Hacking Turn your Chinese M3 Real to English

[cory1492]

Should work, might even work if you skipped the iron and used a conductive pen or similar, though the gap is a bit far. Seriously though, a 15W iron is enough to take the 0k off there if you have a bit of solder with flux - not that big a deal to add some extra solder and heat both ends at the same time.

 

[anthman]

Yeah, its just ive never soldered before.

What are some simple steps for this operation?

I've read some sites and this is what ive gathered.

---0Ohm resistor removal---
1. Heat soldering iron up.
2. Cover iron tip in flux (i've got some "Active" flux - is this ok?)
3. Melt some flux on the 0Ohm resistor contact on PCB
4. Life 0Ohm resistor.

---Wire prep (tinning?)---
5. Cut wire to length
6. Cover each end in flux
7. Cover each end in solder

---Wire installation---
8. Flux on iron tip
9. Flux on contact points where 0Ohm resistor used to be on PCB (different pads this time - R8)
10. Solder tinned wire to points

Is this how it works?

 

[cory1492]

I'd do a vid, but I'd have to grow my finger nails for a month to make it acceptable

kidding, of course.

Don't use plumbers flux or acid based flux. It's what we call "active" flux, and it will eat electronics and if you absolutely have to use such flux on electronics ever, you will find that the active flux no matter how cleaned off it looks will continue to eat away at the PCB/contacts etc long after you did the work. Bare minimum, get rosin core electronics solder, if you have access get a $4 tin of electronic paste flux (I've had my tin of flux for 8 years and I've only used about a third of it, and I use it quite often.)

---0Ohm resistor removal---
1. Heat soldering iron up.
2. heat one side of resistor and apply a small amount of rosin core solder (when applying solder, it goes into the place where the iron and the contact meet)
3. repeat on other side
4. if you did it right, your iron should be able to touch the solder on both sides of the resistor so you can remove it fairly simply by heating both ends at the same time.

---Wire prep (tinning?)---
5. Cut and strip wire to length (may want to save cutting for after it is soldered though).
- you can tin if you want, but it's not absolutely necessary, as it will tin in step 6 at basically the same time you solder it

---Wire installation---
6. hold wire in place (easier if you didn't cut it first, but try to do it/bend the excess in such a way that no force will be applied after it's soldered), heat wire and contact and apply rosin core solder (as above) so you get a nice shiny blob of solder on the contact that "wets" (kinda wraps around) to the wire and contact

If you have the right flux, you CAN pre-tin the exposed wire by putting a bit of solder on your iron tip and a bit of flux on the wire, but it's not absolutely necessary (basically just a good soldering habit). And remember, try not to hold the iron to the contacts on the PCB for more than 5 or so seconds, too much heat will travel up the circuit or you could also risk damaging the contact itself.

Hope that helps, you have the idea down pretty good - I just tried to simplify it a bit in case you don't have the right flux but do have a non-active flux cored solder.

 

[anthman]

ok thanks for that!

My 2 m3 reals should be arriving in about a week or so!

 

[anthman]

Also, im gonna go shopping for the things i need to do this hardware job with.

I'm gonna throw out my sodlering iron cause i had a look at it yesterday and it got a little torn up since i last used it. (dont ask).

So what do i need to buy? As in what wattage soldering iron, wire gauge, sodler/flux type. Im looking to spend as little as required.

 

[cory1492]

A 15W or 25W iron, some "hi tech" silver bearing or just plain or resin core solder works. You can scam wire from just about anywhere, anything from 24-30AWG should work fine so long as you don't connect parallel contacts to the one you want to solder to.

 

[anthman]

awesome thanks!

 

[anthman]

Hi everyone!

Im going to buy the solder stuff later, but for now my M3 Reals came in.

THis is what i did to get it to work in software:

1. DOwnload 2.8 of USA AND ASIA firmware.
2. Using the patch tool, i patched all .eng files in the USA firmware (4 of em i think) to Big5
3. Copy and pasted these files into the ASIA firmware (will over write)
4. Patched g6dsload.eng (from the USA firmware) to GB and copied that into the ASIA Folder (overwrote the old one).

and thats it! All works!

 

[beatrixgba]

Hi everyone!

Im going to buy the solder stuff later, but for now my M3 Reals came in.

THis is what i did to get it to work in software:

1. DOwnload 2.8 of USA AND ASIA firmware.
2. Using the patch tool, i patched all .eng files in the USA firmware (4 of em i think) to Big5
3. Copy and pasted these files into the ASIA firmware (will over write)
4. Patched g6dsload.eng (from the USA firmware) to GB and copied that into the ASIA Folder (overwrote the old one).

and thats it! All works!

Newbie here also. You are making it sound like you didn't need to do a hardware mod. Am I reading this correct? Or did you end up using your old soldering iron?

 

[cory1492]

Sounds like he has much more patience than myself for fiddling with the files and got the old way working fine.

 

[anthman]

Hi, sorry was on holiday.

Yep, i havent done the hardware mod - it all works perfectly, except for the media player - which ive yet to make use of (busy with games, lol).

I used the old method and all works well.

 

[beatrixgba]

thanks anthman and cory1492. Let me know if you get the english media player to work. I suppose you can install the chinese media player if all else fails correct?...or does it come with the chinese kernel cd?

 

[alibasbas]

Is the software only solution (no hardware modification/soldering) to convert M3 DS Real Chinese version into English version applicable to the latest firmware posted at New M3 DS Real v2.9 System Files thread?

 

[Kid_Wise]

I purchased an M3DS Real from www.dealextreme.com. I am already familiar with the adapter as I had previously purchased and used the adapter from other Internet vendors. Unfortunately, the order from www.dealextreme.com arrived close to a month later. As if that was not bad enough. I received a Language Chinese error message upon booting up of the M3DS Real OS, which I quickly found out was due to the having been shipped the Chinese version of the adapter. I have since read up on the hardware and software mods on GBATemp. Unfortunately, the software mod in which you patch the English System .eng files to .gb or bg5 versions and copy them into the Chinese System software, work but not perfectly. For NDS games loaded via the M3DS Real's OS it seems everything works fine. The Media Extend software seems to work fine, but some of the menu text is displayed in Chinese. That is annoying, but the real problem I am having is that homebrew apps such as the SNEMulDS or Rudolph's EZFlash 3in1 app won't execute as I believe these such homebrew apps need to talk to the hardware of the M3DS Real directly thus encountering the Chinese version of the hardware instead of the English version of the hardware they have been coded for. I am not sure but that is my best assessment right now. I thus decided it was best to avoid these software mod issues and any future issues by going through the hardware modification procedure also on the GBATemp website and several other websites. The hardware mod from Chinese to English is suppose to be performed by opening up R9 and jumping R8 however you feel is best for you to achieve that. So I opened up my M3DS Real Chinese cartridge and set out to make the hardware modification. Unfortunately, the versions of the hardware I received do not have R9 and R8. Help!!! Does anyone know how I can get around these annoying difficulties? I purchased 4 of these Chinese versions not knowing what I was getting into and now I am stuck with cartridges that I cannot take full advantage of. These were suppose to be Christmas presents for the kids in my family and not only are they way late, but I can't even make them work properly. If anyone can tell me whether or not there may be a hardware/firmware update to english for these cartridges without the resistors, and where I may be able to get the English firmware (if it exists) I would greatly, greatly appreciate it! I mean how does the M3 team now control the region setting on the cartridge? My best guess is that it is now firmware flashed on the cartridge itself instead of the resistor method. I'd greatly appreciate any feedback. Thank you for taking to the time to read about my issues.

 

[cory1492]

Late? Did you order the premium shipping? "shipping included" uses the slowest/cheapest shipping method available.

Wrong language... well, if you ordered the cheaper white one you didn't read the product comments and didn't realize that black m3 should be the english one.

OK, now that is aside. If you can provide an image of the side of the PCB where the resistors should be it would be most helpful. Does the chip on that same side of the board look like it's enclosed in a blob of black stuff? They removed the pads on M3S/R4 as well, but it didn't prevent the conversion at all because there are alternate spots to route from (and they still have to be able to select the language when making the cards).

 

[Titbb]

I've just gotten my M3 Real back from dealextreme, but i has a different PCB then the one posted as the first post.



Unfortunately the english hardwaremod doesnt work in this case. Since its missing 2 of the resistors. Also the softwaremod doesn't work. I put up the asian version, which works. When i use the tool to convert it to english, it shows the M3 logo, then it stalls on a black screen, and thats it. Nothing else, nothing more.

Anyone who encountered this already, and found a solution? I would love to have it in english

 

[innercy]

^are u sure u do the it right?. u said convert to english... the right solution:-
1. copy a loader from asian ver to memory stick.
2. download english dat and use the converter so u can use it along with asian loader (u need to choose the right language in language selection option. in this case asian/chinese)
3. put the english dat into your memory stick (paste and replace).

 

[Titbb]

^are u sure u do the it right?. u said convert to english... the right solution:-
1. copy a loader from asian ver to memory stick.
2. download english dat and use the converter so u can use it along with asian loader (u need to choose the right language in language selection option. in this case asian/chinese)
3. put the english dat into your memory stick (paste and replace).

Hi, thnx for the response.

I should have clarified more.

I did it the other way around the second time round. Because the first way (the one you described here) didn't work for me either.
However, i formatted the card, and redid it, and this time i choose the English language instead of the Dutch one.

Then it started working. Tried copying the leftover files to the sd-card but no luck. I quickly see the menu, and then it disappears. I keep seeing the upper screen of the M3 logo + skin there.

 

[beatrixgba]

Are you using 2.8 or 2.9? Just wondering...

 

[xJonny]

It is possible that the new firmware prevents the software mod from working