Worklog [2026 Contest Entry] - The Takara PS1 Portable - "The TPSP"

[VariablePwn]

Greetings all!

While this is my first entry into the BitBuilt Contest, I have made a GWii Portable and a PS2 Portable thanks to all the great guides and resources available here from the community.
I enjoy playing PS1 games on the PS2P, it isn't quite the same, especially since it requires switching between composite and VGA every time I want to load up a PS1 game.
Because of this, I wanted to tackle making a portable PS1. Unfortunately, there haven't been any official trim guides, and only a handful of builds.
So I thought, why not simultaneously build a PS1 portable for the Contest, and also document as much as possible to make a semi-definitive guide for the community on how to build one themselves!

Taking inspiration from haihaisb's Takara portable, I plan to stick an actual PSOne console into the controller, with an original PSone motherboard, PMS (using a spare PS2PMS I had from my PSP2 project), perhaps the original controller board, and a small display that sits in place of where the spinner used to be!
To replace the optical drive, I'll be using a PSIO, as I don't want to design a custom board like thedrew to use xStation.

I will have to model and print a custom replacement bottom shell, as the controller itself is surprisingly thin.
Immense thanks to both @thedrew and @Daniel Ls81 who have both proven it is possible, and have provided worklogs for their projects, and for @Stitches for the "theoretical trim".
After the project, I plan to release all my diagrams in a port-mortem so that there is more documentation out there for the community!

Project materials:
- Takara (Game of Life) PS1 Controller
- LCD from aliexpress (TBC once I have better measurements)
- PSone PM-41 (2) Motherboard (integrated RAM in some of the ICs makes this the most suitable)
- PSIO (from Aliexpress, for obvious reasons)
- PS2 PMS (spare from a prior project since I ordered multiple of everything)
- 18650 Batteries for power (expecting 1S2P configuration)
- 3D Printed custom shell(s)

(Ignore the fact I have half of the chips mislabelled)

I had already gotten around to chopping up the board this week prior, and tried to get it running and ran into quite a few snags, so I'll follow up this post with what I've gone through so far.
On top of that, my Takara controller arrived today, so I'll be doing a bunch of measuring and modelling this weekend!

 

[Legend]

This looks sick! Can't wait to see the finished product! Good luck!

 

[VariablePwn]

The initial test is always to swap out the default regulators and pump in your custom power, so that was the first thing I tried.
Once I confirmed 5v, 3v5, and 2v5 lines, I got to chopping thanks to @Stitches "theoretical trim".
I had marked it out, gave it a once over, and fired up the dremel.

I started mapping out all the Multiout connections (and a whole bunch of other connections), wired it to the removed AV port, plugged it in, and.......
Black screen. Whoops. Turns out I had forgotten to restore some of the 3v5 lines to the SPU, and one of the ground connections.
Once that was done, I got the Sony logo! Hooray!

That was a bit short lived though. Turns out that I had also cut off about a dozen CPU lines from near the controller ports and had to wire them up manually.
After testing that it booted to the memory card screen, I set out to wire up the PSIO.
I mapped out the connections on my guide, based on the information from tzmwx's github, and using the 18-wire minimum install outlined by @thedrew, started wiring up the PSIO. I made a rookie mistake and didn't confirm it was working beforehand, forgot to back up some of the SD card files for the PSIO, and went straight into pulling it apart instead. This was not wise at all.
In my search for a solution, I have hand-wired the PSIO connections not once, not twice, but three times; one of which was the full 37-wire install. No luck.

So right now, I have a console that boots up, a PSIO that I may or may not have fried (and no other reliable console to test it on), and a hope and prayer that I can figure this out.
If all hits the fan, I might try and squeeze a PlayStation Classic inside the controller instead and shelf the trimmed PSone for the time being.
However, in the meantime I've ordered another PSIO and a 2.8in screen for the display, and will be potentially butchering the Takara controller.
Speaking of, here's some pictures of the shell and PCB!