mattross1313 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Started a new project in the man cave this week so thought I'd bang some pictures up to show the progress. Nowhere near as exciting as some of the builds on this forum, and not in the least car related (unless you count Gran Turismo). I've had a Pi2 at home for a good 18 months or so now, used mainly as our Media Centre and Retro Gaming with mates. I have 2xUSB SNES controllers that plug in for easy gaming. I've seen a few projects on the web recently about putting the Pi into various funky cases and thought I'd give it a go. A quick eBay session later saw me take delivery of a PS1 with 2 classic controllers for £8, along with all the various Pi related cables that I would need for the build. With all my projects, car related or not I always try my best to keep things looking 'stock'. Some of the Pi builds online have been a bit rough around the edges, with cables just sticking out the back, and random connectors. I am hoping to keep everything looking original and re-use the Power button, reset button, and Power LED. The next thing to ponder was controllers, again some other builds I have seen just had USB female slots forced into the memory card slots on the front face for modern controllers, while functional I think takes away from the charm. So I picked up a USB-PS adapter which I plan to wire up internally so I can use the original PS controllers as designed, and wire them over to the Pi's USB ports. Some quick pics to get started - first order of business was to remove any unnecessary 'gubbins' from the internals. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 In! Cool as ****! Please make sure you document all the detail for plagiarists 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Should be fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 AWESOME But RIP to the OG PS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 In! Cool as ****! Please make sure you document all the detail for plagiarists How dare you I'll try my best matey But RIP to the OG PS It's all good. I'm not that much of a heathen (spelling?). I picked up a faulty PS1 chassis so I'm effectively saving it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 In that case, go forth and modify sir! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 Rough sketch of my plan below in terms of layout and HW. As mentioned in the first post I really REALLY don't like the idea of having random cables poking out of the PS1 body. To try and resolve this I plan to use a load of small length extension cables and re-use existing ports on the back of the PS1. The stock power supply is an old school 8pin connection, but I will use micro USB. Plan here is to Dremmel out the figure 8 pin and slot in the female micro USB port. This then leaves a nice female port on the back of the PS where I can connect up a normal 5V power supply. I'll take the same approach with a female HDMI connection, and USB Ports for additional controllers. Also picked up a nifty little SD Card adapter which I will also route to the back of the PS body. This will allow me to easily remove / update the Pi's SD Card without having to dismantle the whole thing! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si8pny Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Love this idea! All looks far too complicated for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strudul Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Plans for under the lid? Perspex window? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 Plans for under the lid? Perspex window? The few I've seen are just gaping holes where the disk drive used to be, which I'm not sold on. I plan to refit the disk drive (or atleast the top of it) and put a disk in there. This way when you open the lid there is a disk there which can be spun on the spindle. Space may yet prevent me from doing this but I like the idea.....so much so I already purchased the disk. I went for TOCA Racing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strudul Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) Bonus points if you wire up the motor to make it spin Would have gone for Spyro personally though Edited May 23, 2017 by Strudul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBorehamUK Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Bonus points if you wire up the motor to make it spin Would have gone for Spyro personally though +1 Spyro all day long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Ridge Racer or GTFO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBorehamUK Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 I'll see your ridge racer and raise you Pandemonium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemonium!_(video_game) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 Bonus points if you wire up the motor to make it spin This is a properly cool idea!! I had look last night at the drive and can see 2 small wires going to the motor. I'll do some Googling today to try and work out what power they need and will look to hook them up - either to general power on, or a seperate switch maybe. Pandamonium is such a good game! brings back memories! I went for TOCA as it was a good game, cheap to buy, and had a cool image on the disk face. Ideally I wanted Parappa the Rapper! You can keep Ridge Racer etc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Resident Evil One 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Ideally I wanted Parappa the Rapper! You can keep Ridge Racer etc *unfollows* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 Had a sneaky hour on this last night whilst the SO was out. First up I stripped down the Power circuit board and removed all un necessary components. This just leaves me with the 2 power switches and the power LED. I plan to fit my new power circuit over this board to save space. Next up was the connectors at the back of the PS body. Below is a stock photo just to show what connections I have available to butcher. From left to right we have: Parallel IO Port - behind flap. This will hide the SD Card extender and 2 female USB Ports for controllers. Serial IO Port - for now this will remain as is AV Out - Will be the HDMI Extension port Power - 5v power via micro USB Below is a pic from the inside of the various connection ports. The left connector has been removed from the circuit and had the inside taken out. Then with some gentle Dremmel work I was able to make it fit a female HDMI port (not worked out how to secure these yet but I guess some hot glue and perhaps a cable tie). The middle connector will remain stock as not required right now. The right side is where the Parallel IO port used to be (behind the flap), where I need to mount the SD card and USB ports. Not started this yet. I then cut this circuit board down to give me much more space in the middle of he base. Allowing me to mount the pI lower down and have better clearance. Finally - some progress pics as I have test mounted the Power cable and HDMI extension. The micro USB power surround needs a little more fettling just to smooth out the edges, but generally pleased 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Thats coming along nicley mate As a non gamer (or retired gamer) what makes this worth the effort? Just curious I still think it's a great project and you know I love a good project Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 It's like dropping an LS3 into a mk1 Escort: It'll still look like an Escort, but you have much more flexibility and more power to do stuff That's as close an analogy as I can get 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Kay Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 You can buy these already done and inserted into a game cartridge from an original Nintendo. Loaded with 17,000 games they are about £120. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 (edited) As a non gamer (or retired gamer) what makes this worth the effort? Just curious I still think it's a great project and you know I love a good project What makes it worth the effort? Nothing I already have the Pi running 1000's of games via the SD card and can plug it into the TV today, and play with USB controllers. So I am effectively gaining nothing by putting the setup into a PlayStation. As you say, it is purely just something to keep me busy, and at the end of it I will have a cool retro unit to keep on in the media centre You can buy these already done and inserted into a game cartridge from an original Nintendo. Loaded with 17,000 games they are about £120. Indeed. My friend has a similar cartridge for an old Mega Drive (or maybe Master System). These units are great but a little restrictive if you wanted to use it for anything else. This setup should run me maybe £60 max and provide me with many thousands of games. But I can also run it as a media centre, YouTube, iPlayer etc etc via Kodi plugins. But in all reality I will likely just use it for Gran Turismo, Destruction Derby and Metal Gear Solid Edited May 24, 2017 by mattross1313 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay84 Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Loved DD and GT lol. I admire the attention to detail on converting the PS1, very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-G- Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 I did the same, kind of - using the old XMBC (Pre KODI) on an old Xbox 1. I had a 4TB drive installed & stuffed it with all the original xbox games I could find as well as Emulators & ROMS for PSX, PS2, PSP SNES, NES, Gameboy, MS, MegaDrive, GameGear, Saturn (very hard finding a decent emulator) 32x, MegaCD, 3DO, Atari Jaguar, MAME, Coin-Ops... do I need to go on? There's no SD card functionality but there is internet & FTP for managing the game libraries. Only issue (if you see it as an issue) is that I can't use any new type of controller, stuck with a slimline version of the original. I can however use the Steel Battalion controller I bought like 15 years ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted May 24, 2017 Author Share Posted May 24, 2017 That looks very cool -G-, love the controller I think my Pi build has support for most of those consoles other than PS2, PSP and Saturn (as you say quite tricky). But I don't think I've ever played a Saturn so no love lost there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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