Hacking To Solder or not to Solder

[DarkElf101]

Well i ordered my wiikey and im still waiting for it. Now comes the question should i try to solder the wiikey myslef or should i get this guy i found in craiglist to do it for me? I have no soldering experience at all.

 

[Bloodgod]

send it to the guy from craigslist.

Unless you want to end up like them.
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=48656
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=48502
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=48319

Best thing to do, ask your parents if they know of someone with soldering experience. Chances are they might and probably install it for free.

 

[another]

I did it, I've never soldered before.

It's not easy, but it's not brain surgery. you can do it man.

 

[tundro]

If you're going to do it yourself, make sure you have the correct tools (ex: low wattage iron, 30 gauge kynar wire, flux paste, etc) and that you practice on an old CD-Rom driver (or similar) for a while first. The solder points in the Wii are very small, so practice on the smallest points you can find. I didn't have soldering experience before deciding to solder my Wii... but I practiced a bunch over two weeks before buying my CycloWiz. Once I got it and went to install I didn't find it that hard. Just took my time - about an hour from the moment I started taking the Wii apart to when it was finished and back together. But then again, this mod isn't for the faint of heart.

 

[BillnTed]

I'd echo these sentiments - practice on an old PCB, take it easy and don't rush it. Once you open it up, the small size of the solder points is still a surprise, no matter how many pictures you see. I found that snipping tiny pieces of solder to melt onto the wire prior to offering it up to the PCB prevented me from blobbing solder everywhere. 30 gauge kynar wire is a must - I got a good old hank with the tri-wing driver and Wiikey from eurasia and it made it much easier. I've only soldered twice before, but practised for a good hour before hand to get a feel for the size of the tip, time for the solder to melt and set and what a good joint should look like (no, not a big blunt

).

However, if you feel you can't do it, don't! Better to splurge $30 on getting someone else with experience to do it than risk bricking it - you'll pay more to have it fixed or wait a time to get it replaced. Remember, soldering iron, solder & wire will probably set you back $20 and you sound like you won't use them thereafter.

 

[Sick Wario]

with the right tools, some practice and a LOT of patience you CAN install yourself. ive done 3 wiikey now with ZERO experience and only had 1 problem, 1 joint broke when i reassembled the 2nd wii. cut back the wire a bit, and resoldered the joint. no prob.

if you send it away and pay someone to do it, then get it back and there is a problem, you'll wish you tried yourself

EDIT

spend the bit more and buy desoldering braid. that shit amazed me

 

[Louse76]

Well i ordered my wiikey and im still waiting for it. Now comes the question should i try to solder the wiikey myslef or should i get this guy i found in craiglist to do it for me? I have no soldering experience at all.

Where are you at? If you're in FL, let me know and I'll help you out for cheap!

 

[thieves like us]

Well i ordered my wiikey and im still waiting for it.  Now comes the question should i try to solder the wiikey myslef or should i get this guy i found in craiglist to do it for me?  I have no soldering experience at all.

I'm in michigan, and like louse76, I'd be more than willing to help you out [for cheap as well!

]. if you don't feel comfortable with your skills, I wouldn't risk it. shaunj and costello will vouch for me with regards to helping out members on the forum.

plus, it gives me the chance to put my new re-work station through its paces.

 

[shtonkalot]

Ohh, let thieves like us help you out.
Just so he can play with that bitchin' solder station!

I want one! seems a little expensive though... I'm aiming for something a little cheaper than it for my new station.
God damn!, I want that one though.

..eh, oh yeah so get some help or do it yourself or whatever.

I'm going to bed now... not thinking about that Weller set up at all... at allll..

 

[lisek99]

send it to the guy from craigslist.

Unless you want to end up like them.
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=48656

Best thing to do, ask your parents if they know of someone with soldering experience. Chances are they might and probably install it for free.

My Wiikey still works after that. I solder it to the Wii and everything works fine.

EDIT
It was my first time.