CDVD Drive

Overview

The drive is known as MD-block in internal Sony documentation.

Electronics

• DSP
• MechaCon
• Drivers
• RF-Amp

Early consoles (A, A+, AB, B, B', C, C' chassis) have separate boards with some of the disc drive electronics:

• GM-038 (early A-chassis (SCPH-10000, early SCPH-15000))
  <imgur w=240>O2kHeUP.jpg</imgur>
  • Contains RF-amp (CXA2605R)
  • requires heatsinking for RF-amp
• GM-041 (B-chassis, B'-chassis)
  <imgur w=240>ijlZhMf.jpg</imgur>
  • Contains RF-amp (SP3727A) and tilt-driver (BA5912AFP)
  • does not require any heatsinking
• GM-042 (late A-chassis, A+ chassis (late SCPH-15000, GH-003 based SCPH-18000))
  <imgur w=240>ayV4TIz.jpg</imgur>
  • Contains RF-amp (SP3727A)
  • does not require any heatsinking, unlike GM-038 used in the same chassis; a hole in the case to place a thermal pad in is still there in these consoles, but the thermal pad has been left out from the factory
• TODO: Board of AB chassis
  • Contains RF-amp (SP3727A)
• GM-043 (C-chassis, C'-chassis)
  <imgur w=240>cRFTRP8.jpg</imgur>
  • Contains RF-amp (SP3727A), spindle driver (BA6664FM) and focus/tracking/sled-motor/tray-motor driver (BA5810FP)
  • requires heatsinking for BA6664FM and BA5810FP

The PSX also has a dedicated board for drive electronics, which contains all drive components for the PSX/DVR-mode/burning part of the PSX's unique dual-pickup drive. Electronics for the PS2-part of the drive are however on the mainboard (spindle motor control and driving are always handled by the PSX/DVR part of the drive).

• MA-S38 (DESR-x000, DESR-x100)
  • <imgur w=240>8GcBpTO.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>tFQSjoP.jpg</imgur>
• MA-S43 (DESR-x500, DESR-x700)
  • <imgur w=240>SMelZmP.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>bq7vfM1.jpg</imgur>

Mechanics

Fat drive assemblies

A/A+ chassis drive block

SCPH-10000 japanese launch consoles, SCPH-15000 consoles, some SCPH-18000 consoles, all japan only
<imgur w=240>KnNqiXM.jpeg</imgur><imgur w=240>FHGfvMM.jpeg</imgur><imgur w=240>YXgnrZs.jpeg</imgur><imgur w=240>7CTF3pm.jpeg</imgur><imgur w=240>SLwBUGn.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>vzMYOTs.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>3ubGZSb.jpg</imgur>

• The only drive block to use the KHS-400A pickup, later units use KHS-400B (a picture of a drive inside a SCPH-18000 A+ chassis console using the KHS-400B pickup has been added above)
• Later units have a slightly different drive board which contains a Texas Instruments SP3727A RF-Amp instead of the Sony CXA2605R RF-Amp that was used on early units
• In these pictures, the flat flex cable between the board and the laser unit has been replaced. The only difference to the original cable is the length of the blue flap, which is longer on the original cable on the side connected to the PCB

B/B' chassis drive block

north american early/launch SCPH-30001 consoles, north america only
<imgur w=240>1IbnPhB.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>Nb6CAWI.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>Uhd08l5.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>KCqhhZE.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>Nixc2WV.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>db77gPh.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>EJf4jLE.jpg</imgur>

• Uses a radial tilt control motor only found in this drive block; all other drive blocks have their radial tilt mechanically set at the factory
• Optical pickup is always KHS-400B

C/C' chassis drive block

later north american SCPH-30001 consoles, SCPH-30004 PAL launch consoles, SCPH-3000x consoles in many regions
<imgur w=240>Gov1HNg.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>5kfnZit.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>gLVqrNi.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>Kncxtr7.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>iEjTkZ5.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>FVtodEz.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>BJfmUzT.jpg</imgur>

• Takes away the tilt motor introduced on the B/B' chassis drive block
• Has both driver ICs on the drive board
• Has an aluminium plate mounted as heatsink between the drive board and drive frame which thermally connects to the back of the PCB through a thermal pad, however, the ICs are also directly cooled from the other side through a thermal pad connecting them to the expansion bay frame

AB chassis drive block

some SCPH-18000 consoles, japan-only

• Basically a C/C' chassis drive block with a different drive board that only contains the RF-amp but not the driver ICs, since these are located on the motherboard

D/D' chassis drive block

later SCPH-3000x consoles in any region, early SCPH-3000xR consoles in many regions, SCPH-3500x special editions in some regions, SCPH-3500xR special editions in some regions

• all drive electronics moved to the motherboard, no dedicated drive board anymore

F/G chassis drive block

late japanese SCPH-30000 consoles, late SCPH-3000xR consoles in many regions, japanese SCPH-37000 special editions, SCPH-3900x consoles in many regions
<imgur w=240>P8NcLeB.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>dqJrJCi.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>UuwuNLx.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>Q4KeBcc.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>9c1lpJW.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>kfsO92o.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>UnMQzul.jpg</imgur>

• Optical pickup changed to KHS-400C, KHS-400R or SF-HD7
  • Pictures show the variant that uses the Sony KHS-400C pickup. Variants using either the Sony KHS-400R or Sanyo SF-HD7 pickup are identical aside of the pickup itself; the pickups are interchangeable (different calibration data for Mechacon required)

H/I chassis drive block

SCPH-5000x consoles in any region, SCPH-5500x special editions in some regions
<imgur w=240>un3LrqS.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>N13dm9Y.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>J5g8RtO.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>FLt0xfo.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>y0SF82K.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>2EeoJVp.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>4sSITOE.jpg</imgur>

• Pictures show the variant that uses the Sanyo SF-HD7 pickup. Variants using either the Sony KHS-400R or KHS-400C pickup are identical aside of the pickup itself; the pickups are interchangeable (different calibration data for Mechacon required)
• Some markings on the mechanism have been made by the owner during alignment; they are not from the factory
• Button assembly now mounted on the drive assembly
• Mechanical changes:
  • Tilt of the two rods that the optical pickup slides on can be adjusted individually
  • Slide arm of the optical pickup now made of a metal spring instead of plastic

J chassis drive block

late SCPH-5000x consoles in some regions
<imgur w=240>irvUNi2.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>J5KaXJn.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>uIrCwhc.jpg</imgur>

• Very different drive:
  • Uses Mitsumi TDP062W drive mechanism based around the Mitsumi PVR-702W pickup

Slim drive assemblies

• Some of the slim drives exist with different cable lengths for different chassis. K-chassis and L-chassis use same cable length between each other, as do P-chassis and R-chassis between each other. M-chassis and N-chassis both use different cable lenghts. This makes a total of 4 slim PS2 drive "types" regarding cable length.

Sony assemblies

The Sony assemblies are identical to and fully compatible with their Mitsumi-counterparts from the same chassis. The only difference is the branding. Not found in N-chassis consoles.

• KHM-430AAA
  • K-chassis, L-chassis
  • KHM-430 pickup

• KHM-430BAA
  • M-chassis
  • KHM-430C pickup

• KHM-430CAA
  • P-chassis, R-chassis
  • KHM-430C pickup

Mitsumi assemblies

The Mitsumi assemblies are identical to and fully compatible with their Sony-counterparts from the same chassis. The only difference is the branding. Not found in P and R-chassis consoles.

• TDP082W
  • K-chassis, L-chassis
  • PVR-802W pickup

• TDP182W (with M-chassis compatible cable length)
  • M-chassis
  • PVR-802W pickup

• TDP182W (with N-chassis compatible cable length)
  • N-chassis
  • PVR-802W pickup

Sankyo assemblies

The Sankyo assembly is incompatible with the Sony/Mitsumi assemblies. It requires different top shells for the case and different MechaCon calibration data. Only found in K and L-chassis consoles.

• SPU3170
  • K-chassis, L-chassis

PSX drive assemblies

The PS2-part of the drive is based on the H/I chassis SCPH-5XXXX fat PS2 drive, both electrically and mechanically. The whole drive assembly is connected to the motherboard using 3 flat flex cables: One is an IDE connection to the dedicated drive board of the PSX-part, one provides power (5V, 12V, GND) and also connects the PS2-part sled motor to the motherboard (since it is controlled by the motherboard directly), and one connects the KHS-400C PS2-part pickup to the motherboard, since it is also directly controlled by the motherboard. The spindle motor is always controlled by the dedicated PSX-part drive electronics over IDE, even in PS2 mode.

• DESR-x000 and DESR-x100 drive
  • Uses Sony KWS-200A optical pickup

<imgur w=240>8UIuNSN.jpg</imgur>

• DESR-x500 and DESR-x700 drive
  • Uses Sanyo SF-DB11 optical pickup

<imgur w=240>XkMxA6G.jpg</imgur>

Optical pickup

Notes

• KHS-400R seems to be a rebadged Sanyo SF-HD7 with a different plastic cap to remove the "HD7" labelling present on the SF-HD7; they are completely drop-in interchangeable
• KHS-400B and KHS-400C are electrically compatible, but differ in thickness of their bases, making them mechanically incompatible (putting a KHS-400C in place of a KHS-400B will seem to work at first, but the flex cable will bend heavily once the pickup reaches the outer area while moving)
• KHS-400C and KHS-400R / SF-HD7 are mechanically fully compatible, but require different calibration data for MechaCon
• There are 2 different lens assemblies for KHS-400B, which require different calibration data for MechaCon: T487 (white ring around lens) and T609K (yellow ring around lens). T609K seemingly was introduced with the D/D'-chassis. Some early T609K have a white ring around the lens. These pickups have a violet marking at the adjustment screw. (Markings in other colors don't indicate any lens assembly variant, only violet does)
• KHS-400B (with T487 lens assembly) can fully drop-in replace KHS-400A, but not vice versa (mechanical reasons: KHS-400A in a drive meant for KHS-400B can't press the home-position switch near the spindle). KHS-400B with T609K lens assembly can also be used, but requires different calibration data for MechaCon.
• PSX consoles always have 2 pickups: One KHS-400C (for PS2 games only) and KWS-200A (XPD-001 motherboard) or SF-DB11 (XPD-005 motherboard). Every disc will first be detected by the KWS-200A / SF-DB11, so if this pickup is broken, the console also won't read PS2 games, since the KHS-400C only becomes active once a Disc to be read by it has been detected by the other pickup
• The drive mechanisms of earlier and later PSX consoles are completely different from each other (except the KHS-400C), so you can't replace a KWS-200A with a SF-DB11 or vice versa
• PVR-802W and KHM-430 seem to be mostly identical; KHM-430 is probably a rebadged PVR-802W, as it is with KHS-400R / SF-HD7
• Several variants of the Sanyo SF-DB11 pickup exist, with only some of them being compatible with the PSX. Trying to install an incompatible one will (sometimes? always?) burn the flat flex cable and/or blow the 5V drive-power fuse on the motherboard depending on your luck (known compatible variants: bottom sticker number starts with DB11B; known incompatible revisions: bottom sticker number starts with DB11N, 11NX or 11NXL). It didn't seem to damage anything else though; most notably all electronics (after replacing the blown fuse) AND the laser pickup (after being installed into a compatible PC drive that uses this variant) survived.
  • These different types are seemingly actually called "SF-DB11B" (the one compatible with the PSX), "SF-DB11NS", "SF-DB11NX" and "SF-DB11NXL" (all three incompatible with PSX). These are best differentiated by the bottom sticker, not by the embossed revision number on the top.
  • <imgur w=240>jPNVCqr.jpg</imgur><imgur w=240>Vo2DfEx.jpg</imgur>
  • Comparison of an compatible type (left) with an incompatible type (right) of SF-DB11 with the bottom shielding removed:
    <imgur w=240>UJjmXaf.jpg</imgur>
• There is an official documentation of the KWS-200A used in the DESR-x000 and DESR-x100 PSX, released by Sony itself:
  <imgur w=240>TxkqxiO.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=240>tyimnzA.jpg</imgur>

Pickup types

Sony

• KHS-400A (A-chassis, some A+-chassis)
  • always with T487 lens assembly
• KHS-400B (some A+-chassis, AB-chassis, B/B'-chassis, C/C'-chassis, D/D'-chassis)
  • with T487 lens assembly
  • with T609K lens assembly
• KHS-400C (F-chassis, G-chassis, H-chassis, I-chassis, PS2-mode laser in all PSX consoles)
  • always with T609K lens assembly.... except some later units maybe, which have a white lens protector instead of yellow (no calibration data available for them in PMAP or service tools at the moment, but seem to work fine with T609K calibration data)
• KHS-400R (F-chassis, G-chassis, H-chassis, I-chassis)
  • Is basically just a rebadged Sanyo SF-HD7
  • Variants with a metal (like KHS-400 A/B/C) and with black plastic base exist. They are fully compatible with each other, so this does not really matter.
• KWS-200A (DVR/DVD-burning laser in earlier PSX consoles)
  • The only pickup in this list which has a skew sensor (little black part on a separate segment of the FPC) which works in conjunction with a skew motor
• KHM-430 (some slim consoles)
  • Is basically just a rebadged Mitsumi PVR-802W
• KHM-430C (some slim consoles)
  • Is basically just a rebadged Mitsumi PVR-802W

Sanyo

• SF-HD7 (F-chassis, G-chassis, H-chassis, I-chassis)
  • Variants with a full and with a partial plastic cover exist. Only the full plastic cover spells "HD7" on it. They are fully compatible with each other, so this does not really matter.
  • Variants with a metal (like KHS-400 A/B/C) and with black plastic base exist. They are fully compatible with each other, so this does not really matter.
• SF-DB11 (DVR/DVD-burning laser in later PSX consoles)
  • Several revisions exist, of which only the older ones are compatible with the PSX; see above
• Oddly enough, the I-chassis service manual also mentions Sanyo SF-HD8, SF-HD9 and SF-HD10, which seem to be very different from SF-HD7 in construction. Never seen in any consumer PS2 console.

Mitsumi

• PVR-702W (J-chassis)
• PVR-802W (download datasheet) (some slim consoles)

Sankyo

• SPU-3170 (some K/L-chassis slim consoles)

Third party replacements/clones

• KHS-400H / PS-400H (replaces KHS-400R / SF-HD7)
• KHS-400Q / PS-400Q (replaces KHS-400C)
• KHS-400W (replaces KHS-400C)

Laser units

• Sony SLK3201PE "Laser Coupler" (combined dual wavelength laser diode + dual wavelength PDIC)
  • Used in all KHS-400A, KHS-400B and KHS-400C pickups (Seemingly also in SF-HD7 despite this pickup being made by Sanyo? Needs confirmation!)

<imgur w=400>O4ZGd9F.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=400>FlbDFEw.jpg</imgur> <imgur w=400>jyypmjM.png</imgur>

Adjustments

The two potentiometers on the pickups (one for each, CD and DVD) do not directly adjust laser output power. Laser output power is actually regulated in real time by the drive electronics (APC). Instead, these potentiometers adjust the output level of the monitoring photodiode which the drive electronics uses for monitoring the laser output power. Hence, any weakening of the laser output power over time is already being compensated by the drive electronics. This means that adjusting these potentiometers should never be necessary. The only way of properly adjusting these potentiometers would be by using a laser power meter, which would however only be necessary in case someone already tinkered with the potentiometers.

What turning these potentiometers actually does is overdriving the laser to higher than specified output power. The reason why this might allow discs to be read again is that it gives the drive higher tolerance to dirt on or inside the pickup's lens/prism system and/or misadjusted drive mechanics (tilt/skew).

Instead of overdriving the laser diodes (and causing long-term damage to them), the actual issues should be adressed (dirt and dust on or inside the laser, miscalibrated mechanics etc). Mechanical and electrical calibration can be done by connecting to Mechacon from a PC via UART (see Test points) and then using a tool called PMAP.