Gaming Big GBA Mod for DS.

[Tronic56]

Hey there guys.


I stared my project a week ago. I finally bought my first soldering iron and start soldering with sucess!
When i tried to solder some very small points on my DS board my flux (a Lotfett one flux) almost burned them and the whole DS was useless. In some days i'll get a new DS Lite and try to make it run with one screen. (Solder those two points i was saying above.) But these points are extremely small and im a newbie at soldering. Do you know an easy way to solder on this two little points 2 wires without destroying the circuit?
I have attached a picture of the points i must bridge with a LED. Credits for the picture go to Gamerlolwind

 

[Clydefrosch]

all i would be able to think of would be a finer soldering iron and training on some garbage circuit boards first?

also, what is the aim of this? why do you want to get rid of one screen?

 

[ferret7463]

use wire glue. instead of solder

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Conductive-...581?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd5b9c1f5

 

[Tronic56]

Clydefrosch I want to remove the top screen in order to use my ds as a GBA. Many guys out there have made this Search for Big GBA Mod for DS on google.
That glue thing looks prety awsome! You are great Ferret! Thanks!

 

[RodrigoDavy]

You are not experienced in soldering, you are obviously not qualified for the job... Delicate handheld systems like a Nintendo DS are not the place to start soldering, trust me. Soldering, if done wrong, can cause short and/or long term damage. I'm saying as a person who destroyed many precious things...
I don't trust that wire glue either, even if it works at first you might find your DS not working in some months.

I would advice just getting a real gba, they are so cheap nowadays and gba games looks rather shitty in the DS screen in my honest opinion

 

[Tronic56]

Ι already own a GBA SP but moding a console is a different experience I destoryed a DS with my iron yesterday

 

[superspudz2000]

your heat was too high. you need a lower temperature iron. check the wattage, they come in 40W, 60W, 80W. some irons have adjustment dial. also you may need to re-tin the tip with resin core solder.

a good one for delicate modding is "weller battery operated", because its weak. although its useless for anything else requiring high heat.

 

[sandytf]

Precision soldering requires some skill and a lot of practice. While the wire glue might work, I wouldn't trust it. No electrical specifications are listed and many types of similar products fail to deliver on their claimed performance. I solder professionally and can tell you that your soldering iron can't have too high of a wattage rating. Many soldering guides suggest purchasing a low wattage iron but that is simply incorrect. Low wattage soldering irons are actually dangerous to use because the temperature at the tip will drop upon contact with the circuit. This requires the tip to be in contact with the circuit for a longer period of time. As a result, neighboring circuits will heat up and potentially become damaged. If you want to start soldering with any level of skill, you should purchase a temperature controlled soldering iron. Just remember that most new electronics use lead-free solder which is more difficult to use and requires a different temperature.

 

[DeadPixelMan]

Yeah im an experienced solderer but i didnt start that way, honestly what you need to do is get a bunch of old and broken electronics and start De-soldering and re-soldering parts and wires back on and just do this on and off until you feel comfortable with doing it THEN move on to working electronics, i practiced soldering this way for a few months ( about 6 i believe ) and knock on wood i have never messed up a soldering job yet and all my points are always neat and clean! Good Luck!!

 

[Tronic56]

superspudz2000 My soldering iron is a 30Watt one.

 

[Tronic56]

DeadPixel i do this every day with a mobile phone and 2 radios ;P

 

[superspudz2000]

sandytf is probably right. a lower wattage you would just leave it on contact too long and risk heat surronding area.

the battery operated ones operate differently, i think, because they supposed to heat up faster and cool down faster.

 

[rs1n]

Hey there guys.
I stared my project a week ago. I finally bought my first soldering iron and start soldering with sucess!
When i tried to solder some very small points on my DS board my flux (a Lotfett one flux) almost burned them and the whole DS was useless. In some days i'll get a new DS Lite and try to make it run with one screen. (Solder those two points i was saying above.) But these points are extremely small and im a newbie at soldering. Do you know an easy way to solder on this two little points 2 wires without destroying the circuit?
I have attached a picture of the points i must bridge with a LED. Credits for the picture go to Gamerlolwind

For the DS Lite, you should use 15W. In general, 15W is fine for small electronics. At worst, you may need to go to 30W to desolder things such as the slot-1 feet. When the heat is too high, you have a good chance of heat damage to the traces, which could even lift off of the PCB! Secondly, flux should not burn anything. The point of flux is to help evenly distribute heat through the solder, reduce oxidation of the solder, and even help prevent shorts between neighboring solder points. If you "almost burned" anything, it was because your iron was too hot. Even 30W is very hot for the DS Lite.

Also, get yourself a finer solder tip. They cost $2-$3 at Radio Shack. I'm almost done editing my first set of videos for those who are interested in such a project. There are two ways to go about it depending on whether your upper LCD cable is still intact. (Only one side of that cable is needed, though).

 

[Tronic56]

I got into soldering about a week ago and I got a 30 watt soldering iron because all the others where 40-60 watts. I was sure that it was going to destroy my circuit.! Great man, can you please send me your youtube channel link?

 

[rs1n]

I got into soldering about a week ago and I got a 30 watt soldering iron because all the others where 40-60 watts. I was sure that it was going to destroy my circuit.! Great man, can you please send me your youtube channel link?

http://www.youtube.com/user/rs1n

 

[Tronic56]

Man thanks! These tutorial are that i was searching for!