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

Because l_oliveira has put the fear into him.

 

There here in the uk two i could get hold of one i have a duo 3 ultra installed and is cool.

 

I've looked at the new PS2, and it's a GH-007! Woo! I've got a rare one!

Anyway, that means it's a V3 board right? So that means to install the Modbo 4.0 chip, I need to be following this diagram correct?


There's no mention of NTSC or PAL on that diagram, so that means they are considered the same for the purposes of installing the chip?

 

Get a matrix infinity 1.93 or Modbo 745 or 760.
From what I have read they work best on v3

 

Really? What makes them better? Everything I've read says that the Mobbo 4.0 is suppose to be the best PS2 modchip

 

Got my PS2 working, so I'm bumping my previous post to confirm that the diagram I posted is the correct one to follow to install a ModBo 4.0 and if it matters that the diagram doesn't mention PAL or NTSC

 

I posted that 2 months ago saying it was for the v3 =/

 

Ah, you're right! Thanks Bad_Ad!

The chip installation is the same between both PAL and NTSC machines? I ask since I'm sure I've seen diagrams for different version PS2s that used a different installation between NTSC and PAL.

 

Matrix (the real deal) had optimizations on the CPLD code which allowed it to work with just the A, B and I wires on NTSC-U/C machines. It would require more or less wires depending on the region (as the bits which need patch on the chip bus can change due to different data requiring path) and on later machines it require all wires to be connected. But indeed on early PS2s you can get away with three or 4 wires on the DVD drive bus instead of all 5 (or all 9 in earlier modchip designs).

The BIOS wires (MNOPQTUVRW) are aways required. In the particular case of using the modchip as boot device for a laser-less PS2 unit you can connect just the bios wires, the reset pin and power to the chip as you won't need to patch the DVD drive if it has no optical pickup to begin with...


And you have me jealous now because that's one of the board types I don't have on my collection lol

And I have MOST of them ! O_O

 

Thanks for the info! Yeah, I got pretty lucky, and I got a good deal too, managed to talk the seller down to $30 Have you tried looking on eBay Australia for them?

*EDIT* I notice the store I brought the modchip from included what appears to be a laser protection circuit. This is unnecessary for my V3 PS2 correct?

*EDIT* Managed to get some solder all over the legs of that chip you need to solder a few wires to, creating a LOT of bridges. My solder pump can't remove it, so now I need to go buy some solder braid :\ Sweet Jesus, it's so fiddly soldering wires to those tiny tiny legs!

 

I'm having a hellva time trying to install this modchip. I'll all good, up until the part where I need to solder the wires to the legs of that chip. For one, I can't tin the wire, since the smallest amount of solder creates bridges on the chip's legs. Which means I can't get the wire to stick to the legs!

 

you need fine gage solder not full gage solder BTW wires are measured in gages most of the time

 

Actually you need thin wires and I recommend enameled wire (scratch the enamel coat first then apply tin to it).

As long it's a single core wire that is smaller than the pin, there is enough flux to make the solder not lump on multiple pins and you clean the flux after finishing all should work well.


The trick is use the right gauge wire (multi core wires are no good for soldering straight to a smd chip. Only single core is good for that !

 

*EDIT* Double post

 

I thought I had brought the thinnest solder wire I could find? Not sure now.

I used Kynar wire, but even then it was as thick as the pins were! Kynar is suppose to be the one size isn't it?

Well, either way, I manged to get the wires to stick to where they should be, but I think in the process of trying to get it to work, due to either the roughed up legs (some of them look bent) or the bridges or perhaps improper modchip installation (my board didn't have the "CX" point the installation diagram referenced), the PS2 will no longer start up. I get the power on light and the fan starts up, the drive will open and close, but nothing on screen and no audio. Is it dead?

 

The PS2 need the MECHACON chip to be able to boot so if the communications to it are blocked it will stall halfway through the boot process. So it's very likely you have solder bridges.

Sadly you might need someone more experienced on soldering to fix it.

I can only suggest you find old garbage PC motherboards with SMD QFP chips (chips that have pins on the sides) and use them to train soldering on.

 

if you have a multimeter you can check for continuity Ie shorts
and if you do find shorts you just need a thin useless plastic card
re heat the solder and then use the thin plastic card to insulate the legs
before the solder cools dont heat with plastic there its flammable and poisonous

 

Damn. I'm not sure if I should try installing the Modbo 4.0 in the V9 PS2 (I know from that diagram that the only pins I need to solder to are MUCH thicker than what I had to do with the V3), there's still the laser death issue, but I've got what appears to be a laser protection circuit (the "ROMEO LASER FIX" is it called?). And even if it does die, they're pretty simple to replace, far eaiser than installing the modchip in a V3 :\

I tried to separate the bridges, but the solder was cooling before I could do anything. I tried soaking up the solder with a solder wick, but obviously it didn't get all of it.

Okay, so for future reference, where did I go wrong here? The bridges on the chip (a result of improper solder wire?), bent up legs on the chip or an improper modchip installation (was the "CX" point necessary?)

 

You went wrong by attempting something above your skill level. =/

 

Maybe, but I was fine up until I had to solder those wires to the legs of that chip. Started to go wrong when I got bridges trying to tin the legs so the wire would solder to the legs, so perhaps the solder was the issue? It seemed more viscous than the videos I'd seen. Here's what I used:


Thinner, softer wire would have been helpful too, but I thought Kynar is the thinnest you can get?