X Station PS1 ODE

[cr4zymanz0r]

So, did this just come out of nowhere? I can't find info about it https://twitter.com/Voultar/status/1287955371534036993

[Kez]

It was teased a while ago. Haven't seen or heard much about it since then, though.

[Gunstar]

Really interested in hearing more about the compatibility percentage. Looking forward to Voultar's vid

[daty2k1]

It's apparently good enough that games which are problematic on PSIO are working flawlessly on X-Station so it should be pretty good.

[dryja123]

I’m just hoping that the price is reasonable. Those ESP MCUs are super cheap.

[cave hermit]

Man, I literally just bought a PSIO. Well hopefully a little friendly competition will get Cybdyn to improve their firmware a bit more.

[PixelPhoenix]

Well this is very exciting- can't wait to hear more!

[nmalinoski]

While I think the PSIO will still be applicable to people who develop homebrew for the PS1 (Being able to load code over USB is quite neat), the X-Station, especially if it doesn't require soldering, will greatly eat into sales from people buying the PSIO mainly to play games.

[fernan1234]

Man, I literally just bought a PSIO. Well hopefully a little friendly competition will get Cybdyn to improve their firmware a bit more.

They do seem to be working more intensely and transparently on it, perhaps "coincidentally" soon after the new ODE was announced (and Cybdyn also showed their own prototype ODE in response).

Sometimes it does feel like they tried to reinvent the wheel so much with the code over the past year that they may not be able to get themselves out of some of the incompatibility/inaccuracy swamps that have been plaguing PSIO during that time. Hopefully they do sort everything out for the sake of PSIO users though, even if better alternatives are coming out.

[PixelDharma]

I take it this just replaces the disc drive completely...?

I do love that PSIO keeps disc-reading functionality. It's apparently at the cost of compatibility, but I do like where their heart was at with that...

[cr4zymanz0r]

Looks like it does replace the CD drive https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... 4364988419
If compatibility is as good as true ODEs for other systems (perfect or nearly perfect) then I consider that acceptable. PS1s are cheap enough to get a secondary one for disc drive usage if needed for some reason.

[fernan1234]

Removing the disc drive is unfortunate. It's always good to have it in place and ready to fall back on in case of incompatibilities or inaccuracies in the ODE.

The Cybdyn ODE is supposed to be an inline install that leaves the original drive in place, so it would be superior in that regard at least.

[fernan1234]

Removing the disc drive is unfortunate. It's always good to have it in place and ready to fall back on in case of incompatibilities or inaccuracies in the ODE.

The Cybdyn ODE is supposed to be an inline install that leaves the original drive in place (this is what any ODE should aspire to do), so it would be superior in that regard at least.

[PixelDharma]

Looks like it does replace the CD drive https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... 4364988419
If compatibility is as good as true ODEs for other systems (perfect or nearly perfect) then I consider that acceptable. PS1s are cheap enough to get a secondary one for disc drive usage if needed for some reason.

That's true. It's a cinch to find a second PS1 with a busted drive drive and use that for this ODE. But I don't really want to have two PS1s on my shelf to do both...

Removing the disc drive is unfortunate. It's always good to have it in place and ready to fall back on in case of incompatibilities or inaccuracies in the ODE.

The Cybdyn ODE is supposed to be an inline install that leaves the original drive in place, so it would be superior in that regard at least.

Well then, Cybdyn still has my attention. Hopefully their true ODE has full compatibility, better than the old PSIO.

[PixelPhoenix]

So it looks like it's compatible with everything up to the PU-18 (SCPH-550X) models.

https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... 51651?s=19

[fernan1234]

I've always thought that the 5000/550X models are the ideal models, and this just adds another reason to the list.

[cr4zymanz0r]

So it looks like it's compatible with everything up to the PU-18 (SCPH-550X) models.

https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... 51651?s=19

*sprints to game room* phew, SCPH-5501.

As far as removing disc drives for ODEs, it's never been a huge deal to me. I assume doing would add additional complexity to the ODE and in some systems just lack of physical space for both. The only times i really care about a working optical drive in a system that has a solid ODE is:
a.) Just wanting to test a new game I got in (but for most systems I can just put it in my PC to rip the disc to put on the ODE, which is good enough testing for me)
b.) If I do encounter a potential compatibility issue with the ODE and want to test against an original disc.

Both of those are infrequent and don't require me to always have a second console hooked up with an optical drive. On rare occasion it just has me pulling a spare system out of the closet to hook up to test for a few minutes. Maybe some people get more nostalgic satisfaction than me for physically inserting a disc. I somewhat do with carts, but not in particular with discs. All these optical drives are going to die someday long before cartridge slots.

[opt2not]

I’m still holding onto hope that a PSOne ODE will be made.

[PixelDharma]

So it looks like it's compatible with everything up to the PU-18 (SCPH-550X) models.

https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... 51651?s=19

*sprints to game room* phew, SCPH-5501.

As far as removing disc drives for ODEs, it's never been a huge deal to me. I assume doing would add additional complexity to the ODE and in some systems just lack of physical space for both. The only times i really care about a working optical drive in a system that has a solid ODE is:
a.) Just wanting to test a new game I got in (but for most systems I can just put it in my PC to rip the disc to put on the ODE, which is good enough testing for me)
b.) If I do encounter a potential compatibility issue with the ODE and want to test against an original disc.

Both of those are infrequent and don't require me to always have a second console hooked up with an optical drive. On rare occasion it just has me pulling a spare system out of the closet to hook up to test for a few minutes. Maybe some people get more nostalgic satisfaction than me for physically inserting a disc. I somewhat do with carts, but not in particular with discs. All these optical drives are going to die someday long before cartridge slots.

^ Good musings on the topic that I appreciate. I guess my feeling on this comes down to thinking that any mod that removes any functionality is not the ideal. Even if you can rip any disc you come across, or you have a full set of ISOs loaded up... it's still kind of sad that a PS1 can't play a PS1 disc. I want one PS1 that does it all.

[Gunstar]

FAQ from the Classic Gaming Discord server.

General
Q: Who are the creators of XStation?
A: I'm (rama) is the designer and @8BitModsThanos is helping and coordinating.

Q: Where can I buy it?
A: XStations board sales will be from Castlemania Games only.
8BitMods will not offer the board directly as they are busy with Fenrir, the upcoming 21-pin Fenrir, and others.

Q: Who will be offering installation services or pre-modded consoles?
A: There is no exclusivity on install services so the list will be large. 8BitMods will be offering installs and pre-modded systems. In the US, Voultar and iFixRetro will also offer installations.

Q: What is the price and release date for XStation?
A: Price and release date are TBD and yet to be announced. Estimated to be under $100 and around September in time for the @citrus3000psi's ps1digital mod.

Q: What models of PlayStation can I install XStation?
A: Every PSX model up to and including PU-18 which includes Japanese launch units, through early SPCH-70xx. It does not support PSOne or any newer models.

Q: What special features does XStation have?
A: XStation is region free and anti-modchip protection is integrated. Chris Covell's de-dither option will also be toggled. 50/60 hz output is automatic.

Q: How are multi-disc games handled?
A: You can change to the next disc by opening and closing the lid. It's yet to be determined if this functionality can also be added to ps1digital's in game reset (IGR) feature.

Q: What compatibility problems are anticipated?
A: None. This should work identically to the CD drive with the same timings.

Q: What are the current known defects remaining?
A: Roswell Conspiracies, and Wing Commander IV freezes at the end of the intro. These are both being researched and expected to be resolved.


FIRMWARE
Q: How will firmware updates be handled?
A: No registration necessary, unless it gets cloned. No registration necessary for updates. It is transferable, you can also roll back FW if needed. XStation won't hold any personal information. The sellers will, for shipping purposes only. All user data is private and not shared or released to the public.

Q: Can i update the firmware from WiFi?
A: Firmware can be updated from SD card at first, but it's planned to support updates over WiFi later.


INSTALLATION
Q: How difficult is the mod?
A: It is primarily soldering a quick solder board (QSB) in place, and connecting with the XStation via a single flat flex cable There are some pins that need to be lifted or snipped from the DSP chip.

Q: Can I keep existing modchips?
A: Any modchips must be removed.

Q: Does it require cutting any traces?
A: No traces are cut but pins need to be lifted from the DSP chip.

Q: Can the CD drive still be used with the xStation installed?
A: No, the xStation will replace the drive but the tray will remain.

Q: Is there a detailed installation guide?
A: Voultar will release a video over the next few days and it will become clear what the process entails.

Well done rama! This all sounds amazing.

50/60hz is mentioned but not sure if it would be using a dual frequency oscillator crystal?

[fernan1234]

Q: Can I keep existing modchips?
A: Any modchips must be removed.

What about the PSIO switchboard? I imagine that the audience for this ODE and people who already use PSIO are largely overlapping.

[nmalinoski]

Q: Can I keep existing modchips?
A: Any modchips must be removed.

What about the PSIO switchboard? I imagine that the audience for this ODE and people who already use PSIO are largely overlapping.

The switchboard shouldn't have any impact; its default is to keep the original routes intact until activated by a PSIO in the parallel port.

[Bassa-Bassa]

50/60hz is mentioned but not sure if it would be using a dual frequency oscillator crystal?

That's a good question. Do you guys think it'd be possible to get exact PS1 NTSC timings on PAL consoles (instead of the weird 59.2 you get now without the specific mod) or chances are that this subject will be overlooked given that this a US product?

[PearlJammzz]

There are plenty of broken PS1's on eBay or even locally that are like 15-20 bucks that you can save, clean up, mod, etc. With so many PS1's out there with broken optical drives I don't see the harm in revitalizing one of them by using an ODE.

[Harrumph]

...get exact PS1 NTSC timings on PAL consoles (instead of the weird 59.2 you get now without the specific mod) or chances are that this subject will be overlooked given that this a US product?

It’s not a US product, Rama is german and 8bitmods is from the UK.
In any case, having DFO functionality in this board seems a bit complicated as I presume it must then be connected to more points on the mobo, and the present crystal needs to be disconnected. Granted, I’m no hardware wiz, but I’d guess it would be a non-trivial thing to add (as well as increasing cost).

[PixelPhoenix]

Well done rama! This all sounds amazing.

Superb! Now I'm really anticipating that Voultar video. 550X models are relatively cheap at the moment, too. Better snatch one up when you can because I wouldn't count on those 700X being PU-18.

[TooBeaucoup]

Funny to see the PSIO creator on Twitter yesterday, already trying to lowkey sh1t on the XStation... Dude is such a fkin baby!

[Bassa-Bassa]

...get exact PS1 NTSC timings on PAL consoles (instead of the weird 59.2 you get now without the specific mod) or chances are that this subject will be overlooked given that this a US product?

It’s not a US product, Rama is german and 8bitmods is from the UK.

I assumed that because the only seller mentioned is based in the US. Has it been said who will be selling it in Europe?

In any case, having DFO functionality in this board seems a bit complicated as I presume it must then be connected to more points on the mobo, and the present crystal needs to be disconnected. Granted, I’m no hardware wiz, but I’d guess it would be a non-trivial thing to add (as well as increasing cost).

Doesn't sound good, then. The issue doesn't seem to be known enough to get some interest by ODE devs, either, sadly. What's a good seller to get a couple of cheap NTSC PS1s in euro zone, these days?

[NormalFish]

having to lift/snip pins is unfortunate. guess I'll wait to see the price.

[RoboArmy]

This is something I'll be eagerly awaiting for. Well done Rama! PSIO was kind of a bummer.