Hacking Soldering WiiKey Questions

[Dylaan]

Okay, so my WiiKey arrived the other day... I've got kynar wire, solder with flux core, and a 25w DSE Soldering Iron... Few people have said it's risky to use 25w... I've hardly got any experience in soldering, but mucking around on my old PC Mainboard wasn't too difficult... I need advice... Thanks!

 

[tjas]

I solderd my xenogc chip in my gamecube a few months back. Was also my first mod attempt. I messed it up at first but I was able to repair it! My tip to you use wires! instead of quick solder...

Greatings

 

[Dylaan]

Yeah, there's no way I'm using quicksolder, considered the 'shortwire' method, but now I'm just going for good old regular wires... Anyone had issues with heat etc? I'm really worried about frying something... How much is 25w?

 

[TLSpartan]

Get the lowest you can get your hands on. I have a Goot 13 watt in my room for IC soldering. 25 Watts should be fine. Just dont keep the soldering iron there for two long or you will lift some pads

 

[lenselijer]

25w is way too much, use 15w max.

also you should go for a wire install if its your first time installing in a wii.

 

[Dylaan]

25w is way too much, use 15w max.

More-so to warrant buying a 15w iron? (I only borrowed this one, best I can get). If I accidentally bridge points, can I just split them again with the iron? What are the chances of frying things...? I've been advised to 'heatsink' it, this should help right?

 

[thieves like us]

25w is way too much, use 15w max.

also you should go for a wire install if its your first time installing in a wii.

the wattage on a solder iron has nothing to do with anything (as long as you know what you're doing). my weller rework station is 80w and works wonders. I've done at least 20 installs without any issues (in fact, once the systems are opened, soldering only takes about 2 mins and you're done).

I have no idea what people are doing to fry the points on the motherboard like I've seen (and fixed) unless they're laying the iron down and then walking away for a bit.

to gth44331:
definately open up your system to see what you're getting yourself into. practicing on old soundcards and such is a good start, but may not prepare you for how small the soldering points actually are. to give an example, for the systems where the pins have been cut, you need to rebuild 3 lines in the space of just over a millimeter.

CODEoptical drive controller chip (w/ 3 missing legs)
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
+-----------------+
|||||||||| Â ||||||
   Â->|  |

 

[Takrin]

25w is way too much, use 15w max.

also you should go for a wire install if its your first time installing in a wii.

i say 15-25 is fine for first timers

15w is annoying on wii because the power pad is somewhat annoying to do with 15w, and 25w can burn the smaller pad faster. 15w is a safer choice so use that, when you get better and faster at soldering move up to 20/30w

i say temp control is the way to go if you plan on soldering more, nothing like matching your lead melt point then soldering with that temp, makes everything so much easier

 

[Dylaan]

The thing I wanted to know was, I have a 25w iron... Is it worth buying a 15w even though I've already got one?

My Wii doesn't have cut legs, unless I'm severely mistaken, it's supposedly the easiest type to modify. Thanks anyway...