u/Admirable-Yam-5788

Was giving my OG DualShock 3 a clean today and ended up going down a bit of a rabbit hole after checking the board inside it.

Mine has an MSU_VX4_0.10 board. Turns out it's one of the earlier DualShock 3 revisions that uses 4-pin magnetic/Hall-effect analogue stick sensors, rather than the conventional potentiometer setup Sony later went back to.

Basically, instead of having a physical contact rubbing across a resistive track to work out the stick position, these use magnetic sensing. So you're getting rid of one of the main wear points that causes the usual stick drift.

And this wasn't some random prototype Sony tried once and binned. Several of the early DualShock 3 revisions used this setup before Sony eventually went back to conventional potentiometer sticks.

This controller is nearly 20 years old, still gets absolutely hammered pretty much daily, and hasn't got a hint of stick drift.

Meanwhile, I bought my PS5 at launch and I've already had two controllers fail. Through the PS4 generation I went through at least three. Yet this ancient PS3 controller just keeps plodding along with no bother.

That's the bit I cannae quite get my head around.

Sony clearly knew nearly 20 years ago how to make an analogue stick without the same physical wear point that's responsible for so much drift. Yet here we are now paying around £70 a pop for controllers using potentiometer-based sticks that they know can wear out.

And you cannae even say the technology wasn't around or hadn't been proven. Sony themselves were already putting it in controllers almost two decades ago.

Now Hall-effect sticks are getting punted as some premium "anti-drift" feature like it's some brand-new breakthrough 😂

It's mental when you actually think about it.

Sony didn't need to solve stick drift. They'd already cracked it nearly 20 years ago. Then they went backwards, and we're the mugs paying £70 a pop for it.

Pics are my actual daily controller and the MSU_VX4_0.10 board inside it.

Found this old JVC widescreen CRT sitting in my dad’s garage where it’s probably been for years. It was absolutely filthy when I pulled it out, but after a good clean it fired straight up and actually seems pretty decent.

I normally play my PS2 on a 2010 Samsung LCD over component, and to be fair the Samsung is really good with the PS2. Menus especially are noticeably sharper on the Samsung — it almost looks like HDMI compared with the CRT.

For the JVC I've bought an RGB SCART cable, so I'm giving it the best chance I can rather than using composite.

So far I've only really played PES 6 on it — which IMO is probably still the best football game ever made, but that's another matter 😂

The biggest advantages of the CRT for me so far aren't actually the picture quality. It's the sound and the lack of lag. The sound from this thing is brilliant and the controls feel noticeably more immediate. Once I'm actually in a match, the picture looks pretty good as well.

It definitely needs setting up properly though. I don't have the remote yet, so I can't get into the picture settings. The brightness seems to be absolutely sky high and blacks sometimes have a slight purple/magenta look, particularly on dark screens. During actual gameplay it looks much more normal, just really bright.

The picture position/geometry is a little off as well. I've got a genuine JVC remote on the way plus a universal one as backup, so once they arrive I'll sort the normal brightness/contrast/colour settings first and then see what the geometry needs.

I'd put up a video of it running, but my phone picks up all the CRT scan/refresh lines that you simply can't see with your eyes, so video makes it look much worse than it actually does in person.

Anyone using a widescreen JVC like this for PS2? Is it worth getting it properly dialled in and using it as my main PS2 TV over the Samsung? Any hints/tips for setting one of these up properly? Also interested in the purple-ish blacks — does that just look like the brightness/black level is miles too high or anything else worth checking?

The bloody thing is massive, so it really needs to earn its space 😂

​

Tried PSBBN properly for the first time… now I’m wondering if I move my 400-game OPL setup over

I finally tried PSBBN Definitive Project properly today.

If anyone is interested in the full Windows install/setup process, I’ve put that in a separate guide post. This one is more about what I actually think of it after using it on real hardware.

My normal setup is a 2TB HDD with around 400 games in OPL, all already set up with artwork, descriptions, CFGs, cheats, VMCs etc. I didn’t touch that drive for this test. I used a spare 120GB SSD for PSBBN and a separate 1TB PS2 HDD to pull a small selection of games from.

First impression is that PSBBN looks really good, but I’m not sure I’d actually say it looks better than my OPL setup.

What I really like is the animation and the fact it genuinely looks like it’s supposed to be there. Power the PS2 on and it boots straight into this proper Sony interface. It doesn’t feel like homebrew bolted onto the console at all.

That side of it is brilliant.

It’s also mad thinking people in Japan were rocking stuff like this on the PS2 over 20 years ago while most of us were looking at the standard Browser.

The Game Collection is slick as well, but once you actually start browsing it’s basically one big piece of artwork on a floating wheel unless im missing something. It looks clean and polished, but there isn’t loads of information on screen.

That’s where my Pixel Pro OPL setup still has a massive advantage.

With OPL I’ve got the full game list sitting there, background artwork, box art, descriptions and everything else right in front of me. It’s a lot busier, but for a library of around 400 games it’s incredibly practical.

So at the moment I’d probably say:

PSBBN wins for presentation, animation and that proper factory-Sony feel.

OPL wins as an actual big game-library interface.

PSBBN definitely feels more natural though.

Once it’s installed there’s no fucking about going through FMCB menus and launching different apps just to get where you want. Turn the console on and you’re straight into it.

It also installs HOSDMenu, which I really like.

That gives you direct access to things like:

Browser

System Configuration

Open PS2 Loader

POPSLoader

BB Navigator

It almost feels like having the useful side of FMCB built into the HDD itself.

I chose OPL as the game launcher underneath PSBBN, so I’m not really throwing OPL away either. Games are still being launched through OPL, which means I still have the compatibility settings and VMC support I already know.

And that’s really where I’m stuck.

My existing 2TB setup has taken a lot of time to get where it is.

I’ve got around 400 games, artwork, descriptions, CFGs, cheats, VMCs and the Pixel Pro theme. OPL is just easy now because I know exactly how it works.

Add a game.

Add the artwork.

Change a compatibility setting if something plays up.

Done.

PSBBN looks more like something Sony actually intended the PS2 to have, but do I really want to start transferring a 400-game collection and learning another way of managing everything just because the front end looks nicer?

I’m also not convinced yet that the floating-wheel Game Collection would actually be better with hundreds of games. With <15 games it looks brilliant. With 400, I’m wondering if I’d just miss having the full OPL list in front of me.

So for anyone who has used both PSBBN and OPL long term, what do I actually gain and what do I lose?

Does PSBBN stay quick with 300–400+ games?

Is maintaining the exFAT library easier than an old APA OPL drive once everything is set up?

Are VMCs, cheats and per-game settings still just as easy to manage?

Do you actually end up using HOSDMenu instead of FMCB?

Does the Game Collection still feel good once there are hundreds of titles on it?

And the main one:

Does the novelty eventually wear off and you just go back to OPL because it’s quicker and easier?

At the moment I don’t think PSBBN is necessarily an upgrade over my OPL setup.

It feels more like a completely different way of using the PS2.

PSBBN: slick, animated, proper Sony feel and looks like it genuinely belongs on the console.

OPL: much more information on screen, ridiculously easy to manage and already perfect for my 400-game collection.

So what would you do?

Move the full 2TB library over to PSBBN, run both setups, or leave the 2TB OPL drive exactly as it is?

I spent today setting up PSBBN Definitive Project from scratch on a spare 120GB SSD, so thought I’d write the full process down while it’s still fresh.

My normal PS2 uses a 2TB HDD with around 400 games in OPL, so I didn’t touch that. I used a spare 120GB SSD for PSBBN and a separate 1TB PS2 HDD as a source for some test games.

My hardware was a fat PS2, official Sony Network Adapter with SATA conversion, Windows 10 laptop and USB-to-SATA adapters.

1. Windows/WSL setup

Download:

PSBBN-Launcher-For-Windows.ps1

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

Then right-click the PSBBN .ps1 file and select Run with PowerShell.

First time around it checks/enables:

Windows Subsystem for Linux

Windows Hypervisor Platform

Virtual Machine Platform

BIOS virtualisation

Mine needed a restart.

After restarting I ran the launcher again and it installed Debian through WSL.

It asks you to create a Linux username and password. Once that’s finished type:

exit

The launcher then downloads its Linux dependencies and PSBBN files automatically.

2. Selecting the PS2 drive

The launcher lists every physical drive connected to the PC.

Double check this carefully because the selected drive gets wiped.

My 120GB SSD appeared as roughly 111GB through my USB-to-SATA adapter.

I selected that and used:

C:\PSBBN

as my PC-side folder.

It automatically created folders including:

APPS

CD

DVD

movie

music

photo

POPS

3. Installing PSBBN

From the main menu I selected:

1 – Install PSBBN & HOSDMenu

When it asked for partition sizes I used:

Music – 1GB

Contents – 1GB

This was only a small test SSD so I wanted most of the space left for games.

It then asks if you want to reserve space for future APA partitions.

I chose No.

One thing I learnt afterwards: if you want to try PS2 Linux, reserve at least 3GB here. Mine won't install Linux now because I didn't reserve any.

4. Windows can see the game storage

Once PSBBN was installed, Windows could see the game side of the SSD as a normal drive.

Mine appeared as:

OPL (E:)

Inside were folders like:

APPS

ART

CD

CFG

CHT

DVD

LNG

POPS

THM

VMC

That’s one thing I really like about this setup — the game area is normal exFAT storage rather than everything being hidden away in old-style APA game partitions.

5. Moving games from an existing PS2 HDD

My main 2TB / ~400-game OPL drive stayed untouched.

I connected a separate 1TB PS2 HDD to the PC instead and opened HDL Batch Installer.

HDL Batch detected the old PS2 HDD and listed all the installed games.

I used:

Extract Game(s)

to copy a selection back out as ISOs.

This does not remove the games from the original HDD.

DVD games went into:

C:\PSBBN\DVD

CD games went into:

C:\PSBBN\CD

In HDL Batch the blue disc icon is CD and the grey/silver one is DVD.

Once you have normal ISOs you can also copy them straight into the DVD or CD folders on the PSBBN exFAT drive.

6. Adding games to PSBBN

Run the PSBBN Windows launcher again.

It should actually recognise the drive and display:

PSBBN detected

Select the SSD and reuse your existing:

C:\PSBBN

folder.

Then choose:

4 – Install Games and Apps

I selected:

2 – Add Additional Games and Apps

rather than Synchronize All.

Synchronize can remove games from the PS2 drive if they’re no longer in your PC-side collection, so Add Additional is safer when you’re just adding stuff.

7. OPL or Neutrino

It then asks which launcher you want:

1 – Open PS2 Loader

2 – NHDDL / Neutrino

I chose OPL because I already use it and know it inside out.

So PSBBN is basically the front end while OPL still handles actually launching the games.

8. Game Selector

It then scans the games and opens a Game Selector.

This lets you decide exactly what appears in the PSBBN Game Collection.

It also sorts out the artwork/icons.

9. Optional extras

There’s an Optional Extras menu containing:

Install PS2 Linux

swap Cross/Circle

change language

screen settings

clear artwork/icon cache

I changed mine to:

X = Enter

Circle = Back

I also tried Linux but, as mentioned above, it wouldn't install because I hadn't reserved the 3GB+ of space during initial setup.

10. First boot on the PS2

For the first test I removed everything except the controller.

No memory cards.

No SD2PSX.

No USB.

No disc.

Installed the SSD and powered the PS2 on normally.

PSBBN booted automatically.

No FMCB needed.

11. First-boot network setup

On the first boot it asked me to set the network up.

I had Ethernet connected to the official Sony Network Adapter.

I used:

Do not use PPPoE

Automatic IP/network settings

Automatic DNS

Skip router configuration

After that it went straight into the PlayStation BB menu.

12. HOSDMenu

The setup also installs HOSDMenu.

Mine gives direct access to:

Browser

System Configuration

Open PS2 Loader

POPSLoader

BB Navigator

So you effectively get both the full PSBBN interface and a much quicker PS2-style HDD menu.

Hopefully this saves somebody a bit of messing around. I’ll put my actual thoughts on PSBBN vs my normal 2TB OPL setup in a separate post rather than make this one even longer.

Honestly can’t believe how good the original PS2 version of GTA San Andreas still looks on a modern 55" TV. These pics are straight from my PS2, running through OPL from the HDD.

No fancy upscaler or anything either, literally just using a decent component cable straight into the TV with the game set to widescreen.

Obviously you can see its age if you get right up close, but sitting back playing it normally it still looks brilliant. The colours, lighting and art style have aged ridiculously well for a game running on hardware from over 20 years ago.

PS2 genuinely was some machine.

I looked around for a simple way of increasing the size of my PS2 HDD and struggled to find one guide that covered the whole process, so thought I’d put together what worked for me.

This is for a normal APA/PFS internal HDD setup. I went from a 1TB HDD to a 2TB HDD while keeping all my existing games.

What I used

HDD Raw Copy Tool – cloning the old HDD to the new one

HDL Batch Installer – checking the PS2 HDD and installing more games

PFS BatchKit Manager – backing up/rebuilding +OPL and injecting ART, CFG, VMC etc

OPL Manager – downloading artwork

Tom-Bruise PS2 OPL CFG Database – full CFG database

PixeliGer OPL themes – I use Pixel Prime/OPLAdvance

1. Back up anything important first

Before doing anything with +OPL, use PFS BatchKit Manager to back up anything you actually want to keep.

For me the important stuff was VMCs/saves. Artwork, CFGs and themes can easily be downloaded again, but obviously you don’t want to lose saves.

I’d definitely do this before touching the OPL partition.

2. Clone the old HDD to the larger HDD

Connect both drives to the PC and use HDD Raw Copy Tool.

Old PS2 HDD = SOURCE

New larger HDD = TARGET

Double/triple check that before starting because the target gets overwritten.

I cloned my 1TB PS2 HDD directly onto a 2TB HDD.

Once the clone finished, HDL Batch Installer immediately saw the full size of the new drive. Mine showed roughly:

1863GB total

819GB used

1044GB free

So all the games from the 1TB were still there and the extra space on the 2TB was immediately available for installing more games.

There’s no big game partition that needs extended. Each PS2 HDD game uses the APA layout, so HDL Batch Installer just sees what’s already used and what’s still free.

3. Rebuild +OPL bigger

This is one bit I’d definitely recommend doing while upgrading.

OPL can create a relatively small 128MB +OPL partition by default. That’s fine for a basic setup, but once you start adding lots of artwork, CFGs, themes, VMCs and cheats it can become far too small.

Don’t just expand the existing +OPL partition.

Expanding an existing APA partition can cause problems with its LBA layout. Basically the PS2 APA partition table keeps track of exactly where each partition starts and finishes on the drive. Trying to enlarge an existing partition can mess with those locations and potentially cause corruption/problems.

The safer method is:

Back it up → delete +OPL → recreate it at the size you want.

I recreated mine at 10GB using PFS BatchKit Manager.

10GB sounds huge compared with 128MB, but I currently have around:

13,000 CFG files

3,500 artwork files

plus themes, VMCs and anything else I decide to add.

That leaves loads of room for the collection to grow.

The first time I did my HDD I basically got the whole thing finished, then discovered I’d filled the OPL partition and didn’t have enough room for the VMCs I wanted. I wasn’t making that mistake again 😂

4. Install any extra games

Now use HDL Batch Installer to add whatever extra games you want.

Your existing games are already there from the clone, so you’re just filling the extra space on the bigger drive.

In my case I went from roughly 819GB used on the old setup to having another 1TB or so available.

5. Download the artwork with OPL Manager

Once your game list is how you want it, open OPL Manager and let it scan the games.

I download the artwork I want, including things like:

Front covers

Back covers

Disc images

Logos

Backgrounds/screenshots

I currently have around 3.5k artwork files.

6. Put everything into the PFS BatchKit folders

Once OPL Manager has downloaded the artwork, move the files into the appropriate PFS BatchKit folders.

For example:

ART – artwork

CFG – game configs/information

VMC – virtual memory cards

THM – themes

CHT – cheats

Then BatchKit can inject them into the +OPL partition on the HDD.

7. CFG database

For CFGs I use the Tom-Bruise PS2 OPL CFG Database on GitHub.

It has around 13k CFG files, covering basically the whole PS2 library. The CFGs provide things like game names, descriptions and other information used by compatible OPL themes.

You absolutely don’t need to install all of them. I just prefer having the entire database sitting on the HDD because when I add another game later there’s a good chance its CFG is already there.

8. Why I inject CFGs in batches of around 3,000

Last time I did this I tried throwing the whole CFG collection at BatchKit at once.

It took an absolute age and because there wasn’t much feedback I was sitting wondering whether it was actually still working or had frozen.

This time I did approximately 3,000 CFG files at a time.

On my setup, each batch of roughly 3,000 took around 5 minutes.

So I just did:

3,000 → inject

next 3,000 → inject

next 3,000 → inject

etc

Much easier because you can actually see that things are progressing.

9. Themes

For themes I use the PixeliGer OPL themes.

I particularly like:

Pixel Prime – Prime Video style layout

OPLAdvance – another really nice OPL layout

Download/extract the themes, put them into the BatchKit THM folder and inject them along with everything else.

There are loads of other OPL themes around as well if those aren’t your thing.

10. Inject everything back into the HDD

Once you’ve got everything ready in BatchKit:

ART

CFG

VMC

THM

CHT if wanted

anything else you use

Inject them into the new larger +OPL partition.

Because I made mine 10GB, I’ve now got plenty of room for artwork, CFGs and VMCs without having to worry about filling it again.

11. Put the HDD back in the PS2

That’s basically it.

You end up with:

All your original games still there

Loads more free space for games

A much larger +OPL partition

Fresh artwork

Full CFG database

Themes

VMCs/saves

Cheats if wanted

Much easier than rebuilding a 2TB PS2 HDD from scratch.

Important Windows warning

When you connect an APA/PFS PS2 HDD to Windows, Windows may ask you to format or initialise it because Windows doesn’t understand the PS2 filesystem.

CANCEL IT.

Do not format it, initialise it or let Windows “fix” it.

I nearly did this myself when Windows popped up asking to format my original 1TB drive 😅

Also be absolutely certain which HDD is SOURCE and which is TARGET in HDD Raw Copy Tool.

Hopefully this helps someone because I struggled to find one simple guide that covered cloning to a bigger drive, keeping the existing games, rebuilding +OPL safely and then putting all the artwork/CFG/VMC stuff back.

Hit me up if ive made a mistake or have any questions.

Thanks

Added some pics i took during upgrade

This might genuinely be the greatest LEGO build I’ve ever seen 😂

A full miniature BrewDog brewery, complete with the tanks, pipework, production areas, offices, bar and even the tiny people wandering about. The amount of detail that’s gone into it is ridiculous.

I kept spotting more stuff the longer I looked at it. Whoever built this absolutely smashed it.

LEGO Technic has nothing on this 😂

Been building this setup up for a while now and finally got it looking pretty much how I wanted.

The console is a silver SCPH-50003 fat PS2, running a 1TB SATA HDD through an original Sony Network Adapter fitted with a SATA conversion board. I’m using Free McBoot with OPL, with the Prime theme, game artwork and descriptions added so the whole library is much nicer to browse.

The 1TB drive actually started life as a sector-for-sector clone of my original 500GB PS2 HDD, then I expanded it to use the extra space rather than starting again from scratch.

I’ve also been adding a few interesting mods and updated versions of games along the way.

Still finding little things to tweak, but I’m really happy with where it’s at now.

Any PS2 games you think I’m missing?

My console collection so far – apparently I enjoy modding them as much as playing them 😂

Built this lot up over the years. Some I've had for ages, others I've picked up cheap and brought back into use.

Current lineup:

• PS5

• PS4 – 500GB SSD

• PS3 – CFW + 500GB SSD

• PS Vita – modded

• Silver PS2 Fat – internal HDD, OPL/FMCB and basically all the bullshit 😂

• Black PS2 Fat – HDD/OPL setup as well

• Xbox 360 – my old Frankie

• Xbox One X

• Xbox One S

• Another fat PS3 currently on the way – sold as nonfunctional for £10, so that'll be the next project 😂

I've realised I get just as much enjoyment out of repairing, modding and upgrading these things as I do playing them. Half the fun for me is seeing what you can get old hardware to do and getting everything set up exactly how you want it.

Despite having all the newer hardware, the PS2 is getting the most use just now. PES 6 online has dragged me right back into it (still cant defend) Im constantly messing with HDDs, OPL, homebrew and finding yet another thing to change.

There's always another project. 😂

My console collection so far – apparently I enjoy modding them as much as playing them 😂

Built this lot up over the years. Some I've had for ages, others I've picked up cheap and brought back into use.

Current lineup:

• PS5

• PS4 – 500GB SSD

• PS3 – CFW + 500GB SSD

• PS Vita – modded

• Silver PS2 Fat – internal HDD, OPL/FMCB and basically all the bullshit 😂

• Black PS2 Fat – HDD/OPL setup as well

• Xbox 360 – my old Frankie

• Xbox One X

• Xbox One S

• Another fat PS3 currently on the way – sold as nonfunctional for £10, so that'll be the next project 😂

I've realised I get just as much enjoyment out of repairing, modding and upgrading these things as I do playing them. Half the fun for me is seeing what you can get old hardware to do and getting everything set up exactly how you want it.

Despite having all the newer hardware, the PS2 is getting the most use just now. PES 6 online has dragged me right back into it (still cant defend). Im c onstantly messing with HDDs, OPL, homebrew and finding yet another thing to change.

There's always another project. 😂

Been spending far too much time getting my PS2 HDD setup exactly how I want it 😂

I’ve been working through my collection, installing the games to HDD and then sorting out the artwork, backgrounds and CFG files in OPL. Finally at the point where browsing through it feels like a proper library rather than just a massive list of game names.

Still adding and tidying things up, but thought some of you here might appreciate the setup.

There are quite a few oddities, mods and homebrew bits mixed in amongst the normal PS2 catalogue as well.

What am I obviously missing? And are there any games, homebrew or OPL additions you reckon are essential for a setup like this?

picked up a few new-old-stock Exspect component cables for PS2/PS3 and I'm trying to find some proper technical information on them.

They're 1.8m YPbPr component cables with separate L/R audio, gold-coloured RCA contacts, ferrite cores and a fairly substantial cable. The original packaging claims 1080p support and they're specifically marked for PS2/PS3.

I've tried one on my PS2 and the picture is excellent, including GT4 at 1080i, and they've also completely eliminated the audio crackling I was getting with my previous component cable.

What I'd really like to find out is:

Does anyone have an old Exspect catalogue/spec sheet showing the construction or specifications of these?

Were the video lines individually shielded / 75Ω coax?

Is there any information on conductor gauge or shielding?

What's the best way of properly testing a component cable rather than just judging the picture?

Can I meaningfully test impedance, resistance, shielding or signal loss with a multimeter/oscilloscope?

Is there a sensible test I could do to compare one against an official Sony PS2/PS3 component cable?

I've opened one for use but still have several sealed examples, so I'd rather actually measure one and get some numbers instead of just saying "it looks good."

Photos attached showing the cable, connectors and original packaging.

Anyone remember these Exspect cables or have access to old technical information on them?

Picked up these 5 brand-new/sealed Exspect PS3 component cables for a decent price. Basically, the whole bundle wasn't much more than I'd have been happy paying for one decent component cable, so I thought they were worth grabbing.

They’re 1.8m, component + stereo audio and the packaging claims 1080p support. I mainly bought them to use with my PS2.

I've been trying to find some history on them but there doesn't seem to be much online about this particular cable.

What I have found is that Exspect wasn't just some random no-name accessory brand. They were a GEM-owned gaming peripherals/accessories company and actually had an official licensing relationship with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe — Exspect announced officially licensed PlayStation accessories during the PS3/PSP era.

What I haven't been able to establish is whether this exact PS3 component cable was one of their officially licensed products.

Does anyone remember Exspect stuff from back then or actually use one of these?

Interested to know:

How good the picture quality/shielding was

How they compared with the official Sony PS2/PS3 component cable

Roughly when these particular ones were sold

What they originally cost

Whether anyone knows if this specific cable was officially licensed by Sony

Not expecting I've stumbled across a gold mine 😂 — I'm mostly interested in finding out a bit more about them, as there's surprisingly little information out there.

Looking for some opinions on what people would realistically value this setup at before I sell it.

It’s a PAL PS2 Fat SCPH-39003 that I’ve cleaned up and set up as a pretty much plug-and-play HDD system.

Included:

• PS2 Fat SCPH-39003• 500GB Seagate internal HDD• 100+ games installed and set up through OPL• 64MB memory card with Free McBoot 1.966• Separate 16MB MAX Memory card for saves• GameStar HDD/network adapter• Controller• Component YPbPr cable• Composite AV cable• Component-to-HDMI converter for modern TVs• All required power/connections

The internal CMOS battery has also been replaced and the console has been cleaned.

OPL is set up as “HDD Games” on the Free McBoot menu, so it's straightforward to use — boot the console, select HDD Games and choose a game.

The HDD has a fairly big library already set up, including Gran Turismo 4, GTA San Andreas/Vice City/III, God of War I & II, Silent Hill 2/3/4, Shadow of the Colossus, Def Jam: Fight for NY, Kuon, Futurama, Manhunt 1 & 2, Resident Evil 4, The Warriors, Bully, Burnout 3, BLACK, Scarface, The Getaway, PES 5 and plenty more.

Everything has been tested and is working.

I know standard PS2 Fats aren't particularly expensive, but I'm unsure how much value people would put on one that's already cleaned, has a new CMOS battery, HDD adapter, 500GB drive, FMCB, OPL and the rest of the setup ready to go.

What would you guys consider a fair selling price for the complete bundle in the UK?

I recently bought what was advertised as a DJI Mini 2 SE from CeX, but it turned out to be a DJI Mini 4K (same airframe, just a different model).

While looking into the rules, I realised I'd need to pay for an Operator ID every year if I'm going to fly it.

It's not really the cost that annoys me—it's the principle. I've already bought the drone, so having to keep paying every year just to use it doesn't sit right with me.

I'm genuinely curious what people actually do in practice.

\- Do you just pay the Operator ID every year without thinking about it?

\- Have you ever decided it wasn't worth it?

\- Has anyone here actually been stopped by the police or the CAA and asked to show their Operator ID or Flyer ID?

I'm not asking for advice on breaking the law. I'm just interested in hearing real experiences and how common checks actually are.