PlayStation 1 Import & Power-supply-board swapping. Very simple project / very simple question?

[JunkRoom]

I've imported some Japanese and American PlayStation (PlayStation 1) and wanted to swap the power-supply-boards to run them on U.K. mains.

The thing is I've bought some English PlayStation to swap the Power-supply-boards and on closer inspection some of them are marked as 250V & 2A and some are marked as 250V & 1.6AH.

My question is, can I use either board in any PlayStation 1 or should I assume some of the PS1's need a 1.6AH supply and some need a 2A supply?

And what would happen if I use a power-supply-board rated at 250V & 2A in a PS1 that originally had a power-supply-board rated at 250V & 1.6AH?

Help would be appreciated as I'm afraid that I might be doing something that might be a potential fire-risk or that might damage the PlayStation over time.

Thanks,

 

[Martaine2005]

Providing the new boards you bought work in these imports, you can use either.
The device will only use the current it needs. You could use 10 amps and the device will only draw what it needs.

You should check that the main boards are identical, as imports may be different.
Look at the voltages of the caoacitors to get a clue if the main board voltages are very similar or not.

Martin

 

[JunkRoom]

The American and Japanese boards are rated at 125V & 2A (the rating is generally next to the fuse on the board, I've not actually checked the capacitors (I wouldn't be too sure what to check).

I'm guessing there's probably some overhead built into it but might some of the PlayStations need to draw more than 1.6Amps? If some of them draw more than that and I fit the 1.6AH board anyway, might it degrade or overload the power-board?

 

[Martaine2005]

I don't think a Playstation1 will draw an amp. Maybe 1.2 max.But never 1.6 from a 1.6 board.
I was reffering to the 'mainboard' not the power supply. The 'motherboard' should have some kind of screen printing or a capacitor that shows the board is 5v or something. It will be near to where the power supply board plugs into the motherboard.

Martin

 

[JunkRoom]

I think they're 4v. The power socket is marked CN602 (printed on the board) and there's a 4v capacitor labelled C602 (also printed on the board) near that socket. That's the best clue I can make out as to what its draw is.

All three types of board (three main revisions of the PS1 board) have both 4v and 16v capacitors, but as far as I can tell it's the 4v capacitor that's most likely matched to the power socket.

What I'll probably do is open up some of the imported consoles I've got and see if the ratings on the power-boards vary in amperage based on board revision.

 

[Martaine2005]

The ratings may vary slightly. But the 2amp supply probably has a glass fuse.
The 1.6AH probably has Wickman T series through hole fuse.

But yes, open the units and make sure the 'motherboards' are very similar.

Martin

 

[JunkRoom]

Okay, so it seems the 250v / 2A is the fuse rating? I'm looking back at the boards and even though the board's marked 250V 2A next to the fuse, the capacitor's rated for only 200V.

I think the ones I've been looking at are ones I already pulled from the some of the imports.

 

[Martaine2005]

Can you post pictures of import board and UK boards. Including both types of power supplies.
Hi res photos so text can be seen. It may be easier!
Yes, that is the fuse rating.

Martin

 

[JunkRoom]

It's okay, I just got them mixed up.

All of the boards marked 2A have 200V capacitors (i.e. aren't good for U.K.) and all of the boards marked 1.6AH have 400V capacitors (okay for the U.K.).

I kind of just lost track of which of them I pulled boards from, and the fuse-rating confused me. It seems it differs just by region, and not region and model (from the SCPH 5500 series and later (up to SCPH 5000 the power-board does differ, I think because it has the extra audio circuitry and needs more power, or at least that's how it looks?)).

Also, found a couple of anomalies so far: I fried one that looks just like a PAL board and I've run a console on a power-board that looks just like a 120V board but has 400V capacitor and also rated at 1.6AH (basically what got me to take a much closer look at the boards).

 

[Martaine2005]

Great, sounds like you are sorting this all by yourself.
But what about the 'motherboards'? are they very similar? Same connections, same components etc.
I have two 300 cd disk players from Pioneer @110v. AND ALSO A 240v uk version.
The 'main boards' are the same and so is the secondary voltage. 110v to 16v and 240v to 16v. So I can swap out the main boards.
That is what I was trying to explain earlier!.
What were the fuses like on the different boards?
Martin

 

[JunkRoom]

That's a good question. To be honest I've not made a close comparison of the mainboards, I'd just read in a couple of places on the internet that it's something you can do and saw someone doing it on youtube and basically went from there.

I've been using both US and Japanese versions running on U.K. power boards and they seem fine. I'm not sure how I'd tell if it'll be okay over the long term. I'm guessing they could draw more power than the U.K. power-boards might be rated for but I'm not sure what that would mean for the power boards? Probably a burned out fuse? Although maybe not? it's strange that the fuses would be rated to 250 volts when they've only got capacitors rated for 200V (not sure why that would be. Maybe just cheaper that way?).

 

[Martaine2005]

it's strange that the fuses would be rated to 250 volts when they've only got capacitors rated for 200V (not sure why that would be. Maybe just cheaper that way?).

Not at all. Some 12volt devices have 220v fuses. That is the maximum rated voltage.
It is the amperage that is important. ie 1.6 or 2 amps.

Martin

 

[JunkRoom]

So the U.K. mainboard might be drawing more amps even though it normally has a power-board with a fuse rated for a lower amperage? It's not the voltage that fried the capacitor?

 

[Martaine2005]

I am getting really confused now.
If you go back and read every question you asked and the responses, it should make more sense.
I asked a question in the first couple of posts. You just replied in post #11 saying it's a good question!!

Please read it carefully and get back to me.

Martin.

 

[JunkRoom]

I must have misread your post, my apologies.

Also, I think we must be talking at cross purposes. You said the main board would only draw as much as it needed and that it's the amperage that counts and not the voltage? So I think I put two and two together and got five (I assumed that you meant I fried the capacitor because the main board was drawing too many amps.).

 

[davenn]

its all been very confusing

the first thing for you to do next is .....
please do what Martin asked you to do many posts ago
post sharp well lit pix of both power supply boards, sharp enough that we can read the text
make sure we know which board is which

 

[JunkRoom]

To be honest I didn't want to put you to that much trouble (I kind of wasn't really assuming I'd get, should ask for, or expect that level of help), but if that help is available it would be appreciated.

I know power board swapping is something people do and I've been running an NTSC-J & NTSC-US PS1 on a U.K. board for short periods for a week or so and they seems to be okay, I'm just worried about degradation over time. I thought there'd be a simple answer to my initial question but it was based on an incorrect assumption to begin with. :0/

And yes it is confusing, I can't really seem to make sense of it: why a 125V power-board would have a fuse rated for 250V etc. If they're made that way to save money then I can understand it but otherwise...

Right now I've got to get some sleep (I just had a nap to get rid of a headache) but I've been dealing with eBay junk all day and can barely keep myself awake. I'll post some high res pictures tomorrow.

Thanks in advance and "no worries" in advance if when I post them it makes as little sense to you guys as it does to me. :0/

Chris

 

[JunkRoom]

I've not taken any pictures yet since there's such a lot of variation. I'm trying to match boards to boards so that I can reduce the number of comparison photos to as few as possible (or eliminate the need completely).

I came across this while trying to put together a compatibility list:
http://gamesx.com/wiki/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=schematics:service_manual_scph_9000_3rd_ed.pdf

So far it seems the SCPH-9xxx series (at least) vary in their power consumption:

SCPH-9000 (Japan)
Power requirements:
100 V AC, 50/60 Hz
Power consumption:
9 W

SCPH-9001 (U.S.)
Power requirements:
120 V AC, 60 Hz
Power consumption:
17 W

SCPH-9002/A/B/C (U.K.)
Power requirements:
220-240 V AC, 50 Hz
Power consumption:
10 W

SCPH-9003 (Japan)
Power requirements:
110-240 V AC, 50/60 Hz
Power consumption:
11 W

Is this enough information to establish whether or not the U.K. boards will serve as substitutes for the Japanese & U.S. main boards?

The manual warns against it.

Would swapping them actually be a dangerous practice (in terms of fire risk or other danger) or is it just a case of the power boards deteriorating?

I'll keep going with the research, and see if I can track down manuals for the other series'.

 

[JunkRoom]

Hi guys. Due to the level of complexity I'm dealing with with these boards I'm abandoning the project.

I'm concerned about overloading the boards and about the potential fire risk, and the level of complexity just seems too great.

But many thanks.

 

[Martaine2005]

I will try to clarify and simplify a few points that you seem to be very confused about.
The fuse rating is to protect the equipment supplied by it. A 100v power supply can 'in theory' have a 500v fuse.
But it can't have have 50v fuse, because 'in theory' you have exceeded it's maximum rated voltage.

The current (amps) is what the unit needs to run. If the unit uses (needs) 1.1a, then in general terms, the fuse current rating has to be higher or the fuse will blow as soon as the unit is turned on. Likewise, Put a smaller current fuse in and it blows straight away. All desighners put a 'headroom' as you put it earlier. Therefore the current rating of the fuse will be a percentage higher than what is required.

This is not a how it works, but an example to help you understand. Many other factors come in to play too.

The different power supplies have different layouts and components. This would naturally change the characteristics of the power supplies. Different 'onboard' voltages, different current required by the power supply itself etc.
But it's the output of the power supply that is important. These seem to be 3.5v and 8v.

All the boards you linked to are near identical boards. And they to require 3.5v and 8v.
The current required for these boards will be almost identical too.

Now, back to fuses.
If your perfectly smooth running unit suddenly develops a problem like a short circuit, the current drawn by the unit could be very high!. But, the fuse will 'work' and cut power to the unit as the current tries to exceed the fuses current rating!!
This all happens in the blink of an eye.
So you are safe, minimal damage to the unit etc etc etc.

Like I said earlier. this is just a simplified way of explaining a few areas of confusion.

Ps. as long as the connections/wiring are the same, they will work fine with no problems.
I have probably forgotten something, and I am sure somebody will correct my post.

Martin