Broadband adapter

From dreamcast.wiki
Revision as of 16:52, 8 May 2020 by Unknown user (talk)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
A black Dreamcast broadband adapter

The Dreamcast Broadband Adapter (HIT-400, sometimes HIT-401; HIT-401 is written on the Japanese box, but HIT-400 is on the peripheral's underside sticker), often abbreviated BBA, is a 10/100mbit network adapter for the Dreamcast based on the Realtek 8139C chip. It connects to the G2 bus in place of the modem, and it was released in Japan and in the United States. Despite not seeing a release in PAL regions, some PAL game software is actually compatible with it, such as Toy Racer and Phantasy Star Online.[1] It is a different piece of hardware than the Dreamcast LAN Adapter.

Broadband Adapters were made in both black and white colors, although the black ones were only available via online order from CSI in Japan.[2] Fewer than 2000 black ones were made due to low demand during the window of opportunity to pre-order them (December 1, 2001 to December 28, 2001), and they cost 8,800 yen (the same price as the white ones[3]).[4] Also, an R7 Limited Edition console + broadband adapter bundle was sold by CSI for a limited time.[5] Contrary to popular belief, in Japan broadband adapters were only sold by CSI, not by Sega themselves.[6] In the US, however, they could be bought in stores or from Sega's online store for $60.[7]

Note that all broadband adapters are the same between regions, right down to the FCC sticker on the bottom of the unit. The only difference between the Japanese and North American releases was the packaging, as they had different boxes and manuals, and the Japanese box also included the Broadband Passport web browser. One could therefore say that all broadband adapters are technically "North American" models.

Due to their release towards the end of the Dreamcast's official lifespan, broadband adapters are somewhat uncommon peripherals and are only supported by a handful of games,[8] but they are useful for playing supported networked games and linking to a computer for programming, debugging, and dumping GD-ROMs. The Dreamcast Karaoke Unit also could access the DreamKara service by way of the Broadband Adapter.[9]

Tools

  • dcload-ip - A program made to transfer .bin and .elf files (and srec files, if specially configured for it) over the BBA. It also provides chainloaded programs with a standard syscall interface for communicating with a networked PC. Mostly intended for homebrew development.
  • httpd-ack - Most highly recommended GD-ROM dumping software
  • BBRip v1.2 - Now-obsolete Windows-only GD-ROM dumping software for use with dcload-ip (it is recommended to use httpd-ack instead)

Documents

References