PlayStation+Xplorer+RaspberryPi Zero+Catflap
Posted: November 5th, 2018, 6:43 am
This is something I have always wanted to get working, and dreamt about way back in 2012 when I got a RaspberryPi Model B at launch.
My current Xplorer setup used a HP thin terminal, which worked fine but the thin client was actually larger than the Playstation. With Arduino etc there was always going to be a cheaper solution but was never smart enough to get anything working. I did use Gregs xlinkusb for a bit but I really like the console redirection and that doesn't work with xlinkusb, nor is it currently open source.
Anyway, after a couple of weekends tinkering (and digging parts out of storage) I present....
Catflap running on a RaspberryPi, talking to a Xplorer via GPIO.
Works remarkably well but the level shifting is f**k ugly from an electronic engineering perspective so wont be releasing a schematic at the moment - its not properly buffered so could toast your Raspberry pi (it had 3.3v IO - the Xplorer is 5.5v)
I will design a board for it and release all the details shortly. Final goal is to have a Pi Zero had type board that plugs straight into the DB25 on the Xplorer, but also has a socket for serial connection (siocons or psxserial). I cant imagine it costing much to put together as my aim is to make this super cheap so everyone can join in.
I will then look at what else we can get running over on Linux and take it from there.. it should be fairly trivial to make a simple script that sends over an EXE via SFTP and executes it.
This is the setup thus far (forgive the mess of wires - dupont cables everywhere ).
Video of it in action
[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm7mibMe3lo[/BBvideo]
So.. todo
Finalise schematic.. Already there but at the moment uses a TSSOP IC (massive pain to soldier) - might switch to 74 series logic as may be easier and fine for this application.
Credits - to follow. This is not all my work - its a combination of looking at other solutions for other problems and putting it all together so it works for our needs. Catflap etc was all written by someone else.
Also need a friendly way of installing this. Currently you need to build quite a bit from source and set up - will have a look at some sort of installer or a buildroot image eventually.
Help, comments, input etc all welcome as always - I wont be able to do much with it as I go on holiday for two weeks - but will look at getting a board designed and produced ready for when I get back. Ill try and learn Eagle while im away (provided my laptop works well in the sunshine).
Also, if anyone knows of any useful tools or has any source for some of the caetla tools I will look at porting these over and getting them built on Linux - if you can send me any links and will have a crack.
My current Xplorer setup used a HP thin terminal, which worked fine but the thin client was actually larger than the Playstation. With Arduino etc there was always going to be a cheaper solution but was never smart enough to get anything working. I did use Gregs xlinkusb for a bit but I really like the console redirection and that doesn't work with xlinkusb, nor is it currently open source.
Anyway, after a couple of weekends tinkering (and digging parts out of storage) I present....
Catflap running on a RaspberryPi, talking to a Xplorer via GPIO.
Works remarkably well but the level shifting is f**k ugly from an electronic engineering perspective so wont be releasing a schematic at the moment - its not properly buffered so could toast your Raspberry pi (it had 3.3v IO - the Xplorer is 5.5v)
I will design a board for it and release all the details shortly. Final goal is to have a Pi Zero had type board that plugs straight into the DB25 on the Xplorer, but also has a socket for serial connection (siocons or psxserial). I cant imagine it costing much to put together as my aim is to make this super cheap so everyone can join in.
I will then look at what else we can get running over on Linux and take it from there.. it should be fairly trivial to make a simple script that sends over an EXE via SFTP and executes it.
This is the setup thus far (forgive the mess of wires - dupont cables everywhere ).
Video of it in action
[BBvideo=560,315]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm7mibMe3lo[/BBvideo]
So.. todo
Finalise schematic.. Already there but at the moment uses a TSSOP IC (massive pain to soldier) - might switch to 74 series logic as may be easier and fine for this application.
Credits - to follow. This is not all my work - its a combination of looking at other solutions for other problems and putting it all together so it works for our needs. Catflap etc was all written by someone else.
Also need a friendly way of installing this. Currently you need to build quite a bit from source and set up - will have a look at some sort of installer or a buildroot image eventually.
Help, comments, input etc all welcome as always - I wont be able to do much with it as I go on holiday for two weeks - but will look at getting a board designed and produced ready for when I get back. Ill try and learn Eagle while im away (provided my laptop works well in the sunshine).
Also, if anyone knows of any useful tools or has any source for some of the caetla tools I will look at porting these over and getting them built on Linux - if you can send me any links and will have a crack.