TECHNOLOGY
PSPi 6 Board Lets a Raspberry Pi Replace the Mainboard Inside a PSP 1000
A project called PSPi 6 is a custom circuit board that swaps the PSP 1000's mainboard for a Raspberry Pi. Its creator says development is complete and boards are shipping.
Image: PSPi-Version
PSPi 6 is a custom circuit board that replaces the mainboard of a Sony PSP 1000 so a Raspberry Pi can run the handheld instead. it is hosted on GitHub under the name othermod/PSPi-Version-6. The creator calls it a passion project.
The idea is to turn the old PSP into a modern handheld. According to the project page, you can play retro games and emulators, run full Linux distributions, and use most software that works on a Raspberry Pi. The repository holds the hardware designs, firmware and software needed to build and use the board.
The board works only with the PSP 1000 series. It fits the Raspberry Pi Zero, Zero 2W and the CM4 (a compact Raspberry Pi module), the last one with a separate CM4 Carrier board. It is electrically compatible with all 40-pin Raspberry Pis, but only the Zero and Zero 2 fit inside the PSP shell.
The listed features include an 800x480 LCD with adjustable brightness, charging with real-time battery monitoring and power-saving modes, and audio through the PSP speakers or headphones. The PSP's volume and mute buttons work. LED indicators and an on-screen display show system status.
All the original PSP buttons and the joystick are used. The board also has room for two extra buttons and an extra joystick. On audio, the page notes that the Pi Zero and CM4 Carrier give mono sound. A Universal Carrier is planned to output stereo.
Supported operating systems include RetroPie, Lakka, Ubuntu, Raspberry Pi OS, Batocera and Kali, among others. The project's wiki covers the component list, board installation, software setup and troubleshooting. Video tutorials exist, and the creator says a full assembly guide is still being written.
There are two ways to get a board. A ready-made one is sold at othermod.com. Or you can download the design files from the repository's boards folder, send them to a PCB manufacturer, source the parts and assemble it yourself. The creator uses JLCPCB for the boards he sells, and warns that the DIY route needs advanced electronics and soldering skills.
The creator says board development is complete and boards are shipping. He says he sometimes makes minor changes that do not affect the important features, and he keeps working on documentation and guides. The design is described as open-source hardware under a Creative Commons license.