PS1 faulty laser or modchip?

So recently i got an original PAL PS1 SCPH-5502 which had a modchip installed. The store i bought it from showed me the unit working perfectly and reading a very scratched PAL copy of the game Mummy. So i got home and burned some backups with Alcohol 120% ( I'm sure that i burned them correctly ) and I used Verbatim CD-R's. Half of them didn't get recognized and the other half were playable, but with some problems and they would often just freeze on a loading screen. I've also got 2 NTSC games ( Gran Turismo and Gran Turismo 2 ). These NTSC games would also some times boot and be playable, but sometimes you would have to reset the console to get them working. I don't have any official PAL games to test how the console reads them.
So would this more likely be a laser problem or a modchip problem?
I would appreciate any help.

 

Doesn't sound like the chip

 

Do you recommend getting a replacement laser?

 

when playing burned backups they need to be burned in a method called Disc At Once popular PS backup and burn software is Golden hawk CD-R Win I've been having trouble with the site http://www.goldenhawk.com

 

Thanks, I will give it a try. Although a lot of people say that, burning with Alcohol with Playstation mode is also a reliable way to burn PS1 backups.

 

Try a sony cd-r as Verbatim CD-R's my ps2 don't like them.

 

Already tried a different brand of CD's. I tried to use some no brand cheap CD's. I got the same results. Some games worked, some didn't even boot

 

I've adjusted the laser pot, but i am getting the same results.
This is the modchip i found in my PS1

 

Did you adjust the pot with a Mulitmeter?

When the laser is in the upper position. Hold the Lid security switch pressed (put something into the hole). The laser will move to this position immediately after the PS1 is switched on. It stays there for a couple of seconds and then (when the start up sound is played) moves down to the lower position. In order to set the voltage by turning the trimmer, you have to switch the PS1 on and off several times. Set the voltage to 11.4 mV. The setting can also be made when a CD is played, but the measuring point and trimmer are very difficult to reach when a CD is inserted.

If this still fails after tweaking then a new laser is needed, which will solve most the issues.

 

Probably just gonna buy a new laser. You can get one on ebay for 10$, only problem is that I will have to wait about a month until it arrives from China.

 

What a shit install, sems the modder used a lighter to solder ....
And why use an oscillator when you can use one directly from the motherboard...

 

You think that's bad soldering... :/

I certainly wouldn't post a picture of mine lol (works perfect though)

 

Doesn't look that bad to me.

Sounds more like crappy discs+crappy burner. PS1s are notorious for not liking discs, pick up a Plextor from 2003 and a pack of Taiyo Yudens.

 

I'm actually on the look out for an old burner like you mention. Do you happen to have a Product ID (Serial code) for a Plextor writer and a Link to some Taiyo Yudens?

Cheers

 

Are these any good

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Taiyo-Yuden-JVC-Watershield-White-Inkjet-Printable-CD-R-50-Pack-/321286811885?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_BlankCDsDVDs&hash=item4ace2fb0ed

 

I have a friend with a 100+ burned PS1 games. He only uses Verbatim's and they all work. He has a PSone, so that's probably a more reliable console to mod, so you could play burned games. Am I right?

 

Some point seems burned, but the worst thing i see it's with the chip on the top right corner :S

BTW Spend much money for an old, an refurbished plextor haven't sense for me
Buy a new good burner and use an excellent CD-R it's the way

 

You probably don't want to buy a Blu ray burner just for CD-R's but I myself use a Pioneer BDR-207D (£45 Amazon 'Year or so a go') and JVC branded Taiyo Yuden discs - Never had an issue, all my backups work a treat.

That's on the cheap Hong Kong laser assembly's too

 

Because the mod is doing two things - it's providing a data stream for the CD controller (on pin 7, by the look of it) - and it's also generating a 4.43 MHz clock for the video encoder. On the PU-18, you need to add an additional clock if you want to have the console output correct colour in both NTSC and PAL modes. It looks like he's cut the NTSC/PAL input on the video encoder and wired it to ground to force the chip to always be in PAL mode, and then cut the trace carrying the subcarrier output from the GPU and fed in an external 4.43MHz clock - that way, the console will produce PAL in PAL mode and PAL-60 in NTSC mode.

Oh, and incidentally, none of the connections are burned - that's just what 10 year old flux looks like.

 

Buying old burners is completely pointless. Just do your research and buy a good modern one, rather than generic rebadged lite ons and you will be fine.