.FLYINGHEAD HACKING THE PSP
.TITLE Replacing your broken PSP analog stick
.AUTHOR James Booth
.SUMMARY The PSP’s the analog stick is one of its most fragile components. Some take years of abuse, others give up the ghost rather quickly. You can return your unit to Sony for repair, or you can save some time and money by repairing yourself with this tutorial from Editor-at-Large James Booth.
.OTHER
With the exception of the LCD screen, the analog stick is probably the most fragile component of the PSP. And while some seem to take abuse for years without failing, others give up the ghost rather quickly. Provided your PSP is already out of warranty, why not make the repair yourself and save some time and money in the process?
Certainly, you can return your PSP to Sony for repair, but they’ll charge you quite a fair sum. And you won’t get your original device back; what you’ll get in return is a refurbished model, possibly not as cosmetically pristine as the original in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A Sony’s Playstation Portable gaming platform.
.H1 The analog stick
Sony’s choice of design in the analog stick of the PSP was a somewhat poorly thought out concept. It’s made of inferior plastic, lightweight, easily-breakable components, and has a tendency to stick and drift. Sony really could have done a better job. The up-side is that it’s relatively easy to replace the analog stick, and they’re pretty inexpensive to come by.
.BREAK_EMAIL If you need to replace your PSP’s analog stick, then click here to learn more.
With a few quick searches on eBay and Internet search sites you’ll find many retailers in the US, Canada, and overseas that stock replacement analog sticks for every version of the PSP. I’ve seen prices ranging from $2 to $15, but you know what? Regardless of where you purchase your replacement or how much you pay, they all pretty much originate from the same manufacturer; so why not save some money and get the less expensive one?
The analog sticks, while cosmetically similar on the outside, have small design variations between each model of PSP and are not interchangeable. If you have a PSP 1000, you will have to get a stick specific to that model. The same applies to the PSP Slim, and the PSP 3000/Brite. The instructions contained herein will apply to the PSP 1000 and PSP Slim only.
As I do not have a PSP 3000, nor had occasion to open one up, I can’t give specific instructions for that model. However, I do know the analog stick for the PSP Brite uses a ribbon cable attachment rather than direct metal-to-metal contacts.
I’ve dealt with an organization in Hong Kong called Dealextreme and always had good service. Their prices very reasonable, shipping is usually free, and they give discounts on bulk purchases. The only downside is that it generally takes about two weeks for in-stock items to arrive in the US.
Bestusstore is an eBay retailer I’ve purchased from on several occasions, their prices are about $1.50 more than Dealextreme, also offer free shipping, but are located in the US, so product arrival is much faster; usually within the week.
No matter what seller I’ve used, or where they’re located though, the product I’ve received has been exactly the same. So there’s really no reason not to get the best deal or fastest delivery; whichever is most important in your case. It seems to me that once I had to replace the analog stick though, they seemed to fail more frequently, so it may be prudent to have more than one replacement on hand.
You may also need to purchase a special screwdriver to remove the PSP’s screws. I had a jeweler’s set of screwdrivers, but none of them fit the screws properly, so I ended up purchasing one along with my first replacement analog stick. Most of the retailers that sell replacement sticks will have the proper screwdrivers; some even sell them in a package with a stick and the screwdriver. I’ve seen some of the screwdrivers labeled as Torx screwdrivers, but none of the screws on any PSP I’ve seen were Torx screws.
.H1 Opening the PSP
In order to open the PSP you must remove a security seal to gain access to one of the screws; understand that any warranty you have will be voided. If your unit is still under warranty and you want to maintain the integrity of that warranty, do not proceed.
To open the PSP is quite a simple process, merely the removal of a handful of screws; five for the PSP 1000, seven for the PSP Slim. Both have a bottom screw, as shown in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B Remove this bottom screw from both the Slim and Fat PSPs.
On the PSP Slim there are two screws on the top, either side of the USB port that must be removed. Figure C shows their location.
.FIGPAIR C The PSP Slim has two screws on top by the USB port.
On the back of the PSP are four screws to be removed. Two are quite easily discernable, the other two are in the battery compartment, one under the security seal. On the PSP 1000 there are four screws inside the battery the compartment, only the leftmost need be removed. Figure D shows the location of the rear screws on the PSP.
.FIGPAIR D Remove four screws from the back of the PSP.
You can now remove the front cover of the PSP, exposing the internal workings. On the PSP 1000 the analog stick is attached to the inner surface of the faceplate as shown in Figure E; merely remove the nub from the front, the two screws from the back, and replace the defective stick with a new one.
.FIGPAIR E The PSP 1000’s analog stick is on the inside of the faceplate.
Reassembly is the reverse of the process and your PSP 1000 should be good to go for all the action you can give it.
The PSP Slim is a bit of another matter, it’s a bit more complicated, but not much. You’ll have to remove the button bar by popping up the clip on the right side, the entire bar will then lift off as shown in Figure F.
.FIGPAIR F Start by removing the button bar.
Next, apply gentle pressure to one side of the metal LCD frame, and then the other to release the screen from the clips holding it in place, as in Figure G.
.FIGPAIR G Gently remove the LCD screen from the holding clips.
Take extra caution while working around the LCD screen, the last thing you want to do is use too much pressure and crack the screen. Once released, lay the screen face down to reveal the motherboard.
With the motherboard exposed, you may want to take this opportunity to lift the heat shield and check the model number of your motherboard, in case you have future plans to install custom firmware; knowing the model number of the motherboard, as shown in Figure H, will tell if it’s even possible to install custom firmware on your PSP.
.FIGPAIR H The model number of your PSP’s motherboard is located under the heat shield.
On the bottom left of the motherboard, near where the LCD cables attach is a screw securing that corner of the motherboard. Loosen this screw so you can lift that corner of the board; you don’t need to actually remove the screw, just loosen it. Figure I shows the location of the screw.
.FIGPAIR I Loosen this screw on the bottom of the motherboard.
Next, remove the screw holding the analog stick as shown in Figure J.
.FIGPAIR J Only one screw secures the analog stick on the PSP Slim.
Once the analog screw has been removed, use the tip of your screwdriver to lift the corner of the motherboard. You can then gently remove the analog stick by lifting it by the nub and withdrawing it to the left. Use caution that the silicon insulator in Figure K doesn’t fall off the stick and get lost under the motherboard.
.FIGPAIR K Be sure to keep the silicon insulator from the original analog stick.
With the old analog stick out, it’s a simple matter to install the new one. Put the silicon insulator from the old stick over the contacts on the new one and make sure it’s in there snugly, then just reverse the removal process and you should be good go to with your new analog stick.
You may want to put a dab of nail polish or Loc-Tite on the screw threads to help hold them in and reduce the possibility of stripping out the socket threads. The more times you have to replace the stick, the higher the chance of stripping out those plastic threads; then you’ll have to replace the faceplate too.
As you can see, swapping out a broken analog stick on your PSP is quit an easy task. In fact, I’ve done it so many times over the past few years that I have it down to about a five minute process. There’s very little risk in the procedure, and the payoff is an instant repair and knowing the history of your device; versus the delay of sending your unit to Sony, having to wait for a return device, and not knowing what you’ll receive in return.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
Learn more about [[http://www.us.playstation.com/PSP|the Sony Playstation Portable]].
Learn more about [[http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.603|Dealextreme PSP parts]].
Learn more about [[http://stores.shop.ebay.com/bestusstore_PSP-1000-2000-3000_W0QQ_fsubZ654326017QQ_sidZ800229387QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322|Bestusstore’s PSP parts]].
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
