Learning how to repair a PS2 Fat

Hi everyone. I'm pr acting on how to repair Fat PS2's.
For example, I have two fat PS2'.s
I have one SCPH-30001 R with a KHS-400R/HD7 laser
and an SCPH-39001 with a KHS-400c laser.
Which laser is more durable?
KHS-400R/HD7 or KHS-400c or both.
From what i heard, You cannot swap a 400c with a board that has an HD7 into it since it needs Lenschanger.
Also, I greased up the rails with Lithium grease. Does it help it last?
Also which is the best PS2 fat model. The 50001's in my experience were not good models at all and i would always get for example Error reading Grand Theft Auto 3 DVD message in gameplay no matter what if the disc was pristine. So is the 39001 the best model for causal use?
Also If i had a V1, V2, V3 or V4 fat PS2 that has a 400B laser, Would swapping in a 400C laser work?

 

Why is no one replying?

 

You can't even swap KHS-400R/HD7 in 5xxxx model cause it need to be adjusted by sp193 software. Grease helps to fix disc tray problem if it won't open normally (Mostly for 1xxxx). The best model is 30000 cause it has HDD bay, Firewire/iLink and can be VGA modded.

 

This thread has some good discussion - https://assemblergames.com/threads/ps2-laser-coil-question.60980/

While the HD7 seem to carry the rep for being generally worse then the other lasers, the problem seems more to do with model number (5000x v9-10). I've got a 30009 and a 50001. I prefer my v9 as it runs smoother and quieter. both v4 and v9 lasers have now given up the ghost (400r and hd7 respectively).

Do u have any info on sp193 firmware? 400r are more common to buy than hd7.

Both models have HDD bay, I've got a HDD installed in my v9 with FreeMCboot installed and a ps1 mod chip for ps1 games.

As far as I know, all models from 3000x to 7000x can be vga modded.
http://www.dansprojects.com/ps2sync.html Credit to @citrus3000psi for solving this issue on 30009 and above. It mainly covers CSYNC but it can easily be adapted for RGBHV.

 

@Stevie Goodwin Just a heads up. Repairing a PS2 drive is *much* harder than fixing and adjusting a SCPH-1000 PSX.

 

Also depends on the mainboard. You cannot fit in a Sanyo OP into a model earlier than the F-chassis (GH-015).

The Sanyo SF-HD7 has been in use since the F-chassis (SCPH-300xx R w/ GH-015 mainboard). The problem should probably be with the console needing maintenance.

Yes, and no. It appears that swapping the two may require a reconfiguration of the EEPROM because the lenses on these OP blocks may be different, but you may have heard of people just slapping a 400C in place of a 400B... which may not be a correct practice.
(I mean, if that could be done, why bother with changing the EEPROM for the T487/T609K lenses?)

Of course, take my advice here with a pinch of salt because I only gathered my information from studying their service tools. Neither have I serviced any consoles in real life.

Perhaps because of timezone differences? You're also asking questions that perhaps only the Sony & Sanyo engineers could answer properly.

It's not a firmware, but just my PMAP project, which is a clone of the Sony service tools. There is a thread on it here.

Unless I am wrong, the "400R" is also a SF-HD7. It's just the open-faced model.

 

Thanks for the info @sp193 . From what I read in another thread on psx scene, the HD-7 has similar circuitry to the 400b so the two can't be exchanged without adjusting the current supplied to the laser, maybe by changing the eeprom firmware or using your PMAP project. Maybe @l_oliveira would be able to shed more light on this.

 

So which laser is best, 400C or HD7 (400R)?

 

You should not change the optical block, unless you must (i.e. it's faulty). Other than a risk of things going wrong (this is a piece of precision engineering!), you would (rightfully) need to recalibrate the console to achieve as little jitter as possible. Otherwise, you will be hoping that the old calibration fits the new optical block. If you use lenschanger to change the optical block type, it copies over some bytes from another console (which may have different calibration).

If you're not sure of doing any of these (or even swapping the optical block without breaking anything), you should probably not do it.

Some of them really just need a good cleaning. Have you tried gently cleaning your lens with alcohol first?

Of course, there is also the discussion on whether modchips can worsen the lifespan of your console.

IMO it isn't that similar. Otherwise, all consoles would be able to support the SF-HD7 (instead of just F-chassis and later).

Eventually, SCE seemed to have dropped support for the older T487 lens, so I guess this means that the later consoles are actually unable to support the early batches of KHS-400B properly....