100 Disc PS1 Changer

[Quackaddict]

Whuddup fellow DPers...

Wondering how difficult it would be to take a 100 disc changer...i.e...

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/maincaptain/.mids/sonycx100_changer.JPG

Connect the innards of a PS1 to play PS1 games, and thus being able to select between about 50 games from my living room couch.

Question is....how hard, folks...how hard would that be?

[K3V]

It'd probably be a lot easier to get up off the couch and swap discs ;)

[Flack]

Well, from a completely non-technical standpoint, you would have to replace the changer's laser with the PS1 laser, and extend whatever connects the PS1's drive to the motherboard (a ribbon of some sort, I'm guessing). You would have to adapt the mechanism that puts the CD into however it plays in the changer to put it onto the PS1's drive.

If you've got a CD changer to donate, I've got 4 or 5 spare PSX's to toss into the project.

[Dangerboy]

I've got a 1,300 PSX disc changer.

It's called ME. LOL

Seriously...I could never get those 100+ music / dvd things...

Good luck though....let me know when you get the 200 MVS slot going too. ;)

[Ed Oscuro]

I'm thinking that the lack of a soft-eject feature in the original PSX would prove useful, as the PSX pretty much just needs to be turned on and will take whever disc is loaded in. However, as a result of this there's no easy way to support changing discs when the unit's on.

Unless you have some way around this, if the PSX is on you'll have to manually turn it off, get the 10 disc CD changer to swap discs, and finally turn the PSX back on. I still see the advantage of having a machine-controlled changer device in reducing wear and tear, but it's going to be slightly inconvenient. With 100 CDs you'd need to have a printed list, I'd think, of what's currently in there.

Another probable hangup is in the way the CD changer itself accesses discs and reports track/time data...I've never used a high-capacity changer, but I'm assuming yours works like a regular player in this way. You'd have to disconnect a lot of irrelevant stuff dealing with track and time listing, I'm guessing.

[Quackaddict]

Okay, I'd be willing to donate the 100 disc cd-changer.

The first thing is to figure out what type of 100-disc cd changer to use. A quick search on ebay yeilded a Marantz, Sony and Pioneer 100-disc CD changer.

The marantz has an S-Video in/out which might be useful. So, I guess the beginnings of this project, it comes to, what would be the best to start with? What options should it have, if any, that would make the transfer easier?

If we can narrow down what to start with, I'll get us hooked up with that end. Also, we need someone technological enough that wants to do this as a side/experimentation project to see what kind of results we can yield. Is there anybody on this board with the skills and time to tinker with this type of project?

[rbudrick]

Paging Dr. Heckendorn.....

-Rob

[Spinal]

Hmmm... interesting project. This would be alot easier if you could get your hands on a cd changer for data disks (like a cd-changer for a PC, not for audio-cds) as that way you (theoretically) shouldn't need to play with the lasers. Then somehow wire the data line from the changer to the data line in the ps1... including a cable from the cd'changer to the reset switch on the ps; that way when a disk is being changed, the ps1 says "please insert disk / close tray" (i forget which one it was now...) then when it is changed when the cd changer pulls low (assuming negative logic... I'm assuming that a cd-changer for a pc would use negative logic) it resets the ps1, hence eliminating the need for you to get up to do it manually...

Michele

[ClubNinja]

let me know when you get the 200 MVS slot going too. ;)

You'd only need about 150 slots... unless you're playing crappy hacks, too.

[TheRedEye]

I have one of these, I call it "epsxe."

[roushimsx]

I have one of these, I call it "epsxe."

Yea, I was going to say building a HTPC might be an easier and more rewarding route. Get a nice remote control, some wireless gamepads, and spend a few weekends generating per-game configurations and you'd be rockin'.

(and it'd probably be easier to use SSSPSX for the project)

Have fun ripping all of your playstation games, though. I recently ripped a couple dozen games and I'm glad I won't have to do it again anytime soon

[CosmicMonkey]

Now I've finally ripped all my music to the PC and have that hooked into the amp, I have a spare Technics 5 disk changer. So about a month ago I sat down with a nice fat J and pondered the many daft things I could do with the Technics.

Took me a few seconds - "Fu**ing 5 Disk Multi Changer Saturn!!!" was the answer. Fortunately, the Missus is used to crazy outbursts like this, and humours me. I then decided that these do actually exist - The SGX (http://nfg.2y.net/games/SGX/). Therefore a multichanger PSone would be a cool project.

But it would mean completely re-writing the CD changer firmware, and hijacking the open/close lid switch on the PSX. Plus, you'd want to change disks via an on-screen menu too, which would mean writing a new PSX BIOS too.

To be honest, this is one of those crazy mods that some genius will probably come up with and do a web page on. And I'd love to see it. But it's all far beyond my modding skills.

EDIT: Just though - wire in a PSX VCD player and you'd have a VCD multichanger too. Hardcore. But a PSX also plays audio CDs, so you'd still have a multiCD player. Cool.

[Flack]

Sure, you could do it with ePSXe. For that matter, why replace 72 pin adapters when you can just run an emulator? And really, most of what Ben Heck's done can be duplicated by a GP32 and a stack of emulators ...

Where was I. Oh yeah. I'm not sure anything software wise would have to be done with the PSX, would it? Tricking it to think the lid's closed is petty, and wiring something into the remote to cut/engage power should be simple enough.

[roushimsx]

Sure, you could do it with ePSXe. For that matter, why replace 72 pin adapters when you can just run an emulator? And really, most of what Ben Heck's done can be duplicated by a GP32 and a stack of emulators ...

Where was I. Oh yeah. I'm not sure anything software wise would have to be done with the PSX, would it? Tricking it to think the lid's closed is petty, and wiring something into the remote to cut/engage power should be simple enough.

There's a big difference between repairing a unit to make it work (replacing a 72 pin adaptor) and creating an uber dream mod (multidisc playstation cd swapper). While I love what Ben Heck has done (some amazing work), it's far outside the realm of what people with even moderate electronics knowledge are capable of. Let's face it, Joe-Blow-off-the-street can swap a 72 pin adaptor can play his NES games again, but there's an extremely small fraction of a percentage of the game playing population that has the skills and dedication to hack together a 100 disc changer playstation.

While we're pipedreaming about something we'll never be able to do, why don't we try to program our Lego Mind Storms to open the playstation lid, remove the disc, and replace it with another game of our choice? It'd probably be an easier project.

Seriously, if the end goal is just to keep from having to get off your rump and swap the disc, an HTPC loaded with SSSPSX is really the only reasonable solution that 99.9999999% of us will ever have.

[CosmicMonkey]

I'm not sure anything software wise would have to be done with the PSX, would it? Tricking it to think the lid's closed is petty, and wiring something into the remote to cut/engage power should be simple enough.

Thinking about it, you're right. Getting an on screen display would be cool, but never happening. You'd still need custom fimware for the CD changer though. So when you press the change disk button, it 'opens' the PSX lid switch, the CD changer does it's thing and goes to the next disk and then the PSX lid switch is 'closed'.

Maybe this is a do-able project? What sort of language is your standard CD player firmware programmed in?

[Diatribal Deity]

Sure, you could do it with ePSXe. For that matter, why replace 72 pin adapters when you can just run an emulator? And really, most of what Ben Heck's done can be duplicated by a GP32 and a stack of emulators ...

Where was I. Oh yeah. I'm not sure anything software wise would have to be done with the PSX, would it? Tricking it to think the lid's closed is petty, and wiring something into the remote to cut/engage power should be simple enough.

There's a big difference between repairing a unit to make it work (replacing a 72 pin adaptor) and creating an uber dream mod (multidisc playstation cd swapper). While I love what Ben Heck has done (some amazing work), it's far outside the realm of what people with even moderate electronics knowledge are capable of. Let's face it, Joe-Blow-off-the-street can swap a 72 pin adaptor can play his NES games again, but there's an extremely small fraction of a percentage of the game playing population that has the skills and dedication to hack together a 100 disc changer playstation.

While we're pipedreaming about something we'll never be able to do, why don't we try to program our Lego Mind Storms to open the playstation lid, remove the disc, and replace it with another game of our choice? It'd probably be an easier project.

Seriously, if the end goal is just to keep from having to get off your rump and swap the disc, an HTPC loaded with SSSPSX is really the only reasonable solution that 99.9999999% of us will ever have.

Who invited the wet blanket carrying the half empty glass?

I say go for it....at the very least it'll be a learning experience. Plus I have faith that you guys are more tech savvy than most.

[Cryomancer]

Someday I wanna try and make a Dreamcast jukebox.

/me throws gas onto the idea fire

[Ed Oscuro]

You'd still need custom fimware for the CD changer though. So when you press the change disk button, it 'opens' the PSX lid switch, the CD changer does it's thing and goes to the next disk and then the PSX lid switch is 'closed'.
No, you probably wouldn't need custom firmware or chips for some of this, but hell if I know if that would make it easier. The lid sensor probably would be doable if you could get a switch behind the door and ignored the circuitry already dedicated to opening the door, closing it, and determing its position (which is probably in the drive mechanism ANYWAY), and just ran a wire from that back to the PSX. In other words, take a button, dremel out part of the case, and run a cord back. Messy, but I don't see how you could reverse engineer the drive; even with plans you'd probably be dealing with components too small and precise to hack up.

As for the changer itself, well, my fear is that the hardware running the LCD would throw a fit if it didn't get track time data from the drive, since you aren't letting the CD-changer itself get any data from the PSX disc (or at least you shouldn't, maybe there's something I don't know about the PSX).

Using the CD-changer's S-video out is also silly. What, how are you going to hook up the video? More hacking up of hardware needed, and you're better off using the PlayStation's own S-video out.

In my view, this would be a monster. Short-circuited LCD screen on the front, wires and ribbons running to an opened-up PlayStation, and more fun to be had. @_@

[dan2357]

The only part of the changer you need is the rotating disc holder, disc tray, and case.
Disconnect the changers laser(lens) whatever its called, Move the one from your playstation in to its place.
Now when a disc is changed, the changer unit is nolonger reading disc, it will say no disc on the lcd, but your playstation will read it. add serval small pieces of plastic like the one on the top lid of ps1 to the carosel(sp) (spinning thing that holds disc) and have them replicated the opening and closeing of the lid when it spins,
then have another button on the remote, maybe one for volume, or another thing that changes power, trip the power on the ps1 for loadding new games, and not disc 2 of a game.
extend the controller ports to front, av to back, and your good to go.

Or you can skip the little pieces of plastic to controll lid, and power trip, and just move those buttons to the front of the changer, Then sit with a long stick next to you and just reach and press which ever option you need.

[DeputyMoniker]

I bet it would be easier to do it with a TG-CD because those things were really basic CD drives. As for the PSX, you should look into the speed & other specs of the PSX & 100 disc drives. Random access and spin speed will be important.

[slapdash]

Someday I wanna try and make a Dreamcast jukebox.

The cool thing here is that there were, I believe, under 300 DC discs in the US, possibly including demos too, so you could fit them ALL in one of those 300-disc "mini-fridge" units. It's a lot bigger than just a DC, but it would all be there in one unit.

Of course, you could get a 600-disc jukebox wheel if you wanted to put more discs in, but that would potentially cost a bit more...

[Quackaddict]

So....anyone up for the Pepsi challange?

[DogP]

It doesn't seem like it'd be that hard... considering the CD changers that I've seen don't actually move the CD drive at all, just the laser on the track, and the arm/wheel brings the disc to the player... I'd hook the PS1 lid switch to a switch that is open when the player is selecting a disc, and closed when the disc is ready (the PS1 has to know when to start to look for a disc, unless you're planning to do it through the menu of an action replay). I'd then use the CD changer remote to select which disc to stick in the playing position, and rig the play button to reset the system.

It'd use two completely independent systems only linked by a few wires and switches to control the PS1 through the disc changer remote.

I don't have any spare time to mess with it, nor do I have any spare PS1s or disc changers, but if someone really wanted it done, it'd be doable. Even easier would be an xbox, since you could just hook up an IDE DVD changer to that and play all games off DVD-Rs... but why, when you can play them off the Hard Drive :P .

DogP

[rbudrick]

I think the Lego Mindstorm idea is the best idea yet. Get a 100 disc CD changer, program a Lego arm to open the PSX, hit the disc you want on the changer, eject CD, grab the CD, then place it in the PSX and close it. This could be done via an added infra-red sensor and one of those programmable-for-anything IR remotes. A little programming knowledge for the mechanix of the Lego shit and a harness to keep all of the stuff in one place is the rest that's needed. No need to reinvent the wheel like some folks are talking about.

-Rob