Hacking How to properly install dat0 adapter

[KinTheOcelot]

Hi, I got my chip installed and the dat0 adapter (the 2-point orange version) had almost instantly come undone. My chip was flashing purple then yellow then purple then red. I took it back and the dude just put heat on the adapter for it to reflow and it worked consistently for about a week until today after a reboot (I installed a few homebrew apps and linked my account to an offline nnid or sumn). I tried resetting the chip by draining the battery but it didn't fix anything (does that work)?

1. was it caused by something I did or is it an unsecured connection?
2. how would you get a good dat0 connection, different solder, reball, etc?

 

[l7777]

The only sure fire method is to remove the emmc and connect a wire directly to dat0 or install one of the boards that goes between the emmc and MB to expose all the connections for the mod chip.

That said plenty of people, including me, have had a friction installed adapter working perfectly.

 

[KinTheOcelot]

The only sure fire method is to remove the emmc and connect a wire directly to dat0 or install one of the boards that goes between the emmc and MB to expose all the connections for the mod chip.

That said plenty of people, including me, have had a friction installed adapter working perfectly.

The dude reflowed it the first time and it worked for about a week, do you think reballing at the anchor points would get the job done?

 

[randy_w]

I did 8 consoles with dat0 adapter back when OLED chip first appeared last year, till now I had to rework on about 3 of them. Even though I applied leaded low temperature solder and reflowed the emmc chip as suggested by sthetix, the dat0 adapter still fails. Guess the solder joint formed between low temperature leaded solder and original lead-free solder is too weak and will break after some thermal cycles.

Now I just desolder the emmc chip and solder an enameled wire to dat0 pad directly, then reball and solder the emmc chip back with leaded solder. Although it takes more time but the connection will be solid forever. Never had to reservice a single console due to dat0 adapter failure since I went this route.

As the other user said, another proper way is to use emmc adapters, which sandwiches between the motherboard and emmc chips and breaks out dat0, cmd and clk signals. Didn't use it as it only comes with those V5 chips and my supplier on taobao doesn't sell them.

 

[l7777]

Post automatically merged: Jul 7, 2023

I did 8 consoles with dat0 adapter back when OLED chip first appeared last year, till now I had to rework on about 3 of them. Even though I applied leaded low temperature solder and reflowed the emmc chip as suggested by sthetix, the dat0 adapter still fails. Guess the solder joint formed between low temperature leaded solder and original lead-free solder is too weak and will break after some thermal cycles.

Now I just desolder the emmc chip and solder an enameled wire to dat0 pad directly, then reball and solder the emmc chip back with leaded solder. Although it takes more time but the connection will be solid forever. Never had to reservice a single console due to dat0 adapter failure since I went this route.

Thanks Randy, I was trying to find examples of your work.

What's your method to R&R the emmc without melting the display connector? Presumably a hot plate & hot air but any tips on pre-heat temps?

 

[randy_w]

Post automatically merged: Jul 7, 2023

Thanks Randy, I was trying to find examples of your work.

What's your method to R&R the emmc without melting the display connector? Presumably a hot plate & hot air but any tips on pre-heat temps?

I don’t use hot plate, the emmc is easy to desolder with hot air alone. I usually set temperature to 350C 50% speed, hold the nozzle 1cm above the chip and it comes off in about 20 seconds. Never had any issue with melting the LCD connector.

 

[l7777]

I don’t use hot plate, the emmc is easy to desolder with hot air alone. I usually set temperature to 350C 50% speed, hold the nozzle 1cm above the chip and it comes off in about 20 seconds. Never had any issue with melting the LCD connector.

Thank you. Do you do any pre-heating of the board with the hot air or just go for quick removal before too much heat can be transferred? Nozzle size?

 

[randy_w]

Thank you. Do you do any pre-heating of the board with the hot air or just go for quick removal before too much heat can be transferred? Nozzle size?

Yes, I usually heat up the board with hot air before focusing on the emmc chip, never had any issue with it. The nozzle I use is 8mm round, I think square ones would also work.