Time to mod the ol' PS2! (installing a mod chip)

As mentioned above, the enamelled stuff can be thinner.

I use solder thats about that thickness (mines actually 0.7mm) but you can get quite a lot smaller. But as I said, I mod ps2's all the time with 0.7 without issue (and I also use Kynar).

Sounds like you werent using flux, which is where you went wrong. Bridges are easy to remove when using flux.

Watch this video about drag soldering and see how bridges are removed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzI31gfCjJE

What soldering iron were you using, what size tip and how hot was it?

 

the good news its not impossible to clean up and get working agian
the bad news is its gonna take alot of braid to clean up and a shit load of time

 

It would take a couple of minutes to clean up and probably no braid...

 

No, I had assumed since my soldering wire had flux in it I was all sweet. Ah, the joys of learning by trial and error. So flux is something I should defiantly be looking into, thanks!

The soldering iron might have been the other issue, it's a cheap thing I brought originally with the purpose of changing batteries in game carts. It works well for that, but it's probably not great for fine work like this. The tip is rather thick, I had hoped I could file it down and make it sharper, but to no avail.

Oh? Do tell, I wasn't sure this was even recoverable.

 

So:

Shit non temp controlled too large soldering iron
no flux
inexperience

And I dont know what you want me to tell you? removing your bridges wouldnt take long for someone who knows what they are doing and has the correct equipment. there isnt anymore to it to tell?? =/

 

Yep, basically that.

Hm, so the console should be fine, if I can remove those bridges with some flux? Worth looking into, if only for the practice and experience. As to soldering irons, what would you recommend? A temperature-controllable one obviously (for the purposes of lowering the temperature for more delicate soldering I'm assuming, or would the solder behave radically differently at different temperatures?) but what about tips? It was possible to change the tip on my cheap-ass soldering iron, but I sure as hell couldn't find any tips that would fit it. Should I be looking at a station-style iron, or a temperature-controllable pencil-style one?

 

ROMEO MOD is useless.

And no, only do it on V9/V10.

The ones with ROHM driver chip (BA5810 or BA5815) won't benefit at all from such a mod.

All ROMEO mod achieves is reduce the voltage at the coils, making them burn slower than they would at 12v.
Side effects include:

Slower reads due to slower focus and tracking mechanism.

Current is drawn from the HDD +5 rail and if you use HDDs and disc at same time it could surpass the current for the IC-link "fuse" for that particular line, causing it to fail.

Coils can still burn as it does not solve the problem of MECHACON crash.

If you had gone through the softmod route you would be at a better stand I believe.

 

My other PS2 *IS* a V9, so does that mean I would have to do it, despite it being useless?

Yeah, but I'd still have the issue of not being able to play import original disks Once I get this modchip issue sorted out, then I'll be sittin' pretty.

 

Since it gives you enough time to get up and turn the PS2 off if it crashes while reading a disc, it might be not too useless... Of course I say that because I just HATE all these mods. Modchips simply SUCK. And now that there's softmod solutions which are just as practical as a modchip, why bother with modchips ?

You know the PS1 argument can be strong but seriously it's possible to install a old "USB mod" and get PS1 discs working on any PS2 without such hard/difficult mods.

Also, MODBO is utter TRASH.

They look neat on the collection. I have consoles from each region to play them. And it wasn't expensive to get, really.

Most of the time I am using Japanese PS2s with softmods so even with a huge pile of US discs I am mostly using my harddrive to play them.

You REALLY want to ruin your laser, I see.

 

The laser is evil and must be punished!

Yeah, I'll see if I can recover the V3 PS2 and take another stab at modchipping it, this time with better equipment! There's still that weird issue if why the CX point isn't on my PS2's board, all the other points are there, but no sign of the CX point.

 

CX point only exists because Chinese people are cheap asses and tap clock from the motherboard instead of having the CPLD clocked onboard.

See why MODBO sucks ?


It's a pin of the DSP chip. I don't know which one though. Look for a modbo diagram for a V4 system and copy the CX point (see where it goes to and connect same way on your board).

And it might be why you have a black screen if there's no shorts on the mechacon.

 

The V1, V2 and V3 are the worst to try an install a modchip for the first time.
If I would have to take a guess you bridged points B, G, H and I.
Can we get some pictures of the install?

Here is a list of items I use when I install a modchip

Fine tip iron 20 watt
Fine Solder
Desoldering braid
Flux
X-acto knife
Fiber glass pen
30awg Kynar solid core
30awg wire strippers
Electrical tape
Glue

 

9000x is the one I like the least.

Jinn, you missed your secret weapon from that list - glue!

 

Add to that the fact that softmodding is not an option on these ... :\

 

Modchip are trash ok, but ps2 hardware are absolute shit. Especially V9-V10

 

Don't tamper with it and it won't give you trouble. It's that simple.

 

True, but ps2 IMHO it's one of the worst console hardware (the others are PS3 and X360). Especially if we talk about lasers drive
I've see a lot of untouched ps2 consolle given trouble after some years...
Seems that more we continue generation of consoles more the build quality decrease in an incredible way!

Also seems modchip "quality" it's similar to the ps2 hardware quality ASD

 

Anyone who is familiar with how the PS2 modchips work understand why the modchips are actually damaging to the system.

A MODCHIP will achieve patching through shorting the bus data signals as data travels through. That means the chip eavesdrop the data flowing through and at the "right moments" it short the pins changing the data output into whatever the designer of the modchip choose it for. It puts a strain on the bus and somehow SONY figured a method to detect it, which is a serious problem on the later models (particularly the units made after 2002 until 2006).

SONY strategy was to put the customers against modchip installers by putting the blame of the damage on the said installers. Most installers would return the console to the customer and refuse support on case of trouble. An infuriated user would then purchase another PS2 and avoid modding next time. Or would cause trouble for the installer demanding compensation.

That strategy almost worked. lol

Eventually it backfired when SONY advertised that 50K units were optimized to read DVDR DVD Video discs. Sadly (for SONY) their TRAP code also slips on poorly burnt video discs and that cause the coils to burn the same way they burn with a modchip installed.


SONY got sued, rest is history.

So yes, just by using a DVDR on a PS2 you're risking the laser get burnt. But this point in time burning a PS2 laser is a very very bad idea as it's near to impossible to find replacement lasers for the early phats... Eventually the supply of lasers for slims will dry out too.

 

OK, I've found the installation for the V4, I should be able to find the same point on my V3 should I? I'll have a look for it, thanks!

Yeah, that would probably be where the issue lies. I'd take a photo, but none of my cameras are able to take any decent macro photos, so you wouldn't be able to see much.

What type of soldering iron do you use? And what size is "fine"? 0.5mm? What what flux do you use? The thick, greasy yellow kind? I too used 30 awg solid core wire, but even it seemed a bit thick and stiff to solder to those tiny tiny legs.

 

Here:
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?39844-PSone-PS2-Install-Service&p=621231&viewfull=1#post621231

... he said he uses a Goot CXR-31 and a Goot PX-201. Those are Japanese soldering irons, btw, and the PX-201 is temperature controlled.