Pandora modding!

[MatthewMalone]

Yeah once the RAM is assembled to the processor its impossible to change it.
Honestly, i wouldn't be upset if future pandoras had more RAM.

But if I remember and understood it correctly, only the first 128MB of RAM are accessable directly, everything above needs to be addressed differently or something like that.
So Craig probably meant it's better for the development, when there are no different configurations to consider.

 

[emcp]

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? <_<

well technically, you can, but it would require it not to be a pandora lol
anythings possible

but in short no, you cant add ram

but yh i dont care for leds, i dont care to mod my pandora, it has usb, so the only mods would be case mods to occupy usb devices (although i hate the fact theres not 4 shoulder triggers)

 

[j.pickens]

I like the case modding idea.
Infinite possibilities on an open platform.
My slightly less bling-y thing has been mentioned on the hardware forum.
Backlighted keyboard.
Now, mr. case mod, neon guy, GET TO WORK!
Thanks,
j.

 

[polkunus]

I remember firefox saying it on one of the stickies.

 

[polkunus]

Oh! Something reminded me in the keyboard discussion!


ILLUMINATED KEYBOARD!

 

[fischju]

After seeing a prototype video with no buttons and the light shining through the nub holes, I have to do that.

 

[Chip]

I remember firefox saying it on one of the stickies.

I think you're thinking of this post:

That's not strictly true - the flash and SDRAM is in a "PoP" (package-on-package) that is soldered to the top of the SoC.

You could get a PoP with more memory in it, but I understand that they get cripplingly expensive above the size fitted to the Pandora. Or, you could dispense with the PoP and solder separate flash and SDRAM chips to the board - if there were space to do that, which there isn't.

Remember that 128MB of SDRAM is a lot more than any other handheld console - nearly double that of even the latest versions of the PSP, in fact.

I think it's the term "soldered" that is throwing you off. To say something has been soldered implies that it might be unsoldered, which is not the case here. The connections that have been soldered in this PoP configuration are too small and delicate to be done by hand, and they cannot be undone without destroying the chip. Once the parts are attached, they should be considered a single piece. The final answer is that for all intents and purposes, you cannot upgrade the RAM on the Pandora.

 

[MDave]

Oh! Something reminded me in the keyboard discussion!


ILLUMINATED KEYBOARD!

Yeah that was me! I called it first!

 

[ish420]

Hard modding is a great idea. With the long battery life, LEDs sound perfect for this thing. Illuminated keypad and L/R buttons would be totally awesome. high jacking the usb and adding a built in tiny camera. Ah, man. Now that is the Ivory. Only if an FM receiver with interface would be possible, it would be complete for me. (I know, SDIO) I'd like it built in. Anyone remember the homebrew motion sensor for the psp? That would also be cool for the Pandora.
I love Acidmods BTW. Great to see you here in these forums. I will bookmark your site.

 

[likwidoxigen]

An L2 R2 mod would be freaking hott. Just have to find a nice spot to integrate them....

 

[Kyosys]

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 ?

a lot of experience as in desoldering and resoldering to many MANY _TINY_ SMD chip legs


As for the OP, I'd love to see the tutorials. I wouldn't actually mod my pandora just to make it prettier, because I'm a practical guy, but I like reading about and looking at these things.

 

[ryan0]

I'm all for hardware mods too!I think people look at my original post and they see the flashy led mods I've done.If they took the time to read the post they would have seen mods like:
dual psp analogs
psp mouse
ps2 analog in psp (removable)

I'm not all about flashy led mods,the original video's and pics are the only ones I have left of my work since the great erasure,so they are the ones I could post.
If there are any hardware mods you would like to see just tell me and I'll see what I can do!

 

[Pleng]

I'm not sure if this is in the remit of what you do, but some people have expressed a wish for a 'docking station' type accessory. Although rather than being designed simply as a docking station that you leave at home, it has the posiility of being used on the move. There was a thread about it in the old forum but from what I can remember it would look something like the attached picture.

The whole on the backplate allows the EXT port to pass through, the little round connecter goes into the power socket (more on this in a sec), and the little square connector plugs into the rear USB port.

On the front is a USB hub, providing 4 additional full size usb connectors. There is also some transport controls. You could also perhaps include a wired ethernet connector on the side.

Inside the unit there could be GPS and an extra battery (hence the power connector) or an internal 2.5 inch hard drive (I don't think there's room for both!) It would certainly interest me, especially the internal battery version.

The extra depth could also be used to provide additional shoulder buttons.

 

[ryan0]

pleng the scary thing is that just 10 minutes before reading that post me and my friend were talking about making something like that,but our design has a mousepad that slides out from the bottom and made from aluminium,plastic would need to be vacuuformed costing 100's-1,000's for the prototypes while I can make an aluminium one at home,ergonomically usb ports on the front aren't the best option,people dont want wires cutting aross their chests,so we'll probably just stick with the back.I have alot planned for the p&|a :lol:

 

[Dunny]

Personally, I'd like to see:

Keyboard/controller button LEDs
Camera (possibly both internal and external, or one that can rotate within the Panda's lid). With the networking we have, video chat would be awesome.
Microphone in (3.5mm) jack socket. Purely so I can load in my real spectrum tapes into an emulator

The new DSi has added cameras in a similar style. While I think it's probably worthless on the DS (especially with such a small resolution), the Pandora could make much better use of it especially with the connectivity that the Pandora offers. It'd be one less thing to cart around with me if I could take pictures/video with my Panda.

D.

 

[PoisonedV]

Personally, I'd like to see:

Keyboard/controller button LEDs
Camera (possibly both internal and external, or one that can rotate within the Panda's lid). With the networking we have, video chat would be awesome.
Microphone in (3.5mm) jack socket. Purely so I can load in my real spectrum tapes into an emulator

The new DSi has added cameras in a similar style. While I think it's probably worthless on the DS (especially with such a small resolution), the Pandora could make much better use of it especially with the connectivity that the Pandora offers. It'd be one less thing to cart around with me if I could take pictures/video with my Panda.

D.

Not sure if you knew this, but the pandora has a microphone, and it would probably do fine for everything but music.

 

[Pleng]

pleng the scary thing is that just 10 minutes before reading that post me and my friend were talking about making something like that,but our design has a mousepad that slides out from the bottom and made from aluminium,plastic would need to be vacuuformed costing 100's-1,000's for the prototypes while I can make an aluminium one at home,ergonomically usb ports on the front aren't the best option,people dont want wires cutting aross their chests,so we'll probably just stick with the back.I have alot planned for the p&|a :lol:

Cool. Glad to hear that you've been thinking of it too! Point taken about the USB ports, though I'd imagine they'd be mostlyused for gamepads with the Pandora sitting on some kind of desk or worktop, which is why I would have positioned them at the front. Granted, for keyboards etc then the back is probably a better place.

I know mousepads are quite liked by people in general, but I personally can't stand them! I'll be perfectly happy using the analogue nubs to control mouse movement. Also, a lot of bluetooth and usb keyboards have trackpads built in.

Camera (possibly both internal and external, or one that can rotate within the Panda's lid)

I had the idea of a dual purpose camera on a retractable cable. It could sit tucked nicely inside the back of the unit, to enable the Pandora to act as a crude camera/video camera. Pressing a button would detach the camera releasing a wire just long enough to crawl up the the lid of the Pandora. It would feature a little clip to enable you to clip it to the top of the unit, giving you webcam functionality.

I have NO idea how feasible this actually is!

 

[Dunny]

Microphone in (3.5mm) jack socket. Purely so I can load in my real spectrum tapes into an emulator

Not sure if you knew this, but the pandora has a microphone, and it would probably do fine for everything but music.

Hmm. I assume it's not 3.5mm jack-socketed, but an open-mic similar to the DS mic? In which case, no, it would definitely not do fine.

D.

 

[PoisonedV]

Microphone in (3.5mm) jack socket. Purely so I can load in my real spectrum tapes into an emulator

Not sure if you knew this, but the pandora has a microphone, and it would probably do fine for everything but music.

Hmm. I assume it's not 3.5mm jack-socketed, but an open-mic similar to the DS mic? In which case, no, it would definitely not do fine.

D.

guess we will find out when its released. there is no other information at the microphone at the moment.

 

[cosam]

Hmm. I assume it's not 3.5mm jack-socketed, but an open-mic similar to the DS mic? In which case, no, it would definitely not do fine.

guess we will find out when its released. there is no other information at the microphone at the moment.

There'll be a microphone in the case itself, yes. There's also a 3.5mm jack which will take a microphone, although it's a 4-band jack so you'd need the right connector and wiring.

And yes, for loading Speccy games from tape, the jack would indeed be preferable ;-)