Hacking Hardware Picofly - a HWFLY switch modchip

[rogras]

Try ums-loader as payload.bin

Yes... Thats worked!
Now I can dump the nand and will try to repair.

 

[Blakejansen]

Mann I gotta say this you are the best

Post automatically merged: Aug 17, 2023

The best way for me to solder small smd resistors is with a hot air gun and flux. There is no easier way.

Well get some new tweezers they don't cost that much

Why did u cut up the chip? xd

Frustration set in when removing APU shield and the pliers went into far. They severed traces leading to the chip as well as a chunk of the chip missing.

Problem is that now I failed the 2nd OLED install and realized that I am no good at replacing capacitors, now I want to fix that and learn how to do it properly.

With hot air gun, doesn't the air blow the tiny capacitor out of the way?

Maybe next install I should scratch CLK and plug the console in to make sure it still works before installing DAT0 adapter.

With DAT0 Adapter I am struggling with the anchor that goes to the capacitor. Super scared of bridging balls under the nand.

I can't really remember if the screen was purple or pink. It was both colors combined, I should have taken a picture.

I've scratched Vias many times, how do you know when you are scratching too much? I usually scratch just enough to get gold via exposed.

What hot air gun should I get? Hakko rework stations are not cheap.

Post automatically merged: Aug 17, 2023

I found a picture of the screen that I got(From my memory not my pic)

What does this screen indicate? CMD or CLK?

Post automatically merged: Aug 17, 2023

Chinese guy says the screen I got is bad point A.

 

[Dee87]

Frustration set in when removing APU shield and the pliers went into far. They severed traces leading to the chip as well as a chunk of the chip missing.

Problem is that now I failed the 2nd OLED install and realized that I am no good at replacing capacitors, now I want to fix that and learn how to do it properly.

With hot air gun, doesn't the air blow the tiny capacitor out of the way?

Maybe next install I should scratch CLK and plug the console in to make sure it still works before installing DAT0 adapter.

With DAT0 Adapter I am struggling with the anchor that goes to the capacitor. Super scared of bridging balls under the nand.

I can't really remember if the screen was purple or pink. It was both colors combined, I should have taken a picture.

I've scratched Vias many times, how do you know when you are scratching too much? I usually scratch just enough to get gold via exposed.

What hot air gun should I get? Hakko rework stations are not cheap.

Post automatically merged: Aug 17, 2023

I found a picture of the screen that I got(From my memory not my pic)

What does this screen indicate? CMD or CLK?

Post automatically merged: Aug 17, 2023

Chinese guy says the screen I got is bad point A.

well if u mean u damaged traces by cutting the apu shield then thats prob gonna be your problem .

sure if u dont use tweezer and a high air flow and no flux u will blow them away , its like every other tool u have to learn with them .

i cant help u with dat0 adapter i only reball never done anything else cause of all the issues that have been caused.
thats i learned how to reball.

ClickMe for hot air station even this one will do dont need a high end one at the beginning u just need to make sure u dont give to much heat.

i have a 100$ solderstation with solder iron, hotair and even a bench supply lol.
that does all the work that has to be done never had a issue with it.

like already said purple scren is def caused by cmd reistor , maybe corrupted emmc and like some other people mentioned could also be caused from clk line.

i dont know what point a means thats what hwfly uses, i only go by cmd ,clk rst ,dat0 and cpu andso on.

 

[Blakejansen]

well if u mean u damaged traces by cutting the apu shield then thats prob gonna be your problem .

sure if u dont use tweezer and a high air flow and no flux u will blow them away , its like every other tool u have to learn with them .

i cant help u with dat0 adapter i only reball never done anything else cause of all the issues that have been caused.
thats i learned how to reball.

ClickMe for hot air station even this one will do dont need a high end one at the beginning u just need to make sure u dont give to much heat.

i have a 100$ solderstation with solder iron, hotair and even a bench supply lol.
that does all the work that has to be done never had a issue with it.

like already said purple scren is def caused by cmd reistor , maybe corrupted emmc and like some other people mentioned could also be caused from clk line.

i dont know what point a means thats what hwfly uses, i only go by cmd ,clk rst ,dat0 and cpu andso on.

The Switch with the cut traces is my first attempt

Switch with Purple screen is second attempt, they are two different switches.

When I reattached the CMD resistor, it was giving me a reading, but it looked very bad so maybe it wasn't properly attached.


Do you use solder paste with hot air? Or you pre tin pads with solder then hot air?

I will try at 290 celsius for the solder iron like you suggested. I was at almost 400 celsius when I lifted the resistor. I tried practicing on another dead board and lifted another resistor with 350.

With hot air, how do you avoid desoldering the resistor right next to it? They are so close together.

 

[Dee87]

The Switch with the cut traces is my first attempt

Switch with Purple screen is second attempt, they are two different switches.

When I reattached the CMD resistor, it was giving me a reading, but it looked very bad so maybe it wasn't properly attached.


Do you use solder paste with hot air? Or you pre tin pads with solder then hot air?

I will try at 290 celsius for the solder iron like you suggested. I was at almost 400 celsius when I lifted the resistor. I tried practicing on another dead board and lifted another resistor with 350.

With hot air, how do you avoid desoldering the resistor right next to it? They are so close together.

ah i understand now 2 switches okay

i use most of the time solder with iron to pretin the pads,

if i replace a resistor most of the time the solder thats on ther is enough if not u can always add a tiny bit of paste to it .

u need to get a feeling for ur iron pratice on dead boards u can also use low melt solder and add it to the resistor so they dont need that much heat.

u have different tip sizes for the hot air station for resistor i use the smallest one and get 90%of the heat where its supposed to be sure a bite go to the sides but that not avoidable like i said it just pratice.

get ur self a hot air station , solder paste and los melt solder and practice on old boards till u are confident

 

[Blakejansen]

ah i understand now 2 switches okay

i use most of the time solder with iron to pretin the pads,

if i replace a resistor most of the time the solder thats on ther is enough if not u can always add a tiny bit of paste to it .

u need to get a feeling for ur iron pratice on dead boards u can also use low melt solder and add it to the resistor so they dont need that much heat.

u have different tip sizes for the hot air station for resistor i use the smallest one and get 90%of the heat where its supposed to be sure a bite go to the sides but that not avoidable like i said it just pratice.

get ur self a hot air station , solder paste and los melt solder and practice on old boards till u are confident

That hot air gun you mentioned has problems with grounding from what I am reading. People are saying it is dangerous


"This 'YaeCCC 858D Rework Station Hot Air Gun' does not meet ANY electrical apparatus standards. I had seen a warning posted on 'youtube' about miswiring of the "Mains'/120 volt power into the unit. I purchased this unit, before I saw the warning. After I saw the warning, I hoped that the unit shown was just an anomaly. I opened my unit and got a huge surprise! The fuse was wired through the NEUTRAL wire, NOT the Hot wire as is REQUIRED! If the fuse blows due to a fault, the unit is STILL LIVE, HOT!!!! ADDITIONALLY, the metal case on my unit WAS NOT GROUNDED! That means if the fault involved the case, you could be severely shocked by touching the LIVE metal case.
The manufacturer needs to FIX the wiring before someone gets SHOCKED!
Before I know about the IMPROPER wiring, the unit performed very well, allowing me to service SMD devices without burning the PCB or lifting pads"


Looking to spend under $100, but even if I pull this mod off successfully, I need to learn to use a hot air station.

Looking for a hot air station that doesn't have too many problems.

 

[Dee87]

well that was just a example , but since its just a fuse, u can solder it in the correct place Xd

just look around there pretty much all the same

 

[twins333]

The Switch with the cut traces is my first attempt

Switch with Purple screen is second attempt, they are two different switches.

When I reattached the CMD resistor, it was giving me a reading, but it looked very bad so maybe it wasn't properly attached.


Do you use solder paste with hot air? Or you pre tin pads with solder then hot air?

I will try at 290 celsius for the solder iron like you suggested. I was at almost 400 celsius when I lifted the resistor. I tried practicing on another dead board and lifted another resistor with 350.

With hot air, how do you avoid desoldering the resistor right next to it? They are so close together.

to avoid blowing away anynother components, you can make a heat shield out of a small piece of metal or even use capton tape. I don't really think it's needed, but you can use this until you get better at working with such small components.

 

[Blakejansen]

well that was just a example , but since its just a fuse, u can solder it in the correct place Xd

just look around there pretty much all the same

Do you use that cheap heat gun to install the reball adapter? If so, you are very talented.

 

[Takezo-San]

Quick question, what size are the resistors on the RP2040 tiny. I ordered 0201 but they were way too small. I'm visually guessing they are 0603 but they could be 0402. I'm not 100% sure. Anyone out there know? Thanks.

 

[Dee87]

Do you use that cheap heat gun to install the reball adapter? If so, you are very talented.

well my hotair station is not alot different then that one, like i said is has nothing to do with talented.
more with knowing ur device.

Post automatically merged: Aug 17, 2023

Quick question, what size are the resistors on the RP2040 tiny. I ordered 0201 but they were way too small. I'm visually guessing they are 0603 but they could be 0402. I'm not 100% sure. Anyone out there know? Thanks.

they should be 0201 cause my 0402 are a bit bigger but still work

 

[jkyoho]

Quick question, what size are the resistors on the RP2040 tiny. I ordered 0201 but they were way too small. I'm visually guessing they are 0603 but they could be 0402. I'm not 100% sure. Anyone out there know? Thanks.

0201, if using 0603 you may be to scratch up the track to fit

 

[Takezo-San]

0201, if using 0603 you may be to scratch up the track to fit

oh. just pulled them out side by side with the board's resistors and turns out, they are 0201. Silly me. Thank you @jkyoho

 

[jkyoho]

oh. just pulled them out side by side with the board's resistors and turns out, they are 0201. Silly me. Thank you @jkyoho

Trick for small smd: Tin both pads with solder and heat up both pads with blade type iron(or whatever suite you best) then move the resistor/cap in pace. Component would go in pace by surface tension if both pad hot enough.

 

[Takezo-San]

Trick for small smd: Tin both pads with solder and heat up both pads with blade type iron(or whatever suite you best) then move the resistor/cap in pace. Component would go in pace by surface tension if both pad hot enough.

Brilliant! Will do and will let you know how i get on over the weekend. Thanks

 

[QuiTim]

So, I was thinking, would this approach work for CLK?
I used a USB board with emmc (which I bought for practice) and covered the contacts which are NC anyways.
One could also reball the emmc with solder balls and just exclude those 2 balls as well.
What do you think?

 

[jkyoho]

So, I was thinking, would this approach work for CLK?
I used a USB board with emmc (which I bought for practice) and covered the contacts which are NC anyways.
One could also reball the emmc with solder balls and just exclude those 2 balls as well.
What do you think?

why not just make this clk jumer from bottom side of pcb adapter? eMMC would have less risk

 

[QuiTim]

why not just make this clk jumer from bottom side of pcb adapter? eMMC would have less risk

Sorry but I don't get it.
What I was thinking was that once we remove the emmc off the board (to do the dat0 jumper) we could maybe do the clk as well so we don't have to scratch the tiny via close to the apu.
Edit: the board used here (USB/emmc) is just an example where emmc connection can be seen since I didn't have a disassembeld switch board at hand)

 

[jkyoho]

Sorry but I don't get it.
What I was thinking was that once we remove the emmc off the board (to do the dat0 jumper) we could maybe do the clk as well so we don't have to scratch the tiny via close to the apu.
Edit: the board used here (USB/emmc) is just an example where emmc connection can be seen since I didn't have a disassembeld switch board at hand)

I thought you gonna use green pcb adapter in between the eMMC and mainboard.
In your case you just remove 2balls along the way of the clk jumper and good to go.

 

[QuiTim]

I thought you gonna use green pcb adapter in between the eMMC and mainboard.

Oh no, I think the pcb adapter already has all the jumper points set. I was thinking of just doing the clk "manualy" same as dat0.
(Pictures of what I was using as demo)