Hacking WiiKey Received today and installed tonight

[Edster]

Well I got my WiiKey today. It was ordered on the 19th of Feb. I also got the Tri-Wing screwdriver. So glad I did.

Here's my take.

The board is tiny. OMG it's tiny. I bought a magnifying helmet. I guess that's what you could call it. It was $8 and it has 2 LED's on the side that provide extra light and a small round magnifier that looks like Colonel Klink used to wear it. I cannot imagine doing this with just my own eyes. Crap the spots on the drive are freakin’ tiny. This device saved me big time.

Fist off I would like to thank everyone on this board for all the excellent advise. I read as much as I cold before I attempted this mod. It helped immensely and I am extremely grateful. I would never have purchased 30G wire, but I did so after reading that it was recommended and I can't imagine using larger wire. This wire worked perfect.

Here's what I did. I watched lots of YouTube videos on taking the unit apart. This made me feel much more confident. Then I cut 6 wires each around 5-6" in length. I stripped the ends and tinned them. Then I trimmed them again to make a nice clean tinned cut. Then I labeled each wire 1 - 6 and attached them to my Wiikey. This made life alot easier. Then I soldered each wire to the board. Very Very carefully magnifying alot... Once they were secure, I taped the wires down with electrical tape, and taped the wiikey to the nice spot on the drive that seemed to be designed for it. Test the unit and she worked on the first try. Man I am happy and damn proud.

I did end up with some extra screws so I took them all out, watched another YouTube video and figured it all out. I suggest labeling the screws, they are easy to mess up.

Tested so far. Rayman Raving Rabbids USA, works great (Verbatim DVD-R, 8x burn), Super Money Ball Banana Blitz PAL (Verbatim 4x DVD+RW). Both work perfect. Just about to try WiiPlay.

Good luck to all those fortunate enough to get their chips this week. Be careful Don't rush anything. Take your time.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL THE SUGGESTIONS AND INFORMATION ON THIS SITE!!!

Also, a Huge thank you to the creators of the WiiKey. So far I am extremely happy with this chip and my installation
.

 

[modmanwii]

whats tinning the wires do? I have an old wire harness from a Xecuter modchip for Xbox360

dont know how big the gauge is, but its small and all I can get is 24awg at radio shack

but when i clipped the ends on my wire harness I have frayed silver wires, not 1 nice peice to solder

how do i get the frayed ends nice and solid?

 

[starduck]

Twist it?

And soldering the Wiikey without magnifying glasses is possible. I did it.

And the only experience I had was a 2 minute test beforehand. I had never touched a solder iron before. So if anyone out there is scared, it's doable, just take your time.

 

[Edster]

whats tinning the wires do? I have an old wire harness from a Xecuter modchip for Xbox360

dont know how big the gauge is, but its small and all I can get is 24awg at radio shack

but when i clipped the ends on my wire harness I have frayed silver wires, not 1 nice peice to solder

how do i get the frayed ends nice and solid?

Tinning is just soldering the ends of the wires. This makes is easier as you don't need to add more solder when you connect them to the contact points. The 30G wire I bought is only one wire so they can't fray it anyway. It was also very flexible.

 

[Edster]

Twist it?

And soldering the Wiikey without magnifying glasses is possible. I did it.

And the only experience I had was a 2 minute test beforehand. I had never touched a solder iron before. So if anyone out there is scared, it's doable, just take your time.

You probably have better eyes than me. Magnifying glasses made is much easier for me.

 

[starduck]

Yah it would have been much easier. But didn't have any. After two spots soldered, I stopped shaking, then it went smoothly...

...after bridging 2-3 spots and wanting to stab the Wii with the solder iron.

 

[modmanwii]

anyone know any other national retail chains that have 30 awg wire? My radio shack doesnt have it...

 

[Edster]

Yah it would have been much easier. But didn't have any. After two spots soldered, I stopped shaking, then it went smoothly...

...after bridging 2-3 spots and wanting to stab the Wii with the solder iron.

and I thought I was the only one with the shakes... well I guess I have to do it again tomorrow. Worked fine for about 1 hr. I tested a bunch of games and now it won't load anything. I guess it heated up and a wire popped off. Strange, I didn't move the unit around. Too late tonight to mess with it.

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

The board is tiny. OMG it's tiny.

Are there any actual-size pics of the board out there, or at least measurements? I wanna see just how tiny these pads are.

 

[jon-t]

I seccond that!

 

[Edster]

I seccond that!

They look pin size... the top two pad #1 and #2 are fine. No issues with those. It's the three in a row that are the most frustrating. My guess is one of those three popped off for me. I have to get in there again tonight. Not looking forward to it.

 

[HelloKitty]

anyone know any other national retail chains that have 30 awg wire? My radio shack doesnt have it...

Try another Radio Shack..?
or perhaps.. lowes, home depot.

 

[lenselijer]

I just installed my 2nd wiikey using the quicksolder method, no problems at all.

If you know how to solder you really dont have to use wires.

 

[instigator]

Here's my take.

The board is tiny. OMG it's tiny. I bought a magnifying helmet. I guess that's what you could call it. It was $8 and it has 2 LED's on the side that provide extra light and a small round magnifier that looks like Colonel Klink used to wear it. I cannot imagine doing this with just my own eyes. Crap the spots on the drive are freakin’ tiny. This device saved me big time.

Just think, now you have a great fashion accessory as well

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

I seccond that!


They look pin size... the top two pad #1 and #2 are fine. No issues with those. It's the three in a row that are the most frustrating. My guess is one of those three popped off for me. I have to get in there again tonight. Not looking forward to it.

PinHEAD or pinPOINT?

 

[modmanwii]

pin head id say

 

[Edster]

I seccond that!


They look pin size... the top two pad #1 and #2 are fine. No issues with those. It's the three in a row that are the most frustrating. My guess is one of those three popped off for me. I have to get in there again tonight. Not looking forward to it.

PinHEAD or pinPOINT?

Pinpoint, I'm the pinhead.