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Hi

my contribution to the reference please moderators feel free to remove it if you think It is irrelevant

When modding Playstaion consoles into a portable theres one particular thing you must look for when buying your console. The model/model number.
Externally theres really only two types of models that look significantly different:

The PS1


and the PSone


on the outside the PS1 looks much bigger than the PSone but when you open up the case the results tend to very.
The PS1 had many board revisions but the biggest change came in the form of a revised motherboard. The revised motherboard can be found in PS1 models SCPH 9000 - 9003.

Pic of size comparison : top PS1 scph 5502, bottom left PSone (with controller ports removed plus power plug) bottom right PS1 scph 9002





The dimensions of the redesigned PS1 motherboard are as follows:
length: 19cm
width: 9cm
total area (l x w): 171cm (squared)

Pros

good when building a portable with a 7' screen
the cd drive supplied with these has a longer ribbon cable than PSone
controllers are run off their own daugtherboard
smaller area i.e. could make a smaller portable.

Cons

Requires a 3.3v and 7.4v power supply
doesn't work well when building a portable with a PSone screen due to the shape

comparing this to the PSone motherboard
length: 17cm
width: 12cm
total area: 204cm (squared)

Pros

only needs 7.4v
same shape as PSone lcd

Cons

larger area
shorter ribbon cable with supplied cd drive

So all in all make your own mind up, personaly I would trade off having to use the Ti 3.3v regulator as well as 7.4v for the PS1, but since all other playstation one portables have been made with using the PSone there must be a reason for its popularity.

blaze3927 wrote:since all other playstation one portables have been made with using the PSone there must be a reason for its popularity.

It's probably because people:
1) Were not aware of the small regular PS1 board
2) Were willing to pay the small premium the PSone commands
3) Don't want the hassle of working with two different voltages
4) Read in Ben's book that you should use PSones for portables
or some combination thereof.

Nice find, though! It gives people another option for PSp designs.

If I ever make a PSp, I will be using my PS1, which has the smallest board revision.

I cracked 2 open at home and confirmed what Blaze said.

I didn't measure, but the 9000 series is significantly smaller than older ones (I opened a 7000 series for comparison). Further, the 9000 is rated at 10W, whereas the 7000 stated 17W, so it would get better battery life than the older ones as well.

omg nuh-uh u liar i have a big ps1 and a small 1 and the big 1 is biger on the owtsides so its biger on the insides too cuz otherwise itd b smaler on the owtsides liar

^^ignore haterz my dog is smarter than him/it

took a pic of three different playstation one's showing what I mean, when reading power stuff though I found something a bit weird:
scph 9002:10W
scph 5502:9W

If it has the same voltages as the N64, then it should be well-documented how to wire it.

Yeh theres a post around here somewhere which had a pic of complete ps1 power/video/audio pinout

I'm currently working with the 9000 board. Took me some time to find these somewhere on the forum so I thought I might be able to save someone else the trouble by posting them here as well.



From http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php ... er#p389762

A more in depth pinout for the video is found here http://www.gamesx.com/avpinouts/psxav.htm




From http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6865

LOL. Pins 2 and 4 on the left end up at the same point (Ground). I don't really understand why they went 5 pin when they could have just done 4. Meh. I've also been trying to figure out if the reset button is worth adding to my portable. I imagine it would be a more energy efficient way to power cycle the unit.


And in order to solve the issue of the two different voltages here are the two voltage regulators I've been deciding between.

http://www.dimensionengineering.com/DE-SW033.htm

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=9275

You'll notice they're both switching regulators. For those who don't know the pro is they are a bit more efficient, the con is they cost a bit more. The way I see it is that when working with batteries every little bit of energy I'm not burning off in waisted heat (unless you live somewhere like Alaska, where I imagine you'll be grateful for a fistful of warmth) can be used to eak out a few more minutes playtime.