Test PS2 Browser screen crash/failure?

Aaghh thats a bit of a ball bag!

It says on the back of the machine NTSC U/C so yeah I guess its US machine.

Hmm what to do then?

 

Well I see it like this:

I have the tools for BGA - however, I will freely admit that I am not as skilled with BGA as "normal" soldering. I have been soldering TSOP, QFP, etc a LOT longer than I have been doing any sort of BGA work.

I just wouldnt want to take on the work and damage the board - which is certainly possible when it comes to BGA. Warping the board is a possibility as is lifting pads under the chip. Even removing the donor ram could possibly be an issue - popcorning the chip.

That said, I have had successes with BGA.

If you were to get a faulty PS2 matching what you need from the US - I cant see it costing you THAT much.... plus, you need a faulty board anyway as a ram donor if we go the BGA method.

If swapping parts from the PS2 test to the PS2 retail board will work - that would be the more successful/comfortable option. This is the reason I do not advertise BGA repair work yet - I have a high bar for what I consider acceptable work, and I do not consider myself there yet for BGA.


Up to you how you want to proceed. If we did go the BGA ram route - if I were to fail, I would not charge you. Just know that its certainly possible the board could get permanently damaged (although, swapping the parts to a retail board would still be an option...)

 

I just looked closer and saw that it says GH-004 on the mainboard. That's a "v1" B-chassis, so it just reinforces what I thought. The only issue with getting a board from the US is the fact that externally, B-chassis and C-chassis machines are identical. Same port placement, same case, and same product code; SCPH-30001. But upon opening it, it should be clear which type it is, as B-Chassis has a bundle of 7 wires going form the reset switch to the mainboard, while C-chassis just has that 7-pin flatcable as used in all later "fat" machines. So I'd get them to open it and check what kind of cable it has.

In the past, they used to go by serial number and date code combinations to identify the vx number. Those for B-chassis (what you need) were supposedly a serial number starting with U0/U1, and a date code of 0D. But I have no idea if that was truly accurate, since people had conflicting reports.

 

There is a run down of all versions that are "compatible":

B-Chassis (GH-004)

B-Chassis' (B-Chassis dash/GH-005. Almost same thing as B-Chassis but uses an different sub board too)

C-Chassis (GH-006)
C-Chassis' (GH-007 C-Chassis DASH. All machines I saw of this type were for Oceania or Europe so while SONY could have made these NTSC they never did ...)

AB-Chassis (GH-008, second release of SCPH-18000)

D-Chassis (GH-010 to 013)

D-Chassis' (GH-014 and 016)

You can for example move the mechanics controler, bios, syscon and EEPROM from a GH-004 to a GH-005 or 006 but you would need the complete machine for it to work as obviously you would need to put the motherboard back on the right case... :thumbsup:

If you're wondering about the "dash" versions of the chassis, they're simply the same thing as the normal version *but* they have the CXD2934GB (older metal top GS chip) while the non dash systems have the CXD2944GB chip. I suppose the dash chassis existed only so they could have an use for that older GS chip (which operates on 2v and heats a lot more than the newer one) and they completely abolished the original EE chip (CXD9542GB) which also operated at 2v.

All boards above GH-014 (but GH-016 which uses old chips) use a new GS/EE/IOP combo and use newer BIOS/MECHACON chips too.

 

Okay I will try and locate an appropriate machine to use for parts but it may take a while so bear with me.

Thanks everyone

 

So according to l_oliveira's infromation, you could simply take any SCPH-30003/4 machine from the UK and "transplant" the parts to that machine. You wouldn't need to get a machine from the US.

 

BGA IC's are rubbish. QFP is the way to go

 

Thanks for that enlightening and extreme useful comment.

 

Pretty much why I spent the time typing that ! :thumbsup: