Hardware Opening/Soldering the WII *INFO*

[ChrisBloodShot]

What gauge of wire is most appropriate for this type of mod?

 

[Perplexer]

What gauge of wire is most appropriate for this type of mod?

You are best off with 26-30ga. I generally use 30ga for all points except for PWR and GND, for which I use heavier-gauge wire.

 

[bluebright]

for the wires, can you just strip some wires from a usb port?

 

[Siem]

How I - almost - messed up my wii:

I started soldering my wiinja with the smallest cables I could find in my house. After some effort everything looked fine.
But after some testing, the wii didn't seemed to load the dvd's I fed it. I opened it back up and resoldered the wires, but while I did that two of the little square copper plates and a bit of the copper lanes went loose. I thought maybe under the copper plates there was a little hole making a connection to the backside of the board, it would be very hard to fix it.
I found a harddisk ide cable and cut up the wiring and soldered two of the wires directly on feet of the chip, since it was impossible to solder it anywhere else. It took some effort and a bit of luck, but everything seems to work fine now.

I don't understand why the people who created this board made the copper lanes with the little soldering points on the board, they don't seem to have any function, other than soldering the wires for the modchip on it.

 

[crumpster]

Main page updated, will be adding more including a Cyclowiz review on a NTSC machine. (BTW, yes it plays everything i've throw at it except COD3). More info to come!!!

 

[shtonkalot]

Did an install of a cyclowiz (V1) today. Well mostly, the owner soldered the wires to the chip first, I soldered to the Wii and upgrade switch.
Here are some pics:

The chip installed

The switch placement

It was was easy to install and the chip seemed well made.

 

[pelago]

That's a nice switch. Shame it looks a bit like a power switch, being that close to the power socket!

 

[Dirtie]

Very nice switch indeed, I think I'll have to get one like that. I assume the back is the same shape (rectangular) though? It's a lot easier to drill a round hole

 

[shtonkalot]

Very nice switch indeed, I think I'll have to get one like that. I assume the back is the same shape (rectangular) though? It's a lot easier to drill a round hole

I got the switch from a Dick Smith Electronics store for a couple of bucks.
The back of the switch is rectangular. The method used to install was, make round hole then hack to rectangle. The Wii case plastic is soft and very easy to cut to shape.

 

[Dirtie]

DSE is the only place I go to for this sort of stuff anyway, I don't really know of any other places (apart from maybe Jaycar except I've never been in a store)

 

[shtonkalot]

DSE is the only place I go to for this sort of stuff anyway, I don't really know of any other places (apart from maybe Jaycar except I've never been in a store)

In my experience Jaycar is much better for components and tools than DSE.
Here in Aust the DSE stores are more about selling TVs and computers than electronics parts and supplies.
But I have a local DSE and the closest Jaycar is about a 45 min drive.

 

[aesthetics]

DSE is the only place I go to for this sort of stuff anyway, I don't really know of any other places (apart from maybe Jaycar except I've never been in a store)

In my experience Jaycar is much better for components and tools than DSE.
Here in Aust the DSE stores are more about selling TVs and computers than electronics parts and supplies.
But I have a local DSE and the closest Jaycar is about a 45 min drive.

Jaycar really is the way to go for electonics in Aust or NZ (Jaycar = electronics store, DSE = electrical retailer). Plus their catalogues are great for referencing components that you might need to buy in the future.

 

[crumpster]

Review added here

 

[hoass169]

The chip installed

Hi I just wanted to ask a question about this because i am still undecided about which mod chip to get. So all you have to do pretty much is put some solder on the specific points and connect one wire to one solder point and solder the other end of the wire to the wiininja where you put some solder? So what type of wires do you need copper type? or some special kind? and why do you need to put solder down on the points before? Thank you if you answer my question sorry i looked and couldn't find any real answers

 

[Hooya]

Look in the Wii Hacking forum for a thread titled "Rate my soldering skillz". a lot of people posted some good suggestions and soldering tutorial sites there.

But basically yes, you solder a wire from the appropriate point on the board to the corresponding point on your modchip. Soldering involves tinning the point on the boards and the wire and then joining them together. Tinning is important in both ease of soldering the connection and also in forming a solid connection.

If you're asking these questions make sure you practice one some junk electronics like a CD player or old computer component.

 

[shtonkalot]

Hi I just wanted to ask a question about this because i am still undecided about which mod chip to get. So all you have to do pretty much is put some solder on the specific points and connect one wire to one solder point and solder the other end of the wire to the wiininja where you put some solder? So what type of wires do you need copper type? or some special kind? and why do you need to put solder down on the points before? Thank you if you answer my question sorry i looked and couldn't find any real answers

OK, yeah you are "pretty much" right there.

You need to put solder on the points (Wiinja legs/other chips pads) to tin them and you also need to do the same to the points on the DVD drive of the Wii. Yes they have solder on them already but they need a bit of fresh solder the same as what you are using. You also should tin the wires (coat the tips in solder) this will make everything stick together much nicer.
All of that tinning requires a very small amount of solder on each part, you still need a little extra solder when making the joins too.
As for the wires I use almost exclusively for chip installs the 30AWG Kynar solid core wrapping wire. The Kynar wires insulation does not strip back magically from the heat of the soldering iron and it is very easy to work with. I have used other wire in the past but now I've been using this stuff for years and wouldn't recommend anything else.

 

[Ryvius]

I have never soldered a modchip before, only did a little circuit so I am a little confused, when soldering the modchip with wire, do I strip the wire and melt the wire or do I have to melt some other solder between the connections?

 

[Hooya]

I have never soldered a modchip before, only did a little circuit so I am a little confused, when soldering the modchip with wire, do I strip the wire and melt the wire or do I have to melt some other solder between the connections?

http://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+solder

 

[Soniczonex]

opening the screws is the hardest part

 

[HopOnRocks]

OK, yeah you are "pretty much" right there.

You need to put solder on the points (Wiinja legs/other chips pads) to tin them and you also need to do the same to the points on the DVD drive of the Wii. Yes they have solder on them already but they need a bit of fresh solder the same as what you are using. You also should tin the wires (coat the tips in solder) this will make everything stick together much nicer.
All of that tinning requires a very small amount of solder on each part, you still need a little extra solder when making the joins too.
As for the wires I use almost exclusively for chip installs the 30AWG Kynar solid core wrapping wire. The Kynar wires insulation does not strip back magically from the heat of the soldering iron and it is very easy to work with. I have used other wire in the past but now I've been using this stuff for years and wouldn't recommend anything else.

Is this the type of wire you are talking about?
http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/Product....product=2780503
I saw this at my local store but it appears WAY too small, so I didn't bother to pick it up. Is it worth my while to go ahead and install a wiikey with this?