PiStation 2: Raspberry Pi 4 Inside Playstation 2
Introduction: PiStation 2: Raspberry Pi 4 Inside Playstation 2
For quite some time I've wanted to put a Raspberry Pi inside of a Playstation 2 housing with the goal of being able to use it as a retro gaming system as well as the option to use it as a Linux computer via the Raspberry Pi desktop. One of the main goals of the project is to make it look as close to a "stock" PS2 as possible while still being able to easily connect peripherals via the USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI, and ethernet ports on the Raspberry Pi. I've seen where people have used the expansion bay as a panel for mounting the Raspberry Pi while still having access to most of the ports, but I wanted to also be able to connect internally to other devices via the USB, and I also wanted to be able to position the Pi near the PS2 fan to be able to use it as additional cooling. Internally, I wanted to use a USB 3.0 port to connect a SATA hard drive for extra storage capacity for media, ROMs, and other programs.
Additional features that really round the project out are full integration and functionality of the Playstation's front panel power and eject buttons as well as the LEDs on the buttons, PWM controlled PS2 fan speed based on CPU Temperature, and RGB LED lighting to add some visual flair.
It was a struggle at times to get everything to come together and work properly. I reached out on various forums about the programing side of things as I am not very strong in coding and most of my experience has been with Arduino or ESP type microcontrollers. I have "borrowed" some code from other instructables and forum posts and I will list and link all references. That being said, I hope to make this easy to follow along and I think that anyone can make this project, regardless of skill level.
Supplies
There are a few supplies that are necessary for this project. I will list the mandatory and the optional supplies. Optional supplies are broken out by the use-case. If you don't want to integrate the buttons on the front of the PS2, then you wont need to make the custom PCB and therefore do not need the components associated with that. If you don't want to add an internal hard drive, then you will not need to purchase the drive or the adapter cable for it. If you don't want super-cool LEDs inside your playstation, then you don't need those either. But lets face it; Why even go through with this if not to fully integrate it and make it look great too?
Mandatory Supplies:
1. Playstation 2 (Not required to be working, although we will reuse the power supply inside)
2. Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB or 8GB would work. I used a 4 GB) Amazon
3. Micro SD Card (8GB or larger)
4. Short (1 ft) CAT6 ethernet patch cable Amazon
5. Short (1 or 1.5 ft) USB 3.0 male x male cable (2x) Amazon
6. Short (1 or 1.5 ft) Micro HDMI male (Type D) x HDMI male (Type A) cable (2x) Amazon
7. 848
Short (1 ft or less) USB 2.0 male cable (will be cut in half) (2x) Amazon
7. 3D Printed expansion bay panel downloaded from my GrabCAD here
8. HDMI keystone jacks (2x) Amazon
9. USB 3.0 keystone jacks (2x) Amazon
10. Ethernet keystone jack (1x) Amazon
11. 5V 5A Buck Converter PCB module
12. Various lengths of wire
13. Dupont jumper cables (or the ability to make your own Dupont cables)
Optional Supplies
For integration of the buttons:
1. prototype PCB board
2. 2N3904 transistors (3x) Amazon
3. PN2222A transistor Amazon
4. 1/4W 1K ohm carbon film resistor (Purchase something like this kit from Amazon for all resistors)
5. 1/4W 10K ohm carbon film resistor
6. 1/4W 22K ohm carbon film resistor (2x)
7. JST-XH 2-pin connector housing (I have a kit of JST-XH connectors similar to this one on Amazon)
8. 3-position screw terminal Amazon
9. 1N4001 diode Amazon
10. 1x5 male Dupont connector pin row
11. 1x7 male Dupont connector pin row
12. strip of WS2812B LEDs, 60 LED/m density, 12 LEDs in length Amazon
For adding an optional internal SSHD hard drive
1. Internal SSHD 2. 611