SCPH-1001 PS1 shell problems

[its_heeho]

Hello again! I work for a game store and I fix any retro consoles that come in, recently we have been getting problems with PS1s that can't spin discs due to the shell from underneath holding the discs in place.

I have already cleaned the consoles and replaced the lasers but I want to figure out how to fix the problem with the shell. Should we use a heat gun to soften it and push it down a bit? Should we look into custom shells? Some other third thing? I feel like you guys would know and I'm looking for excuses to plug this website to my coworkers too. Any questions about the PS1s and even the shop I work for I'll gladly answer!

 

[bjork]

I remember reading something about potentiometers, and I don't know if that's your issue here, but I can't recall exactly what the fix was.

 

[its_heeho]

Yeah I tried working with those as well and while it did provide enough kick for the disc to spin it only made the disc move for a split second before being stopped by the shell

 

[thecrow2313]

Have you considerd either the PSIO flash cart or xStation SD card mount?

 

[its_heeho]

Have you considerd either the PSIO flash cart or xStation SD card mount?

We have thought about doing stuff like that for our consoles but a good chunk of our customers don't exactly show interest in our stuff that allows for soft-modding or playing burned stuff. And if they did they probably wouldn't buy our games.

 

[nobitakun]

Hello again! I work for a game store and I fix any retro consoles that come in, recently we have been getting problems with PS1s that can't spin discs due to the shell from underneath holding the discs in place.

I have already cleaned the consoles and replaced the lasers but I want to figure out how to fix the problem with the shell. Should we use a heat gun to soften it and push it down a bit? Should we look into custom shells? Some other third thing? I feel like you guys would know and I'm looking for excuses to plug this website to my coworkers too. Any questions about the PS1s and even the shop I work for I'll gladly answer!

Are you trying to avoid being fired? xD, just kidding.

What you're experiencing is that the spindle hub went down too much, so it is touching the case and it will barely spin due to the extra force needed, giving you a few nice scratches to the disk in the way.

The spindle hub and the bottom of the center rail should be separated by 0.5mm more or less, so my recommendation is to push it to the bottom, then use a box cutter to separate it from the bottom a little bit, then try with a disc until you get it right. Once it is placed in position, I suggest you use some kind of superglue to keep it in that position. Afterwards, put also some glue on the parts that will eventually get broken, but only on the top side, never on the bottom side. For you to depict it better I show the picture:

Or if you want something that will last forever, you can get online compatible spindle hubs like these:

I replaced them on my PS1 and PSOne and zero problems.

 

[irkella irkella]

Those are some of the oldest models, and also have some well documented issues with both the motor and laser on the CD drives, alongside a whole slew of other reliability problems, but I haven't heard of this before. Are you referring to the grey outer shell as being deformed?

Post automatically merged: Today at 12:03 AM

View attachment 103468
I replaced them on my PS1 and PSOne and zero problems.

Looks like you can get packs of these for pretty cheap!

 

[its_heeho]

Are you trying to avoid being fired? xD, just kidding.

What you're experiencing is that the spindle hub went down too much, so it is touching the case and it will barely spin due to the extra force needed, giving you a few nice scratches to the disk in the way.

The spindle hub and the bottom of the center rail should be separated by 0.5mm more or less, so my recommendation is to push it to the bottom, then use a box cutter to separate it from the bottom a little bit, then try with a disc until you get it right. Once it is placed in position, I suggest you use some kind of superglue to keep it in that position. Afterwards, put also some glue on the parts that will eventually get broken, but only on the top side, never on the bottom side. For you to depict it better I show the picture:
View attachment 103466
Or if you want something that will last forever, you can get online compatible spindle hubs like these:
View attachment 103468
I replaced them on my PS1 and PSOne and zero problems.

Thanks! I'll give this a shot with a spare spindle hub and see how it goes!

Post automatically merged: Today at 12:10 AM

Those are some of the oldest models, and also have some well documented issues with both the motor and laser on the CD drives, alongside a whole slew of other reliability problems, but I haven't heard of this before. Are you referring to the grey outer shell as being deformed?

Post automatically merged: Today at 12:03 AM

Looks like you can get packs of these for pretty cheap!

Yeah the middle part inside could be deformed, but the problem seems to be across other ones we have in the back too so it's odd that multiple shells are possibly deformed the same exact way.

 

[nobitakun]

Those are some of the oldest models, and also have some well documented issues with both the motor and laser on the CD drives, alongside a whole slew of other reliability problems, but I haven't heard of this before. Are you referring to the grey outer shell as being deformed?

Post automatically merged: Today at 12:03 AM

Looks like you can get packs of these for pretty cheap!

Yeah, those spindle hubs are very similar to PS2 ones, which are indestructible lol. Sony might have had some paranoia because of their fail with both PS1 and PSOne ones.

 

[The_Real_Thing]

Are you trying to avoid being fired? xD, just kidding.

What you're experiencing is that the spindle hub went down too much, so it is touching the case and it will barely spin due to the extra force needed, giving you a few nice scratches to the disk in the way.

The spindle hub and the bottom of the center rail should be separated by 0.5mm more or less, so my recommendation is to push it to the bottom, then use a box cutter to separate it from the bottom a little bit, then try with a disc until you get it right. Once it is placed in position, I suggest you use some kind of superglue to keep it in that position. Afterwards, put also some glue on the parts that will eventually get broken, but only on the top side, never on the bottom side. For you to depict it better I show the picture:
View attachment 103466
Or if you want something that will last forever, you can get online compatible spindle hubs like these:
View attachment 103468
I replaced them on my PS1 and PSOne and zero problems.

This. You can get spindle hubs cheap at Aliexpress, and standard perfboard (veroboard in some locales) is a pretty perfect spacer for when pushing it down.

Post automatically merged: Today at 1:11 AM

Op, since you said we could ask: where do you guys source your lasers? I spin the Ali roulette wheel and get lucky most times, but am sure they're refurbs. Oh, and just wanted to let you know that the official Sony service manuals for PSX can be found on Archive.org and other places as a pdf.

 

[nobitakun]

This. You can get spindle hubs cheap at Aliexpress, and standard perfboard (veroboard in some locales) is a pretty perfect spacer for when pushing it down.

Post automatically merged: Today at 1:11 AM

Op, since you said we could ask: where do you guys source your lasers? I spin the Ali roulette wheel and get lucky most times, but am sure they're refurbs. Oh, and just wanted to let you know that the official Sony service manuals for PSX can be found on Archive.org and other places as a pdf.

Even being refurbished, they usually work pretty neat, some sellers even can tell you what's the amount of use more or less. Just make sure you get the model KSM-440BAM, because it's the most robust and less picky. My PS1 is using a PSOne drive I literaly found on street, next to a garbage bin. Cleaned it, tested it and it seems somebody left it there for some reason. It still working fine until now, after like 10 years.

But since that's the PSOne lens, if you want to use in the original PS1, you will have to swap the black plastic cover from the drive of your original model with the gray cover on the BAM drive, otherwise it won't fit correctly.