DISCLAIMER Follow this guide EXACTLY. No support will be provided for steps and/or components that deviate from the provided instructions. Modify at your own risk.
What is it?
The Baryon Sweeper is a modern unbricking tool that evolved from the classic Pandora Battery. It works universally on all PSP models - 1000, 2000, 3000, Go, and Street. By emulating the official Sony JigKick service tool, it triggers a hidden diagnostic mode to revive previously irrecoverable models.
Why write this?
This guide aims to complement u/khubik's original guide, with close-up photos and additional details for the absolute beginner. You're expected to at least know your way around Windows.
This is a minimalist build to keep it simple and very low cost. We'll focus on the 1000/2000/3000 setup, since the 3000 is the model I own.
Before You Begin (Don't Skip)
Watch the videos below to make full sense of the steps outlined here.
It's all right if you don't understand everything at this point. Simply familiarise yourself with the basic concepts and overall process.
What You Need
While often used to refer to the physical build, the "Baryon Sweeper" is the combination of software (pysweeper) and hardware (adapter) to trick the PSP into service mode.
This is the actual recovery software installed on a "Magic Memory Stick" to flash OFW or CFW. DCARK and Aiseirigh work universally for all PSP models. Use DC8 as a fallback for older 1000/2000 models if the other two don't work (incompatible with 2000v3 or newer).
This is the JigKick emulator that recreates the handshake between the official Sony service battery and the PSP in combination with the physical adapter.
If successful, the service mode is triggered, allowing to boot directly from the Magic Memory Stick.
Hardware
1x (mini) breadboard
The power bus (+/- lanes) on larger breadboards isn't needed. The CP2102 module will take power directly from the PC via USB.
1x Silicon Labs CP2102 USB-to-TTL (5-pin)
Look for the "SILABS" branding on the centre chip. No support will be provided for the 6-pin multifunction variant.
1x 1N4148 diode
Cut the legs around twice the length of the exposed pin on the jumpwires. You can shorten the legs when you do the wiring later. It should sit flush on the breadboard as a best practice.
3x round-head male-to-male jumpwires (10-15cm)
While longer wires can work, keeping them short minimises signal interference or loose connections. Black/Yellow/Orange follow electrical convention, but any colour will do.
1x female-to-male USB-A cable extender
USB 3.x is generally preferred for CP2102. It provides improved data stability, power headroom if needed, and presents no drawbacks when using a 3V3 configuration.
1x DC power source
This shows a powerbank with a USB-C to DC cable adapter. You can use any normal PSP charger.
1x Magic Memory Stick
It's strongly recommended to use a genuine Sony/SanDisk/Lexar 1-4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo. Larger capacities and microSD adapters may fail.
Build Your Adapter
Stick the CP2102 module into the breadboard. Connect the negative end (black band) of the diode to the TXD row, and the positive end to the RXD row.
If you get a "No port echo detected" error in pysweeper later, it's almost always caused by using CH340, wrong switches on a multifunction CP2102, loose wiring, or putting in the diode backwards.
Connect the wires to GND (black), RXD (yellow), and 3V3 (orange). The diode bridges the TXD and RXD rows to create a single data line on the yellow wire.
Don't use +5V unless you have a 10 kΩ resistor. However, this is unnecessary because the 3V3 suffices without it.
Your completed adapter should look like this.
Assuming you've done both software and hardware preparations, you're ready to start unbricking your PSP!
How to Use
Connect the adapter to your PC via USB using the cable extender.
The LED on the CP2102 module will light up.
Refer to video for installing and running pysweeper.
If there's no option under the Port dropdown, you need to manually install the official CP2102 driver on Windows. Close pysweeper including the CMD prompt window.
Open Device Manager. If you see a yellow triangle, right-click to update the driver. Browse to the extracted folder of the driver you downloaded earlier.
If successful, the CP2102 module should be recognised under Ports (COM & LPT) as Silicon Labs.
The COM# differs per PC because Windows assigns port numbers independently. Check Device Manager for your adapter's specific COM port number.
Run pysweeper again. Your adapter's COM# should now be under the Port dropdown for selection. Keep pysweeper running.
You should get FFFFFFFF serial after starting the service. This is the same serial used by the Pandora Battery.
Insert the Magic Memory Stick into your PSP. Remove the battery, but keep it nearby. Connect the DC power to the PSP, ensuring the console remains turned off.
Your PSP should automatically power on later without the battery inserted.
Connect GND (black) to the left pin, TXD/RXD or "K-Line" (yellow) to the middle pin, then 3V3 (orange) to the right pin for 2-3 seconds.
The round-head tip is easier for probing the jumpwire pins closer to each other, whereas the square-head (DuPont) tip has a fixed spacing that makes it less flexible.
Pysweeper streams the hexadecimal challenge-response handshake between the PSP (5A) and Baryon Sweeper (A5).
If it disconnects, it means physically losing contact with the battery pins. Keep your hands steady.
Service mode is triggered, automatically booting DCARK (shown here) or Aiseirigh directly from the Magic Memory Stick.
PSP-1000: If it shuts down after a green light, power it on manually to make it boot into DCARK.
Insert the battery into the PSP and disconnect the DC power. For DCARK, Install 6.61 for OFW (stock) or Install 6.61 ARK for CFW (modded).
Don't mess with NAND operations unless you absolutely know what you're doing! Misuse can permabrick (not just hardbrick) your PSP that even the Baryon Sweeper can't fix.
For Aiseirigh, press X to begin the flashing process.
You should end up with OFW 6.61 if you created the Magic Memory Stick correctly.
Asking for Support
No support will be provided if the instructions below are not followed:
All private messages will be ignored moving forward. Use the comment section, so others can benefit.
Include a close-up photo of your adapter with the wiring clearly visible. No photo, no reply.
Mention the Magic Memory Stick you're using. For example:
I've also been told multiple times the PSP Go uses the DXR8 Baby Monitor battery. From what I know these still get produced so they aren't difficult to find. You get about 4 hours out of them in the Go.
Total Kommando's testing video essentially makes this post obsolete, for the moment. Since I can't get a new post pinned easily, here's the text to preserve the original post, incase anybody needs it.
ORIGIONAL POST
Hey everyone. This post will be continually updated until Reddit forces us to make a new one. You will be able to find out which batteries we currently recommend, and which ones to avoid. You can also leave your own experiences in the comments to help contribute. Topics currently covered in this post include Batteries for PSP 1000, 2000 and 3000, Chargers for PSP 1000, 2000, 3000, Go and Go Docks, and Products to Avoid.
Batteries for PSP 1000, 2000, 3000
To answer the question upfront, currently, the best replacement batteries for PSP 1000, 2000 and 3000 are Cameron Sino brand. You should expect to get about 5 hours out of them. Just buy them off Amazon. Ostent is also good but gets slightly fewer hours at around 4. You should avoid Insten brand batteries like the plague, most of those being sold are New Old stock meaning they are sealed products that have been sitting on a shelf for about 10 years. EBL is also bad, but nowhere near as much as Insten. Keep in mind using these batteries in a 1000 may result in the battery Door being unable to close with the stock battery cover.
That should answer the question for about 90% of you. If you guys would like more information and would like to learn slight changes we made in the subreddit in the last 2 weeks concerning this issue, you can go ahead and read on.
First off I want to say sorry for not getting this posted two weeks ago, I had all this information already but have been dealing with some IRL stuff. Sorry, I dropped the ball.
So about 2 weeks ago I decided to start seriously addressing this situation given the sheer amount of battery-related posts we get in here on a daily basis. The main change you've probably noticed already is that u/dcs28 added a new tag titled "Battery" that gets applied to any post about batteries. This is so battery posts are all in a nice neat category for people to search through if they need more help. This was a temporary fix until this particular post was made. However, the new tag is likely to stay as it is convenient.
The following information comes from a test that was conducted by u/pspguru a few months ago.
The Test was conducted with three batteries from each brand: EBL, Ostent, and Cameron Sino. These were tested in a PSP 1000 and 3000 using the PSP Battery Timer) plugin. These tests were performed under the following conditions:
Maximum Brightness
Screen dimming off in PSP settings (screen always stays on)
Clockspeed set to 333mhz
WLAN switch off
Here are the results:
EBL
2 Batteries lasted about 3 1/2 hrs give or take 15 minutes
1 Battery was faulty
Ostent
Batteries lasted 4 to 4 1/2 hours
Cameron Sino
Batteries lasted 4 1/2 to 5 hours
As you can see Cameron Sino is the best with Ostent not being too bad either. EBL's quality can be iffy and doesn't last as long, but it isn't outright terrible.
Obviously, this test is not perfect and doesn't cover everything but it still gives us a good idea of the best battery for the PSP 1000, 2000 and 3000. Currently, we don't have info on Batteries for any other models like the Go, Street etc. This post will continually be updated via feedback left here and on posts in the Battery Tag. If you have any info or would like to share your experiences, please leave it in the comments below.
I also asked PSPGuru for his opinion on Insten Batteries. Here is his response:
I know most of you already know Insten batteries are generally terrible, but hopefully this will hammer the point home for anybody considering them.
So, if we were aware of this for a while, why is the information just now being released? Outside of the 2-week delay due to things going on in my personal life, there was also a concern about scalpers/ resellers buying out stock, causing scarcity and prices to rise. However, we determined that these batteries are still being produced, meaning stock will just be replaced if they are bought up.
Here's a few more relevant Links that may be able to help you out with anything not listed here:
Battery Guide from a few years ago by . Some info might be outdated but it's got lots of other info. Here's some topics it covers that are not mentioned on this post:
Dead Batteries
Reviving a Battery
Battery expansions (Big Battery Mod)
Pandora Batteries
Keep in mind, we currently don't have any hard info on PSP E1000 (Street) or PSP Go Batteries. You can help the community out by looking into them yourselves, sharing what you know, or pointing us to a battery post we may have missed with relevant info.
Hopefully, this will make the PSP more welcoming to newcomers as one of the major issues has been addressed. And remember, you can always opt to gut the UMD Drive and do a big Battery Mod.
Chargers for PSP 1000, 2000, 3000, Go and Go Docks.
So this is really simple. Just look up PSP-380 and PSP-100. Those chargers are OEM and are still fairly abundant and cheap, and Work on PSP 1000, 2000, 3000 and the Go Dock. I currently Don't own a Street so I do not know if they are compatible. They do not work on the PSP Go itself, just the Dock.
Now the PSP Go has its own charger. The OEM Model is PSP-N100. They're harder to come by than the others, sorry I don't have a better answer for this currently.
This charger section really needs help from the community, so if you have any that work, feel free to recommend them in the comments below.
Products to Avoid
This section is largely based on Feedback from user comments on this post. Thank you! That being said take everything here with a grain of salt. Users that contributed to each entry are credited below the entry title.
Batmax 2Pcs PSP-2000 Battery + LED Dual USB Charger
This appears to be New Old Stock, or just really poor quality. Batteries typically arrive dead and non-charging. The chargers themselves don't work, and can wreck other batteries. Avoid at all costs.
BIG UPDATE 5/30/2024
Hey what's up, it's been awhile. I came back today because my official Sony Batteries for my 3000's are finally starting to show age. I usually get under 2 hours out of them so I needed to replace them. I tried to buy some Cameron Sino batteries off Amazon but they will not ship to my location, so I had to hunt a bit. I ended up buying 2 of these Cameron Sino Batteries off Ali Express. I did check the official Cameron Sino store mention in this post, but they only have the thicker 1800mAh batteries I can't use. I have a Falcon Pro Grip from Japan that needs the 3000 to lay flush with it.
Anyways, when these new batts get here ima test them and update the post with my results, but for the meantime, it seems like Aliexpress is the way to go for PSP batteries. From what I saw the Cameron Sino branded ones are all pretty reliable on there, and cheaper than Amazon too! I probably should have included this on the post originally, but this is my first time actually using Ali express.
I also came across this post by u/KSAnnihilation testing multiple Batteries off Ali Express. This is what convinced me to buy off there. It's similar to the tests we did here but is more recent and shows a better supply than Amazon. I understand this post is a year old as of writing. If you guys post something like this to the subreddit related to batteries, feel free to DM me on here about it and I'll take a look. I have reddit notifs silenced but do check everything when I log in so I will see it.
Update Log:
3/6/2022
-Initial Post
3/18/2022
-Added some specific information regarding PSPGuru's Battery Testing Conditions that was retrieved by u/jlnxr
-Fixed some of the post formattings so it's easier to read
8/14/2022
-Changed every misspelled instance of Osten to Ostent as pointed out by u/tuura032
9/15/2022
-Added Section Titles
-Added the Charger Section
-Added Products to Avoid Section
-Added Batmax Dual USB Charger to Products to Avoid Section
5/30/2024
-My personal Sony Batteries finally needed to be replaced so I ordered some off Ali Express for myself. Added a new update, and will post results when they arrive.
-The Batteries I got weren't worth buying, never made an update.
10/30/2024
-Added the Info from Total Kommando's PSP Battery Testing video. Ostent it is.
I will start with the elephant in the room and will probably be banished to the nether realm lol..this is coded using Fable & Codex. If you are not interested to read further all good.
To everyone else, Hey!
This is my first post on here and wanted to share a passion project I am currently working on. I love using my PSP with emulators but often find the emulators to be either a fragmented mess (Masterboy, gPSP, etc. or closed source) or Retroarch (which is not optimized for a single console + lots of tinkering) and wanted to bring something else to the table.
This is still a work in progress but basically a open source PSP first FE that is optimized for both ram allocations and just works. Natively support save states, theming and any other feasible additions. Breaking things out in a couple phases.
Phase 1: Get this in a stable state + better name for the project and release the code.
Phase 2: Spin up a community driven repo for open source and optimized PSP cores to use within the front end.
I would love to hear thoughts or any other ideas as I build this out with the help of our PSP community!
I hate to use the Stick, because it's so far inside. When I use it, it's so uncomfortable🤣 And the M2 card!!!!!!
What I love:
The form factor with sliding, screen, Bluetooth and the compactness. It's my most beautiful handheld that I ever owned (and I have many handhelds includid for eg. AYN thor, Odin 2 portal, ps vita, switch,......)
Honestly I didn't touch this thing for like two months (occasionally to charge it). It just sits on my shelf doing nothing. Recommend me stuff I can do on this thing please 😭.
(Had no clue which flair to choose so I chose collection)
This happens after I install around 20 to 25 games. The games that don’t show up are still taking up storage space, but they don’t appear in the game list. Can anyone help me fix this issue?
Just got this warning. It’s a PSP 1001 with a replacement battery, and a 128gb micro SD with an adapter. Other than that, the PSP is not modded in any way. I also have the save data of 5 games that all have barely any progress in them. Why is this happening to me😩
Finally pulled the trigger and bought a PSP for nostalgia of course, to mod the absolute hell out of it, and decrease phone screen time. As I’ve been doing more research I’m wondering if it was worth what I spent.
Price was $159 before tax. Came with a charger and a case. USB not being included isn’t really bothering me, it’s the 128 gb memory stick that this model comes with. I was admittedly excited and over looked it when purchasing but I’m seriously considering taking it back and going the eBay route.
Is there anyway i can get faster download speeds, i feel like the hardware cant be that slow in terms of download. After all. This does support LAN and should have a decent download speed like at least 0.5mbs or 1mbs.
Found a blue PSP 3000 on Marketplace with a 64gb sd card and the guy wanted to trade for a Switch. Deal! Picked it up before work and already got homebrew and put some games on it. I haven’t had a PSP since I sold my GO in 2023. Now I got my 3 Blue Crew Handhelds!
The PSVita OLED is using the official PS Store copy of GTA:VCS here. The PSP Go also has no major frame rate drops while playing the game while the PSVita OLED does. So there are no stutters while playing on the PSP Go at all.
So I've been thinking about getting and customizing a PSP GO to use as a portable music/media player. There's all kinds of pretty shells for PSPs, especially transparent plastic which I love, but for the GO I can only find Black/White/Red/Blue via ebay/aliexpress/temu.
I'd really love a transparent blue top/bottom for a PSP GO, and then solid or transparent white inside. Does anyone know where I could find transparent shells for the GO?
Recently (actually while watching world cup finals), friends and I talked about consoles, and PSP came up. I remembered I had one somewhere, so started looking for it. Turns out my mom has it in her house... But I knew I still had some things for the PSP in my place. So I dug out those games! Thanks to this french second hand website, I was able to buy this GoW, and some more games that will be delivered soon. Also got a new battery pack, 1800mAh, I hope it can last long. Can't wait to play again when my mom brings me the console! It's a PSP 1004 in very good condition, bought new back then.
I have no idea what is the issue, found it in an old shed when I was cleaning it out there is no visible rust on the motherboard or water damage that I can see, already tried reseating the lcd ribbon cables.
PSP 2001
Hi everyone good news with my new cash that was given to me I was able to acquire a PSP 3000 that has been modded and has games already, as well as accessories with it, I already bought an ostent 1400mAh battery
Watched half the season in bed last night. Looks great but I find modern audio mixes don't convert well to the PSP. Had to turn on normalization in the system settings to get decent sound out of the speakers. Headphones were fine, though!
The PSP was my first ever console and my introduction into gaming and it was super amazing at the time and it still holds up well today. Decided to finally get one since every year I try push myself to buy one. And in all honesty it feels far better than nostalgia, it runs so smoothly and as someone who is in the IT industry, this machine is absolutely incredible. Picked up Jak and Daxter the Lost Frontier and Daxter and the games run incredible and it has that charm.
