Worklog [2022 Contest Entry] PS2 90000 Portable - The Slim Station

[Senox]

Hello everyone,

i've been on the forums for over 2 years now, even built a PS2 portable, but I didn't want to post it since it wasn't that good, but i learned a lot along the way, so it's time to improve it.

I'm planning on using ps2 9000x board with custom trim, and Video DAC relocation.

It will be relatively small (118x84mm with stock regulators), but very difficult to solder the DAC, and controllers to 0.1mm traces.

OPL will be launched via FORTUNA.

Goals / Features:

- Slim case, 192 x 87 x 20.5 mm (28mm with the grips).

- 2 MicroSD slots, one for MX4SIO, and second one connected through USB to SD adapter for the games not compatible with the first option.

- Headphone jack with volume wheel.

- LCD control buttons.

- Two 18650 batteries.

- 5 inch 800x480 screen.

- Original PS2 controller IC.

- Switch Joysticks, PSP action buttons, 3D printed shoulder buttons.

SD Card board will be mounted to PS2 PCB

Video DAC board.


I hope it will turn out great .

 

[Senox]

Time for an update!

After a lot of issues with my 3d printer( i had to modify extruder from bowden to direct, calibrate it, dry filament, but now it's printing fine)I finally finished first test prints.

And after this pile of junk:

Came out first good prints:

The front case is almost finished. I only have to adjust screw posts height after i get the real PCBs xD.

Soon i will post first board trims.

 

[Senox]

I've finished last PCBs and tests before the final trim. I was testing if the board works with 5V, but it cuts off at ~5.4V so i will be using 2S battery.
I will only replace 5V linear regulator for a switching regulator.

Also big thanks for @Mister M for posting the board scans.


Here is the board trimmed and working:

and next to untrimmed one:

This trim "only" requires relocating pull up resistors for controllers, memory cards, USB ,soldering to 0.1mm traces and restoring 1 trace for 5V.

And i'ts about the same size as 7900x standard trim (119x99mm).

I also made a microscope for soldering from raspberry pi zero with camera and some lens i had lying around.

I found the 3D model on thingiverse and modified it a little bit:

And it works pretty good. Here is a picture of the video dac traces with a match for scale:

I had to make a photo of the screen, because for some reason photo with raspistill command was zoomed out and screenshot didn't work.

Now i will prepare everything for video relocation before i get the PCBs.

 

[RobotJack12]

Great job

 

[Senox]

I got the PCBs, finished relocating video DAC and controller/SD cards. Everything is tested and working.

Soldering wasn't as difficult as i thought, first few wires were nightmare but i quickly got used to it.

Video DAC took about 12 hours to complete:

This one took 5-6 hours:

On this board GL823 SD to USB is missing. I ordered this IC two times. First one was cancelled for some reason and second one is lost .

So I will just wire some SD to USB adapter. But other than that everything works fine.

Two signal and 2 voltage traces were restored.

I recorded short video while testing. Didn't run the console for too long to not overheat it.

 

[Senox]

I've assembled rest of the PCB's. At first I've tested the audio board and only headphones worked. So I looked at the schematics and board to check if I wired it correctly, but everything was fine. Then I looked at the board I got this IC from, and noticed a transistor used to switch between heatphones and speakers. So i soldered it to the board and it's working now.

Then I added controller PCB:

Tested it in padtest and it's also working:

Charging / 5V board is also done. For this I used TP5100 2s charging IC, IP2721, 2S BMS and some buck converter. Not the best design but it should work.

I haven't tested it yet because one resistor fell from the desk, and landed on the floor or 9th dimension as some might say . So I have to order it along with the batteries.

I was working on the case for a last few days, and it's also finished. For the front case I added 1 more button at the bottom, and a hole for the charging LED.

Also adjusted screw posts for the controller boards and they are perfect now.

Back case needed some more work. I added screw posts and holes for everything, and after a few test prints this is the final design.

I also thought how to name the console, and I think SlimStation will be fine.

 

[Juninho]

this is awesome, could you show where you put the pull-up resistors on the control?

 

[Juninho]

could you tell which model of the video controller, observing the image it is very small, and some solid capacitors were removed

 

[thedrew]

Wow, got to give you credit for that DAC relocation. Only 1 or 2 others have done it I believe. This looks really promising!

 

[Senox]

this is awesome, could you show where you put the pull-up resistors on the control?

They are on this board on the right side, as well as the USB pull-down resistors between the SD card slots.

could you tell which model of the video controller, observing the image it is very small, and some solid capacitors were removed

It's AMT630A. You can find them in a backup camera monitors.

Wow, got to give you credit for that DAC relocation. Only 1 or 2 others have done it I believe. This looks really promising!

Thanks.
As far as i know only Gman and Nold have done it before.

 

[Juninho]

very good friend, I really liked the 3D carcass, the screen image will you display in component video?

 

[Senox]

very good friend, I really liked the 3D carcass, the screen image will you display in component video?

This board only works with composite, but i will replace it in the future with a VGA screen.

 

[Juninho]

last question, will L3 and R3 buttons be added?

 

[Senox]

last question, will L3 and R3 buttons be added?

Yes. Switch analog sticks have these buttons just like a regular analog stick.

 

[Senox]

The case is done. It's sanded and painted.

Unfortunately some dust or something did stick to it while painting, mostly on the back, but it turned out really good anyway.

I also took last photo of every part (only one switch is missing) before final assembly. It took some time to arrange everything, but it looks cool.

 

[thedrew]

Looks great man! So you were able to use switch sticks directly on an original ps2 controller ic? You didn't need a microcontroller or anything?

 

[Senox]

Looks great man! So you were able to use switch sticks directly on an original ps2 controller ic? You didn't need a microcontroller or anything?

They work the same way as regular sticks, so microcontroller is not needed.

 

[thedrew]

They work the same way as regular sticks, so microcontroller is not needed.

They have different ranges and dead zones than standard 10K potentiometer sticks, which is where the microcontroller comes in to calibrate them so they work properly. So I am surprised they have worked for you just fine. Good to know

 

[Senox]

I started the assembly with power board and batteries. I charged them and dischaged with battery tester, then connected them in series to the board, charged them again, and they charged just fine. After that I soldered a switch and tested 5V which is also working. And the fan... it was binding, so I sanded it and the case. It's still binding just a litttle bit when I move the console fast, but it's much better than it was.

And it was time for the front case. Here I just removed paint from the holes for the buttons, and everything else went without any problems. So after few hours of soldering it was ready.

Then I worked on the board. Started with soldering USB to SD adapter. It's a mess, but I hope it works.

After that I connected everything, and covered few places with captone tape just in case. I also soldered a fan to 3.5V on the board because it was really loud at 5V.

So it was time to apply some thermal paste, attach the board to the case with brackets, and solder two halves together.

And yes I burned the insulation on the battery with soldering iron . I later covered it with some tape.

I had some issues when closing it, mostly on the right side where the power cables are. So i had to cut a groove in the bracket for the screw head as it might have been a part of the problem. And after that, and moving the cables a little I was able to close it all up.

And it's working, but after a quick test i found some issues. SD to USB adapter is not working, but i think it's an easy fix. LCD buttons are not working, board with the buttons is most likely working, so the problem might be the bios i flashed to the LCD board to work with 800x480 screen. If that's the issue i dont even know how to fix it, maybe i'll find diffrent bios. But the worst issue I found when I started playing GTA SA. I discovered that the sticks are inverted, so i connected VCC and GND wrong.
Thats so annoying that i discovered this so late. But when I fix this I think the L3 and R3 buttons will not work.

 

[thedrew]

What's a portable without some issues here and there? That's just part of the process. Are you using composite? Looks awesome btw