Super great build, Ben! (:

[@bnerd1]

i must say all your portables look very pretty visually it look like something i buy in a store

[@RupertHandford]

Fantastic piece of engineering Ben

[@burkezillar]

I own two Dreamcasts, one works one doesn't, and from the bit of research I've conducted it looks as if the GD-ROM isn't at all reliable - and fairly expensive to replace if you buy it brand new and don't cannibalise another Dreamcast. It'd have been amazing to see you replace the GD-ROM with a flash drive of some description, loading games from SD-Card's etc. From this projects point of view, I think the exclusion of the GD-ROM would've made your life so much easier I think.

[@TaggertSmithson]

Omg Ben I want this so badly. This is an awesome build!!!

[@TheRunefox]

I think it would have been nice to have an external VMU *port* for transferring saves, a separate video out and some controller ports, but really, this was complex enough as it is. This was awesome to watch come together.

[@ScaryKidBellanger]

So pro. Definitely looks like a market product. Way to go!

[@MatSpeedle]

Great build Ben! That's come out awesome, the only change I would make would be to use a GDemu and bin the GD-rom drive but I understand your reasons for not doing that. Love the opening screen idea, excellent design.

[@luisremigiotorresacevedo4620]

Amazing work Mr. Ben Heck

[@aaroNiGHTS]

That looks great! I didn't think it'd end up looking that good. I wonder if a 3rd party Dreamcast controller would have been easier to split. There'd be no way to find that out, other that going though a whole stack of them.

[@VirtualRobotsRevolt]

if only they could do a mass production of these. I'd order one for sure! Great job!

[@desimedia6521]

Hey man your soldering skills are outstanding on cables

[@piadeprediogames]

It's The best portable Dreamcast that i've ever seen!! Awsome project

[@piadeprediogames]

***** ok but my opinion doesn't change :)

[@NoahKuzel]

But it is totally impractical... the thing is the size of a PS1. That being said I don't know how I would improve upon it.

[@BastienAuxer]

Once again you have made an excellent portable console. I like how you handled the CD drive, on top of handling the controller and VMU (on Nightmare difficulty). I can see why you took the path that you did. But if you thought the DreamCast was a challenge, the Original Xbox (the true Xbox 1) would be impossible, just because of the motherboard. I have an idea in mind, maybe you can take the Rasbarypi 2 and build a controller around it, and upload emulators to it.

[@Kowyn]

Absolutely amazing build, I'm so far from being on your level you might as well be a god Ben. I very much enjoy all your in video's on but this is my all time favorite. I have been tinkering with electronics since I was a kid and I'm just now starting to attempt some builds but nothing on your level.

[@Obanai_Iguro99]

Do you plan on making more of these cause i would be interested in having a portable dreamcast

[@Akyla0177]

Man, he is so smart. I don't know what kind of education or work experience is necessary to be able to design something like this.

[@vladimirlong7125]

***** We should learn how to do this kind of things at school instead of usual bullshit.

[@0xbenedikt]

+anglekan, well the metric system is superior and important. I guess you wasted no time learning that.

[@RetroRepairs]

Willing to bet an electrical engineering degree. This is well beyond what "They should learn at school"

[@louisjacooper7047]

What a brilliant project!

[@killachief187]

Fantastic build watched all the parts thumbs up ben !

[@t0nito]

I would have loved to see you open the lid and inserting the disc, I would have put a thin acrylic plate over the LCD

[@jimmy952091]

First of all awsome build and to answer the question I would have built in (not sure how I would have done it) an hdmi port for if you wanted to connect to a tv and add plugs for multiplayer compatibility. That's what I want to do with the gamecube laptop I want to make

[@ahuman9864]

YOURE A GOD. Thank you for the respect you have for the dreamcast

[@EvertvanIngen]

19:52 "Where are my dragons" haunts me every time I watch The Ben Heck Show.

[@raphaellopesfernandes335]

Wow, I am amazed! It looks like a great device. I know that you told that the time was short and could research about SD cards, but I believe using this tecnology, your portable would be smaller or thinner. Am I right? Congrats for you work and thanks for sharing.

[@peterbrandt7911]

Wow, that's an awesome mod. I've neither the knowledge, the talent, nor the tools (pure software guy), but when I see you doing this, I wish I could :).

[@MichielHaisma]

Turned out really amazing. I can see why this took a long time. Really looks professional. One thing that could improve it: Ditch the GD-rom for an SD-reader or similar. Would increase the complexity of the project even more so, but probably save more than an inch of thickness. The nice thing about this unit though is that is resembles an 'original' dreamcast.

[@iGPK1987]

Great job man! I wish you sell it, it would be neat to have a DC on the go. I'm sure it took alot of money to make it.

[@codebeat4192]

Looking good Ben, great job!

[@guerillagrueplays6301]

This was a really neat build to see done. It would have been nice to have seen a more rounded, 3d printed case, but I can understand how going with your typical layered approach was better for a first attempt at the console given the need to be able to account for issues along the way as opposed to having to scrap larger, more complicated single parts. As nice as these custom portables are, I can't imagine they are cheap to produce. Even discounting labor and time, I have to wonder how many consoles and/or controllers you've had to scrap over the years due to issues with a design. You know, it occurs to me that we've seen you make a lot of consoles that were meant to be set-top into portables, but I wonder how hard it would be for you to turn a console that was originally portable into a set-top box? No, it isn't necessarily the most practical thing to create, but it would open up a lot of really cool options for builds. Heck, given that the hardware is often already designed with a small form factor in mind, imagine doing a multi-console design that plays, say, GB/GBC/GBA, Game Gear, Lynx, and Neo Geo Pocket Color games all in one convenient GameCube-sized set-top box? It's something that could more easily be done with emulation, sure, but then again, so could the VCS handhelds (even when you created them.) Or, if we're being crazy... why not try designing a better TurboGrafx-16 portable?

[@AJediSurvivor]

Wish his new videos were still like this

[@EchtMostDefinitely]

i would love to have one of these! dreamcast was my first ever console, so if something like this would be for sale, i would buy it instantly

[@wojiaobill]

would super love to see this redone with the USBEmu or GDemu solid state solutions to replace the optical drive

[@PeterDCOHanlon]

I'd love to do this with a Sega Saturn, myself!

[@BAgodmode]

FINALLY IVE BEEN WAITING SOMETIME FOR THIS.

[@invincilog]

the project as a whole was great. very helpful and I learned more about batteries and the psone screen, which I'm using for my nes portable. Can anyone identify the music playing from 13:43 to 13:53...it's really catchy and puts me in a modding mood!

[@Tailslol]

cool project,in the end it is not what I was expecting,built the screen on the lid is strange. I was more thinking like a psp layout,with vents and fan on the side,back firing speaker,the lid alone on the back and the screen with button on the other side of the console (the back of yours.)

[@sprybug]

I've made a portable Atari 2600 (a lot of the schematic breakdown was from your site), and I've made a portable NES. I'm about halfway on my portables SNES and I'm going to post a video on it's construction (been videoing on it while I've been making it) when it's all done. In that video I'm going to briefly show my portable Atari and NES.

[@JoshOlsonDev]

Ben, I'm curious why you use Adobe Illustrator as opposed to say... Sketchup or other similarly licensed 3D modeling apps?

[@element14presents]

Josh Olson It's what Ben's familiar with.

[@jamesg872]

Josh Olson He has a graphic design background, plus it's a great piece of software.

[@andycnx7177]

Josh Olson I personally find it easier to keep things simple in Illustrator and not get bogged down with the complexities of 3D design. The less I have to think about the tools I use, the more I can focus on the design.

[@kingoftaurus]

Hopefully we will hear what Ben heck thinks.

[@sundhaug92]

kingoftaurus Ben already responded that it's what he's used to

[@Cesarser004]

I know this would be more work but, you should have added a tv output and an audio jack.

[@Cesarser004]

Commodorefan64 Maybe configure it so that when it's connected to a tv the screen displays the VMU? As for the extra controllers a dongle wouldn't be a bad idea.

[@NaokisRC]

Cesar Serrano VMU on any other screen than the VMU LCD is far more hassle than it's worth.

[@Cesarser004]

Naoki Saito If that's the case then you can install the VMU's screen underneath the main screen.

[@digitalblasphemy1100]

***** I think it would have been an abomination at that point and pretty overkill considering what this is. It was already very large due to the cd rom and it just doesn't fit with the spirit of a handheld to add all those features. At that point, he could have just taken the dreamcast and added a screen/battery to it. I like how it turned out but i would have done away with the cd rom and got the gdemu to replace it so it could have been much slimmer and less sensitive to skipping while handling it.

[@NickBailuc]

Commodorefan64 they can use GDEMU, works perfectly fine with me, and you can play original GDI files. there is a menu system that was created for it

[@jacemachine]

Geez, Ben! Now THAT is a portable I want!

[@Omniescent]

One thing I would like to know is how well does it deal with movements and vibrations? The thing about being portable is moving it around while using it.

[@MrYessireebob]

Always love the content from Ben Hack..thank you

[@MrYessireebob]

Heck*

[@Nicoder6884]

+Tony Emmons he was making a pun

[@MrYessireebob]

I corrected myself lol

[@CheffBryan]

This series was awesome! I might have to "steal" the ideas you had of running it on batteries, as well as using a PS1 screen. However, I would like to play against/with other people, so I might end up using the original case and hide the screen under the CD lid. Combine this with the small project of installing a VGA and 3.5mm audio ports on the back would make it extremely versatile.

[@GermanFleitas1989]

This is really cool! Maybe in the future you can make a DVD-less version

[@xXxmajikmanxXx]

I am late to this party, the only extra things I would have done, which was mentioned before was to add an A/V out and maybe extra controller ports, that way you can hook it up to a TV if you wanted to later, I do realize how much extra work that would have put on this project. Overall, this is impressive. If this was on the market, I would have to pick it up.

[@hatelove7711]

Holy crap Ben you actually made one this is so dope

[@hatelove7711]

Hell yea sign me up!

[@literate-aside]

This really is utterly fantastic

[@rogerlikesbud]

im 8 minutes in to the first video ive ever watched from you and your channel, and i already subscribed because you sir are interesting, this stuff is appealing, and you speak well, like, im not annoyed by you, like so many other youtube people.