Using a PS2 in a car

[Guss]

Hello,

I want to plug in my PS2 into my car's cigarette lighter socket and play it while on road trips.  I'm doing this now with my PSOne (made for portability/automobile).   Anyone done this?   Sounds like it should be fairly easy, as the PS2 needs 12voltdDC to run, which is what a car's electrical system outputs.   Diodes, transistor maybe??   Most likely.    Please post any info you have on coverting or modifying the PS2's power supply to use in a car.

Thanks.

Guss

[NFG]

Your best bet, instead of mucking about inside your PS2, is to buy a voltage invertor.  Converts 12v to 110v, and you can plug your PS2 into that.

[davidleeroth]

Don't expect the PS2 to like much of these road trips. It isn't build to last. Some damping harness would come useful.

[Guss]

Thanks for the replies, but it doesn't make much sense to take 12voltsDC, covert it to 110voltAC, then back to 12voltsDC (inside the PS2).    Since a car has 12volts DC already, why can't we simply modify the power supply inside the PS2 to take the 12volts directly (secondary side)?

Power inverters gobble up lots of amps, thus I would like to skip this problem...  The PS2 most likely only uses around 3-4 amps at 12voltsDC (secondary side)....

Anyone done this?    Any electronics pros out there?


Thanks.

Guss

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

here's what you do, you plug your ps2 into the wall, then throw it into a bathtub full of water while it's turned on.  The results of what you are talking about doing would probably be pretty similar    

[Gord]

Thanks for the replies, but it doesn't make much sense to take 12voltsDC, covert it to 110voltAC, then back to 12voltsDC (inside the PS2).    Since a car has 12volts DC already, why can't we simply modify the power supply inside the PS2 to take the 12volts directly (secondary side)?

On a PS1, the power supply is external.  This external power supply converts 110V-AC down to that the PS1 uses.   The machine does not have anything in it that converts the powering coming in.  So when you buy your adaptor for the car for a PS1, it steps down the voltage much less.

With a PS2, the power supply is internal (much like the original PlayStation series).  Skipping the AC/DC part and talking strictly about voltage, it would downgrade that 12V by the same factor as it would 110V.  So the machine would be trying to run on 1V or so.

Power inverters gobble up lots of amps, thus I would like to skip this problem...  The PS2 most likely only uses around 3-4 amps at 12voltsDC (secondary side)....

The PS2 uses .23 Amps.  Remember Watts = Voltage * Amps.  My Korean PS2 runs on 220V and consumers 50W.  So 50 = 220 * .23

If you wish to skip the external power converstion option, you will have to open up the PS2 and yank the power supply, then create a new one that outputs the correct voltage needed along the power lines interally.  I believe the machine runs on DC interally, so doing that would be more of an exercise in planning and tedium rather than technical sorcery.

[Guss]

I know there is a way... HMMMMMM, to all you "it can't be done" goons, check this out:

PS2 MODIFICATION


Yeah, looks like someone else wanted to do the same thing as ME!   They did it!

Come on GameSX, you guys should be the PROS at game console modification, and look at this...  


I'll be performing this mod coming up on the weekend, biotch!

Guss

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

I didn't say it couldn't be done, I said that if you don't already have the skill and knowledge to do it, then any attempt you make is going to end in disaster.  Have you ever looked at the inside of a ps2?  

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Also, why are you concerned about drawing too much power.  An inverter in your car would be the best option, and it actually works, I've done it on numerous occasions with no ill effects.

[Guss]

Yes I have looked at the inside of a PS2, and have all the basic abilities to perform this modification.

Inverters...... yeah, not bad but why take 12voltsDC, bump/convert it up to 110voltAC, then back to 12voltsDC again.....    Straight through seems like the easiest and less problematic.

Guss

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

because in the amount of time it would take to do the mod, you could probably work more than enough to afford an inverter.  You also have to worry about power for a screen (unless you've got a van conversion or something).  On top of that power from teh cigarette lighter isn't the cleanest power in the world, dunno if that would be a problem.

[NFG]

Yeah, I dunno if I'd be willing to pump the unsteady 12v from a car's power directly into a PS2 - those things are fragile enough as it is, you're just asking for trouble.  Not to mention the fact the PS2 can't be removed for use in the home after you gut it.

And like Mr. Rabbit said, we never said it couldn't be done, just that it's probably the long way to go about it.

[matt]

I imagine the voltage regulator on that mod would probably do the job well enough, as long as everything's installed properly.  Don't see any reason why you couldn't still run it on 120v, either - the power supply is left intact and the diodes seem to be there just for that purpose.

Is playing PS2 games in the car really worth it, though?

[LopeDogg]

i dont know why u r all making such a fuss about it.. use an inverter if you dont have the technical abilities to build a decent poper supply for the ps2. otherwise all it takes is opening your ps2, looking what voltages the power supply outputs, remove the power supply, and design a simple circuit with a few linear regulators. I doubt the ps2 actually needs 12v anywhere to run. if it does need 12v you have two options.
1 use a low dropout linear regultor. or,
2 build a switching power supply, such as a step up/down buck converter or build a simple charge pump and have that power a linear step down regulator.

option 1 will only work while your car's battery voltage is higher than the dropout voltage of the low dropout linear regulator +12. ie 12.9
Ive used a low dropout linear regulator in my car before to power things which require 12V, i believe the part number is L4940V12.
the problem was the regulator only worked when the car's engine was running and the alternator was boosting the voltage of the battery to 13.6, because it was charging the battery.

This was a crap solution because i wanted to be able to run my device with the engine off, so i built a charge pump which boosted the car's 11~14V to about 17~ 25V which then supplied a normal linear regulator.
you can use adjustable voltage regulators such as LM317T
or fixed regulators for 12, or 5V like 7812 and 7805.

you can also boost a linear regulators output with a power PNP transistor. for details how or my charge pump plans email me.
intermission@hotmail.com

good luck, always test your power supplies with dummy loads (like resistors) and test their voltage output with a multimeter before hooking it up to anything expensive. also make sure you heatsink the regulators properly or it will all blow up after 5 mins.

if you couldnt follow all of that use an inverter

[LopeDogg]

out of interest, what screen are you going to use with it?

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Hopefully not that generic shittacular one that everywhere seems to sell.  The quality on those things are horrible.

[RichieB]

My sister in law had a ps2 in her Mitsubishi Eclipse with no mods done do it at all.   She used an LCD screen with AV inputs.  On top of that she used the ps2 vertically and sat in on the floor of the passenger side of her car.  The sound came out of her car stereo system and the picture went to the LCD which she watched movies on via the ps2 DVD player.

I know she didnt do all this herself, she got it professionally done.. but from what I could tell she used the 110v cable that comes in the box to get all this done.  She is now using the ps2 on her regular TV in her living room.  Again no mods necessary.

There must be some simpler way to acheive this, she is a baffoon when it comes to electronics.  I once showed her a quality pioneer interconnect for in car stereos and she asked me what is was for!!!!??

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

If it was using a standard 110 in, then it was running on a simple inverter, like I suggested already.

[mattthemodder]

Just buy an inverter then you can use other consoles/electrical stuff in your car too

You could make your own PSU to get a steady however many Volts from the unsteady 12V. But it will probably get hot, require good electrical knowlage and alot of time  

[phreak97]

what are the chances of running a ps2 off of a laptop battery? those are 20v so you probably could use a regulator, also how long would one last.
i'd love to do this as there is a bay in the back of the ps2 big enough to get some kind of battery into, it would look completely unmodded from the outside, you could even get the monitor working off that, meaning you could take it on a bus or train on long trips.. no external power needed.

[billybob]

The battery life depends on how many amp hours the battery is and how many amps u draw from it. simple.
a PS2 uses way too much power to be suitable as a portable games console running off batteries to carried on a bus or whatever. get yourself a gameboy

[Agentspikey95]

The inverter thing, wouldn't that use up the car's battery quick, even with the alternator running? i don't know how much they are where you all live, but paying $90+ for a new battery every time you wanna play GTAVC or something or watch a movie doesn't exactly make sense....

[Scared0o0Rabbit]

Maybe if you have the inverter from hell.  I played kingdom hearts for roughly 6 hours in a car while driving, then did it again 2 days later with no ill effects.

[Agentspikey95]

looks like i'm gettin' one of those for my systems  

[phreak97]

......................


i dont want that answer...... i want details......  why tf does a laptop run more bs than a ps2 off its battery.


what amperage do i need and what amperage deas a laptop need?