A/V PSX standard skipping sound problem

[Niku-Sama]

alright i am curious as to what would be the best way to fix the skipping sound on a first run PSX with the direct A/V out (3 rca's on the back).

should i adjust it or should i replace it with a new laser module from a newer PSX

[Gameguy]

Does it work fine if you turn the console upside down? I had to do this with one that wouldn't even play a game unless I did this, at least you'd know if it was caused by the laser assembly or if it's some other problem.

I'm not sure if you can just take a laser from a newer console, I'm pretty sure each model used a different laser so you can't just swap them unless they're the same type. I've heard you can use the same lasers from the PSOne but you need to alter it to fit. Or you can buy new lasers online.

[Niku-Sama]

i dont have to hold it upside down but at an angle fixes it.

i've read about that PSone lasers will swap with it with a minor change to the assembly housing but it plugs in the same, i would wonder why the first run and the last run would share the same pin out and the ones in the middle would not but they have done some stranger things. either way these with the A/V direct out seem to hold the most value because of their sound quality and standard PSX's are a dime a dozen right now so much that i have been picking up lots of 4 or more for less than $20 bucks shipped and often find them at the as is store for under $5 so i could swap but i donno.... adjust and keep origonal hardware or swap.

i like keeping things how they are if at all possible

[APE992]

Swap the laser, problem solved.

My personal 1001 uses a laser unit from a 101.

[Gameguy]

i dont have to hold it upside down but at an angle fixes it.

i've read about that PSone lasers will swap with it with a minor change to the assembly housing but it plugs in the same, i would wonder why the first run and the last run would share the same pin out and the ones in the middle would not but they have done some stranger things. either way these with the A/V direct out seem to hold the most value because of their sound quality and standard PSX's are a dime a dozen right now so much that i have been picking up lots of 4 or more for less than $20 bucks shipped and often find them at the as is store for under $5 so i could swap but i donno.... adjust and keep origonal hardware or swap.

i like keeping things how they are if at all possible

Just to be clear the problem then isn't with the laser itself but with the assembly, the ones in the 1001 systems are made of cheap plastic and wear out so the laser can't move across it properly anymore. I have read somewhere someone fixing the original assembly by taking it apart and gluing metal strips over the worn plastic so the laser moves evenly again, I'm not sure where I read it though at the moment.

The lasers themselves might actually work from all consoles, but they changed the shape of the assemblies for different models. The original system and the PSone have the laser in the same location, apparently you just have to change the plate on top of the assembly and they fit in. The location of the lasers for the other model systems are in a different location, I'm not sure if those would fit into place on the original systems or if they'd have the ribbon cables in the same spot so they'd plug in fine once installed in place.

[Niku-Sama]

yea i found the repair guide online and i am thinking of doing that, soda cans should be enough and if properly lubed would last a long time longer.

i'm probably going to do the repair instead of the replace....unless i can get a good deal on a a bunch of lens assemblies that have a metal guide instead of the plastic one....

the reason i say this is because 3 out of 7 (or more i cant remember how many i have) A/V PSX systems wont read any thing at all untill i stand them on their sides and when i stand them up on theior side it still stutters 1 system doesent stutter when i stand it on its side but stutters laying down normally and 3 of them havent been tested yet.... not to mension that i might have more of them in a box.

i'm still uncovering systems i forgot i had because i'm just now getting to the point where i can get them out of storage back into the house we bought in november. i pulled a box out that had 6 PSX systems, 4 of them were 1001 the others were newer and i see another box that says it has a saturn a green N64 and 2 more PSX's, plus the ones i have in the origonal boxes, plus the ones i used to fill in gaps in with other game stuff while i was packing and didnt label them all....moving sucks god knows what else i have in the storage unit. i should unpack it all line it up against a wall and take a few pics... i think i still have more toasters than PSX/PS1 though

good thing the average price paid for these playstations is $4 a bare system cables and controllers are any where from $1 to $3 if a few get lost its meh

[Niku-Sama]

have had some success!
the gist of it is that i swapped a lens from a SCPH-7501 made Nov '98 with a SCPH-1001 made Aug '96 and it worked, it booted and read games theres just a bit of extra ribbon cable that you need to tuck out of the way and adjust bias and gain to the new lens. i got lucky on bias and gain the first try it didnt take much..... but then i turned the sound on and the sound on this system was one i had forgot had gone out, it just makes high pitched beeps....so crap i take it apart.

but thats when i notice when i take another SCHP-1001 from July '96 apart that its got a different laser assembly from that of the Aug '96 and i go check and they are both KSM 440-ACM modules except the Aug '96 is a metal one. no sence in wasting a good working SCPH-7501 i put that one back in test and its working fine, love the auto gain and bias in the newer system and i then swap the lens from the Aug '96 SCPH 1001 to the Jul '96 SCPH 1001

after swapping it into the drive, aligning up the gear snap on top and clicking it on and screwing the cover down with the metal assembly in the origonal carrage i stick it in and it starts to click. gears are skipping, pull it back out and try to fix the gears and one breaks off. so crap. the spindle motor on the Aug '96 has reversed polarity to the Jul '96 spindle so i have to take the spindle motor worm gear and lens assembly and swap it over to the Aug '96 carrage with good gears but bad sound and then use that carrage with all the swaped parts in the Jul '96 system.

got it all, got it working, no skipping gears, just clicking from the spindle motor. long story short and an hour of adjusting bias and gain and re-aliging every thing several times over its working. I adjusted the gain a little higher too and it boots a little faster now aswell.

so remember when swapping to a SCPH 1001 to adjust bias and gain if its not spinning up, even if its from one 1001 to another.


I thought it was odd that Aug '96 system had reversed polarity than that of the Jul '96 and even the SCPH 7501 (i used it as a test to see if something was fried) the Aug '96 system spindle motor and worm gear would only work in that system but the Jul '96 and SCPH 7501 worked in each other. its worth noting that the white wire on the Aug '96 SCPH 1001 was on oppisite sides than that of the other systems and the ends of the connectors were green instead of white like all the rest i have ever dealt with

at the same time though the Aug '96 had the metal lens assembly (440-ACM) but the Jul '96 had the older plastic one.

did they ever ship with metal assemblies or were they just available as a replacment?

also i did notice theres alot of noise comming off of the PSU in both SCPH 1001 systems, EMI noise. i can hear it when i get close to the system and put my ear up to it but i also hear it over the speakers when i have the volume cranked. is there a way to fix it? is it time for caps?

any way at the time i have a no skipping working SCPH 1001 system by swapping parts all arround from July 1996 and it still sounds better with the EMI than the 7501 system from Nov 1998