Hacking Point 5 on Wiinja diagram broke off; alternatives?

[The Effin One]

alright, i was doing my solder job on the Wiinja, and I noticed a bridge at the smaller points. After removing the solder, I noticed that point 5 on the Wiinja diagram appeared to have broken off completely. From looking at the diagrams for the Wiikey and CycloWiz, they seem to use the exact same soldering point, so I'm wondering if I'm basically screwed for doing hardware modifications on the Wii, or if there is an actual alternative out right now that would allow me to get a hardware modification working. Although, to be fair, I wouldn't mind a soft mod alternative-although I guess from them saying homebrew isn't possible on the Wii, this isn't likely.

Thanks in advance for any help someone can provide me with.

 

[instigator]

alright, i was doing my solder job on the Wiinja, and I noticed a bridge at the smaller points. After removing the solder, I noticed that point 5 on the Wiinja diagram appeared to have broken off completely. From looking at the diagrams for the Wiikey and CycloWiz, they seem to use the exact same soldering point, so I'm wondering if I'm basically screwed for doing hardware modifications on the Wii, or if there is an actual alternative out right now that would allow me to get a hardware modification working. Although, to be fair, I wouldn't mind a soft mod alternative-although I guess from them saying homebrew isn't possible on the Wii, this isn't likely.

Thanks in advance for any help someone can provide me with.

Follow the trace, from the pad, to the chip. Solder the wire directly on to the foot of the pin. It is tricky so you might want a pro to do this. Lots of guys have had success with it though.

 

[The Effin One]

from googling, i've read that there's a way to do it without soldering directly to the chip which involves having copper exposed and then soldering to the copper. is this what you meant? if it's not, does anyone know how to get the copper exposed? i'm assuming the copper is where the pad is.

this seems like an easier alternative, i certainly don't have the skill to solder directly to the chip.

 

[instigator]

I don't think that would be easier. You'd have to scrape the PCB down to the copper and then try to get solder to stick to it which, from what I've heard, is a hell of a job. The pin option is easier but still tricky.

 

[The Effin One]

thanks for the help and quick replies, man. i was doing it pretty succesfully with a 25g wire, but i'm thinking that might be too thick to go directly to the chip.

if a bridge forms on the chip from solder, would that cause my wii to brick? my Wii still works fine despite the pad breaking off, so i really don't want to brick it.

EDIT: said thin when i meant thick

 

[instigator]

Yes a bridge could brick your Wii. Most guys will use a piece of tape or a razor blade between the pins to minimize the risk.

If I was you I'd cut my losses and get it in to a pro installer to sort out. You're past the "straightforward" install and into the realm of the tricky.

BTW, the thinner the wire the better for this type of work.

 

[The Effin One]

yeah, you're certainly correct. i'm not sure if this can be posted here, but if someone could direct me to a place to find a professional modder in the area, I'd appreciate it. i'm not sure if any of the sites like modchipman do this yet. i live in a suburb of Philly and the only person listed on craigslist lived at the corners of Broad and Wyoming in the city, which is a place where no one wants to be after dark.

 

[kai445]

Just inspect the chip for solder bridges carefully before turning it on. If you do mess up, you can use desoldering braid to get it back up and try again.

 

[Tanas]

I don't think that would be easier.  You'd have to scrape the PCB down to the copper and then try to get solder to stick to it which, from what I've heard, is a hell of a job.  The pin option is easier but still tricky.

No offence, but if you managed to mess up such an easy installation, soldering straight to the leg of the IC will be a near impossibility for you, so the track option is your best bet.

 

[The Effin One]

i'm having one of my friends who did my GC for me take a look at it...we have a magnifying glass so we'll be able to tell if there's a bridge, and we've taped off all parts but the leg, as well as putting razor blades up between the leg it needs to be soldered to. it looks like it'll be a fairly easy job to do or at least detect if there are problems with all these precautions...are these generally the norm for simplifying this task?

sorry for the stupid questions, everyone. i'm not a n00b to the software modification side of the, scene but i'm a huge n00b to the hardware modification aspects.

 

[instigator]

i'm having one of my friends who did my GC for me take a look at it...we have a magnifying glass so we'll be able to tell if there's a bridge, and we've taped off all parts but the leg, as well as putting razor blades up between the leg it needs to be soldered to. it looks like it'll be a fairly easy job to do or at least detect if there are problems with all these precautions...are these generally the norm for simplifying this task?

sorry for the stupid questions, everyone. i'm not a n00b to the software modification side of the, scene but i'm a huge n00b to the hardware modification aspects.

Yep, that's the way you do it. Good luck!

 

[coolbgdog]

Well the dvd drive probably still works you just gotta make sure there aren't any solder bridges like you said.