Dreamcast:GDEMU

Info

The GDEmu is an ODE (Optical Drive Emulator) by a Polish engineer who goes by the name "Deunan", who is also responsible for other ODEs like the Rhea and Phoebe for the Saturn and the Marty:Doc Brown for the FM Town Marty.

It's a plug-and-play all-in-one solution that allows you to load content from an SD card. GDEMU supports both CDI and TOSEC-style dumped GD-ROM rips (GDI), but is incompatible with Redump images.

As of 2022 it is no longer in production due to the component shortage.

Note: because the ODE doesn't use the 12v rail for the GD-Rom drive, it's safer to remove it from the power supply.

Since its release, members of the community have made tools to improve the experience of using a GDemu. The currently updated one is the GDMENU, a PC tool that makes it easier to add and organize games.

3d Printed Case

Bob from RetroRGB has made File:GDEMU SD Mount.zip for the GDEMU that makes it easier to install and change out. It requires a ~15cm SD card extension cable, 2x M2x8mm (for the SD card extension to the mount), 6x M3x8mm (for the case), and 1x M3x16mm (for the front most screw hole).

Assembly Instructions

• Use two M3x8mm thread forming screws to attach the GDEMU board to the SD mount bracket.
• Screw the SD extension into the SD Mount.
• Plug the SD Extension into the GDEMU.
• Place the Button into the SD mount, and attach the bracket to the SD mount. Use 4 M3x8mm screws to attach the parts together.
• Install the GDEMU just like the original drive, use an original drive screw to attach the back mounting hole, and use one of the M3x16mm screws to attach the front screw through the GDEMU board into the Dreamcast.