Thinking of building a PS3 Portable. First timer.

[solidor13]

I've been following the console hacking scene for a while but didn't even realize there was a BenHeck forum (I'm usually too interested in the pretty pictures of portables to notice) so I thought I'd join, since I've finally decided to start a build of my own, so I thought I'd ask some experts for some advice.

First of all, I'm using a 40gig release model ps3 for my starting project, it's not working and needs a re-flow/re-sync on the CPU/gpu to get it working again, I was thinking of just selling it for spare parts on eBay but decided to try and do something fun with it and I've been dying to try making a portable for a while. Now I'm not really good at electronics, I studied it in highschool -- I can solder and the like but I have no idea where things should go or what they are for so I'd love to find a tutorial appropriate for the PS3 40gig fatty model instead of the slim model. I've examined a few incomplete tutorials and I'm fairly confident I'll be able to handle everything but the screen and case.

When it comes to designing the case -- I'm a graphic designer by trade so making it look pretty isn't an issue, but I really need to be told where to put things and what not the first time around, so designing my own original case is really out of the question for now. If it comes to building a replica of a case used in a tutorial it's not much of an issue, my step dad has over 40 years experience in fabrication welding and electronics and is a dab hand with a soldering iron (works for Mercedes, with all their onboard computer crap its a requirement) and he's offered to help aslong as I can provide him with a blueprint/measurements or a diagram of what I'm going for. Or even better, if its possible is there a place where I can simply send in schematics and pay to have a case built for me?

Another issue I face is cost. I'd like to do it as low cost as possible since I don't know how successful this trial and error project will be I don't want to invest a lot of money into it until I'm confident I can start designing my own custom builds etc


So is it possible to build a portable without exchanging too many of the internal parts of the PS3 (for example, I''m not sure I'm willing to introduce things like water cooling systems or to even replace the fan in the ps3.)


I understand that this wont be as cheap as some of us would like it but since its a not for profit trial project keeping the costs down would be nice.

[griehm]

My suggestion?
Use a slim motherboard. It might be more expensive, but there are sources that I have found to be very effective-
CRAIGSLIST. This site will change you. I just bought a PS3 Slim in working condition with a disc stuckin the drive. Price? $50, delivered.

That being said- check around for local stores that do case construction. You can make your own from simple sheets of plastic or even metal, however a custom metal fabrication shop usually does the trick. Some things to note though-
-Make the case simple, best results are with as few pieces as possible if working wiht metal. Keeps the cost down.You'd be surpriced how little a really ice case can cost, if the design is easy and takes less than an hour to produce. If they charge $90 an hour, and it takes them less than an hour it'll be $90 (they charge a minimum most of the time). Keep in mind that simple case designs can often yield awesome results if you have the creative mind
-Thoroughly examine the board and all of your components, and make a mock up, to scale in paper. This way, you can map out all the mounting holes, pegs, brackets and slots perfectly and then quickly whip up a 3D model of it to send to whoever. Or you make it yourself, too. Laying everything out and knowing where things can be mounted/fitted properly into a case saves time and frustration.
-Get the tv/monitor before youcontruct too- alsocheck around on Craigslist for one of those. I picked up a Vizio 16" LED tv for $90. I've got to say, one of the best monitors possible for a laptop mod.

Oh, and don't forget- Have fun, stay focus and DO NOT let something get in the way (work/school is OK to get in the way). I find myself consistently committed to a project, and then I get sidetracked and it sits, nearly finished on my shelf of unrequited love. Yeah, I even named the shelf because I'm that bad!

Last thing- if you find Craigslist isn't popular in your area, go search other nearby places. My area happens to have one of the highest number of posts per day, so I never have any issues finding something. Some areas may have issues, particularly smaller towns and cities. Scared to use Craigslist, don't want to get scammed? Don't be! Just use common sense when meeting someone- Public locations, always test the product. Starbucks always has free electrical plugs .

[solidor13]

Thanks for the advice, I would have never have thought of using a paper mock-up to jidsaw my design. As for the case, I'm trying to keep it a simplistic but effective as possible, as long as it fits together and doesnt over heat I'm all good. I can do a fancy paintjob to make it look pretty later. I've even gone as far to contact my old college tutor who taught electronics/metal and woodworking. He said I could sign up to the adult night class (for free) and use this project as my class project, since most usually build things like sound sytems for their cars it wont be much of an issue. All I have to do if cover the costs of materials then its all good. I just have to wait a few months for the next available course (late Jan) so I guess I'll have plenty of time to plan and adjust the components. The monitor I'll be using is This my parents PC monitor, its 17" widescreen (is that a good size?) they just switched to a Mac so they wont be needing it either way.

As for using a Slim, I have been paying one off on weekly payments, I cant afford to outright buy one so I'll be sticking with the fat model for this project and if all goes well I'll happily attempt it with a slim model. I have checked craigslist/gumtree/ebay but its pretty scarce for my area right now and I can only find simular models to mine, so for now I'm good with it. Come to think of it, I might test things out on my old PS2 the first time around.


Also, I came across this article lastnight when surfing but can't seem to find anything other than part 1, anybody else seen the other installments?

THans again for the great advice, I think I might make a steampunk creation if i can get the case copper plated.

[griehm]

What I figured I'd do for my case is actually a mash up of luck and opportunity-
I happen to volunteer at a local computer recycling depot. Good thing is, they're not "official" as to say, because I can buy anything I so well please for cheap. Partly because I'm the only person who knows how to work with open firmware (as in a Mac).
ANYWAY- They always tend to get in these massive 1.5+ inch thick laptops in that don't look too shabby (with a paint touch up ), so what I'm going to do is wait for the biggest and best one to pop up and I'll swipe the case off of it. and better yet, since I'm using a Laptop LCD (Last minute change) as my screen everything works out awesomely. Only minor modification required for one slim bastard of a PS3p.

As for you- 17" is a great size. My screen will be 16". I think it's surprising that you managed to find a widescreen 17" screen. Hows the resolution on that sucker?

As for the article. I've never seemed to be able to find part 2. My suspicion is that they royally screwed something up and dropped the project
As for the case (too much as ) that sounds like an awesome idea. Have a good picture in your mind of what you want, or model you case after something you've seen. I was going to model my case after my laptop (below) but money issues came into play so I've cancelled that idea. I'll maybe make a re-do if I get some extra cash.

[solidor13]

Your post actually just inspired me a little, my gran has this old word processor "laptop", I'm sure you've seen them, basically the digital version of a type writer. They look no different to laptops but are slightly thicker and I'm sure its around the rightsize for a 17" monitor. I could probably use the segment with the keyboard for the casing and build a custom top for the screen if the dimensions are right (fingers crossed) that would cut my project time down a considerable amount. Another advantage of this is that unlike a laptop, it doesnt include an internal batter just a cable and a plug, so I wouldnt have to adapt the bottom panel to cover up the missing battery, i'd only have to replace the panel where the keyboard is. The biggest issue is that the thing is from the early 90s, which means its that horrible grey grainy plastic that is not at all appealing aesthetically..

As for the monitor i've got, my step dad brought it home from work after his company switched to Macs (why an engineering company who sell and repair trucks and commercial vehicles need a computer system more suited to creative industries is beyond me.) so they had a free for all on the old gear. I might even have some old computer components I could use since he also brough home some PC's that are in the attic. Who knows. The resolution is actually really good, I can't give you the exact specs from the top of my head but it used to look a treat when I played a heavily graphically modded oblivion on it. Unfortunately I couldn't test the resolution of the monitor on anything high end like crysis since my graphics card was never really up to it. I might just hook the monitor up to my friends PS3 system and check the quality.

As for the steam punk Idea, I've been absolutely inlove with steampunk since I was a child. I'm a whore for steampunk culture and since this project is mainly persoal and i have no plans to ebay it I guess a design suited to my tastes makes the most sense. I was thinking it could look tacky until i saw this a while ago on a blog. I think the little spy glass thingy is the mouse.


also, as a space saving idea I was thinking of using a blue tooth keyboard (roughly the size of a small envelope) to save space, but i cant seem to find any that use a usb to charger instead of batteries or that dont plug straight into the PS3 remote, so I might make a built in recess where the keyboard can be taken out to charge, which might work out for the best I guess but i'd rather have it all integrated. A thought has occured to me while typing this though, how do you introduce things like speakers/headphone slots?


EDIT: I'm also visiting a friend who ageed to help with the project, We're going to scan the electronics all laid out on a copying machine and asemble it in illustrator to get an idea of how we'll be piecing it together to scale.

[griehm]

Ha. I'm inspiring. Who knew?

Case sounds good, the plastic can always be ground down and resurfaced or painted to make it look better. Or use the case as a template and go from there. It's up to you.
I would hold off on the bluetooth. I never found a real use for a keyboard in a PS3, and it further complicates things. One thing you could do is grab an apple wired aluminum keyboard without the numpad and fit that into the case. Since you are using a fat, you've got 4 USB ports to work with. And Apple keyboards have a built in dongle anyways, so you get 2 extra 1.1 ports. I'm staying away from a keyboard at the moment, as that is something you can always add in later once everything is figured out and completed. You'll then have a good idea on how everything works.
For speaker/headphone ports, the audio can be directly soldered from the board. the AV out has L/R audio out, and I'm sure that can work as an audio output for your system. Must be somewhere in the settings (checking now)...
I'll either have that way, or use the LCD controller board audio out that I have. Since I'm plugging my panel in via HDMI, the controller board has audio output. normally for speakers but with the insertion of a switch it'll be easy to go from headphones to built in speakers. The way I see it, the audio out (which ever way you do it) is channeling sound to both the speakers and the headphone jack at the same time. Only when you hit the switch is the sound cut to the speakers, but kept going to the headphones. Then all you do is plug in your headphones and off you go!

I'm assuming the monitor is 1280x768, which is 720p. Just make sure that the monitor can take the HDMI (I'm sure with a DVI to HDMI connector) signal and convert it correctly. My last monitor (standard PC screen) was unable to and it stretched the image.

EDIT-
Yes it can output audio through the multi-out. Also take some time to get your profile in shape. Grab a cool image or .gif and update your profile. I can't take you seriously without that!

[griehm]

Wow OK complete change of plans!
I found a local store that does really cheap metal fabrication. And going on the advice of a friend who suggested an all in one design (for simplicity) I'm going to go with a tablet design with a kick stand in the back. Not a clue on how much it's going to cost for the case but I'm assuming under $100.
Best part is they can do custom fan grills and the like, so I can finally make it my design. Perfect.

I'll get going on that and let you know how that turns out. If all goes well I can let you know the total cost, in case you were interested in something similar (just the case).

So, I will now hit the books (scrapbooks) and sketch up a design for the case.

[solidor13]

Wow OK complete change of plans!
I found a local store that does really cheap metal fabrication. And going on the advice of a friend who suggested an all in one design (for simplicity) I'm going to go with a tablet design with a kick stand in the back. Not a clue on how much it's going to cost for the case but I'm assuming under $100.
Best part is they can do custom fan grills and the like, so I can finally make it my design. Perfect.

I'll get going on that and let you know how that turns out. If all goes well I can let you know the total cost, in case you were interested in something similar (just the case).

So, I will now hit the books (scrapbooks) and sketch up a design for the case.

That actually sounds amazing. I was toying with the idea of trying to find a way to make an android tablet work as a ps3 monitor, i'm not sure if its possible or not I haven't looked into it. If it would it would be amazing, a ps3 monitor that doubles as an android device must be my ultimate wet dream. I'm not sure if i'd have it in a tablet format though -- too picky about possible scratches on the screen.

I'd love to see some designs when you're done, I called my gran and asked her to email me a picture of her laptop/typewriter thingy (with great patience and instruction about how to add attachments) and I wont be using it, the bottom of it isn't rectangular like the monitor, it's completely square. So I'm going to go pick up a sketch book tommorow and start drawing also.

P.S I'll get an avatar as soon as I can find my usb stick with my usual forum avatar on it

[griehm]

Sounds good. I'll have my plans uploaded for everyone's enjoyment soon. I smell the beginnings of a build thread.
Of course the sketches I made aren't perfect (Nothing to scale, everything won't work as in the images) BUT the important thing is I get the general idea across to this company to see what they can do. I've made an ambitious design, and it if proves too expensive I have room for simplicity.

Also post some pictures of this laptop typewriter thingy. Sounds very intriguing. Like, really.

For the tablet doubling as a screen- No. sorry to drop the bomb but there is no way that can work, due to the fact that no tablet (that I know of) has video IN ports. Or a mod-able LCD at the very least.
If you really wanted that you could somehow grab a simple device, install android on it and output the video to the screen. Nice idea, but in all reality it really serves no purpose.
Well, maybe for me. I'm not a huge "integration" guy. I keep my iPod, cellphone (mostly because iPhones are garbage) and all other things separate.
Why are iPhones garbage? Can they do 3D photos? No. Dual core? Yes, but at a price. I have all the latest phones (not bragging here, it's seriously an issue now) and everything I've had is always faster and better. Quad core phones+ tablets in Q3!