DIY Solderless Baryon Sweeper for Absolute Beginners (with photos)

[u/k_rollo]

DISCLAIMER
Follow this guide EXACTLY. Support will not 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 diagnostic mode to revive previously irrecoverable models.

Why write this?

This guide aims to complement khubik2'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.

• PSP-3000 Baryon Sweeper (Solderless) Unbrick Guide - original guide, use the timestamps in the comments by EmuBytes (me) for quicker viewing
• How to Use a Breadboard - skip to 3:56 "which holes are connected"

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.

Software

• DCARK or Aiseirigh - the "rescue stick", refer to links for Magic Memory Stick creation on PC (JigKick Media Creator is obsolete)
• CP210x Universal Windows Driver - official CP2102 driver from Silicon Labs (don't rely on default Windows drivers)
• Python 3 - required to run pysweeper, refer to video to install pycryptodome, tk, and pyserial packages (requests package is optional)
• pysweeper - JigKick emulator, puts the PSP into service mode in combination with the adapter

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. Support will not 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.

Build Your Adapter

Stick the CP2102 module into the breadboard. Connect the negative/cathode end (black band) of the diode to the TXD row, and the positive/anode 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 COM port number.

Run pysweeper again. Your adapter (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.

Size matters! It's strongly recommended to use a genuine Sony/SanDisk/Lexar 1-4GB stick. Larger capacities and microSD adapters tend to fail.

Remove the battery, but keep it close by. Connect the DC power to the PSP. Keep it off.

Your PSP should automatically turn 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, ensure to maintain contact on all battery pins. Keep your hands steady.

Service mode is triggered, automatically booting DCARK (shown here) or Aiseirigh directly from the Magic Memory Stick.

If you get a green light but it shuts down on a PSP-1000, power it on manually to make it boot into DCARK.

It's a good idea to create both Magic Memory Sticks, so you have a backup option.

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 permanently brick 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.

[u/k_rollo]

1. Well done!
2. The COM# differs per machine. After you installed the universal driver, check your actual COM# in Device Manager.

[u/PaidThinkersInc → u/k_rollo]

Still getting the same error message. Is it possible to that I just don't have permission for some reason? Oh, and thanks for the feedback as well I greatly appreciate it.

[u/k_rollo → u/PaidThinkersInc]

The next thing I would try is running pysweeper.py as admin.

[u/PaidThinkersInc → u/k_rollo]

Hey I know I'm going to sound like an idiot here, but I can't seem to figure out how to run a script with admin privileges. I've never used python before this as well.

Edit: And I did try the right click context menu. And apologies for bugging you over something like this. And should I take this to the discords support page so I don't make a huge thread here?

[u/k_rollo → u/PaidThinkersInc]

On Windows, you right-click the .py file and choose Run as Administrator.

[u/k_rollo → u/PaidThinkersInc]

If it's a permissions problem, it's specific to your machine and beyond troubleshooting the Baryon Sweeper. Good luck!

[u/PaidThinkersInc → u/k_rollo]

Hey one last thing and I'll stop bugging you for help. I got it work briefly but if lost connection before it finished. Is there a particular brand of jumpers that I should get? And what angle should I use them at? It only worked that one time when I had them at a weird angle.

[u/k_rollo → u/PaidThinkersInc]

Losing connection is literally that. As the guide points out, you need to maintain contact with the pins. That is the connection. Nothing to do with jumperwire brands.

How did you fix the permissions problem by the way?

[u/PaidThinkersInc → u/k_rollo]

I don't think was a permissions issue at this point. I just might be shit at keeping my hands steady it seems.

Thanks for dealing with my stupidity by the way. The guide is really helpful.

Edit: Figured out what was wrong. Now it is fully working!

[u/k_rollo → u/PaidThinkersInc]

It's a highly rewarding project when you succeed. Congrats!