Great video. No pointless rubbish, straight to the point, no annyoing music or intros, very pleasant to watch. I'm about to give my 9002 PS1 a similar treatment😁
Well, I got some old Kenwood CD players that might benefit from this treatment. I've already looked into it years ago, and indeed, adjusting the pot was what was recommended if an IPA clean of the lens didn't improve matters. They did mention it would shorten the laser's lifespan, since you're essentially overvolting/overamping it. I tried replacing the laser assemblies with new old stock, but same issue as the original lasers. Perhaps all they needed was some oil in the motor bearings and new grease on the gears and sliding surfaces. Time to revisit the project, methinks! Thanks for the tips!
I'm a capacitor advocate here and since I replaced the old ones on my PSOne (the small one) and it came back to life! even with a mod chip reading burned games of CDRs of all kinds of manufacturers, reads all games OG and burned! but this is great preventive maintenance for the laser assembly itself too
@@simonecionco1565 Non ho mai avuto questo tipo di problemi con l'isopropilico, ma negli ultimi anni per la pulizia delle lenti, così come del prisma/specchio e del sensore del laser vero e proprio, sono passato al Quasar per vetri con alcool. Non lascia aloni come invece mi è capitato qualche volta con l'isopropilico e deterge ugualmente. Ma soprattutto costa molto meno. 🤣
Thing about the pot is its there to trim and train the laser operation and not as a bijou extra repair as messing with it brings on final unit breakdown so much quicker. Usually any need to mess with the adjustment suggests your laser and driver are fully winkered or in the last throes of life so you have to replace the breaking down things rather than over exert a circuit which might give a short remedy but won't last and then it is really busted.
@@tacomashup So effectively what you have happen is "oh no, my laser is bad. It won't read disks anymore.".... to "oh no, my laser is REALLY bad, it won't read disks anymore." So between BAD and REALLY BAD, if you can get a little more life out of the laser, I say tweak the pot and get more life out of the laser. Because one way or another, you're still ordering a new laser. But at least you can keep playing Worms Armageddon in the meantime.
There are a few old Sony Discman CD carriages that perfectly fit the early model PS1's- mine got broke while I was in S.Korea (where I bought mine) & they were sold out for months after launch. Someone asked me to fix theirs, so I found out where he bought one & got one myself, not only did it work perfectly, it was a 4x player so it made loading times 3x faster than the default PS I originally bought; & for only about 50,450.00 WON (KRW) or about $35.00 USD; was worth every penny. Survived until about 2008 when during a move a box tore & it fell down 1& a half flights of stairs onto the concrete basement floor & shattered to pieces.
Got the same model, and I think I have an optical drive issue. Waiting on composite av cables, as I have no scart connections on any of my TVs lol. But from audio I can hear the PlayStation start up but I don’t think it’s loading games as I don’t hear the the 2nd part of the PlayStation start up, I know new optical drives are available easy, but it’s not original, hopefully I can get mine fixed thanks to this video
This is the best PS1 service guide I've come across. Very cool. Any chance you will do a video a video replacing the motherboard caps? I've watched your vid on doing them on the SNES, do the same methods apply?
Yes, I do them the same way as on the SNES. But if you've never worked with SMD caps before, I'd highly recommend getting some practice on junk boards to work out which method works best for you
Now i know how to potentially get my second PS1 to not rattle anymore. It sounds exactly like the one in your video. And its even the same Model Number.
Very nice video, straight to the point. I'm wondering, what's the name of that set of flat tools that you used to remove the drive spindle? It can the seen at 2:58. Thank you!
thank you very much for the video i liked and subscribed , i learned a lot from these videos & i also learned a lot after destroying multiple laser diodes as well as 2 motherboards as well hahahaha
It's possible if you just kind of force it. A better way is to pop out the gear shown at 7:33. Obviously it won't come fully out with the cover still on but it should be enough to release the sled
I ordered an SCPH-1001 to repair (PU-8, SGRAM model) and the previous owner very much tweaked that pot. Had to get out the oscilloscope and reset the peak to peak voltages on the eye pattern back to spec. Sadly didn't fix the issue it had though, as the CD decoder ended up being faulty. So while I got the laser working, it's basically a CD player and nothing else until I can obtain a new CD decoder that can actually keep /WE held low to write anything to the 32K FIFO buffer, as the CPU simply cannot read any data, (but of course the DSP is just fine, hence CD audio). Yea, people gotta stop tweaking that pot, it's making repairing these systems a nightmare when the previous owner messed with it, and doesn't admit it, only to find out they were tweaking the wrong thing. Can't fix a faulty CXD1815Q with laser adjustments. lol. Great video, glad someone showed how to actually properly service these drives. Also, I oddly ran into a PU-8 early SCPH-1001 that did *not* have a plastic 440, it was metal, and I can tell no one was in it as the self-tapping screws made that snap when removed. Have you ever encountered an early case of the metal 440's in such early revision consoles? It was dated mid 96. All 95 dated 1001's I find are generally plastic. (I more often than not end up repairing PU-18 era systems which always come with the metal 440's like yours in the video).
@@TheRetroChannel I wish this particular 1001 could use an XStation (the one that has the dead CD decoder, not the unopened one with a metal 440, that one just needed cleaning). With IC305 bad, the XStation won't work either (it'll do the same issue), but PSIO's work when the IC305 is dead.
Hi bud. Great work as always:) quick question that doesn't have anything to do with this video. I have a ps 1 that I finally got working good after a donor one. However, it needs retrobrighting and I noticed that the lense for the power led can't be removed.. do you think that the lense will be fine submerged in the liquid proxide? Or how would you recommend doing it? I have only had good luck with submerging the big parts in the liquid and small parts with the cream. (Doing several c64s etc) I know it's always a gamble retrobrighting but I'm going to do it. Everything scubbed and cleaned up with magic eraser etc. Your options would be greatly appreciated. Cheers. U are a very smart man... my favorite retro channel for sure... I've learned so much over the years:)
I can't imagine anything will happen to the LED lense. I'd be more worried about the little PS badge in the top of the lid, and the labels on the underside might suffer a little. But of course it's always risky retrobrighting anything, just depends if it's worth the reward
Fair enough:) I wasn't thinking about the ps logo.. which is mint now 🤔.. bottom half looks good... just want to do top half... thanks for your thoughts..
I have a PlayStation that needs repair I flew it out by placing it action replay card in the back of it it comes on but the disk drive don't spend now you can see a slight light from it but the motors don't work how much do you charge to fix this
i dont have all the tools to fixt it so might aswell buy other in Amazon but also dont want to waste more than 60 box cause there is wher they takes Advantage
I did mess with the pots on my old PS1, and I regret it so much. I ended up buying a "new" laser from China. My PS1 is the 1001 series, the laser is for the psOne, but it fits o.k. after swapping the top plate. I had also previously ripped out the 4 pin connector, but I was able to solder it on again (my second ever soldering attempt, actually XD). But to no surprise, after installing the assembly, no discs are read. I know the connector is correctly soldered on, because the lens does move, and I got the spindle, well, spinning, but the best I could do is have the "Please, insert a PlayStation disc" screen show up. The PS1 has been modded in forever, but not even music discs play. I'm sad I didn't get it working. Half of my childhood memories are burned within it.
That sucks. Yeah the 100X series is a lot more complicated when it comes to replacing the laser assembly. The later models automatically adjust the gain and bias, but on the 100X series these need to be adjusted manually (those trimpots near the connector). I think there are instructions online on how to do it but how accurate they are I don't know. I ended up putting an X-station in my 1002 and donated the laser assembly to a PSone that had a totally dead laser
The solder blob can protect the laser from ESD when in shipping or storage, but not necessary when working on the PS1 (unless you have a build-up of static of course)
I'm trying to understand the title: in your experience, cleaning the optical assembly has produced better results than adjusting the potentiometer? I have a couple of PS1s which are not reading properly or at all, I'm definitely gonna try your method.
Yes, a proper clean and lube has brought many of mine back to life. The exceptions would be one with a broken hinge piece, and another with a seized motor. If all else fails then boosting the laser power can squeeze a bit more life out of them, but at that point they are already on their way out and turning them up will only accelerate their demise.
I have a ps 2 (in its original box), and it accepts sometimes a disc and sometimes not, very annoying. Cleaned head etc... but I'll watch your vid first before jump to conclusion. I saw in the end that you replaced some capacitors, could this be the issue?
It's unlikely to be the caps, especially in a PS2. I change them in the PS1 because I've found there's usually one or two that are leaking, but not badly enough to cause any real issues (yet)
Great video helped me fix most of my lasers, but one of my 9001 playstations is only displaying a white screen, I can hear the boot animation but all it shows is a white screen and if i leave it for a while there will be some interference on screen and then menu will pop up briefly I'm guessing the video chip is toast but i was wondering if anyone had suggestions here lol
If you can, please recommend people to only use Silicone greases. Many Lithium greases are petroleum based, and petroleum has a risk of absorbing material out of plastics, turning them brittle. Only Lithium grease I would trust with plastics is Molykote, which uses PAO, but this brand is hard to find and on the expensive side.
My old PS1 will only play games if it's stood on its side wtf 😂 I'm guessing it's something to do with the laser maybe but I dunno anyone know what this is?
If the carriage is mechanically worn out, there is not much left to repair. You need a new drive, or the laser. I tried to get doctors around in the past, but in vain. You can solve the mechanical problem that the laser is no longer in balance Not really a repair. Unlike the PS2 Fat, Sony has installed a screw to readjust the problem.
This is actually a good way to improve these knock-off assemblies from China and extend their reliability a bit. So do all this with a new laser. Trying to fix a failing drive on a PS1 is a waste of time, tbh. Just get a new one. Knob-twisters will probably disagree, though.
LOL, dumb video you say? Harsh words coming from someone who managed to destroy the optical drive of his CDTV while "fixing" it. Clearly you're the last person in the world to give any advice on repairing optical drives. Hahaha.
Great video. No pointless rubbish, straight to the point, no annyoing music or intros, very pleasant to watch. I'm about to give my 9002 PS1 a similar treatment😁
Good luck with it
Awesome, glad to see people actually repairing the parts rather than replacing them. Good job!
Well, I got some old Kenwood CD players that might benefit from this treatment. I've already looked into it years ago, and indeed, adjusting the pot was what was recommended if an IPA clean of the lens didn't improve matters. They did mention it would shorten the laser's lifespan, since you're essentially overvolting/overamping it. I tried replacing the laser assemblies with new old stock, but same issue as the original lasers. Perhaps all they needed was some oil in the motor bearings and new grease on the gears and sliding surfaces. Time to revisit the project, methinks! Thanks for the tips!
14:25 The sound of losing your favorite game to scratches.
Kinda catchy though.
One of my first games I had with my PlayStation, soon because one of my all time favourites too.
I'm a new member here ,but love your videos, and could listen to your commentary for hours
I'm a capacitor advocate here and since I replaced the old ones on my PSOne (the small one) and it came back to life! even with a mod chip reading burned games of CDRs of all kinds of manufacturers, reads all games OG and burned! but this is great preventive maintenance for the laser assembly itself too
Dr Nick Riviera: IT'S WHISPER QUIET!
are you sure it's on? I can't hear a thing!!!
Nice to see someone who genuinely knows what he does. You're the first retro console tinkerer I subscribe to.
Great video as always. Sometimes when the motors are pretty "crunchy" I throw them in the ultrasonic cleaner. 😁
la lente non è polarizzata in questo modello? potrebbe rovinarsi con l'IPA?
@@simonecionco1565 Non ho mai avuto questo tipo di problemi con l'isopropilico, ma negli ultimi anni per la pulizia delle lenti, così come del prisma/specchio e del sensore del laser vero e proprio, sono passato al Quasar per vetri con alcool. Non lascia aloni come invece mi è capitato qualche volta con l'isopropilico e deterge ugualmente.
Ma soprattutto costa molto meno. 🤣
Love your retro repairs ! Please don't stop lol
I know not to mess with the pot. But i like to see a video on how to correctly tweak the pot if it is the really necessary last option.
Fair enough. I may do a video on that in the future
Thing about the pot is its there to trim and train the laser operation and not as a bijou extra repair as messing with it brings on final unit breakdown so much quicker. Usually any need to mess with the adjustment suggests your laser and driver are fully winkered or in the last throes of life so you have to replace the breaking down things rather than over exert a circuit which might give a short remedy but won't last and then it is really busted.
If it's already broken, then what does it matter?
@@tacomashup So effectively what you have happen is "oh no, my laser is bad. It won't read disks anymore.".... to "oh no, my laser is REALLY bad, it won't read disks anymore."
So between BAD and REALLY BAD, if you can get a little more life out of the laser, I say tweak the pot and get more life out of the laser. Because one way or another, you're still ordering a new laser. But at least you can keep playing Worms Armageddon in the meantime.
0:40 ughh that sound brings tears to my eyes
Thanks! keep up the good work.
There are a few old Sony Discman CD carriages that perfectly fit the early model PS1's- mine got broke while I was in S.Korea (where I bought mine) & they were sold out for months after launch. Someone asked me to fix theirs, so I found out where he bought one & got one myself, not only did it work perfectly, it was a 4x player so it made loading times 3x faster than the default PS I originally bought; & for only about 50,450.00 WON (KRW) or about $35.00 USD; was worth every penny. Survived until about 2008 when during a move a box tore & it fell down 1& a half flights of stairs onto the concrete basement floor & shattered to pieces.
Got the same model, and I think I have an optical drive issue. Waiting on composite av cables, as I have no scart connections on any of my TVs lol. But from audio I can hear the PlayStation start up but I don’t think it’s loading games as I don’t hear the the 2nd part of the PlayStation start up, I know new optical drives are available easy, but it’s not original, hopefully I can get mine fixed thanks to this video
Loved the parallel port , , perfect for GameShark and the Gameboy Booster adapter ( allows you to play Gameboy carts on your PlayStation ) 🎉🎉😮😮
This is the best PS1 service guide I've come across. Very cool.
Any chance you will do a video a video replacing the motherboard caps? I've watched your vid on doing them on the SNES, do the same methods apply?
Yes, I do them the same way as on the SNES. But if you've never worked with SMD caps before, I'd highly recommend getting some practice on junk boards to work out which method works best for you
@@TheRetroChannel I will do just that, thank you.
Nice to see some PS1s get some TLC and repairs. There are so many games made for this console that I would love to play again.
Great content! (As always!)
Thanks for sharing!
It isn't always a good idea to use IPA on lase assembly lenses because it removes the anti-reflective coating from them.
Amazing video! Thank you!
I would love to see you working on a Dreamcast in the future.
Great information. Thanks.
Now i know how to potentially get my second PS1 to not rattle anymore. It sounds exactly like the one in your video. And its even the same Model Number.
Enjoyable, as always. I can’t believe people get offended by a recap 😀
Great video. FWIW Naptha is safer for degreasing plastics.
Very nice video, straight to the point.
I'm wondering, what's the name of that set of flat tools that you used to remove the drive spindle?
It can the seen at 2:58.
Thank you!
It's a feeler gauge. You can usually find them at auto parts stores
thank you very much for the video i liked and subscribed , i learned a lot from these videos & i also learned a lot after destroying multiple laser diodes as well as 2 motherboards as well hahahaha
Great video! Is it possible to disassemble the gear assembly when the laser sled is at its closest point to the spindle?
It's possible if you just kind of force it. A better way is to pop out the gear shown at 7:33. Obviously it won't come fully out with the cover still on but it should be enough to release the sled
I ordered an SCPH-1001 to repair (PU-8, SGRAM model) and the previous owner very much tweaked that pot. Had to get out the oscilloscope and reset the peak to peak voltages on the eye pattern back to spec.
Sadly didn't fix the issue it had though, as the CD decoder ended up being faulty. So while I got the laser working, it's basically a CD player and nothing else until I can obtain a new CD decoder that can actually keep /WE held low to write anything to the 32K FIFO buffer, as the CPU simply cannot read any data, (but of course the DSP is just fine, hence CD audio).
Yea, people gotta stop tweaking that pot, it's making repairing these systems a nightmare when the previous owner messed with it, and doesn't admit it, only to find out they were tweaking the wrong thing. Can't fix a faulty CXD1815Q with laser adjustments. lol.
Great video, glad someone showed how to actually properly service these drives.
Also, I oddly ran into a PU-8 early SCPH-1001 that did *not* have a plastic 440, it was metal, and I can tell no one was in it as the self-tapping screws made that snap when removed. Have you ever encountered an early case of the metal 440's in such early revision consoles? It was dated mid 96. All 95 dated 1001's I find are generally plastic. (I more often than not end up repairing PU-18 era systems which always come with the metal 440's like yours in the video).
Never seen a metal one in a PU-8, but then again I've not worked on many of those. My current one was plastic but it now has an xstation in it
@@TheRetroChannel I wish this particular 1001 could use an XStation (the one that has the dead CD decoder, not the unopened one with a metal 440, that one just needed cleaning). With IC305 bad, the XStation won't work either (it'll do the same issue), but PSIO's work when the IC305 is dead.
Hi bud. Great work as always:) quick question that doesn't have anything to do with this video. I have a ps 1 that I finally got working good after a donor one. However, it needs retrobrighting and I noticed that the lense for the power led can't be removed.. do you think that the lense will be fine submerged in the liquid proxide? Or how would you recommend doing it? I have only had good luck with submerging the big parts in the liquid and small parts with the cream. (Doing several c64s etc) I know it's always a gamble retrobrighting but I'm going to do it. Everything scubbed and cleaned up with magic eraser etc. Your options would be greatly appreciated. Cheers. U are a very smart man... my favorite retro channel for sure... I've learned so much over the years:)
I can't imagine anything will happen to the LED lense. I'd be more worried about the little PS badge in the top of the lid, and the labels on the underside might suffer a little. But of course it's always risky retrobrighting anything, just depends if it's worth the reward
Fair enough:) I wasn't thinking about the ps logo.. which is mint now 🤔.. bottom half looks good... just want to do top half... thanks for your thoughts..
I have a PlayStation that needs repair I flew it out by placing it action replay card in the back of it it comes on but the disk drive don't spend now you can see a slight light from it but the motors don't work how much do you charge to fix this
The other problem with this console is that it is legal! That made me laugh lol
thank you.
i dont have all the tools to fixt it so might aswell buy other in Amazon but also dont want to waste more than 60 box cause there is wher they takes Advantage
I did mess with the pots on my old PS1, and I regret it so much. I ended up buying a "new" laser from China. My PS1 is the 1001 series, the laser is for the psOne, but it fits o.k. after swapping the top plate. I had also previously ripped out the 4 pin connector, but I was able to solder it on again (my second ever soldering attempt, actually XD). But to no surprise, after installing the assembly, no discs are read. I know the connector is correctly soldered on, because the lens does move, and I got the spindle, well, spinning, but the best I could do is have the "Please, insert a PlayStation disc" screen show up. The PS1 has been modded in forever, but not even music discs play. I'm sad I didn't get it working. Half of my childhood memories are burned within it.
That sucks. Yeah the 100X series is a lot more complicated when it comes to replacing the laser assembly. The later models automatically adjust the gain and bias, but on the 100X series these need to be adjusted manually (those trimpots near the connector). I think there are instructions online on how to do it but how accurate they are I don't know. I ended up putting an X-station in my 1002 and donated the laser assembly to a PSone that had a totally dead laser
Great Job! 👍🏻👌🏻
i think mine just have little dirt or Spider webs cause in certain level the game dont read
i saw rebuild play stations in 150 box and thats sucks
they wants to recover the money there put in fixting it or what
Ahh yes the old PS1 toilet seat
Someone got a 3d printable model of the black cd holding hub? mine was pushed too deep and I broke it trying to pull it back out.
Ok, i'm confused. When is it necessary to solder an antistatic blob on a laser assembly before handling?
The solder blob can protect the laser from ESD when in shipping or storage, but not necessary when working on the PS1 (unless you have a build-up of static of course)
Nice video. Is the feeler guage the one you use for spark plug gaps?
Yep
I'm trying to understand the title: in your experience, cleaning the optical assembly has produced better results than adjusting the potentiometer? I have a couple of PS1s which are not reading properly or at all, I'm definitely gonna try your method.
Yes, a proper clean and lube has brought many of mine back to life. The exceptions would be one with a broken hinge piece, and another with a seized motor. If all else fails then boosting the laser power can squeeze a bit more life out of them, but at that point they are already on their way out and turning them up will only accelerate their demise.
Pot tweaking would mess up PS1, especially without multimeter.
I have a ps 2 (in its original box), and it accepts sometimes a disc and sometimes not, very annoying. Cleaned head etc... but I'll watch your vid first before jump to conclusion.
I saw in the end that you replaced some capacitors, could this be the issue?
It's unlikely to be the caps, especially in a PS2. I change them in the PS1 because I've found there's usually one or two that are leaking, but not badly enough to cause any real issues (yet)
Amazing!
Great video helped me fix most of my lasers, but one of my 9001 playstations is only displaying a white screen, I can hear the boot animation but all it shows is a white screen and if i leave it for a while there will be some interference on screen and then menu will pop up briefly I'm guessing the video chip is toast but i was wondering if anyone had suggestions here lol
Have you tried different AV cables? Could be that RGB has issues but composite doesn't, or vice versa. That could help narrow down the fault
@@TheRetroChannel i only have AV cables at the moment but ill try doing that thank you
For a moment I thought an laser adjustment with oscilloscope. honglaser sucks so badly, use an original one - 10x times better
If you can, please recommend people to only use Silicone greases. Many Lithium greases are petroleum based, and petroleum has a risk of absorbing material out of plastics, turning them brittle. Only Lithium grease I would trust with plastics is Molykote, which uses PAO, but this brand is hard to find and on the expensive side.
My old PS1 will only play games if it's stood on its side wtf 😂 I'm guessing it's something to do with the laser maybe but I dunno anyone know what this is?
If the carriage is mechanically worn out, there is not much left to repair. You need a new drive, or the laser. I tried to get doctors around in the past, but in vain. You can solve the mechanical problem that the laser is no longer in balance Not really a repair. Unlike the PS2 Fat, Sony has installed a screw to readjust the problem.
pal games need love too XD
enough is enough i dont pay more than 60 box
This is actually a good way to improve these knock-off assemblies from China and extend their reliability a bit. So do all this with a new laser. Trying to fix a failing drive on a PS1 is a waste of time, tbh. Just get a new one. Knob-twisters will probably disagree, though.
🍪
💿📀💿
The Poti adjust is for the cat.not helpful.not in PS1 or ps2.
LOL, the motor spindle has nothing to do with the laser or laser power. What a dumb video.
No shit, clearly you missed the point. Enjoy burning out your lasers
LOL, dumb video you say? Harsh words coming from someone who managed to destroy the optical drive of his CDTV while "fixing" it. Clearly you're the last person in the world to give any advice on repairing optical drives. Hahaha.
@TheRetroChannel Don't shit urself. You are the last person which is able to tell me what should and should not to do with my stuff...