Pandora modding!


ryan0

Still Fresh
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Oct 4, 2008
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Hey!I'm Ryan Dardis aka ryan0/ryandardis/moncreef,but mostly ryan0!As a former Team Acidmods member I'm huge into hardware and software modding games consoles (modchips,sound reactive lights,cold cathodes,and alot more that you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you).I heard about the p&|a recently and thought it was too good to be true!turns out its' even better XD!Anyways I'd just like to get your opinion on something,but I should probably show you guys some of my previous work before asking you,so here it is!:

anim_f4ac96f3-7b6d-3f84-3991-c849caccdcb4.gif


and here is a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMAo2kyP2WQ
(sorry for bad video quality)

heres the list of mods done to the psp in the video above:
power LED swapped to blue
Charge LED swapped to white
Transparent faceplate
custom jewel installed
6 uv led's put into jewel
2 green sound reactive (dance to music) led's under the dpad and face buttons
1 green led in trigger
2 blue led in other trigger

So I ask you this...are you guys actually interested in hardmodding your pandora and want me to write tutorials on how to hardmod the console,or are you guys just fine with software mods?
If you do not know how to solder but really want to do this,don't worry,I am writing some great tutorials on how to solder that will be up on my site soon (link below)
If enough people are interested I will buy a pandora and port these mods over to the pandora and show you step by step how to do them.

I've started up my own console modding forum for those who want to learn how to do things like this to any console,the address is h2m0ds.com.The site is still well in its infancy and under construction,and most of the tutorials are in the process of being written,so don't flame about it :lol:
ryan0
 
that would be great, though i think the PSP is a bit too excessive
 
I agree that psp was way ott,but it was fun!You are able to turn off all the lights by the HOLD switch,so you can turn them off whenever you like so the light doesn't get in your eyes!Thanks for the feedback dudes XD
 
I'm already thinking about a pretty extreme hardware mod. The Pandora/605 screen is good but is grainy in daylight. I want install a 4.8" touchscreen. The same one that is in the Archos 5.

The .5" I need to find is the fun part.
 
I won't be able to say for sure until I actually have the hardware,but you could use a mosfet transistor to overdive the backlight.This depends totally on the voltage and current of the backlight though.If you do need any help don't hesitate to ask and I'll see what I can do!
 
That psp looks way too "pretty"... I rather have a hardware mod that actually increases the pandora's performance. Anyhoo.... I would LOVE tutorials! It is said that you can add more ram(or a better stick) to the pandora, but requires a lot of experience...


softmods? How can you softmod a pandora when softmodding is all you can do :p?
 
As I said already,I modded that psp the way it is because i was PAID to mod it that way.The customer is always right,whatever they want they can have,they could even have my right arm if they paid the right price XD
I've done mods like:
hardwiring a mouse to the psp analog,
dual psp analogs,
replacing the psp analog with a ps2 analog,
usb charge for fat psp's,
and I have finished the designing of an ambilight for the psp that could be easily ported to the pandora that costs 7 euro's to build,

I lost alot of data in the great erasure which wiped my online storage where my tutorials were all being sorted,therefore I have to rewrite them,but if you would like to see a hardmod done to the pandora contact me and I'll see if its possible!

I don't get what the last part of your post meant :wacko:
 
polkunus said:
t is said that you can add more ram(or a better stick) to the pandora, but requires a lot of experience...
Really. You got a source on that? <_<
 
Cool stuff!

You're going to get a lot of responses where people don't "get" what you're doing. I think this is pretty natural as the Pandora and the previos GP2X consoles were mostly designed to entice the software crowd. Most of the modding that has been on on the old consoles involve the D pad, as most users found the analog stick hard to use. So, in short, you're going to get a lot of responses that don't feel the LEDs necessary.

So, to use an analogy, say the computer case modding community. While most mainstream mods are unique designs, and cool lighting, tidy wires and what not, most of this community is probably more suited towards the guys that open more holes in their case to improve airflow as opposed to getting more lights into it.

However, its always great to have another member of the community with differing interests. I'm certain there will be lots of newer members of the community that would love those kinds of mods. I'm curious about one thing, do you have any ties to resources that work on things like the translucent PSP case in your pictures? What I'm curious about is whether or not those manufacturers would be interested in doing those kinds of things for the Pandora. I'm mostly thinking about accessories like replacement cases, slightly bigger ones to allow bigger batteries/other internals and crystal cases so the actual console doesn't get scratched. The involvement of those would be great for both sides of the 'modding" community =)

-Origin
 
I've also read somewhere that it could be possible to solder another 128MB chip on the OMAP3, but that it would be very complicated.
 
Origin said:
Cool stuff!

blah blah
We "get" what he's doing, we aren't isolated from every single other technology community. It's just pointless. from the design to the proposed GUI pandora is pushing functionality rather than style.
(although, i dont call lots of annoying, flashing, blinking lights stealing battery power style. i call it tacky.)
 
Neatly added L2 and R2 shoulder buttons would be the thing I liked to see on the Pandora.
The solder points are on the pcb, but sadly the buttons themselves did not make it into the final case design. Not difficult to do, but I suppose a modding pro would come up with a far nicer looking solution than I could.
 
thanks origin,I was wondering why I was getting some strange responses :lol:

please let me highlight that the RAM the pandora uses is not humanly solderable,the pitch between each pin is too tight.The only way we could solder on a new ram chip is with a 80,000$+ cnc guided robotic soldering machine.
And that's not even the hardest part!
To the best of my knowledge the BIOS flashed onto the motherboard is configured for 128mb of ram,any chance to the amount of ram on the motherboard and it will trigger and interrupt,or basically just say "hey dude,somethings gone wrong,just turn off",and the device will fail to function.
It took years to get replacing the ram working to a decent standard on the classic xbox,which it was still vulnerable to crashing at random intervals.But at least you could solder the new ram chip on yourself without the need for a cnc.
It's basically impossible,with the right resources,budget,coding (both microcontroller coding AND driver/software programming,basically re-writing the entire BIOS of the motherboard) this would be possible,but unfortunately we don't.
BUT we can still dream XD

p.s. with some fibreglass wool and resin you could mold then in the l2 and r2 buttons,sand it smooth,spray paint it and it'll look like is was stock!

Is anybody able to tell me if these l2 and r2 buttons that didnt make it into the final case design work?As in does the console recognize when I press them and are they functional buttons?If so I will definitely add and l2 and r2 and "tut" it for those who really want it.
woah long reply,I love brainstorming.
ryan0
 
ryan0 said:
thanks origin,I was wondering why I was getting some strange responses :lol:

please let me highlight that the RAM the pandora uses is not humanly solderable,the pitch between each pin is too tight.The only way we could solder on a new ram chip is with a 80,000$+ cnc guided robotic soldering machine.
And that's not even the hardest part!
To the best of my knowledge the BIOS flashed onto the motherboard is configured for 128mb of ram,any chance to the amount of ram on the motherboard and it will trigger and interrupt,or basically just say "hey dude,somethings gone wrong,just turn off",and the device will fail to function.
It took years to get replacing the ram working to a decent standard on the classic xbox,which it was still vulnerable to crashing at random intervals.But at least you could solder the new ram chip on yourself without the need for a cnc.
It's basically impossible,with the right resources,budget,coding (both microcontroller coding AND driver/software programming,basically re-writing the entire BIOS of the motherboard) this would be possible,but unfortunately we don't.
BUT we can still dream XD

p.s. with some fibreglass wool and resin you could mold then in the l2 and r2 buttons,sand it smooth,spray paint it and it'll look like is was stock!

Is anybody able to tell me if these l2 and r2 buttons that didnt make it into the final case design work?As in does the console recognize when I press them and are they functional buttons?If so I will definitely add and l2 and r2 and "tut" it for those who really want it.
woah long reply,I love brainstorming.
ryan0


yes a l2 and r2 tut would be wonderful. On a side note, people like me love leds and lights!
 
PoisonedV said:
We "get" what he's doing, we aren't isolated from every single other technology community. It's just pointless. from the design to the proposed GUI pandora is pushing functionality rather than style.
(although, i dont call lots of annoying, flashing, blinking lights stealing battery power style. i call it tacky.)

What I mean by most people won't "get" what hes doing is that they won't understand the desire to do something like that. Just because you don't get a kick out of adding neon lights, 40 foot spoilers, manufacturer decals and tinted windows to your car doesn't mean there isn't a massive multi-million dollar industry there. Therefore you don't get what hes doing.

As for modifying the amount of RAM available to the Pandora, the devs have stated that even if in the future a different OMAP processor could provide greater performance for the same price, they would likely stick with the one thats going into the pre-order units. Its best for the community if everyone was developing for the same platform. It doesn't segregate parts of the community from others.

Ex: "Oh, you have the older version, so you can't run my emulator, sorry." :(

-Origin
 
ryan0 said:
Is anybody able to tell me if these l2 and r2 buttons that didnt make it into the final case design work?As in does the console recognize when I press them and are they functional buttons?If so I will definitely add and l2 and r2 and "tut" it for those who really want it.
Yes. You can see the supplied contacts in this pic.

polkunus said:
PoisonedV said:
polkunus said:
t is said that you can add more ram(or a better stick) to the pandora, but requires a lot of experience...
Really. You got a source on that? <_<
i would link it to you if the forums are up
Anything you linked to would be wrong. It is effectively impossible to add RAM to the PoP assembly.
 
I was pretty sure that I read that you cannot expand the RAM on the Pandora in any way. I don't remember if it was craig who said that or what, but I'm pretty darn sure that was the case. I think someone mentioned that it was soldered directly to the SoC or something of that nature.
 
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