PlayStation 2 Laser Replacement?

So, I picked up a Phat PS2 at a swap meet for ten dollars. I wasn't even sure if it was gonna work, but after a quick cleanup to the laser I found it did... almost. It only read some discs and now I can't get it to stop giving me the dreaded "disc read error". Next I tried adjusting the laser frequency but that doesn't seem to do anything except make discs that were readable before not readable. It's a model 39001. I do own a broken 30001 that does not turn on, but I was wondering could I use the laser mechanism from that broken one and plug it into the 39001? I know different models have different designs, so I doubt it will work.

Also, I wasn't really sure which direction is which for adjusting the laser. Does anyone know of a diagram or quick tutorial for adjusting lasers on that particular model? Thanks for any help in advance.

 

Swapping the whole drive would be the simplest way.
You will most likely have a 400c or HD7/400r laser. Just replace the laser with the one that is compatible with your system, 400c and HD7 aren't compatible except if you have a softmodded system and use lenschanger.

 

Is there a place that sells those?

 

Depending on which one you need.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SF-HD7-Lase...217?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item259758b979
http://www.ebay.com/itm/QZO-LASER-K...361?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20dd0b2429

 

Actually I removed it and it says the following: "KHS-400B D554" And below that it says "07313CB2 C656" I looked it up and found bids like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/KHS-400B-Re...776?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35ddff3950

However, it shows different versions. How would I tell which one is mine?

 

Wow, so I just noticed a PS2 we previously thought to be broken is now working perfectly. Reads all discs when before it kept giving us disc read errors. I did notice the picture quality looks slightly noisier than the one I had just purchased. Is it possible for PS2s to each have different image quality output?

 

Are you using a multimeter when you're adjusting the laser? It would be rather silly to do that without one. It would also tell you if you're going the right way or not (the lower the number, the more the laser is working). Adjusting the pot can often help but if it doesn't not help (after doing it properly) then it may mean you just need a new laser.

You didn't mention whether or not you cleaned the laser... sometimes just a simple clean on a dirty laser can make a laser that was reading nothing before, now read everything. I personally use a cotton swap + alcohol, some others have different preferences.

 

Those version numbers are the unofficial version numbers for PlayStation 2 hardware revisions. Just pay attention to the type of laser that you have.
You have a KHS-400B, which you could probably also replace with a 400C.

This doesn't apply for older consoles (early SCPH-30000 series) as their MECHACON doesn't support the R-type patch flag. The SCPH-39000 series does though.

It's possible because SCE changed the GS chips between revisions, but it doesn't mean that you should be observing much of a difference.

 

From my expierience, even a heavily used PS2 can be fixed just by cleaning the laser. I have never tried adjusting the pot, but I didn't have to because cleaning it always did the job. Only one time I had to buy a new laser, because the old one was completly dead.