Test points/MechaCon UART

These are the test points exposing MechaCon's UART interface e.g. for CDVD Drive calibration using PMAP. These test points have also been used by Sony service centers via official service tools.

To put the console into service mode, the RMC/test mode test point needs to be grounded. This is necessary when recalibrating the drive and doing other stuff.

Depending on how you connect to the console, you might have to swap RX and TX with each other.

The publicly available service tools only support consoles up to the G-chassis (up to including SCPH-37000 and SCPH-39000 series).
PMAP additionally has experimental support for H and I chassis consoles (most SCPH-50000 series consoles) and even more experimental support for slim consoles.

Currently missing (please contribute):

• GH-008, GH-016, GH-017, GH-029, GH-036

How to connect

To enable the UART interface, the console must be put into testmode by pulling the TEST_MODE0 test point to ground. The interface operates at 57600 baud 8N1 (automatically set correctly by PMAP and the official service tools) and rather non-standard 3.5 V.

3.3 V signal levels work fine for communication, but care must be taken not to additionally connect an internal 3V3 voltage regulator, which is provided on some USB UART interfaces, to the console, since this will conflict with the console's own 3V5 voltage regulation and could damage the USB device and/or the console. On such interfaces, it should suffice to just connect Rx, Tx and GND. Even better would be to use a RS-232-to-TTL level shifter, which can take the 3V5 voltage as reference directly from the console itself.

Notes

• RX and TX are sometimes swapped in these pictures. This is due to the contributors not having unified their naming conventions, with some marking RX and TX as seen from the MechaCon's side and others marking RX and TX as seen from the PC's (or it's interface's) side. If you can't establish a connection one way, you should try swapping RX and TX and try again. There are plans for unifying the naming in the future.
• The 3.3V marked on most pictures are actually 3.5V, since that's what MechaCon runs off. If you are using e.g. a RS232-to-TTL level shifter (like e.g. a MAX3232-based level shifter), the PS2's 3.5V need to be connected to your level shifter's Vcc. However, it should not be connected to anything that has it's own 3.3V regulator (like e.g. some USB-to-TTL converters), since the regulator on the PS2's board and your converter will end up in a feedback loop, potentially causing damage. There are plans for unifying the naming in the future.
• RMC is actually named TEST_MODE0. This mistake comes from the fact that the generic microcontroller that the SPC970-MechaCon is based on has an alternate function on the same pin called RMC (ReMoteController), which is an internal remote control signal decoder. This alternate function is unused on PS2 and does not exist on the Dragon-MechaCon. There are plans for unifying the naming in the future.

Playstation 2 Fat Motherboard Models

GH-00X

GH-001

GH-003

Identical to GH-001

GH-004

Identical to GH-005

GH-005

GH-006

GH-007

Identical to GH-006

GH-01X

GH-010

GH-012

Identical to GH-010

GH-013

Identical to GH-010

GH-014

Identical to GH-010

GH-015

GH-018

Identical to GH-019 - Tested on 28-Nov-2024

GH-019

GH-02X

GH-022

Identical to GH-019

GH-023

GH-026

Playstation 2 Slim Motherboard Models

GH-03X

GH-032

Identical to GH-035

GH-035

Identical to GH-032

GH-036

Please contribute a good 3.5V test point

GH-037

GH-04X

GH-040

GH-041

GH-05X

GH-051

GH-052

GH-06X

GH-061 (except GH-061-51)

On the top side, next to the Ethernet connector.

For GH-061-12, TX, RX, RMC, and Ground are the same as GH-061-22. 3.3 V/3.5 V point shown in that diagram might not supply enough amperage to power a USB-UART device requiring external power, so use an alternate 3.3v point such as the one recommended for installing Modbo.

GH-061-51

On the top side of the board, two points being above and one point being to the left of the MechaCon.

GH-062

GH-062-02, located near the top left corner of the MechaCon.

GH-07X

GH-070

On the top side, next to the Ethernet connector

GH-071

Identical to GH-070

GH-072

Identical to GH-070

PSX Motherboard Models

XPD-001

Identical to XPD-005

XPD-005