Experience with KSM-440BAM from totalconsole?

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TheShadowRunner
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Experience with KSM-440BAM from totalconsole?

Post by TheShadowRunner » January 25th, 2018, 8:48 am

Hi,
I'm wondering if someone already bought a KSM-440BAM laser assembly from this website:
http://www.totalconsole.com/KSM-440BAM- ... p_370.html
They claim they are brand new AND original from Sony, not cheap knockoffs.
I really could use one, but I wonder if someone has experience with this site/this product to see if they're really genuine..
Thanks for any tip.

TSR

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Post by TriMesh » January 25th, 2018, 12:16 pm

I haven't bought one, but I'm extremely dubious about that claim. Partly because it's an item that's been out of production for so long and partly because the official Sony service part came with the rubber shock isolators and that one apparently doesn't.

From the photo it looks decent quality though.

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Post by Shadow » January 25th, 2018, 5:41 pm

Looks like they got hold of some new old stock from somewhere (EG: they might have a good connection with a friend who worked at a Sony production factory and he found them) and made a white plastic case to house them, a ribbon extension cable and a cardboard box. I'd buy one for my consoles because they are all broken and it would be nice to have them working again, but then again, if I'm going to play some games, I'll just use PSIO anyway.
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Post by TheShadowRunner » January 25th, 2018, 6:17 pm

Thanks for your inputs. I'm dubious as well TriMesh.. ^^;
The product can be seen better in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TNJK-InFNM
I'm trying the difference game with a known genuine KSM-440BAM but so far no obvious difference..

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Post by Apsley Garrard » February 1st, 2018, 9:21 am

Hi.

I just got hold of one of those totalconsole units. I believe they really are sony made. I'm comparing it to a legit 440BAM lens and the aren't any differences. For example, in clone lenses, you can tell right away that they tried to copy the mabuchi sticker on the motor or also that the spindle tray has a different texture to a real one. None of those issues are present on this unit.

Anyway, I'll post pictures tommorrow comparing the two, so you guys can see.

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Post by TheShadowRunner » February 1st, 2018, 10:44 am

This is great news Apsley, by all means please do!

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Post by Apsley Garrard » February 2nd, 2018, 2:36 am

WhatsApp Image 2018-02-01 at 07.26.14(3).jpeg
WhatsApp Image 2018-02-01 at 07.26.14(2).jpeg
WhatsApp Image 2018-02-01 at 07.26.14.jpeg
WhatsApp Image 2018-02-01 at 07.26.14(1).jpeg
There they are. If you think of any other picture I can take, please let me know.

I bought 4 of these units. I've tried all of them and they all have worked perfectly. No issues whatsoever. If these are copies, they are hands down the best copies out there.
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Post by rama3 » February 2nd, 2018, 2:44 am

No, these aren't copies. They're new old stock.
It's important to remember that those supplies aren't going to last forever.
Some day the stock will be used up. Sony isn't making them anymore.

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Post by TheShadowRunner » February 2nd, 2018, 2:59 am

Thank you very much Apsley, I see a very small difference in the gray plastic part, the mold "circles" appear fainter. So does the printing on the blue sticker, hmm.. I wonder what the experts TriMesh and Shadow think about those close up shots 8-)
rama3, that's what the site claims but how can you be so sure..

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Post by Apsley Garrard » February 2nd, 2018, 3:09 am

Those circles appear fainter because of the light in that photo, my bad. I'm looking directly at the units right now, and the circles look exactly the same. And yes, the printing is different, BUT it doesn't look like the type of printings they usually put in chinese copies, like this one:
Nuevo-Lector-ptico-440AEM-KSM-440ADM-KSM-440ADM-440BAM-Lente-Del-Laser-KSM-440BAM-Para-Sony.jpg
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Post by TriMesh » February 2nd, 2018, 1:37 pm

TheShadowRunner wrote: February 2nd, 2018, 2:59 am Thank you very much Apsley, I see a very small difference in the gray plastic part, the mold "circles" appear fainter. So does the printing on the blue sticker, hmm.. I wonder what the experts TriMesh and Shadow think about those close up shots 8-)
rama3, that's what the site claims but how can you be so sure..
It's really difficult to say - back in the day there were copies that were visually and functionally indistinguishable from the originals. It could be some of those, or it could actually be an original Sony part. If the performance is the same as the original, does it really matter anyway?
If someone has one of those totalconsole parts and a scope it would be interesting to see what the eye pattern amplitude is and how it compares with the one from a low-hours PSone with the factory pickup assembly.

One other thing to do is look at the little PCB on the sled motor and see if the markings differ from the Sony ones.

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Post by Shadow » February 2nd, 2018, 3:50 pm

I have a brand new PSone. I could compare the eye pattern on that with one from TotalConsole :)
Development Console: SCPH-5502 with 8MB RAM, MM3 Modchip, PAL 60 Colour Modification (for NTSC), PSIO Switch Board, DB-9 breakout headers for both RGB and Serial output and an Xplorer with CAETLA 0.34.

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Post by rama3 » February 3rd, 2018, 2:10 am

Does it really matter though? The original is already low quality, guaranteed to break after not too many hours of use.
A better quality replacement, or at least replacement parts, now that would be awesome :)

To be specific:
The entire chassis with the plastic rails is a bad design. The rails wear down and then it's very hard to get the proper level back with repairs.
On that note, there are no level controls.

Both motors tend to wear down and these days, you're lucky to find a drive where the motors don't already show signs of failure: Loud carriage movement and rattling spindle motor.

On the plus side, the pickups and laser diodes seem to hold up much better!
I can almost always reuse the pickups.
There is just one catch: Those plastic tabs for "level control" wear down, and then the pickup becomes useless.
Maybe it's possible to create new tabs that can be made to be level with the CD again.
Image

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Post by TheShadowRunner » February 3rd, 2018, 3:54 am

TriMesh wrote: February 2nd, 2018, 1:37 pmOne other thing to do is look at the little PCB on the sled motor and see if the markings differ from the Sony ones.
Good idea, Apsley could you give it one last check? ^^;

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Post by TheShadowRunner » February 10th, 2018, 5:37 am

So a bit of a warning, I ordered 1 a week ago and while they marked it as shipped, the package still hasn't been handed over to USPS..
My friend in Finland ordered 2 weeks ago and has the same tracking indication (USPS Awaiting Item) as of this day, too.
Buyer beware..

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Post by Shadow » February 10th, 2018, 7:16 pm

They could be busy. Give them some time. If nothing happens for about a month (since they are not pre-orders), then start to worry.
Development Console: SCPH-5502 with 8MB RAM, MM3 Modchip, PAL 60 Colour Modification (for NTSC), PSIO Switch Board, DB-9 breakout headers for both RGB and Serial output and an Xplorer with CAETLA 0.34.

PlayStation Development PC: Windows 98 SE, Pentium 3 at 400MHz, 128MB SDRAM, DTL-H2000, DTL-H2010, DTL-H201A, DTL-S2020 (with 4GB SCSI-2 HDD), 21" Sony G420, CD-R burner, 3.25" and 5.25" Floppy Diskette Drives, ZIP 100 Diskette Drive and an IBM Model M keyboard.

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Post by TheShadowRunner » February 10th, 2018, 8:07 pm

About a month, for an item in stock, you must be joking.
I wished they replied to emails to at least explain what's going on.

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Post by Apsley Garrard » February 10th, 2018, 10:24 pm

TheShadowRunner wrote: February 10th, 2018, 5:37 am So a bit of a warning, I ordered 1 a week ago and while they marked it as shipped, the package still hasn't been handed over to USPS..
My friend in Finland ordered 2 weeks ago and has the same tracking indication (USPS Awaiting Item) as of this day, too.
Buyer beware..
That's weird. But I didn't order from their site, but from amazon.com. Apparently, they are also selling those there, so I can't really tell how that company works because the shipping and all was handled by amazon. It only took 3 days to arrive from the US to Spain.

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Post by Shadow » February 11th, 2018, 1:29 am

TheShadowRunner wrote: February 10th, 2018, 8:07 pm About a month, for an item in stock, you must be joking.
I wished they replied to emails to at least explain what's going on.
Ah, that's pretty bad then. Maybe give it 1 more week and see what happens. If not, issue a chargeback.
Development Console: SCPH-5502 with 8MB RAM, MM3 Modchip, PAL 60 Colour Modification (for NTSC), PSIO Switch Board, DB-9 breakout headers for both RGB and Serial output and an Xplorer with CAETLA 0.34.

PlayStation Development PC: Windows 98 SE, Pentium 3 at 400MHz, 128MB SDRAM, DTL-H2000, DTL-H2010, DTL-H201A, DTL-S2020 (with 4GB SCSI-2 HDD), 21" Sony G420, CD-R burner, 3.25" and 5.25" Floppy Diskette Drives, ZIP 100 Diskette Drive and an IBM Model M keyboard.

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Post by TheShadowRunner » February 27th, 2018, 12:15 pm

I received the Totalconsole laser this week-end and fitted it today, finally!
Of course I checked it versus a genuine KSM440BAM (lifted off a PSone) and now believe it's definitely genuine too.
The markings are exactly the same, everywhere (including the sled motor board), the plastic parts definitely look like they came from the same molds and most importantly it runs perfectly smooth and silent (even during seeking) without any need to tweak the potentiometers (on a PU7 board).
I tested all the media I could throw at it, from mid-range Verbatim to high-end Taiyo, and of course originals, it doesn't skip a beat playing FMVs, a real pleasure.

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