DEH-FH1500J Prototype

Just typed out full update and lost it, so this one won't be as long

I opened it up tonight. These markings don't look like something I'd expect on a retail console but I don't have another at the moment to compare.

Also, the mobo appears to be the Vertigo-02.

Thanks to everyone who has been providing me with information on this one, it's been a huge help. I'm not going to touch it until I know what we're dealing with and whether a NOR dump will be safe.

 

@peterr928 if you do want to dump the NOR we might be able to work something out. Not 100% sure it'll work but we can give it a shot if it's deemed safe to dump.

 

@mathieulh i have a unit that says system debugger it is a deh-h1000as-e. Where would I find firmware for that?

 

First, can we see some pictures of it? I just like to see these things, especially the inside

Second, if things are to be believed, then an official DEX firmware should be acceptable, but given yours is a preproduction model of a debug unit, I want to warn you and say stay weary. Can you share what firmware it's currently on as well? (In addition to pictures)

Here's a tiny bit of info on your unit http://www.ps3devwiki.com/ps3/DEH-H1000A
I know it doesnt have S-E after the A but that's because its a variant of the DEH-H1000A.

Edit - I still suggest NOT installing a FW over what you have.

 

QA flagged means it runs on a special firmware which is specific and unique to that and that machine only based on a number of parameters like MAC address, etc

 

It is currently running 2.52 firmware. I will upload photos later today

 

I also own one of these units. However mine is not a system debugger. Its a test unit without the word TEST on the faceplate and its just ever so slightly transparent right? My unit was originally owned by DrEB IIRC.

That's a bit strange though, because I had been told (and maths post states as well) that the system debuggers were modified DECR1000 units. I wonder if its possible to turn my unit into a facsimile of yours if possible.

-doulomb

 

As stated before mine seems to be a preproduction decha. The screen says "debugging station"

Yes mine is transparent as well

 

When powered off, turn it on as you normally would (and you should here a beep), but instead of releasing the power, hold until you hear another beep. Once you hear the second one, release your finger from the power button. When it boots up, see if the system boots into system software mode instead of debug mode.

If it does, go over to settings in the XMB, and find its debug settings. Go look for "Boot Mode" and set it to System Software Mode and reboot. You should then have it act like a normal PS3 assuming it allows you to do this. Once there we can get some more neat info.

Also transparent consoles to me look great. Mind sharing some photos?

 

Ahh, it seems you misunderstand. The console is not truly transparent, but rather instead of being solid piano black like a standard phat PS3, the system is just ever so slightly transparent but still black. The best thing I can compare it to is VERY dark tinted glass. The fact of the matter is that unless you look closely (and with good lighting) you can hardly even see the difference.

Here are two pictures that you can see the transparency:

If you look you can see some vague outlines of internal elements like the BD drive and power supply. btw this is the unit that is now in my possession

Spoiler

This one is a better example, specifically the shroud for the SD/CF and other storage media.

Spoiler

Its believed these units were some of the last protos created before the retail launch of the console. I've long theorized these must have been used at tradeshows, perhaps even e3 2006!

-doulomb

 

The one in this thread clearly isn't that old - you can see the mold dates in two of the photos and they are both April, 2008 - the photo of the main board isn't high enough resolution to allow the date codes on the chips to be read, but that's a good indication of when it was built, too.

It's also worth checking to see if the board has one of the standard Sony style part numbers on it (0-124-456-78) - the first digit tells you if it's a board that was produced by engineering (0-) or is full production spec (1-).

 

Thanks for the heads up! I'll have to take mine apart again sometime to confirm. Is there anything else I should check while I've got it open?

-doulomb

 

Taking some hi-res photos of the chips would be useful - the date code is generally a 3 or 4 digit sequence with either the last digit or the last two digits of the year followed by a week code (Normally the EIA week code, which doesn't line up perfectly with the calendar year).

Apart from that, all you can really do is look at the boards and compare them with retail ones.

 

My console doesn't have any boot chime sounds at all. I have booted to xmb and confirmed that the unit is on 2.52

 

That's neat honestly. A but tedious but still neat. Any little details that seem out of place by chance?

 

QA flagged means it has a special privileges signed certificate installed on the SYSCON eprom, which allows it to do special things, like downgrade freely even if there's restrictions coded on the firmware to disallow it. A QA flagged console can go at will back to it's original minimum version.

Actuallty QA FLAG has nothing to do with the firmware itself but affects how the firmware behaves.

 

True. Adding to the above QA units are granted access to pre-production versions of various sony sites.

 

Thanks for the great information, with all this said - could a regular DEX firmware be used to restore the system once I install the new HDD?

 

I'm going to say yes, but I can't say that it will still be perfectly the same as before.
I don't know if being QA flagged then upgrading the FW will make it act as if it's not QA flagged (if this makes sense). It may still be, but it also might not. The only way to know for sure is to try but that may be a problem.

If you do upgrade the firmware, be 100% sure you want to upgrade the FW.

 

If you try to install firmware that isn't intended for the unit it won't even start installing.

I'd suggest you install a old firmware though. Maybe 3.55 DEX (which has been leaked publically, by the way).