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Using a Dreamcast PSU for Naomi

J

jowstni

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Hi everyone, I'd like to check with more knowledgeable people here about my plan to use my Dreamcast PSU for my Naomi so I don't blow anything up. The Naomi won't be in a JAMMA cab or be using any I/O board that passes along power, so the Dreamcast PSU will be purely powering the Naomi directly.

I found the power pins on the Dreamcast PSU. Should I desolder and remove the white connector? Or is it okay to just solder the wire from the underside into the connector pins?
dc-psu-parts.PNG
dc-psu-solder.PNG


Here's my wiring plan. I'm planning to use 18AWG wire. It's okay to solder 2 wires together from the same pin on the Dreamcast PSU, right? Will it negatively affect power flow?
dc-naomi-wiring-plan.PNG


Thanks for any feedback. I learned a lot just reading threads on this forum, but I wanted to check even more basic things before I proceed. I'll update this thread with more detailed info and any successes I have.
 
Little update: I desoldered the white terminal block from the PCB and found that the through holes on the PCB are way too small to fit an 18 gauge wire through, much less two twisted together. Does anyone have experience or ideas about soldering on a different terminal block to fit 18 AWG wire?

I'm thinking I can find a screw terminal block for wires on mouser or digikey.
 
I did this with a broken Dreamcast I had, someone else here I believe has run it before. It does the job but only downside is you can't adjust voltages. I used the pins from the DC shell, I believe lemonyvengeance could make a custom harness also.

This was my setup before
 

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Arguably you could solder them to the white block pins.
Where/How are you mounting it internally?
Definitely give it a solid run before cutting a shell.
 
levelupgainz said:
It does the job but only downside is you can't adjust voltages.
Click to expand...
Has anyone ever considered making something similar with adjustable voltage pots. It appears that an ATX PSU has its issues and second hand PSUs are getting expensive and hard to find.

What about a Naomi buck converter that took 12vdc in from a switched psu and output the 12v passed through untouched and 3.3vdc and 5vdc both adjustable via pots. It could even output via the correct jst vl headers.

I have been back and forth in my head between buying a second hand psu and re capping it or building the above and using a 12v switched psu i have on hand. Both seeming to be a similar time input.
 
^ A board that can adjust voltage from an atx psu would be a useful product.
I know some higher end atx psu adjust their own voltage based on load so the design may be somewhat complex.
Right now the ones that adjust their own to keep it stable are the best bet IF you can be sure of their curves by being able to find the data.
 
I have been looking for the qp-300a without success, I can only find the d and f version on aliexpress or local sellers. I'll try the 150, but I can definitely say psu's are difficult to find.
 
levelupgainz said:
I did this with a broken Dreamcast I had, someone else here I believe has run it before. It does the job but only downside is you can't adjust voltages. I used the pins from the DC shell, I believe lemonyvengeance could make a custom harness also.

This was my setup before
Click to expand...
Oh that looks quite cool--creative solution 8)

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I'll just solder the white connector block back on and try soldering the wires to the provided pins, even though they're intended for metal rails.

I think I'll end up getting a Meanwell or an ATX, though, because I honestly don't know how safe or sustainable using the Dreamcast PSU in this way is. I'm concerned about creating bad solder joints that have air gaps and whatnot which might cause overheating (if I understand correctly).

I'll at least post back if I get the Dreamcast PSU working.
 
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