X Station PS1 ODE

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RuffNEC
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by RuffNEC »

Kez wrote:Okay, I tested this out and it worked fine for me.
In XStation menu:
Press O for Multidisc on Disc 1 of Star Wars RA2
Press O on Disc 2
Now the discs have a "1" and "2" next to them
Press X for done, then X again for fast load.

Then I booted the game, entered a passcode, tried to play level 15 and was prompted to change disc.
Opened tray, closed tray and then it checked the new "disc" and everything worked.

I tried it with full load as well and that also worked.

Do you have a PSDigital?
hi, thx for testing also. No I don't have a PSD installed just xstation via RGB Cable out.

Could this be a cold solder point on my Xstation installation or where could be the error located?
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Kez
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Kez »

Hmm.. very strange. It's possible that it's an installation issue but it is a weird way for it to manifest. I would investigate the lid switch further, maybe that is intermittent. Try holding the lid closed to see if it makes any difference, or manually actuating the lid switch with something.
On the BIOS screen for example, if you boot with the lid open and then close it, does it consistently then load the XStation menu?
You can also try making sure you have the latest firmware.

Also have you verified that the second disc actually works? Have you tried for example booting disc 2 and then switching to disc 1.
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RuffNEC
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by RuffNEC »

Kez wrote:Hmm.. very strange. It's possible that it's an installation issue but it is a weird way for it to manifest. I would investigate the lid switch further, maybe that is intermittent. Try holding the lid closed to see if it makes any difference, or manually actuating the lid switch with something.
On the BIOS screen for example, if you boot with the lid open and then close it, does it consistently then load the XStation menu?
You can also try making sure you have the latest firmware.

Also have you verified that the second disc actually works? Have you tried for example booting disc 2 and then switching to disc 1.
I'm sorry didn't test it enough its most dev. the LID switch. When they CD Tray is open it also directly starts into the Xstation Menu. Only if I take out the SD Card it gets to the Bios.
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Kez
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Kez »

So for some reason your lid switch is always showing "closed". Either the switch itself has failed short, or perhaps if a modder installed this they deliberately bridged the pins for some reason.
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RuffNEC
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by RuffNEC »

Kez wrote:So for some reason your lid switch is always showing "closed". Either the switch itself has failed short, or perhaps if a modder installed this they deliberately bridged the pins for some reason.
it seems that the Lidswitch has been soldered for a Magic Swap Trick. I didn't know that before :(
jeffez
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by jeffez »

jeffez wrote:
Kez wrote:The short answer is yes, a DFO will fix that problem.

The games aren't running at 50hz. The vertical refresh is a multiple of the crystal which is different between PAL and NTSC machines. When playing NTSC games, the PS1 is in NTSC 'mode' but the crystal is very slightly slower, resulting in 59.28hz instead of 59.82hz. For most games this isn't a big deal but rhythm games are affected.
Thanks that's great to know. I might get a DFO anyway as they look like a cheap and fairly easy install.
Got a DFO from http://www.consolesunleashed.com. Works well and auto switches between PAL/NTSC depending on the game region. Also got the X-Reset mod. Both very cheap and easy to install. X-Reset doesn't even require any extra wires but is only for X-Station and PSIO consoles.
thchardcore
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by thchardcore »

Maka8295 wrote:Sorry if this isn't appropriate to post here, but I have a favor I would like to ask of anyone that owns a 55xx console and X-Station. Would you be able to try the Japanese version of Alundra and see if there is a strange visual glitch that happens on the top 1/8 ish of the screen when moving horizontally? I'm trying to find out what's causing it, it may be a compatibility issue with the game and certain revisions of the PS1. Its reproducible on all my revisions of the PS2 but I don't have anything other than a PU20 PS1 to test with.

Thanks!!! Any help at all would be very much appreciated! :)
I have this issue with the US version as well.
A camel is a horse designed by a committee
Maka8295
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Maka8295 »

thchardcore wrote:
Maka8295 wrote:Sorry if this isn't appropriate to post here, but I have a favor I would like to ask of anyone that owns a 55xx console and X-Station. Would you be able to try the Japanese version of Alundra and see if there is a strange visual glitch that happens on the top 1/8 ish of the screen when moving horizontally? I'm trying to find out what's causing it, it may be a compatibility issue with the game and certain revisions of the PS1. Its reproducible on all my revisions of the PS2 but I don't have anything other than a PU20 PS1 to test with.

Thanks!!! Any help at all would be very much appreciated! :)
I have this issue with the US version as well.
Are you playing on a SCPH-700X unit? The glitch doesn't happen on emulator. I have a MiSTer coming in the mail, so I'll try the game on the PS1 core and see if the glitch is present. I have a feeling that its a compatibility issue with newer revisions of the PS1. From what I understand, starting from the PU-20 board there was a change in the GPU.
thchardcore
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by thchardcore »

5501. I still have my chipped 9XXX unit and original disc, so I will see if it does it on both.
A camel is a horse designed by a committee
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TooBeaucoup
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by TooBeaucoup »

I just checked the Japanese version of Alundra on my 5501, PU-18, motherboard rev 1-664-537-52.

Runing my PS1 via RGB into the Tink5X.

I had noticeable screen tearing at 720p, 1080p (Fill), 1080p (Under) and 1080p (Min Lag). It was, by far, the worst, and most noticeable in these modes.

I didn't have any screen tearing when running 1080p (Over). I would assume the overscan is hiding enough of the top rows of pixels, so if it's there, you're not seeing it.

On 1200p, I had screen tearing at the top, maybe once every ten seconds, and it was like, the very top row of pixels, I'm talking about a millimeter line of pixels. So miniscule, and infrequent, you wouldn't even notice it if someone hadn't asked you to test and specifically look for it. I'd never have noticed.

I tried all of these in frame lock and triple buffer, with the same result.
Maka8295
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Maka8295 »

Thank you both for the replies :) I just tried alundra JP on my mister and the problem was there too. I might try other bios versions and see if that does anything. But it's probably something inherent to the game that they expected to be hidden with overscan, strange that it doesn't manifest on emulator though!
VajSkids Consoles
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by VajSkids Consoles »

jeffez wrote:
jeffez wrote:
Kez wrote:The short answer is yes, a DFO will fix that problem.

The games aren't running at 50hz. The vertical refresh is a multiple of the crystal which is different between PAL and NTSC machines. When playing NTSC games, the PS1 is in NTSC 'mode' but the crystal is very slightly slower, resulting in 59.28hz instead of 59.82hz. For most games this isn't a big deal but rhythm games are affected.
Thanks that's great to know. I might get a DFO anyway as they look like a cheap and fairly easy install.
Got a DFO from http://www.consolesunleashed.com. Works well and auto switches between PAL/NTSC depending on the game region. Also got the X-Reset mod. Both very cheap and easy to install. X-Reset doesn't even require any extra wires but is only for X-Station and PSIO consoles.
I haven't really shared this around since devving

I put these in all my premod consoles before fleabay removed them (the bastards).. now sitting on a small pile of xstations that aren't going anywhere!


https://github.com/L10N37/PSXTAL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwzDXiDBSfw

It's literally a few dollars worth of off the shelf parts (well, because i purchase in bulk)

You need a nano / nano clone
SI5351 clock board

Perfect accuracy, have tested on many many sets.
My 3FO version for later models (where the sub carrier is separate and not step locked to the GPU clock) i have one set that doesn't like PAL mode (Toshiba bomba flat screen on S-video) but for xstation models, these are fine.

Recently done an install for someone in the UK using my real xtal version / PCB as he didn't trust clock board due to DFO not being accurate enough for his set. He wants composite for dithering... he will have that console back soon (it's in the post).
Actually wrote a new version ..well it was mainly a quick hack up... for autoswitching.

More install photos on my twitter @vajskid
Changed the original install method and now use 2 harnesses made from heat shrink. Super neat.


OOOH YEAH, its in game reset as well! short and long - all genuine controllers supported / tested
jd213
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by jd213 »

Looks like PU-7 and early PU-8 boards are now compatible as of the xLoader version released back in June.

Anyone try one yet? I've got a partially broken NTSC-J launch model (SCPH-1000) that could possibly be restored with an X-Station.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by evil_ash_xero »

I am interested in getting this ODE, but I'm pretty in the dark about it.
Can it be installed on a PSIO modded console?
Also, the PSIO had audio issues, specifically clipping with some games.

Does the XStation have any known clipping issues, or any other issues that I should be aware of? Do updates come often?
The PSIO starts too slow, for my taste, and they never update the thing.
jd213
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by jd213 »

I've never had a PSIO but everyone seems to say that the X-Station has better compatibility.

My X-Station used to occasionally stutter on some redbook audio but it cleared up once I got a better SD card (specifically a SanDisk 128GB Extreme for Mobile Gaming microSD UHS-I Card - C10, U3, V30, 4K, A2, Micro SD - SDSQXA1-128G-GN6GN).

There's also the Picostation open source ODE which is in development, so you may want to see how it turns out.
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evil_ash_xero
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by evil_ash_xero »

jd213 wrote:I've never had a PSIO but everyone seems to say that the X-Station has better compatibility.

My X-Station used to occasionally stutter on some redbook audio but it cleared up once I got a better SD card (specifically a SanDisk 128GB Extreme for Mobile Gaming microSD UHS-I Card - C10, U3, V30, 4K, A2, Micro SD - SDSQXA1-128G-GN6GN).

There's also the Picostation open source ODE which is in development, so you may want to see how it turns out.
Picostation? I'll have to look into that.

Has there ever been any word on a PS2 ODE? I know that the people that made the PSIO were working on one (ha!), but has anyone else? That hard drive soft mod isn't the greatest alternative.

Also, does the X-Station work well with the Memcard Pro? I remember hearing you didn't have to switch cards (with the buttons) on the Pro, with the X-Station. That would simplify things. As I tend to forget
what I have on what "card".
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Triple Lei
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Triple Lei »

evil_ash_xero wrote: Also, does the X-Station work well with the Memcard Pro? I remember hearing you didn't have to switch cards (with the buttons) on the Pro, with the X-Station. That would simplify things. As I tend to forget
what I have on what "card".
It works well enough for me... mostly. I mean, it saves and loads just fine and all, but one of the features was that for each game it's supposed to automatically create and switch to its own individual virtual memory card (specifically, page 1 of 8 of a game-specific virtual memory card channel). At least two of my games refuse to make their own unique memory cards: the Japanese versions of Tekken and Ridge Racer, which instead save to the first generic virtual memory card. And I don't know how to fix that.

Again, in the long-term, probably doesn't matter. It's still automatic and you're still not having to think about anything if you don't care exactly where your save is stored on the micro SD card. Those games only need one block each, after all. But for me, it's another thing I have to keep in my head, and what if there are enough "troublesome" games that it spills into a second generic virtual card? Then I might have to get up out of my seat and push the button on the card to switch, like an animal. I can't seem to manually make and rename memory cards specifically for those two games that the ODE will switch to either, even with the confusing (but probably useful) Wi-Fi functionality.

The other would-be fly in the ointment (now solved) is being able to find one particular save among the thousands of pages of virtual memory cards for backup purposes. Personally I'd still like to backup saves from my MemCard Pro to a real memory card, to then backup to either my PS3 or PC via DexDrive. The solution I really like (because it uses the actual PlayStation memory card screen instead of the XStation one) was brought up in a recent RetroRGB Q&A:
  1. MemCard Pro in Slot 1, other memory card in Slot 2
  2. Select the game in XStation (I don't think you actually need to start it); this is what creates the game's virtual memory card
  3. Power off and open the CD lid
  4. Power back on and you'll be taken to the Memory Card / CD Player screen
  5. MemCard Pro will still be on the memory card of your last game at this point so you could do whatever you need to do
All that being said, I don't regret getting a MemCard Pro, and you'll be better off getting one now than when I got mine; Castlemania sez, "In this latest hardware revision (HW3) there is no longer the need for a PS2 modification for the MemCard PRO to function. Simply plug in, load your favourite PS1 game and enjoy!"
jd213
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by jd213 »

evil_ash_xero wrote:
Has there ever been any word on a PS2 ODE? I know that the people that made the PSIO were working on one (ha!), but has anyone else? That hard drive soft mod isn't the greatest alternative.
There's the MC2SIO/MX4SIO adapter that lets you load games through the memory card slot.
https://www.retrorgb.com/playing-ps2-ga ... -card.html

Haven't tried it yet but I'm guessing a phat+HDD has better compatibility.

Not sure if something better will ever come along.
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Kez
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Kez »

X-Station is the gold standard imo currently. It is continually being worked on and improved, and I doubt anything else comes close in terms of accuracy right now. The picostation has a lot of potential, and I love open source stuff but is still quite early in development so will have a lot of catching up to do!

Memcard Pro does work well with X-Station. The way it works is the game "disc" itself presents has an ID in the master and the X-Station is able to send to the Memcard Pro to automatically generate a new set of cards for that game. However, some games (mostly earlier ones I think) do not correctly provide this ID so the mechanism cannot work - that's why Triple Lei has that problem with some early Japanese games. Realistically there are unlikely to be enough games doing that to even fill up one memory card.. and they will always load the same one anyway so it's not much of an issue.
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768peeistrash
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by 768peeistrash »

I love the holiday theme from the latest loader update :D
jd213
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by jd213 »

jd213 wrote:Looks like PU-7 and early PU-8 boards are now compatible as of the xLoader version released back in June.

Anyone try one yet? I've got a partially broken NTSC-J launch model (SCPH-1000) that could possibly be restored with an X-Station.
Answering my own question (guess I should check Rama's Twitter more often, don't really want to create a Twitter account though):
https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... z8u9osAAAA

Looks like it mostly works, there's no QSB yet but there might be one made for the PicoStation that will work.
jd213
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by jd213 »

Not sure if this deserves its own thread yet since it's still in the prototype phase, but apparently Rama is working on a solderless "mStation" that will work with more (all?) models:
https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... 0755703808

Saw this tweet when it first came out but I must've skimmed over it and not realized what it was.
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Lux
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Lux »

Still some work to do apparently but if it's solderless and not too expensive (in comparison with the cost of an Xstation + install), then I might be in.

https://twitter.com/_ramapcsx2/status/1 ... 0214417856
Frosal
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Frosal »

Cool. Anyone know what happened to the Picostation project? It seems dead at the moment...
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Lux
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by Lux »

The guy posted this on February but looks like other people carried on with the project, I'm not sure.

https://twitter.com/paulo7x8/status/1628737032012042241
tongshadow
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by tongshadow »

Frosal wrote: Tue Oct 03, 2023 8:26 pm Cool. Anyone know what happened to the Picostation project? It seems dead at the moment...
Still very primitive, and it virtually runs nothing. It has to be better than the PSIO (which is a very LOW bar) to be of any utility.
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kitty666cats
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by kitty666cats »

tongshadow wrote: Tue Oct 03, 2023 11:06 pm
Frosal wrote: Tue Oct 03, 2023 8:26 pm Cool. Anyone know what happened to the Picostation project? It seems dead at the moment...
Still very primitive, and it virtually runs nothing. It has to be better than the PSIO (which is a very LOW bar) to be of any utility.
I'm so sad I got a PSIO a couple years before X-Station came out, haha. Can't be arsed to sell it and get an X-Station set up, it's such a pain how you have to pair your serial number to an email address & all sorts of other jazz, makes re-selling it a enormous hassle. I know it's open source now (or something like that?), but I assume it's still a headache.
SavagePencil
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by SavagePencil »

No, the person who was about to make software that was PSIO compatible but open source got cold feet (or threat-of-lawyer-induced cold feet) and PSIO could breathe a sigh of relief and continue not releasing any updates.
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kitty666cats
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by kitty666cats »

Ah, thank goodness! To be fair, I have only run into compatibility issues with two games (one wouldn't boot, another one had extremely fucked-up audio). I'm perfectly content with mine, but I absolutely have forgotten how to add new games to the SD card after all these years. I also get extremely nervous about damaging the device itself that attaches to the back of the PS1, my first PSIO didn't work at all from the get-go - it was either DOA or the pins got bent immediately upon inserting the unit into the PS1.
SavagePencil
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Re: X Station PS1 ODE

Post by SavagePencil »

You misread my post (or my sarcasm detector is miscalibrated), but no updates to PSIO going on three years and the open source hack is no more.

Adding games to PSIO is easy at least, just copy paste into SD card.
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