I just had an idea... the SCPH-1x000 series consoles need an external power supply for the HDD since their internal one is insufficient (only provides 8.5v instead of the needed 12v). But the PSU is the same form factor as a v1-v3 PS2 (early SCPH-3000x), which can handle an HDD. Would it be possible to do a direct swap with one of these and power the HDD without the external PSU?
Do not replace the PSU in the SCPH-10000/15000 with a 12V PSU. The thing WILL go POP. Instead, I could suggest you to procure an SCPH-18000 made in late 2001 as these are of the GH-008 board (AB-Chassis) which is a hybrid design with the GH-004 (U.S. 1st model chips) and 12V internal PSU but still having the PCMCIA DEV9 hardware. :thumbsup: He won't find as the network adapter just take the 12V straight from the expansion bay connector to the HDD. The power control circuit and the fuses are all inside of the Playstation 2 console.
It would be destroyed just by putting the PSU in the system and switching it on you say? I bought this SCPH-10000 on eBay about a month ago, and although you'd think that the voltage would be a problem with a Japanese console in England, it works fine just by plugging it in with a standard figure 8 cable. At first I didn't think anything of it, but after looking at the voltage on the sticker at the back, I got thinking... the PSU must have been changed at some point right? I thought that it was probably changed for a v3 PSU but you say that would ruin the system?
No it would not break "instantly" but it will ruin the voltage converter circuitry in the long run. A lot of stuff is different on the early units, as the older Emotion Engine chip and the IOP both run in 2v where on late 2000 models (GH-004 and up) the voltage for the EE and IOP (IOP core runs on same voltage as the EE but it's I/O is aways 3.6v) chips have been lowered to 1.8v. Later on 2002 they again redesigned the whole chipset and again the voltage got lowered, this time to 1.6v (GH-015 and up). :thumbsup: All "fat" boards newer than GH-004 use 12V power supplies internally. They returned to 8.5v with the first SLIM console, after they abolished the HDD completely.
That doesn't sound encouraging. So it is just a matter of time before this system dies? Since changing the PSU is the only way that the previous owner would have got it to work in England, right?
I honestly recommend an step down transformer along with the original PSU or an replacement power supply that supplies 8.5v. Like I said on the earlier post, if the board type is GH-008 it's fine to put 12V on it as it's the native voltage. GH-001(super common), GH-002(this board type is super rare btw) and GH-003(uncommon but not rare) are 8.5v. Edit: If your original PSU board is damaged I can try to assist remotely with the repair giving hints.
Were there any replacement PSUs in the GH-001-GH-008 form factor, that supported 220v (as in Europe) and were still 8.5v? And how could I tell which one I have? I don't have any other PSU, since this is how the console was sold to me. Just wanting to make sure that this set up will be safe... although the seller told me that she had been using the console for years without problem (as the first owner).
