Hacking Post here if you installed your chip correctly!

[1337Nemo]

Product: WiiKey

Soldering experience: none, my brother did it. He works with solder at work.

The hardest part: connection the 4 little things together, the big holes looked like an easy task, but our soldering-device was to big, so it was very hard for him to connect them. So he used 4 small wires for these points and the 2 big holes are directly on the chip so that it cant move.

Tips nobody told you: This thing is so freaking small ... you really need a very small device for it.

Did you break or forget anything?: There are some screws left... i don't know where to put them but everything is fine..

 

[jpxdude]

Product: WiiKey

Soldering experience: Modded my Gamecube a couple years ago with a Qoob Pro

The hardest part: I did a wire install that was short and about 2cm max from the points, it was difficult soldering the wires to the chip, and I had trouble ironically with one of the biggest points on the board, the GND, it wouldn't stick, even with flux, so took me 3 times opening and a few hours to get it right.

Tips nobody told you: FLUX, don't attempt to mod without it, and patience, if something doesn't work for the first 10 minutes trying, calm down away for about 30 minutes since those points are very small.

Did you break or forget anything?: Didn't miss a single screw or break anything. I used a sharp edged knife for the stickers, since I initially tested with a very sharp scalpel which would cut up the stickers and wii!

 

[Flamesabre]

Product: Wiikey

Soldering experience: None really, praticed on a wreched radio and floppy drive a couple days before my wiiky arrived.

The hardest part: That damn screw that holds in the battery slot on the bottom of the wii, had to fight with that one.

Tips nobody told you: Be organised! Having a good map of which screws go where is really helpful.

Did you break or forget anything?: Nope, everything was were it should, I nearly snapped the black gamecube flap thing trying to get it back in though.

 

[robi]

Soldering experience: I've done a number of xbox mods as well as general electronics repair

The hardest part: I was surprised to see just how small the modchip was and its soldering location

Tips nobody told you: nothing I can think of, I used the guide on modchipstore.com and it was very informative

Did you break or forget anything?: I forgot one screw, no idea were it goes, but I'm not too worried. I saved it with my modding tools just incase I open my wii again for a 'real' modchip

Wiikey (love it!)

 

[ugotpwned5]

Soldering experience: NONE! I bought a soldering iron from radioshack and practiced and installed it fine!

The hardest part: soldering the small points

Tips nobody told you: n/a

Did you break or forget anything? Ended up with extra screws!

 

[urbanmindz]

Product: CycloWix v2 (Quicksolder)

Soldering experience: Know a thing or two. Not a pro, but I have installed chips before and fix minor problems with electronic products.

The hardest part: Remembering where all the screws go to put the Wii back together

Tips nobody told you: I pretty much knew what to expect since I did alot of research before attempting this project.

Did you break or forget anything: Nope. Everything works great. All my backups working GREAT

 

[hakdizzle]

Product: Wiinja v1

Soldering experience: Installed so many chips not even funny. ps2 ps1 xbox gc

The hardest part: Screws

Did you break or forget anything: Of course not.

Tips: A nice soldering tip goes a long way.

 

[dreary79]

WiiFree

Soldering experience: A little... I practiced a lot before attempting the Wii.

The hardest part: I bridged one of the small points. I got the solder hot with the iron and pulled it up with a precision flat head.

Tips nobody told you: cold heat solder irons suck and shouldn't be used on the Wii. I figured that out on my own trying to solder a cable for another device so I didn't screw up my wii trying to use it.

Did you break or forget anything?: I forgot the screw down the dvd drive.

 

[Dirtie]

Product: Cyclowiz

Soldering experience: Minimal

The hardest part: Nothing was difficult, just took a bit of time and some patience.

Tips nobody told you: I don't think there were any.

Did you break or forget anything?: Well I lied. Because my install was not successful. You see every last wire and connection was soldered nicely and all my points were tested and looked nice (quicksolder install). All I had was one last wire left to go to attach to the upgrade switch, the other end was already attached to the chip. Being the stupid person I am, I hadn't stripped the insulation from the other end yet, so when I went to do it, I accidentally yanked on the wire (I was using one of those low-tech strippers where you gotta pull) which pulled up on one end of the chip so it snapped (pulling up about 3 solder pads off the board in the process). Needless to say I was pissed off that I managed to mess up on something so trivial - I wouldn't have minded so much if I had messed up while doing some actual soldering (the fact that I had already completed that part without any hiccups made me really angry). My Wii is fine (I think), and I've just attempted to repair those pads with some circuitwriter stuff (guide here: http://psx-scene.com/forums/cyclowiz/54211...-sticky-me.html ) so I'm going to have another attempt once another chip arrives

(and then you can finally expect the official GBAtemp.net Cyclowiz Review >_

 

[Russ Meter]

Product: Wii Key

Soldering experience: I'm an electrician so I am used to soldering but no stuff that small.

The hardest part: I am 44 and my eyes aren't as good as they used to be. The Wii key was a lot smaller then it looked on the web page.

Tips nobody told you: I saw some pictures of some nice install jobs after I was done. I wish I had seen them before I started.

Did you break or forget anything: I lost one of the four rubber bushings the DVD is mounted on but it seems to work ok with three.

 

[link459]

GREAT SUCCESS!

Chip: Wiikey

Soldering experience: None. At all. I went out, bought a soldering iron, practiced on an old CD player.

The hardest part: All the damned disassembling and assembling.

Tips nobody told you: Nothing really, I read up and knew everything necessary.

Did you break or forget anything? Didn't break a thing, didn't miss a single screw. Woohoo.

Now I just need a DVD burner...

 

[oldskooldork23]

Product: Cyclowiz

Soldering experience: Minimal

The hardest part: Nothing was difficult, just took a bit of time and some patience.

Tips nobody told you: I don't think there were any.

Did you break or forget anything?: Well I lied. Because my install was not successful. You see every last wire and connection was soldered nicely and all my points were tested and looked nice (quicksolder install). All I had was one last wire left to go to attach to the upgrade switch, the other end was already attached to the chip. Being the stupid person I am, I hadn't stripped the insulation from the other end yet, so when I went to do it, I accidentally yanked on the wire (I was using one of those low-tech strippers where you gotta pull) which pulled up on one end of the chip so it snapped (pulling up about 3 solder pads off the board in the process). Needless to say I was pissed off that I managed to mess up on something so trivial - I wouldn't have minded so much if I had messed up while doing some actual soldering (the fact that I had already completed that part without any hiccups made me really angry). My Wii is fine (I think), and I've just attempted to repair those pads with some circuitwriter stuff (guide here: http://psx-scene.com/forums/cyclowiz/54211...-sticky-me.html ) so I'm going to have another attempt once another chip arrives

(and then you can finally expect the official GBAtemp.net Cyclowiz Review >_

 

[monty0ntherun]

Chip: Cyclowiz V1

Soldering experience: Some, Mainly xbox's and a couple of GCubes.

The hardest part: nothing really, just took my time.

Tips nobody told you: Nothing, just read, read and read take your time.

Did you break or forget anything? Nope, went like a dream and all working perfectly for the past 2 months!

 

[Arm73]

Chip: WiiKey

Soldering experience: Some, never modded a console though.

The hardest part: my solder was too thick, it took me some time to sold the fine points.

Tips nobody told you:You must use thin solder!!.

Did you break or forget anything? At the end I put everything nicely back together but I was left with 1 extra screw....

 

[aslacker55]

Chip: WiiKey

Soldering experience: None, my first time soldering

The hardest part: Steadying my hands

Tips nobody told you: Nothing, just practice before you do it.

Did you break or forget anything? It went perfect, was easier than I thought.

 

[Skull Kid]

Chip: Wiikey

Soldering experience: None at all, just practiced on some old boards for a while.

The hardest part: Like the above poster, steadying my hands

Tips nobody told you: Use thecheekymonkey's disassembly guide up on eurasia.nu, there is a section that shows exactly where each screw should go for reassembly.

Did you break or forget anything? Nope, went perfect. Great feeling when you pop in a backup and it actually works.

 

[cardyology]

Product: Wiikey + PAL -UK Wii (bought on UK launch day)

Soldering experience: A bit at school when I was 14/15, Im now 24.

The hardest part: keeping a steady hand while simultaneously introducing a 30w lump of hot metal to my £180 Wii's DVD drive.

Tips nobody told you: Its actually really easy!

Did you break or forget anything?: I forgot a few things, and a few things didnt turn out how I planned but the overall installation (the hard part) went swimmingly!

 

[chewy!]

Chip: Wiikey

Experience: None, only a few days practice on some old modems

Hardest Part: Remembering to breathe while trying to keep steady

Tips nobody told you: How small and close together the points really are. It has been mentioned before how small they are, but you really don't have an appreciation for it until it's right in front of you, especially if you're a novice.

Did you break, forget anything: No, smooth install.

 

[fuze9]

Product: Wiid

Soldering experience: None, but father did once, about 35 years ago, and he gave advice.

The hardest part: Gathering the courage to poke around with the old fire stick.

Tips nobody told you: The chip is microscopic.

Did you break or forget anything?: Burned my arm, but besides that, it was a complete success.

I share the complaint of most reviewers that the chip could give a bit more of a heads-up when it comes to installing the DVD update, but it seems fine. Amazed at what a difference a tiny piece of metal can make. Really, quite a fun experience.

edit: Oh, some advice! I used an old pill organizer (you know, a plastic day-by-day thingy for old people) for sorting the screws, and it was incredibly helpful for going from one step to the next.

 

[Heran Bago]

Project: WiiKey

Soldering experience: Screwing around with a soldering iron, solder, and some wires.

The hardest part: Too much precision work with large soldering iron.

Tips nobody told you: Fuck that's SMALL. Get a desoldering bulb/vacuum. Also a jar of flux actually comes in REALLY handy. That stuff in the solder's no where near enough.

Did you break or forget anything: I put one of the screws in the wrong hole and can't seem to get the metal plate off atm.. I'll need a magnetic screwdriver.

Result: Aside from that one screw, great success!

Misc: Wow I suck at soldering. I bridged 2 or 3 times and had to fix. Got it working though. I wouldn't try again unless I had a fine tipped soldering iron.