PS2 PlayStation 2 MECHACON Adjustment Program (PMAP)

[sp193]

I remember that some chips have Rx and Tx swapped. Did you try to swap them?

I don't know if it was some or all, or if it is even because I didn't understand something (I'm not from the electronics field), but I did flip the Tx and Rx. i.e. I connected the MECHACON TxD to the Rx of my RS232 tranceiver.

 

[jolek]

Added into resource.

 

[AlmightyStokie]

The new pre-built transceiver board came and that did the trick, I'm able to use the software now. I've been practising and fiddling around with all the features, it's a really good bit of software.

I'm most interested in the jitter measurement part. What's the goal number to get the jitter at, it says in the read me file that for G chassis the threshold is 0x3E00 but at the same time it says get the number minimal. Also having it calibrated close to 3E00 isn't making it work 100%. What's the right way of doing it? Also do I read Jitter 16 or 256?

 

[sp193]

Thanks.

The ultimate goal is to achieve as little jitter while reading, as possible. The threshold was a "fail" marker in the Sony tool. So even if a console passes that point, it does not mean it works well.
To reach that point, the mechanism and electrical circuit must be both calibrated. If the OP block was changed, the type must be correctly set.

It could be that I have already forgotten how it worked, but the use of this tool requires some domain knowledge in order to utilize it properly. I guess, the "16" and "256" could possibly come from the read length? Either way, I suppose the console should do as well as possible in all cases.

As Sony described the original tool's jitter measurement function, it was meant as an alternative if jitter measurement equipment is somehow unavailable. I was told it already does quite a good job, in place of the proper measurement equipment.

 

[AlmightyStokie]

On some PS2s I'm getting this error when I do certain things.

In this case when I insert a Single Layer DVD for the laser circuit adjustment it gives me a 2A0- Rx-command error every time.

I'm also getting this when I try to do the jitter measurement on any C-Chassis console, same 2A0 Rx error. Oddly Gh-06 consoles show up as F-Chassis in the eeprom info bit.

 

[sp193]

On some PS2s I'm getting this error when I do certain things.

Have you noticed if there is a pattern, like a specific action does not work for a specific chassis?
Commands are possibly model-specific. I cannot say that all functions have been tested with every possible hardware model.
Only models up to the I-chassis are supported (that leaves the J-chassis SCPH-50000 and all slim models unsupported).

Oddly Gh-06 consoles show up as F-Chassis in the eeprom info bit.

How many of them are like that? What was the MECHACON model and MD version detected?

 

[AlmightyStokie]

I was aware about the 50000 consoles not working with this so I didn't bother testing them. The one in the photo was a SCPH-30003R GH-15 PS2.

I can't remember it's been a few days. I'll check later and update this post with the answer.

 

[sp193]

On some PS2s I'm getting this error when I do certain things.

In this case when I insert a Single Layer DVD for the laser circuit adjustment it gives me a 2A0- Rx-command error every time.

I'm also getting this when I try to do the jitter measurement on any C-Chassis console, same 2A0 Rx error. Oddly Gh-06 consoles show up as F-Chassis in the eeprom info bit.

If I remember right, 2A0 is a generic error code. Which doesn't tell us what's wrong.

From the code flow, the B, C & D chassis consoles will have the same commands issued, as they share a similar command set (all under MD.39). If there is a problem with the elect-adjust command list, it should not work for all these models.
F-chassis has a different flow for electrical circuit adjustment, despite also being considered MD.39.

B and C were early designs, which had a square-shaped mainboard against the bottom cover. D was the first expansion-bay design with a single board. There were many D-chassis mainboard models.
The SCPH-300xx R model number had both D and F-chassis versions, while F-chassis boards seem to be only GH-015. F-chassis was also the first model with the BGA-mounted MECHACON (CXP103049).

B/C/D/F all use MD.39. So the F chassis is differentiated by a 16-bit word in the EEPROM. So if this value is changed, it is possible to make any board appear as a F-chassis. Did you visually confirm that the console's mainboard is indeed a F-chassis board, despite what the program tells you?

The protocol has no error detection nor correction. So it is imperative that the RS232 connection must be as error-free as possible.

I was aware about the 50000 consoles not working with this so I didn't bother testing them.

Technically, the first SCPH-50000 models are supported (H and I-chassis; GH-023 and GH-026). The code was copied from a tool that was made before the J-chassis GH-029 existed.

The one in the photo was a SCPH-30003R GH-15 PS2.

Thanks.
It's been 5 years since I opened the disassembly of the original Elect tool. It doesn't look like the command list is wrong, but yet only the F-chassis will have this specific, offending command issued during electric circuit adjustment.

 

[AlmightyStokie]

Update: What fixed all the 2A0 errors was updating the eeprom (Option 17 in the eeprom section) now everything works fine and they're all adjusted and working great. My guess is changing the laser but not the eeprom info messed with things.

Still not sure what was with the program thinking my C-Chassis was an F. I did previously use the Lens Changer app on that console before I started using Pmap so that may be it.

Here's a photo of the eeprom info with the incorrect Chassis: (The console was an SCPH 30003 Gh-06 C-Chassis)

 

[sp193]

Great to hear that an update helped. Sony issued updates to improve the functionality of the PS2. Switching the OP block model without configuring the console, may hamper its reading functionality.
So either way, doing an update somehow helped.

As for your C-chassis: Lenschanger writes copies of EEPROM from other consoles (in this case, perhaps from a F-chassis console). You could perhaps correct this by doing an EEPROM update and selecting the correct chassis model.

 

[AlmightyStokie]

I've had loads of success calibrating PS2s with Pmap the last month or so, I wish I'd have bothered trying it when I first saw it a few years back, it would have saved me hours of guess work and frustration adjusting the skews. Thanks so much for making it

Anyway so I just got done adjusting a D-Chassis (GH-10) system earlier and it went smoothly but on start up it takes an extra few seconds to read Blue Disc games, when the game is running it's prefect but it's just on start up it takes longer than usual. I properly updated the eeprom, got the jitter (256) down to around 1700 and did the electric circuit adjustment with extremely clean perfect discs.

An example of it taking a while is normally on a fresh boot with the disc still in the system the game loads in the middle of the boot animation but here it takes until the home screen shows up (It only shows up for under a second, like it would with a dual layer game on a earlier system). There's no clicking, squeaking or any other bad sounds it all seems perfectly calibrated.

I thought it might be the laser at first but PS1 games which are also on CDs start up at normal times and music CDs have no issue ether, it's JUST blue disc. The system isn't modded yet.

Any ideas to what this could be?

 

[sp193]

What sort of CD-ROM were you using for adjustment? If you have been using a PS CD-ROM, what if you used a PS2 CD-ROM instead?
Are you certain that the OP block and lens types were selected correctly?

I never personally did adjustments on a working PS2, but I got a feeling that 1700 is still pretty bad though. How did your other consoles score when it came to jitter measurement, in comparison to this?

 

[AlmightyStokie]

I've been using a PS2 Blue Disc from a brand new sealed game for the adjustments. The laser is a 400B and it has a yellow T609K lens (laser is new)

The lowest I got a system with a 400B in terms of jitter was a GH-06 I got down to 1100 ish.

Since I posted that original message (sorry about the late reply) I've tried also adjusting the potentiometers on the laser it self which also decreases the jitter but I'm worried about burning out the lens if I do that.

I've been working on a different GH-10 and that one is even worse, the best I can get it at is 1F00, that's above the fail limit. What fixed it is lowering the resistance on the laser potentiometers from 1680 to 1620 ohms which got the jitter down to 1C00. I don't wanna go down even further because of the burning out thing. What's the limit on lowering ohms on the laser before it causes damage?

 

[sp193]

I've been using a PS2 Blue Disc from a brand new sealed game for the adjustments. The laser is a 400B and it has a yellow T609K lens (laser is new)

Did you confirm whether this console was configured for the 400B, with the correct lens type? Sony had a note within the official tool, saying that the yellow lens protector indicates that the optical block contains a T609K lens. The earlier batches of the D-chassis with the KHS-400B and T609K lens still had the white protector, but there is a violet (not black, blue nor green) marking near their adjustment screws.

If this is not a KHS-400B from Sony (but some compatible), then I don't know whether the lens cover colour still means what it should have signified.

The lowest I got a system with a 400B in terms of jitter was a GH-06 I got down to 1100 ish.

I see.

Since I posted that original message (sorry about the late reply) I've tried also adjusting the potentiometers on the laser it self which also decreases the jitter but I'm worried about burning out the lens if I do that.

I suppose the gain was meant to be adjusted automatically through the electric circuit adjustment...
I'm not sure if you're supposed to be doing this and what it means.

I've been working on a different GH-10 and that one is even worse, the best I can get it at is 1F00, that's above the fail limit. What fixed it is lowering the resistance on the laser potentiometers from 1680 to 1620 ohms which got the jitter down to 1C00. I don't wanna go down even further because of the burning out thing. What's the limit on lowering ohms on the laser before it causes damage?

I don't know, sorry.

 

[ironsniper1]

long time no post, i have picked up trying to solve my issue again and am trying to find the points i need to solder to, however the service manual i have does not list them around the mechacon and i cant find them any where close, i am currently working on a GH-015 board

 

[AlmightyStokie]

long time no post, i have picked up trying to solve my issue again and am trying to find the points i need to solder to, however the service manual i have does not list them around the mechacon and i cant find them any where close, i am currently working on a GH-015 board

Here you go. Sorry about the poor quality diagram I just dashed this together in paint in 5 mins lol It does the job.

Just a word of warning with F-Chassis machines. On the 2 I've worked on (Including the one in the photo) every adjustment worked except the Electrical Circuit Adjustment, when it got to the DVD-SL part it crashed and gave me an error. Jitter and eeprom adjustments work fine though. My machines were the 3 region code (UK) so if yours is different it might work better, maybe.

 

[ironsniper1]

View attachment 28304

Here you go. Sorry about the poor quality diagram I just dashed this together in paint in 5 mins lol It does the job.

Just a word of warning with F-Chassis machines. On the 2 I've worked on (Including the one in the photo) every adjustment worked except the Electrical Circuit Adjustment, when it got to the DVD-SL part it crashed and gave me an error. Jitter and eeprom adjustments work fine though. My machines were the 3 region code (UK) so if yours is different it might work better, maybe.

thanks for that! now i just gotta figure out what com port for my usb

 

[ironsniper1]

found the port number however i am getting rx command timed out error

EDIT got it work now to figure out how to reset the mecha to see if it solves my issue

EDIT 2 when i use the tray close command i get Error -32 what does this mean?

 

[sp193]

long time no post, i have picked up trying to solve my issue again and am trying to find the points i need to solder to, however the service manual i have does not list them around the mechacon and i cant find them any where close, i am currently working on a GH-015 board

You might want to pick up the service manual for the GH-015, which is the F-chassis.
Given your other problems, you might want to refer to it to check the connectivity for the tray switch sensor.

Just a word of warning with F-Chassis machines. On the 2 I've worked on (Including the one in the photo) every adjustment worked except the Electrical Circuit Adjustment, when it got to the DVD-SL part it crashed and gave me an error. Jitter and eeprom adjustments work fine though. My machines were the 3 region code (UK) so if yours is different it might work better, maybe.

Did it still not work for you? I thought you already found the problem.

EDIT got it work now to figure out how to reset the mecha to see if it solves my issue

Pressing the RESET button will reset it.

EDIT 2 when i use the tray close command i get Error -32 what does this mean?

It's not an error indicated by the protocol, but I something I added to indicate a connection loss. It might happen if there has been too long without any response.
I suppose it may also occur if the tray cannot actually be retracted properly. If you prevented it from closing on a working set, then some error like that would also occur.

 

[ironsniper1]

You might want to pick up the service manual for the GH-015, which is the F-chassis.
Given your other problems, you might want to refer to it to check the connectivity for the tray switch sensor.



Did it still not work for you? I thought you already found the problem.


Pressing the RESET button will reset it.


It's not an error indicated by the protocol, but I something I added to indicate a connection loss. It might happen if there has been too long without any response.
I suppose it may also occur if the tray cannot actually be retracted properly. If you prevented it from closing on a working set, then some error like that would also occur.

i didnt prevent it from opening, all i did was type tray close and it tried to close and then opened and showed that error, someone on another forum suggested zeroing out the mechacon to fully reset it but i havent tried that, i have also checked for bad traces etc and found nothing so far