Worklog PS²

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Hello forums!

I need a break from the Wii portable I'm working on, so of course to distract myself I just started working on another portable lol

I'm calling this project the PS² since it is a perfect square of 110mm x 110mm.

Current features:

- 4.3" IPS 800x480 display using component
- 7.4v 3350 mAh Sony LiPo batteries
- Charge and Play using Red Board
- PS Vita buttons and mini 10K analogs
- Custom Reg Board
- Advance trim on PS2 slim 79001 board
- Possibly a custom audio amp
- Custom 3D printed case


It's a little bit of a thicc boi since everything has to be sort of stacked due to the square design. It's 30mm thicc.

Did a test print on low quality, got the mm slightly off so filed some of the button areas down for testing which is why it looks slightly like trash haha.
20200202_171054.jpg



The motherboard in the case:
20200202_171354.jpg



Custom reg board and red board with cooling setup:
20200202_171800.jpg



Found these batteries that fit exactly behind the screen in the case
20200202_172047.jpg



Custom Reg Board, I believe it's about 87% efficient last time I checked.
20200202_172334.jpg



Custom Amp Board. I have mixed feelings for this one. It works fine, however the sound quality is eh. It's an all in one IC with a digital potentiometer built in for volume to be adjusted with buttons but sounds distorted and clips a lot with all of my speakers ranging from .5w to 5w.
20200202_172509.jpg


Now I'm at the point of trying to figure out the screen. I was talking to some members on discord and am looking for the screen firmware extracted from the eyoyo board if anybody has it. The eyoyo screen board is far too large to fit in my case since it was designed for a 5" screen and I'm using a 4.3" screen. So I may have to buy an eyoyo screen just to transfer over the firmware chip to the 4.3" driver board to have component enabled.

More updates soon.
 
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@modio

Thank you! I found a liking toward this fan here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/352515080039

It's cheap, quiet if run on lower voltages, 5mm thick, and doesn't have a high pitch whine. It can be detached from the heatsink pipe in the listing. I had to cut the shielding off to have it fit to my liking in my current Wii portable and this portable.
 
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@modio

Thank you! I found a liking toward this fan here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/352515080039

It's cheap, quiet if run on lower voltages, 5mm thick, and doesn't have a high pitch whine. It can be detached from the heatsink pipe in the listing. I had to cut the shielding off to have it fit to my liking in my current Wii portable and this portable.
That’s nice thanks
 

StonedEdge

a.k.a. ClonedEdge
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Nice! How is it to hold in the hands? Looks a little cramped lol
 
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Nice! How is it to hold in the hands? Looks a little cramped lol
I doesn't feel cramped since it is wider than the usual Gameboy style portable, but I haven't installed the buttons to get a true feeling yet.

what chips are you using for your custom regulation board?
I'm using the TPS565201 for the 5v, 3.3v, 2.5v. The TPS565208 for the 1.25v and the LDL1117S18 LDO for the 1.8v line. I corrected my first post, but is about 87% efficient.
 
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Senor Avocado

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Thanks! I don't know if i am reading the datasheet correctly but it seems like the TPS56208 can only output 1A of current. On the definitive trimming PS2 guide it says that the 1.25v line will draw around 3.1A. Wouldn't your choice of regulator not be able to provide enough current? I do like these chips though, since they seem reasonable to solder by hand. I have been wanting to try making my own custom regulator board but qfn packages that the wii PMS uses scare me haha
 
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@Senor Avocado

My bad, I added the wrong part numbers for the regs. Check again, just updated them in the above post but they both can output up to 5A. This reg board is designed for 2s setup, so 7.4v. I could of done qfn, but I personally like these better since they are easier and just as efficient
 

Senor Avocado

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Oh that is very helpful! I think i was looking at the datasheet for the TPS56120x series so it is my bad too haha. what made you decide to use the 5A output ones for the 2.5v and 3.5v lines? they draw considerably lower amps (~0.1A from the trimming guide) and it seems like it might be more cost efficient to purchase from the TPS56120x line for those.

Also, when designing your pcb, did you just copy the layout example in the datasheet? what are some tips that you may have in laying out a board for these particular ics. I am wanting to make my own sort of powermii lite with these chips.

Thanks for answering my question and I hope I am not hijacking or being annoying!
 
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@Senor Avocado

I chose those regulators because they were the most efficient out of all of TI's regs in that specific package. Trust me, I looked at all of them for 7.4v batteries lol. I looked into just 1A regs but they would get more warm than the 5A I chose and I'm trying to keep it as cool as possible

I've designed a lot of pcbs now, but I'm definitely no expert. I learned everything starting on the Benheck forums back in the day, then Modretro, and now Bitbuilt. But I also invested time into watching YouTube videos on designing boards as well. One thing I found super helpful with TI regulators is that most of them have a "design" tab on their website and you put in the voltages needed and they design a schematic for you. You can download the schematic and open it up using Eagle or something to then design a board with that. TI also designs a board for you at the same time they design a schematic that I don't use but is a good point of reference. The only advice I have is to have a good amount of ground connected to the reg ic (as that is what helps keep the regs cool) and thick enough output traces that can handle enough current you need. Good luck!
 

Senor Avocado

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Thanks for your insight! I will have to look into the design tab, that would be immensely helpful in ensuring i don't goof up on the board design.

I am pumped to see how your portable turns out!
 
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Little update:

I assembled another board of my custom audio amp and it still has slight distortion on the PS2 for some reason but sounds good with the Wii. I also tried out the PAM8803 and that also doesn't sound good on the PS2 but sounds good on the Wii. I starting to think this PS2 board I have has an audio issue even though it's untrimmed and unmodified. So I replaced the onboard audio DAC from a dead ps2 board and it sounds better but still has slight distortion/crackling issues.

This gave me the idea to try I2S audio instead of analog audio to bypass the onboard DAC. Thank you @Gman for making the U-Amp open source. I redesigned the whole board to not only make it a small as I could, but to also add a headphone jack onboard to help with the assembly process. The LM49450 data sheet specifies the headphone amplifier is powered separately from the loudspeaker power and can be run from anywhere from 1.8v-2.7v. the higher the voltage, the more power the headphones will have. This redesign eliminates the 2.5v LDO that powers the headphone amplifier on the original U-Amp design and instead powers it directly from 1.8v, the same voltage the PIC runs off of.

Vias Galore!

Front.png


Back.png


The board is now only 20mm x 16mm.

Due to the efficiency of the LM49450, I don't need a lot of board space to worry about it getting too warm.
 
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I love the fact you're using Sony batteries in the PlayStation Portable, Sony would be proud of you.
I know it's kind of ironic that the only batteries I found that will fit in this portable after I already designed the case happened to be Sony batteries lol. It was meant to be
 
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Well, took a break from this project to finish the Aran Wii Mini which you guys can check out in the cutting edge section if you want.

CAD is about 99% done, just have to tweak some things here and there.

Screen Shot 2020-04-17 at 6.02.56 PM.png

Screen Shot 2020-04-17 at 6.02.10 PM.png


Nothing fancy, just a simple case design and didn't want to overcomplicate anything since this is my first PS2 portable. I'm surprised I was able to get everything to fit, gonna be a tight squeeze though...

Speaking of firsts, this will also be the first time I will be painting a case. I am going with a Metallic Blue, should look pretty hot ayyeee.

Just waiting on some things in the mail and will update this thread!



EDIT:

Print finished up after about 5 hours... Printed on higher quality and a slower print speed just to see what I'll be working with when it comes to sanding for paint prep etc.

print in ptogress.jpg


The screen and batteries fit just right:

batt fit.jpg


So far, everything screws in perfectly and fits like a glove! Doesn't feel cramped at all and is really comfortable so far. I'm not as confident about the shoulder buttons however... Guess I'll see once the print is finished.

1.jpg


2.jpg
 
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Printed the bottom case hoping it's the final version. Gonna be a little hot glue here and there but most everything will be mechanically screwed in. Here is a test fit of some components so far:

20200420_151409.jpg


I don't have the usb c board just yet but would be in the bottom left area. The bottom right board is just a prototype amplifier but not the final version. I had to trim some of the red board to fit and also found some areas of the red board that I drilled some small holes through to be able to screw it down. The power button in the top left is held in from the friction of the reg board that's screwed in. The shoulder buttons seem to feel okay in regards to the hole cutouts but I haven't installed the buttons so will have to update how they really feel later lol. I made the shoulder buttons in the way my fingers naturally rest on the back rather than just parallel to each other like they are on the actual controller. That's all for now!
 
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Update:

I cut the controller PCB to fit behind the analog sticks and after some troubleshooting, the controller works perfectly.

20200204_163316.jpg

20200204_162929.jpg

20200422_132138.jpg

Please excuse the wiring, was just a quick test setup.

The triggers don't feel bad, at least not as bad as I thought they would since this is a very compact unit with little room to spare. To be honest, I would rather have a smaller portable with some compromises than a large heavy portable.Thats just my personal preference.

So for a more comfortable click, I 3D printed the triggers with a hole designed to fit a silicone actuator taken from a tact switch. So now the trigger has a more spongy response and it works perfectly:

20200421_115920.jpg


Originally, I was going to paint this bad boy. But after about 3 tried on test prints, I wasn't satisfied with the results. Instead, I will just be 3D printing with a translucent purple that I'm waiting for in the mail. I wanted a blue color, but the translucent blue I have came out a little fugly color wise, and all other translucent blue filaments I was interested in are sold out at the moment.

That's all for now, stay tuned!
 
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