For those with Gamecube modding experience... did I wreck one of the traces on my PCB? (Xeno chip install)

[KleinesSinchen]

If you're doing something as a hobbyist, then you should try and make it as easy as possible. If you are making electronics commercially, then you basically end up on a path where you have to use RoHS solder (because you can't ship stuff to a lot of the world if you don't), use the minimum amount of the lowest activity flux you can get away with, don't use halogen based activators, etc. You end up with a stupidly narrow process window, but once you get it all dialed in it's fine.

If you are going this stuff as a hobby then you would have to be a masochist to use the same rules - so you should use SnPb solder, and Peter North levels of the highly active flux to get the widest process window you can - sure, you're going to have to clear the board off afterwards, but if you are making stuff in fairly small quantities then that's not going to take long and you will probably end up saving time overall because you don't need to do any rework.

Making electronics commercially?? Of course there are a lot of laws to consider when doing that. Soldering in a modchip into my own console that will never leave my house, I don't care for RoHS (by the way: GameCube is older and has leaded solder by default). I take Sn60Pb40 because it is very easy to use.

First thing to say is,WHY the hell you don't practice your skills first on an old electronic board before you solder in a working game console.

Happens often, this trying the real thing without practice. And often the result is "-1" for the number of working units of an old console model. Sadly. On the pro side: This particular story had a positive end. The patient is alive and reads burned media.

 

[trimesh]

Making electronics commercially?? Of course there are a lot of laws to consider when doing that. Soldering in a modchip into my own console that will never leave my house, I don't care for RoHS (by the way: GameCube is older and has leaded solder by default). I take Sn60Pb40 because it is very easy to use.

OK, I have to deal with RoHS stuff because it's my job - I have to admit that at this point (the original EU RoHS directive is almost 20 years old now!) I don't mind it that much - it just means you have to pay a lot more attention to things like solderability, and I generally use the same technology that the device was originally built using - as you say, the GC was pre-RoHS and uses SnPb solder - the Wii, being a bit later is RoHS (SnAgCu, I think).

My point was mainly that if I'm building something for hobby purposes then I use whatever is easiest - which is typically SnPb.

 

[jdsteel7]

First thing to say is,WHY the hell you don't practice your skills first on an old electronic board before you solder in a working game console.
Second:use some decent flux,buy a solder bold or station,they don''t have to be expensive,but you need to control the temps.
I soldered my own dcdigital-ps1digital-n64digital-gcloader-neo geo sdloader-recapping and many other mods to my own consoles,but i watched video's from guys that are pro's on youtube and tryed FIRST on old boards that are broken,so you can learn techniques and the risk to break something become smaller.
Also use smaller gauges wires if possible and keep the wires in lenght,not needed to make them too long.
But first practice on some old board,think thats a wise decision,you will see your results becomes better and better.

Yup, totally agree, this is good advice for anyone just starting out. I was eager and probably overconfident after just watching a bunch of videos first to think I could get it, but there is no substitute for actual practice.

 

[jurai]

This is the worst soldering I've seen in years

 

[Dr_Faustus]

Yup, totally agree, this is good advice for anyone just starting out. I was eager and probably overconfident after just watching a bunch of videos first to think I could get it, but there is no substitute for actual practice.

Not him but for a first attempt its not that bad. I mean hell, I have seen some attempts in my day that absolutely terrify me. Hell I work on restoring and fixing old computers as a hobby and let me tell you when I get my hands on a home made system or a previous fix job by someone who did not know what they were doing back in the day? THAT was terrifying to deal with.

Key things to remember when soldering
-Flux is a lovely thing to have and to use when prepping a board
-Lead Free solder is always terrible to use and never works/flows properly compared to Leaded, just use Leaded if possible (It won't kill you)
-60/40 is fine, not the most "ideal" for solder but I and many others use this without any issues. Its also more common to find.
-The thinner the wire the better for board/bodge wiring. You are making a connection on a circuit board, not a power supply.
-Always remember to tin your tip after cleaning.


I am by no means a pro in the field myself, but I know the difficulties with this going in and I have built up my skill considerably over time because of it. I would always suggest getting some small build kits for the sake of understanding about soldering bonds. Sure practicing on an old/dead board is fine but to best understand how soldering bonds work a proper kit would be the way to go. Even if its a simple led light kit, if you put it together and it works you will have a greater understanding on how to do things, and if it doesn't you can either go back on your work to find what failed and/or get another cheap kit to improve on what you learnt last. Its not an overnight progress typically, but most people get a grasp on it fast after a few times. The fact that you are this eager to jump in and you have at least a general idea on what you want to accomplish is wonderful. I know you will get better over time with it and I wish you the best of luck on your improvements.

 

[jdsteel7]

Not him but for a first attempt its not that bad. I mean hell, I have seen some attempts in my day that absolutely terrify me. Hell I work on restoring and fixing old computers as a hobby and let me tell you when I get my hands on a home made system or a previous fix job by someone who did not know what they were doing back in the day? THAT was terrifying to deal with.

Key things to remember when soldering
-Flux is a lovely thing to have and to use when prepping a board
-Lead Free solder is always terrible to use and never works/flows properly compared to Leaded, just use Leaded if possible (It won't kill you)
-60/40 is fine, not the most "ideal" for solder but I and many others use this without any issues. Its also more common to find.
-The thinner the wire the better for board/bodge wiring. You are making a connection on a circuit board, not a power supply.
-Always remember to tin your tip after cleaning.


I am by no means a pro in the field myself, but I know the difficulties with this going in and I have built up my skill considerably over time because of it. I would always suggest getting some small build kits for the sake of understanding about soldering bonds. Sure practicing on an old/dead board is fine but to best understand how soldering bonds work a proper kit would be the way to go. Even if its a simple led light kit, if you put it together and it works you will have a greater understanding on how to do things, and if it doesn't you can either go back on your work to find what failed and/or get another cheap kit to improve on what you learnt last. Its not an overnight progress typically, but most people get a grasp on it fast after a few times. The fact that you are this eager to jump in and you have at least a general idea on what you want to accomplish is wonderful. I know you will get better over time with it and I wish you the best of luck on your improvements.

Thank you for your kind words! All good advice, and I will take it into consideration for my next project. I would like to get to the point where I can do the bluetooth mod on the AGB-001 but I know I'm a little ways away from that.