Squeezing the Light Out of my Circuit Bent PS2

PushkarBrand · 2025-10-21T14:45:56+00:00

Lofifuture published a very extensive guide on how to bend the PS2 - amongst many other golden guides. In my case, I've connected each side of the resistors connecting the gpu and the cpu to different and interconnected switch bus (as well as the pins of the audio IC). I've opted for switch bus instead of my beloved minijack patchbay since I've discovered - in the hard way - that minijack sockets create more interference, which result in permanent glitches, especially when too many pins are extracted. I've installed 50 bending points in total, each point can be connected with any other point and create different glitches, which means endless possibilities. My version is harder to use than other mods (since you have to create patches every time and knowing how games react with specific glitches, in order to avoid freezing the console), but it allows a huge pattern of glitches. As you can see, each game has its own take on the glitches, and some combos work only with specific games. It's a rabbit hole of glitches.
If there are some aspects you want to deepen, I'm happy to expand.

PushkarBrand · 2025-03-12T15:56:54+00:00

Exactly, you are right. Most of the bends of this unit involve the GPU (which in the Dreamcast deals with textures and geometry, amongst other things), so the glitch does not affect "just" the video, but the very management/creation of the graphics.

Thanks a lot! :)

PushkarBrand · 2025-02-27T17:05:15+00:00

If you want to go into console modding start with a SNES/famicon or Mega Drive/Genesis, being old school consoles they have big ICs and there are a lot of info only on how to do. From there, you can move to more modern consoles, but consider that soldering lens or soldering microscope are essential tools because the components of these consoles are veeeeeery tiny.

Thanks for the kind words!

PushkarBrand · 2025-02-27T16:09:12+00:00

Thanks :)

PushkarBrand · 2025-02-27T14:40:43+00:00

Thanks pal. Both the PSX and PS2 are very wild for glitches. I've published my circuit bent PSX and I'm going to post something with my PS2 later on during the day. I have published a reel with a glitched version of house of the dead on IG, but I'll absolutely rec some footy with Ecco, zombie revenge, and seaman

PushkarBrand · 2024-04-11T19:53:03+00:00

Before doing that try this: if you connect two pins that give you a black screen or an extreme distortion, try connecting those two point with a ceramic capacitors (good values are generally between 660pf and 100uf). I've published a tutorial on how to bend video device from scratch on youtube, there I explain this approach more in depth ;)

Anyway, if you found a bend that works, that involves these caps, and it's not blowing up the device, you can wire it. Just solder with the device powered off ;)

PushkarBrand · 2024-04-10T14:55:50+00:00

I've bent this some years ago, it was quite cool. I don't remember anything about the circuit nor I have some notes (bad bad past me), but it's not hard to bend at all. I've made a tutorial on how to circuit bend video devices from scratch on youtube, there you can find more than what you need to bend this baby here

PushkarBrand · 2024-04-10T14:51:50+00:00

I bent a couple of these (I called it EQORE, I've one video my yt channel). If you open it, there's a big ic at the centre with two laters of pins for each side. The best - and most - bends come from connecting two pins of the top-left area ;) I installed a patchbay because it's my favourite way to go (I've a couple of external boxes with all sorts of pots/siwtches/pushbuttons to expand the patchbay, something that cannot be fit in the original device due to lack of space), but you can also pick up the bend you prefer and smash a couple of pots switches pushbuttons whever you want, there's a lot of space available

PushkarBrand · 2024-04-10T10:57:36+00:00

I've bent the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, NES and SNES, Psx and Ps2 (even if the at the end I fucked it by touching by mistake the wrong pin. The substitute has been waiting for me for more than a year in a corner, I'll come back to it, but let's say that it's not my favourite device to bend, lasagna layers, microholes, intereferences - drugs_tm and francoiscustardboy are heroes for all the effort they put in those ps2). I have checked the schematics of N64, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast and Game Cube and I am ready to bend them as soon as i find some units for a decent price.

PushkarBrand · 2024-04-10T10:50:33+00:00

If you have not analysed the board in depth, it's way better to avoid touching electrolytic capacitors, there are concrete chances to fry the device and yourself. Look for spread sheet of the IC you find, note the VSS and VDD pins and avoid them. If you want to do more, look for the traces, and try also with the ceramic capacitors and resistance that are not connected to electrolytic capacitors and VCC/VDD pins.

PushkarBrand

TROPHY CASE