Read and write PS2 memory card with Arduino

[Meta]

Hi:

I want to find information about the PS2 Memory Card and control it with Arduino.
Here is a project made for the PSx Memory Card with Arduino.


http://shendohardware.blogspot.com.es/2 ... duino.html

More information.

I have realized about the pins should use 3.6V and has 5V directly over Arduino. Over time, the memory card can burn, between it there must be a resistance or a zener diode of 3.6 V.

In the 7V part, there is 5V of Arduino, there must be 7V for its proper operation. Great care.

If you find any Webo information on the PS2 Memory Card, document it here.

Thank you very much.

[Shendo]

Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me, that schematic is flawed and needs to be updated.
I recommend using resistor voltage divider instead of zener diodes as you get a finer control of the voltage.

Here you can find the calculator, enter input voltage (5V), output voltage (3.6V), one of the resistor values and then hit "Compute".

1st party cards only use 3.6 pin for power supply and 7.6 pin is unused so external power supply is not needed.
Most 3rd party cards use 7.6V and step voltage to 5V internally so if you are lucky you can get away with powering it
with 5V from Arduino. Usually you can read data but get errors when writing data.

As for PS2 cards I haven't actually investigated how they communicate. I do know they use MagicGate encryption.

[Meta]

Hello:

Have you tried reading a PS2 Memory Card formatted for PS1?

Although you have the encryption, there are products that you can pass the data from PS2 to PC.

Greetings.

[Shendo]

Have you tried reading a PS2 Memory Card formatted for PS1?

Can you elaborate this?

PS2 Memory Card can't be used on a PS1 or for PS1 games.
It can hold PS1 save data if it's transferred by the PS2 browser or uLaunchELF but it's still formatted as PS2 card.

[nocash]

I recommend using resistor voltage divider instead of zener diodes as you get a finer control of the voltage.

That method is fine if you need a reference voltage, but it isn't too suitable for supply voltages. The memory card will also act like another resistor wired to ground, so the voltage will drop more than you had calculated. And results may vary for memory cards with different power consumption, or in case of increased power consumption during write/erase.
I would use two diodes in serial (1N4001 or 1N4004 or the like), the voltage should drop by around 0.6V or 0.7V per diode, so you should get about the desired voltage, and it should be quite stable regardless of the power consumption.

[rama3]

Why not use the 3.3V from the Arduino directly? Memory Cards work down to just about 3.1V from my tests.

[Shendo]

@nocash: Ah, I see. Thanks for the info.

@rama3: Yeah, I tried but it doesn't work reliably. It seems like built-in 3.3v regulator can't provide enough power.

[Meta]

@rama3: Yeah, I tried but it doesn't work reliably. It seems like built-in 3.3v regulator can't provide enough power.

You know what energy or tension you have to apply to the memory card. To have more energy you can use an external power supply, using in parallel 3.3 V and double of current. There will be no loss of energy, but you add more energy and the Memory Card 2 will use the power or current you need.

[rama3]

Oh, I wasn't aware how they even generate the 3.3V. According to schematics, it's a feature of the built-in FTDI chip. It's only good for 50mA.
http://download.arduino.org/products/NA ... .2-SCH.pdf

I always use this really nice Arduino Uno clone. It has 3.3V and 5V 1117 regulators and can be switched into 3.3V mode easily.
https://img.conrad.de/medias/global/ce/ ... S_1000.jpg
It's cheap and probably the best "Uno" available.

[Meta]

Better to insert a 3.3V voltage regulator into the memory card 2.