View Full Version : If my VMU works when it's in the controller slot...
FrankSerpico
10-22-2013, 05:25 PM
...but doesn't work when I try to power it on independent of the Dreamcast, does that mean it's dead?
The Old School Gamer
10-22-2013, 05:29 PM
Battery may need to be replaced, they do not last long at all.
ApolloBoy
10-22-2013, 05:40 PM
I assume your VMU beeps when you first turn the console on? That usually means the battery in the VMU is dead.
FrankSerpico
10-22-2013, 07:52 PM
What sort of battery do they run on? I'm guessing not the regular common watch batteries like the Saturn, but that would be sweet...
SAV2880
10-22-2013, 08:50 PM
What sort of battery do they run on? I'm guessing not the regular common watch batteries like the Saturn, but that would be sweet...
You shouldn't doubt yourself that much. It DOES use the same battery that the Saturn does, a CR2032! It does, however, use two of them as opposed to just one, they stack on top of each other in the battery case.
FrankSerpico
10-23-2013, 09:23 AM
^Nice, thanks for your help. I have two CR2032s ready to go
SpaceFlea
10-23-2013, 10:12 AM
Once you change the batteries, just make sure to take your VMU out of the controller and turn it off after each time you power down the console. They DO NOT shut off automatically. If you forget, they will stay on and waste the batteries very, very quickly.
Aussie2B
10-23-2013, 03:18 PM
If you just want to save your games, there's no need to have a good battery in it. Personally, I've never encountered anything that you can do with a VMU independent of the Dreamcast compelling enough to make replacing the batteries worthwhile, especially when they die so extremely fast.
FrankSerpico
10-23-2013, 05:21 PM
I was actually lucky enough to find one of the official Sega 4x memory cards on sale for 15 bucks at Best Buy when they were liquidating their Dreamcast stock back in 2001, and I already had one of the Performance brand non-VMU generic 3rd party cards before then. I just recently snagged a VMU for cheap on shopgoodwill.com because I wanted to mess around with VMU-specific stuff like Pinta's Quest from Skies of Arcadia and the Zombie Revenge VMU games.
BlastProcessing402
10-23-2013, 05:36 PM
If you just want to save your games, there's no need to have a good battery in it. Personally, I've never encountered anything that you can do with a VMU independent of the Dreamcast compelling enough to make replacing the batteries worthwhile, especially when they die so extremely fast.
Seconded. I don't think I've had batteries in my VMUs since 2001.
Wraith Storm
10-23-2013, 06:13 PM
I was actually lucky enough to find one of the official Sega 4x memory cards on sale for 15 bucks at Best Buy when they were liquidating their Dreamcast stock back in 2001, and I already had one of the Performance brand non-VMU generic 3rd party cards before then. I just recently snagged a VMU for cheap on shopgoodwill.com because I wanted to mess around with VMU-specific stuff like Pinta's Quest from Skies of Arcadia and the Zombie Revenge VMU games.
Pintas quest was a very simple collection of minigames. You would select locations around the world map and then be presented with a random minigame (I think there were 4 or 5 of them). After completing the minigame you would get rewarded items and sometimes even MoonBerries. I LOVED it as I was in highschool at the time and would Play Pintas quest every day through school. Then when I got home would turn on SoA and have tons of new items and MoonBerries to unlock new skills and stuff.
It was such an awesome idea. I bough the Gamcube port when it was new because of the new bonus content like Pistola(?) and her story, but I got a ways into it and kept wishing I had Pintas quest to play when I was away from the system... so i quit playing it and went back to the DC version. lol.
wiggyx
10-30-2013, 02:01 PM
I built an AC adapter for the VMU because of the shitty battery life. 2032s are pricey unless you're buying them in bulk (which you should do if you plan on using the VMU at all).
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02829.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02826.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02827.jpg
Gentlegamer
10-30-2013, 05:44 PM
I built an AC adapter for the VMU because of the shitty battery life. 2032s are pricey unless you're buying them in bulk (which you should do if you plan on using the VMU at all).
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02829.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02826.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02827.jpg
Now hack it for AV out to a TV to consolize it. :D
xelement5x
10-30-2013, 05:49 PM
Some LIR2032 batteries and a charger would probably also do you well if VMU usage was a major thing for you. That way you could get the mobility you wanted with the original device not needing any mods, plus not always have to pitch the batteries since you can just recharge them.
BlastProcessing402
10-31-2013, 04:01 PM
I built an AC adapter for the VMU because of the shitty battery life. 2032s are pricey unless you're buying them in bulk (which you should do if you plan on using the VMU at all).
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02829.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02826.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k99/wiggyx/DSC02827.jpg
LOL
Now you just need to make the VMU rechargeable so you can play it while away from outlets, then come home and plug it in.