Hacking I need advice from an experienced modchip installer about possible &#3

[arctic_flame]

It's up to you. remember to bring wire, pad and iron together for only a split second. That way you won't burn the board (more)

 

[priapism]

i brought my chip (Cyclowiz) to a professional to install. after a couple of months i opened my Wii to do some tweaking and i accidentally dislodged one of the solder points. i brought it back to the guy and when he tried to fix it he accidentally removed all of the solder from point A and then said he didn't want to touch it anymore because of the risk of damaging the machine. i thought i was screwed but i stuck with it.

with no previous soldering experience at all, i went down to Radioshack and picked up supplies for around $15. i knew my only chance of fixing the problem was to solder the wire to the IC leg. i practiced my technique on an old DVD player for a day or two then i went for it. i soldered the wire to the IC leg on my first try and the chip works perfectly.

my point is that soldering to the IC leg isn't particularly difficult but i worked a lot more cleanly than you (judging from the picture). with blobs of solder like that and huge portions of stripped wire, it might be very difficult to solder one IC leg without creating a bridge. i used masking tape to cover the IC legs that i didn't want to make contact with. i used a knife to really make sure the masking tape was pushed in between the IC legs (there are little gaps). if you have previous soldering experience you should be able to do this but make sure you work more cleanly. best of luck.

 

[didineedthis]

Heres a picture of my problem,

I think it will be too difficult to solder the wire to the leg as its so tiny!! I think i will solder it onto the trace instead!

you want to be very careful soldering to the traces , if you mess them up you are in big trouble , i am not being funny but by the looks of your soldering you do not want to be attempting the fix your self. try and get some body to help you ,that can turn there hand to soldering, it will be cheaper than a new board or drive

didineedthis

 

[megabug7]

This is all about learning and you've done a good job.

My advice it to ensure that you strip the wires about 2 millimeters and tip the end with solder and position the wire about 5-10 degree angle off the contact point (the place you solder on to)

Always tape the soldered wire down so that it doesn't move while your doing the next one.
once all the wires in place - use a magnifying glass and check for solder splash around the area - clean it where necessary.
Cover the exposed points with tape so that it can't touch other points.
About soldering to the IC(chip), try and solder the top of the pin as opposed to the end of the pin, ensuring the wire is level with the chip pin and not sticking vertically up and when done just cover it with tape.

If you have any more questions please do not hesitate to ask.