PSTwo HD Connect (or similar) - are they still around?

[MegatronUK]

Does anyone with an HD Combo know whether the small pcb with the IDE and FFC headers one would seperate from the case so that one could just use that particular part and the flexible cables (to obviously relocate inside a custom case for the portable), rather than the entire new casing and power supply etc.

Trying to weigh up whether it would be easier to get an HD Connect from modchipman.com or the HD Combo from psxboy.com. The HD Connect certainly seems like it would be the easier one to just use the cabling from.

[Lord_Turkey]

Ok, Using My Phone Camera I Snapped Some Images Of My HD Combo For You. However Ive Never Uploaded Any Images Before & Am Getting Errors When Uploading The Files And As Im Using My PS3 To Get Online My Uploading Options Are Limited - Photobucket Etc Do Not Work, But Ill Percevere At A Workaround.

[MegatronUK]

That would be greatly appreciated - I'm guessing that I could get either of them to work really, but whatever takes up the least amount of room would be the best; I'm thinking about using a small aluminium CD flightcase to house this project, so there's not likely to be a massive amount of space inside either half of the case.

[Lord_Turkey]

Right There You Go, Id Prefer It If Somebody Stole These Images And Uploaded Them To A More Secure Uploading Site; Two Pictures Refused To Upload; Close Up Of The IDE Pins & Close Up Of The Ribbon Cables & Screws.

Hopefully These Images Will Help People Out.

[MegatronUK]

Thanks, that doesn't look too bad. I reckon that small pcb could be removed and relocated - the flexible cables to the PS2 motherboard seem to be fairly decent length from what I've seen.

I can't see the power switch to that small board being an issue if using a 2.5" drive as it would be powered directly from the PS2 anyway (the 5v USB lines, most likely).

Cheers

[XCVG]

Right There You Go, Id Prefer It If Somebody Stole These Images And Uploaded Them To A More Secure Uploading Site; Two Pictures Refused To Upload; Close Up Of The IDE Pins & Close Up Of The Ribbon Cables & Screws.

Hopefully These Images Will Help People Out.

I Would Upload It Because My Host Unfortunately Sucks Just As Bad But Those Are Nice Pictures.

[Lord_Turkey]

I got mine from PSXBOY.com so can vouch for their level of finish, other then the box being a tad frayed at the corners it all seems fine.

Just need to actually get a slim PS2 now that has the IDE connectors on it and my own PS2 laptop can progress.

[MegatronUK]

BTW, For those who are interested, I have just received a reply from http://www.modchipman.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; stating that they do in fact have the HD Connect adapter in stock.

[Fluffy]

Man, I've been out of here for a LOOONG time! There are questions that need answering here..

Two things my fat PS2 does not need.

I agree. That's why I have 4 1/2 fat PS2's for home use (don't ask about the 1/2 PS2...)
This one, however, is for portable use.

As for the DVD drive. If DMS4 essentially circumvents the PS2 natural bios then I dont see once again why it shouldnt work, but you'd be losing a fair bit of functionality for little gain - the guys on the PS2 Slim Laptop thread in this section have illustrated how small the DVD drive is - you'd barely be gaining a few centimeters as its the same height as the heatsink.

I don't need or want the DVD drive in this one. Since it's for a portable, I don't want to drag around a bunch of discs with me. I also have a PSP for movie playback and PSX games, so I don't need that in this PS2 either. I can see where you're coming from, though, as I would want both of those features available at home.

For anyone else out there looking to use a hard drive on a slim PS2, modchipman.com appears to have the HD Connect in stock: http://www.modchipman.com/hd-connect-p-410.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
.....
Does anyone know if the PS2 will complain or act funny if the dvd drive is removed? (this would be with a modchip, such as a DMS4 installed).

Thanks for the link. I'll probably order one of those later on for my second one. As for running a PS2 without the DVD drive, mine's worked fine without, running HDLoader from FreeMCBoot (no mod chip). It also runs fine without the modem (not this one, but another). See my pics later...

Trying to weigh up whether it would be easier to get an HD Connect from modchipman.com or the HD Combo from psxboy.com. The HD Connect certainly seems like it would be the easier one to just use the cabling from.

HD Connect looks a bit better for this purpose, as the PCB is smaller, though the HD Combo does come with longer cables. FWIW, mine is running a 2.5" drive (40gb IBM Travelstar, 4200rpm) and is powered by 5v from the USB port, even though the drive claims to be 1000mA. When I'm done, I have an 80gb Fujitsu to use that only needs ~450mA. Check out the pics...

*edit* Resized the pictures. I was expecting them to thumbnail...

[Lord_Turkey]

Oohh thats looking nice, gives me a walm fuzzy feeling.

Hope it continues to go well.

[Fluffy]

Yeah, it's all I've got so far. Working on the screen. I've got the Sony PSX screen, of course, but I'm figuring out a better RGB solution to bypass the green tint problem, and I think I might have found something. The main video processing chip in the screen is the AN2526NFH from Panasonic. I looked up the datasheet, and the RGB pins only require a 1uf cap going in, but the PSX circuit has a bunch of other components that I'm still figuring out. Those 1uf caps are there though (labeled CV53, CV54 and CV55 for R G and B respectively), so it might just be a matter of bypassing the other circuits and going straight into those caps...

I'll keep y'all posted!

*edit*

Has anyone thought of putting a small cap/resistor/pot between the red and blue lines rather than a switch? I might try that too...

[Aguiluz]

Wasn't the green tint just for movies according to the sticky??

[64M320N3]

No, I believe it was for games too.

[Fluffy]

Yeah, the green tint issue is with games, as far as I've seen. The screen looks great when it's first booted up, but gradually starts to get darker and slightly green. What you're probably thinking of with DVD movies is that the newer PS2's force video output to switch from RGB to component when playing a DVD.

I'll see what I can do, though. There's at least a bunch of caps, resistors, and an IC switch that the video runs through before getting to the AN2526NFH, which may conflict with whatever's on the PS2 end. I'll play more when I'm back from camping next week...

[64M320N3]

Well, if you figure it out, please let us know.
That is very valuable information!