Topvint
@topvint.co.uk
Restoring, fixing and otherwise tinkering with game consoles and electronics. #retrogaming
I now have an online shop! I sell pre-modded consoles, small mods and send-in services. Find out more at topvint.co.uk
I now have an online shop! I sell pre-modded consoles, small mods and send-in services. Find out more at topvint.co.uk
Thanks! I answered it now 😊
November 10, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Thanks! I answered it now 😊
You forgot to block me here. For everybody else, this is the source of the picture. Shocking...
@jeffsretrogaming.com @misirajeduart.bsky.social FYI
topvint.co.uk/product/drea...
@jeffsretrogaming.com @misirajeduart.bsky.social FYI
topvint.co.uk/product/drea...
Dreamcast dummy load for ODEs - Topvint
Installing an Optical Drive Emulator like GDEMU in your Sega Dreamcast removes the load on the 12V rail from the PSU, which is used for powering the motors of the GD-ROM (the console's optical drive)....
topvint.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 7:02 PM
You forgot to block me here. For everybody else, this is the source of the picture. Shocking...
@jeffsretrogaming.com @misirajeduart.bsky.social FYI
topvint.co.uk/product/drea...
@jeffsretrogaming.com @misirajeduart.bsky.social FYI
topvint.co.uk/product/drea...
This was a good example of me doing mods that are not in my standard list of services. If you want something not listed in the website, just ask! 😊
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
Saturn - Topvint
topvint.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
This was a good example of me doing mods that are not in my standard list of services. If you want something not listed in the website, just ask! 😊
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
Time to play some games!
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Time to play some games!
The wire needs to be connected to pin 7 of the expansion port in the MODE (labelled "region"). For that I soldered the wire to a jumper wire and used that to connect to the JST connector.
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The wire needs to be connected to pin 7 of the expansion port in the MODE (labelled "region"). For that I soldered the wire to a jumper wire and used that to connect to the JST connector.
The VDP2 can be in different places and labelled differently in different motherboard revisions. Luckily I found some block diagrams for this revision which clearly shows VDP2 as IC14. All what was left was to lift the pin 79 and solder a wire to it
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The VDP2 can be in different places and labelled differently in different motherboard revisions. Luckily I found some block diagrams for this revision which clearly shows VDP2 as IC14. All what was left was to lift the pin 79 and solder a wire to it
The customer also wanted to play games from other regions as well as possible. The MODE already allows this on-the-fly as game load, but to do a 50/60hz switch, pin 70 of the Video Display Processor 2 needs to be connected to one of the pins on the MODE PCB.
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The customer also wanted to play games from other regions as well as possible. The MODE already allows this on-the-fly as game load, but to do a 50/60hz switch, pin 70 of the Video Display Processor 2 needs to be connected to one of the pins on the MODE PCB.
I also replaced the battery, which was flat. The battery is still needed for the Real Time Clock so you don't have to put the date and time everytime the console starts!
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I also replaced the battery, which was flat. The battery is still needed for the Real Time Clock so you don't have to put the date and time everytime the console starts!
To test that the FRAM was holding the memory even with no battery, I started up SimCity 2000 and created a new Topvint City. Then turned off the console and checked it was still there. I then deleted the save as it turns out Topvint City takes a lot of space 😁
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
To test that the FRAM was holding the memory even with no battery, I started up SimCity 2000 and created a new Topvint City. Then turned off the console and checked it was still there. I then deleted the save as it turns out Topvint City takes a lot of space 😁
After the recap, I proceeded to do the FRAM mod. This replaces the stock SRAM which needs to be powered to keep the memory contents (through the battery). So if the battery dies, so do the game saves! The new chip gets powered through 5V from the board so it doesn't need a battery to operate.
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
After the recap, I proceeded to do the FRAM mod. This replaces the stock SRAM which needs to be powered to keep the memory contents (through the battery). So if the battery dies, so do the game saves! The new chip gets powered through 5V from the board so it doesn't need a battery to operate.
The first task was to recap the motherboard after full disassembly. The motherboard revision was a VA13 which uses through-hole capacitors. I got my capacitor kit from RetroUpgrades.
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The first task was to recap the motherboard after full disassembly. The motherboard revision was a VA13 which uses through-hole capacitors. I got my capacitor kit from RetroUpgrades.
The Terraonion MODE device is an Optical Drive Emulator which accepts SATA HDDs and SSDs, as well as SD cards and USB drives. It works both on Dreamcast and Saturn consoles, and seems pretty good!. The console also came with a JVC Video CD expansion card, which I had never seen
November 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The Terraonion MODE device is an Optical Drive Emulator which accepts SATA HDDs and SSDs, as well as SD cards and USB drives. It works both on Dreamcast and Saturn consoles, and seems pretty good!. The console also came with a JVC Video CD expansion card, which I had never seen
The cut off date is to give me the time to finish servicing what's in the queue. Obviously if the queue is too long I won't be able to, but that's the intention. So if I get your console by the 28th, will aim to finish and send back before Christmas. What then happens with Royal Mail I can't tell 😁
November 8, 2025 at 10:45 PM
The cut off date is to give me the time to finish servicing what's in the queue. Obviously if the queue is too long I won't be able to, but that's the intention. So if I get your console by the 28th, will aim to finish and send back before Christmas. What then happens with Royal Mail I can't tell 😁
Working in a non-black original Xbox makes me happy, even if the insides are the same. That said, I am not discriminatory! Check out my Xbox services if interested, whatever the colour of your Xbox 😁
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
Original Xbox - Topvint
topvint.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Working in a non-black original Xbox makes me happy, even if the insides are the same. That said, I am not discriminatory! Check out my Xbox services if interested, whatever the colour of your Xbox 😁
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
topvint.co.uk/product-cate...
Finally I partitioned and configured a 500GB SSD (provided by the customer) with XBMC4Gamers using FatXplorer. Remember that if you are installing Cerbios 3.0.0, the location of Cerbios.ini and boot animations has changed! 😁
November 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Finally I partitioned and configured a 500GB SSD (provided by the customer) with XBMC4Gamers using FatXplorer. Remember that if you are installing Cerbios 3.0.0, the location of Cerbios.ini and boot animations has changed! 😁
For the modding process, I first soft-modded the console using a Skeleton Key (Rocky5's softmod). I then run XblastOS in the modded console to flash the TSOP using Net Flashing. Overall this was a super-easy method for TSOP flashing (only 2 points in the motherboard need bridging to enable write)
November 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
For the modding process, I first soft-modded the console using a Skeleton Key (Rocky5's softmod). I then run XblastOS in the modded console to flash the TSOP using Net Flashing. Overall this was a super-easy method for TSOP flashing (only 2 points in the motherboard need bridging to enable write)
I also opened up and refurbished the DVD drive, which again, was in pretty good condition!
November 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I also opened up and refurbished the DVD drive, which again, was in pretty good condition!
I also poliched the jewel and applied plastic protector to the rest of the shell
November 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I also poliched the jewel and applied plastic protector to the rest of the shell
The metal shield did not have much rust compared to many other original xboxes I have seen. It still had a bit of rust around the fan area, which I sanded off.
November 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
The metal shield did not have much rust compared to many other original xboxes I have seen. It still had a bit of rust around the fan area, which I sanded off.
For the shells, I first cleaned them with warm soap and water 💦
November 1, 2025 at 9:31 PM
For the shells, I first cleaned them with warm soap and water 💦