Hacking How's This Soldering Loook??? Is this Good enough?

[tota1ecl1pse]

I am wondering.. I did solder this thing first time.. Is this good enough?? I am just worried if I did really bad job...
I just took few pictures from the different sides. Any feed back would be very appreciated.

 

[sdoc96]

Wires should be soldered flat, so when the case is squeezed back together the lateral force doesn't break off the pads.
There may be enough room though - someone else will clarify.

 

[st90]

way to much solder was used and yeah better is wires are flat.

 

[Takrin]

yea too much solder and it looks like the solder cooled while you were working still or not enough heat applied, usually forms weird peaks and non smooth look, sometimes it may look like its attached but isnt by just melting the solder on the wire instead of heating both the pad and wire, kinda looks like lead free solder in a ways, they require more heat and are harder to work with. ever since i converted to lead free alot of joints look so damn noobish. should lay out the wires flat, tape them or glue them. from the looks of it though it looks ok and would work fine leave it alone if it works.

oh also too much wire is exposed least enough for it to short if moved wrong

 

[Redsquirrel]

although to be honest, that should work. If you dont want to mess around with it anymore, just use a lot of insulation tape and be careful the points dont touch each other.

i would reccomend re doing the points and making them flat though.

 

[shtonkalot]

It's certainly not the best install I've seen but then again it's far from the worst. It is to be fair though a poor job. But that doesn't mean it won't work as well as a pro job.
I'd check the strength of your joints by tugging on the wires, if they don't come off then it's probably gonna work alright.
The wires sticking up is not a great thing but you should have enough clearance that it doesn't matter too much. The big concern is that when the wires are pushed over flat that you will stress the wire at the join and it may break.
As others have said insulation is needed to ensure you don't short any of the wires. You can use many things to get the job done, electrical tape can be hard too work with in such small places. given that the joins are a little iffy as to whether they will last you may want to avoid using something like hot glue. My mate is a fan of plasticine for insulation, I'm not advocating it in case it has some board eating properties that I'm unaware of, something like that may be easy to use and easy to remove too though.

I don't advise you de-solder the points though. Either (or both) your equipment or abilities are lacking for the job and you risk removing a solder pad if you do too much more. I hope it is fine as is but if not perhaps get some help before you do any real damage.

Good for you for taking the plunge though, good luck.

 

[arthurkok2]

I'd check the strength of your joints by tugging on the wires, if they don't come off then it's probably gonna work alright.

WhOA! Hold on there. Be careful not to use too much force when tugging on those wires. You might pull the solder point off the PCB!!! (i did this the first wii i modded, had to solder to the leg of a chip...pain..

)

 

[thieves like us]

if you haven't already closed up your system, I would go back and resolder the leads lying flat. additionally, I'd trim off all the excessive bared wire to eliminate the potential for a short-circuit to occur (you really only need about .5mm of wire exposed).

you also used a plastic coated wire (rather than kynar coated) which makes it harder to keep the insulation from melting back and exposing more wire when you solder.

last:
when soldering, you should make sure that you are touching the soldering iron to both the point your soldering to and the wire and then add the solder to it. as the solder melts, stop feeding the solder and then slowly pull the iron back from the point up to help form a nice solder cone which should maintain a shiny look as it cools (rather than a dull look, which results from a bad weld).

 

[shtonkalot]

Fair comment arthurkok2, I did my first repair today with the IC leg soldering. It's a lot more precise than the normal points.
I have had no problem with the tug-test and I've lifted a few drives by the solder joints. If your soldering job is a bit.. iffy (like tota1ecl1pse's) then I guess a damaged board may not take kindly to the tugging.
To clarify I would suggest trying to drag the drive slightly by slowly pulling the wires to the side of the drive. if you can move the drive without the wire coming off then give it a go.

 

[another]

looks like mine, and mine works.

 

[TheVirus]

I think you guys are being a bit too critical. Are the wires attached? Yes. Do they provide power, IO, ground to the chip? Yes. Is there enough bare wire to cause a short? No. Is it good enough for a first-gen modchip? Definitely.

Of course it could have been done differently, but what he/she did works fine. Not everyone here is a professional. I know he/she wanted feedback but I think you are trying to turn this person into a master craftsman.

 

[tota1ecl1pse]

ha ha ha thx for reply

I guess I did ugliest job ever! My wiikey is still not here YET! DARN! Thx for everyone's feed back though

One thing I learn is Make sure "Wires should be soldered flat."

 

[Perplexer]

I think you guys are being a bit too critical. Are the wires attached? Yes. Do they provide power, IO, ground to the chip? Yes. Is there enough bare wire to cause a short? No. Is it good enough for a first-gen modchip? Definitely.

I've been soldering in electronics and game consoles for a LONG time, and I couldn't have said it better myself

Not bad for a first try. No need to re-do anything. Hope your Wiikey shows up soon!

 

[hendu]

100 times better than mine, and mine works

 

[strummer12]

No offense, but that's a pretty bad solder job. I suggest you find an electronic device that's not working and practice on it's circuit board till you get the hang of it. If I were still in my electronics course and handed that in for a grade, I would have gotten a D at best.

 

[TheVirus]

No offense, but that's a pretty bad solder job. I suggest you find an electronic device that's not working and practice on it's circuit board till you get the hang of it. If I were still in my electronics course and handed that in for a grade, I would have gotten a D at best.