PS2 laser coil question

I had one of the first Japanese PS2's (SCPH-10000) with an Origa 2 mod back when I was a young college student and I used to use it as a DVD player as well. It never refused to to play games or movies from the Ritek DVD-R's that I used at the time (burned in a Pioneer DVR-106, my first DVD-R drive).

In fact I had no idea that any of these issues with DVD-R even existed until I looked at buying a cheap PS2 slim for myself just recently.

 

It only became really bad, with the later models (SCPH-50000 to SCPH-70000). But after SONY got sued, the issues vanished.

 

Then that proves beyond doubt that the issue was either intentional or a typical case of them trying to cheap out by using lower-grade components (something they have absolutely and repeatedly been guilty of since SCE became a thing in the 90's)

 

Pre 5xxxx series, the only thing you'd typically have to worry about blowing out is the BA chip.

The V10 and V12 were totally, 100% booby-trapped..

 

anyone got some links to the different methods of preventing the pickup burning out..
That pic chip looks interesting, what actually works?

ok so found a post by mr @voultar this clears a bit up

So the issue was patched by Sony post 7k systems? (My beloved 77002 pink Slim is safe )
I do own a 5002 system that has been some trouble, mostly dvd diode issue it seems.
So when MECHACON crashes the system hangs anyway?
Hmmm might program me some pics, I've had a look around but cant find much on the chip (I can't find a download to program my own) other than it shut down the system if MECHACON took a dump...


Looking at modbo 4.0 chips on aliexpress, I can't find any 1.93's.. are the 1.99 really that bad?


All I can find are "modbo 5.0 1.93" Are they just a pile of crap?

USB Boot?? huh

 

They're most of what is available now unless you want to spend a lot. You can also easily find the Modbo v4's and 745's on Ebay and AliExpress though. They seem to both have a unique little feature such as the 5.0D has USB boot and the 4.0 has NIC boot (I think). Also the 745 isn't supposed to need a CX point I believe but all of the pictures that I have seen still seem to have it on there.

Here's a 1.93 if you still need one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MODBO5-0-V1...611800?hash=item2104cf3f58:g:iTAAAOSwl9BWMfQe

 

When considering the reasons for why these models fail, why not start with the simplest assumption?
Design flaws lead to component failure under stressful conditions and they didn't find it in their testing.
This is common on all consumer products.
The flaws were found "in the field", Sony got sued, they fixed it by improving the design.

Consider the alternative, that it was deliberately engineered to fail:
You'd need to build an optical drive feedback loop that doesn't fail for 5+ years, yet blows whenever the media quality is bad.
That's actually really hard to do and you're almost sure to get false positives and returned consoles.

 

thanks for the response

anyone have any ideas about the micro controller

 

By micro-controller, do you mean the thing to stop the Mechacon crash and laser burnout on a v12?

If so then this Ebay seller has what I believe is the best and easiest solution:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neofix-XIV-...878842?hash=item3abb9f3eba:g:PFcAAOSw-zxWnN2V

Or you can get this kit from Eurasia if you're looking for a cheaper variation or if you have access to a PIC programmer then just make one yourself.

http://www.eurasia.nu/shop/product_info.php?cPath=48&products_id=274

The ModBo 745 that I received from HK today didn't include a diode fix board but by all accounts the ModBo bundled diode fix boards are crap anyway.

 

ah ha! thank you and yes I do have a programmer

They only have one diagram however

edit:
from what I can gather this fix is only for V12 consoles?

 

Yeah just v12. No other models need it.

 

ok so what about V9 and V10?
EDIT:
apparently giving the LA6508 5v instead of 12v prevents this issue?

 

Romeo fix for the 9 and 10.

Pass on your 2nd question tbh. I actually sourced a cheap second v14 system last weekend so that I wouldn't have to mess around with a v12. They honestly seem to be more trouble than they're worth.

 

When I discovered that the tracking coils were controlled by software in the mechacon (it also controls the tracking stepper motor, which kind of makes sense) I was kind of shocked. I would expect it to be controlled on the DSP by a lower level solution, like it were on the PS1.

There might be economical reasons for that design (save logic on the huge DSP chip) but that exposes the optical pickup to fault conditions caused by software glitches. When you don't need to install modifications to blow the machine (poorly burnt DVD VIDEO discs can trigger the mechacon crash the same way copied game discs can) you have a serious problem to tackle. The way SONY solved the issue was not by patching the software or changing the design.

They added a watchdog circuit which disables the servo circuit if it fails to detect the mechacon interrupt pulses. Curiously similar to one of the homebrew PIC fix chips.

Romeo mod and resistors/diodes achieve nothing but making the mechacon have a harder time controlling the coils, making reads slower and more error prone. So modding the console that way is also fail.

 

So in your opinion (which I would never question btw), even the likes of the NeoFix boards and the Eurasia PIC fix do nothing? Because in that case users of v12's are probably just best avoiding using DVD+-R and scratched discs entirely.

 

PIC based fixes are the best solution. They do attempt to shut down the output of the drivers in case of a mechacon crash. So it forces you to reset the console, which is kind of sad but heck, that's a lot better than a burnt coil, no?

 

Am I right in thinking that the neofixes are just PIC fixes but preinstalled on a QSB for more ease, presentation and convenience?

 

I would believe so.

 

OK please forgive me or feel free to shout at me if this is considered thread hijacking but it seemed related so here goes.

I recently got 2 ps2's, a v12 and a v14. I received the v14 first and it works perfectly. I'm using free mcboot on it ATM and plan to hopefully mod it at some point.

I got the v12 second and didn't bother to open and test it until today and it seems it can't read DVD's. I put an original DVD game in it and it booted but seemed to lock up after the PlayStation 2 logo. Now whenever a DVD game is put in there it just says 'reading disc'. It cant seem to play DVD video either but it does play audio CDs just fine. I also put a CD based game in there and it immediately rejected it with the RSOD (the CD game was Japanese and the console is PAL. I have no PAL CD-based PS2 games).

I have tried cleaning the laser with some isopropyl and a q-tip but that doesn't seem to have made any difference. The console was in generally poor physical condition and looks like it had been opened in the past (Sony seal missing).

Are these the symptoms of a Mechacon crash or just a dying laser? I have not put any kind of recordable media in it because I know what V12s can be like. The only discs I used were original and in good condition.

 

Mechacon crash is a state which is instantaneous, momentarily. A reset is enough to knock it out of such a state. What is permanent is the damage it may cause to the optical pickup.

So yes, that is a "dying laser".