Hardware Opening/Soldering the WII *INFO*

[thieves like us]

in addition to hotter iron (something that will heat up to 500 degree+), you'll also want one with a tiny tip. most of the stuff that radio shack sells is quite crap to be honest. if you can afford it, buy a weller soldering station.

 

[instigator]

What gauge/diameter wire is best for modchip installation?

Another thing that I haven't heard suggested is proper grounding. Make sure that you use a grounding strap or at the very least touch a metal pipe or something before touching the board

 

[lenselijer]

i use cables from an old vga cable from a broken monitor.

and buy a 15w weller soldering iron it works perfect, i already soldered the wires, my chip comes tomorrow.

 

[TheVirus]

What gauge wire is recommended? Is 24 too big? Would 30 be better? In the AWG standard.

 

[TheVirus]

Yes, 24 is far too big. I went and returned it for 30 which is pretty much perfect.

 

[Costello]

FYI we should be releasing our install guide tomorrow, if we receive the modchip.

 

[TheVirus]

Can you also post what kind of PIC it is?

 

[Pacote]

FYI we should be releasing our install guide tomorrow, if we receive the modchip.

Release the CODE

 

[TheVirus]

FYI we should be releasing our install guide tomorrow, if we receive the modchip.


Release the CODE

Yes, do this

 

[ds_barf]

I'm more scared of opening the wii than the soldering itself

At what point does the guarantee get blown during opening?

 

[kdanarch]

I'm more scared of opening the wii than the soldering itself

At what point does the guarantee get blown during opening?

Technically, the moment you pull it apart at the seam. From a convince-nintendo-you-didn't standpoint, it's the moment you alter anything inside, or the moment you peel off a warranty assurance sticker to get to a screw underneath. I don't think the Wii has any of those stickers though.

The moment you solder anything, it's safe to say it's definitely void

 

[Renegade_R]

FYI we should be releasing our install guide tomorrow, if we receive the modchip.

That's awesome...GBATemp is always very detailed in their guides...unlike other places *cough* maxconsole *cough* that only show a blurry video going as fast as possible. Once GBATemp gives their thumbs up, I'll pull my wallet out of its sleeping place.

Oh BTW...can you test CycloWiz's claim for the Gamecube streaming on the Wiinja?

 

[ds_barf]

I'm more scared of opening the wii than the soldering itself

At what point does the guarantee get blown during opening?

Technically, the moment you pull it apart at the seam. From a convince-nintendo-you-didn't standpoint, it's the moment you alter anything inside, or the moment you peel off a warranty assurance sticker to get to a screw underneath. I don't think the Wii has any of those stickers though.

The moment you solder anything, it's safe to say it's definitely void

ok thanks. I didn't see any stickers that have to be removed, so in theory, when you don't bend anything or something and you don't smear solder everywhere, there should be no way they could tell the poor thing has been altered

 

[Hooya]

I'm more scared of opening the wii than the soldering itself

At what point does the guarantee get blown during opening?

Technically, the moment you pull it apart at the seam. From a convince-nintendo-you-didn't standpoint, it's the moment you alter anything inside, or the moment you peel off a warranty assurance sticker to get to a screw underneath. I don't think the Wii has any of those stickers though.

The moment you solder anything, it's safe to say it's definitely void

ok thanks. I didn't see any stickers that have to be removed, so in theory, when you don't bend anything or something and you don't smear solder everywhere, there should be no way they could tell the poor thing has been altered

I guess, if you're really good. I'm sure there's probably some small plastic tab or something that breaks off that is hard to notice, but the Ninty people know what to look for. At any rate, don't expect a warranty replacement on a modified Wii. You can try, although that's not particularly wise, and either way don't expect it the same way as if you didn't have a modified Wii.

 

[TheVirus]

This is why I bought a 2 year warranty from BB when I bought the Wii

 

[crumpster]

Main post updated for all modchip: let me know if you have any info you feel is helpful.

 

[ancient_imhotep]

This is a great post crumpster, most worthy of being a sticky.

There is one thing that is bothering me about the Wiinja chip, and that is how to tell which pin on the chip is what number?

I have heard rumors that the chips are turning up without the Wiinja labels on them and therefore do not know how we would tell which was pin 1, 5, 6, 7 & 8...

Can anyone with any info on this let me know?

If I get a Wiinja (still waiting to see which chip fairs best in the reviews), then this would be helpful so that I can check my connections against the schematic on the Wiinja website (the one that shows the pin numbers on the pads on the Wii drive pcb, but not the chip pin numbers).

 

[Phunt]

This is a great post crumpster, most worthy of being a sticky.

There is one thing that is bothering me about the Wiinja chip, and that is how to tell which pin on the chip is what number?

I have heard rumors that the chips are turning up without the Wiinja labels on them and therefore do not know how we would tell which was pin 1, 5, 6, 7 & 8...

Can anyone with any info on this let me know?

If I get a Wiinja (still waiting to see which chip fairs best in the reviews), then this would be helpful so that I can check my connections against the schematic on the Wiinja website (the one that shows the pin numbers on the pads on the Wii drive pcb, but not the chip pin numbers).

The chip will have either a dot or a small logo in one corner. This denotes pin 1. This is a very simple diagram......

1 8
2 7
3 6
4 5

hope this helps....but probably not lol

 

[Hooya]

You might also try checking out the video of installation. I think it was pretty clear if you understand the pin numbering (see above post) to be able to figure out which pin is which. Knowing that there is a little dot denoting pin 1 is handy though. Assuming this is the chip I choose to buy.

 

[ancient_imhotep]

@Phunt - thanks for the information, the diagram is useful and so is the bit about the dot/logo.

@Hooya - I have watched the video and whilst this is useful to see which wires go to which pins on the chip etc, it does have the problem that you can only follow this video if your chip comes with the Wiinja label on it - which may not be the case seeing as someone posted on here that theirs arrived without a label on, just the model of the PIC printed on it. However now I know about the dot/logo bit, this will mean that I can make sure I get the chip the right way around and not blow up my Wii.

Also imagine if you just blindly installed your Wiinja, only to find out that someone had stuck the label on the top of the chip the wrong way round...........

Having the extra info from Phunt, as you have said in your post, just gives me that extra feeling of comfort that I can double check everything before powering my Wii up.

All I need now is to see the GBAtemp review of these new chips and I will be all set to go.. (well apart from ordering the chip)