General Laser Life

[dark_jedi116]

Got a V5/V6 recently modded with a DMS3. I have been reading all these posts about laser adjusting and laser problems and such..and I have questions.

Does modding my ps2 (forcing it to read from CD-R and DVD-R media) significantly reduce the life of my laser? Can someone explain the logistics behind the reading process?

Should I adjust the laser now? Or leave well enough alone until I see a problem?

Thanks for the info, you guys/gals are always great.

[ton23]

your not forcing it to read a CDR or DVDR. chips just tell it to accept them as official ps1 or ps1 discs. any sony DVD-ROM drive should be made with enough quality to support various media.

the only thing that really wears it out IMO is based on how much you use it with official games and DVDs, and how much you use backups. (bc different write speeds may cause problems) - any overuse of any laser on any drive will cause it to wear down.

[dark_jedi116]

Is there one generic write speed that everyone uses?

I would think the slower the better, but that's not always the case.

[ton23]

i always burn as fast as possible on CDRs, and as slow as possible on DVDRs. just because i seriously doubt it will hurt my laser..i just dont want to waste a DVD by a bad burn.

generically, probably 6-8x for CDR, and the always recommended speed of 1x for DVDR.

[charlie_ps2]

You have asked a very good question that taxes many here.

It is not disputed that shite DVD-R media causes problems with the laser functions. The laser itself wears out much like an electric light bulb. Depends how long you have it on - and remember that a PS2 game in the tray keeps the laser lamp on.

The problem zone lies with the laser not being able to focus easily on the groove that guides it to read the data stream. If it has to constantly refocus, then the chip driving the focus coils can overheat if the heat is not conducted away.

V5/v6 models had thermal transfer pads attached to the chips in question. But they are now coming up to 2 years old and the laser will, if well used, be on its decline by now and may well find DVD-R harder to read than if you'd modded it a year ago.

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by charlie_ps2
The laser itself wears out much like an electric light bulb. Depends how long you have it on -

So you are saying its like having a "Light On" correct?
With this in mind, what is the opposite of Light? Hard - Correct? So are you saying that its okay to have a "Hard On" for a very long time?
LOL I need sleep... Im becoming sane again...
-Me

[dark_jedi116]

Thanks charlie, some good advice/information in that post. I had no idea that keeping the ps2 game in the tray keeps the lamp on.

[ton23]

actually, i think it is if the disc is SPINNING the laser is on. The only reason i think this is bc the ps2reality media player stops the disc 1 - for swap users and 2 - to save the drive. (if i remember correctly)

[charlie_ps2]

The disk spins while there is a game in - at least so I have observed with the disk tray lid off and the magnetic cone on.

[ton23]

unless of course the game/application is programmed to stop spinning. such as older gamesharks, action reply, and ps2reality media player.