GCN XenoGC installation

[playallday]

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[playallday]

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[lenselijer]

a 30W iron is too hot, get a 15W max. and also dont use that flux/paste stuff.

just normal solder and desoldering braid if you mess up.

you should first tin all the points so a bit of solder is on the gold points, you can scratch them with a knife a bit to make the solder stick better.

its hard to explain, i do can tell you that xenogc is by no means an easy thing to do, wiikey is easier...

 

[playallday]

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[jdsony]

I have a soldering Iron that switches between 20W & 40W. I had a 15W Iron previously and I often found it wasn't hot enough. 20W is plenty for making new solder connections but I find the 40W useful for de-soldering older connections especially in 1970s gear. FLUX paste is incredibly useful. I use it all the time especially on wires. Basically I strip a wire, stick it in the FLUX, and then apply a dab of solder to it. The solder basically wrap around the bare wire and seals it (so you don't have any loose strands). Often I'll apply a little more FLUX after when I am about to solder the wire to the board or chip. It helps the two stick together much easier.

I suggest trying some FLUX before you get a new soldering iron and see if it helps. The trick is use as little solder as you can to make a solid connection, and don't hold the soldering iron on the board for long. If you Iron is hot enough you should be able to connect a wire to it within a few seconds and move on.

 

[playallday]

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[OSW]

Sorry to bump, but I'm going to attempt a xenogc installation this weekend.

The chip is a tiny bugger, I've got the case dismantled however I'm afraid to start soldering since some of the points are so close together.

How did you go in the end?

 

[playallday]

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[Todderbert]

I've installed a few of these little chips, I use a 25watt weller with a .7mm flat blade tip. Always use a little rosin paste on the connections you are joining or removing. You will get quicker and better heat flow. I know the solder out there has it, but its best to have the area treated also.

 

[lenselijer]

if you think the points are too small then just use some wires to install the chip.

first solder all the wires onto the dvd drive motherboard, that way you dont mess up the chip if something goes wrong.

 

[playallday]

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[Todderbert]

I pre-tinned the bare pads on the drive board before installing the chip.

 

[playallday]

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[Todderbert]

Great, installed it but no luck.

The Gamecube can still play real games, but backups are a no go. I don't think even any LED's come on (I don't see any green or red light).

I resolder it once, but it still did the same thing. I'm going to try again tomorrow.

Any tips?

If your connections looks blob-like then get some desolder braid and remove it and redo. If your holding your iron on a connection for more then a few seconds your iron is not hot enough and/or you need a little extra paste on the area. You can reflow a connection with a little rosin and some heat. Search around I believe there is a pcb picture that shows alternate spots for a wired install where you can check for continuity of your connections.

 

[playallday]

Great, installed it but no luck.

The Gamecube can still play real games, but backups are a no go. I don't think even any LED's come on (I don't see any green or red light).

I resolder it once, but it still did the same thing. I'm going to try again tomorrow.

Any tips?

If your connections looks blob-like then get some desolder braid and remove it and redo. If your holding your iron on a connection for more then a few seconds your iron is not hot enough and/or you need a little extra paste on the area. You can reflow a connection with a little rosin and some heat. Search around I believe there is a pcb picture that shows alternate spots for a wired install where you can check for continuity of your connections.

Ahhh, two of them look like blobs. I'm using a 30W iron, so it doesn't take long for things to get hot. I think I'll just try to reflow what I have already there, as I didn't put that much on to start with.

I'll try it again tonight.

Off topic: Boy, that soldering paste I got sure makes things easier!

 

[playallday]

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[Todderbert]

Glad to hear it. Direct chip install can be tricky because you can short the adjacent pads if your not careful.

 

[playallday]

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[fairlyevenparents]

Hello, I'm also thinking about modding my Gamecube but i have a few Questions...
1.Whats the best GC Modchip?
2.Is XenoGC2.0 modchip better then the regular XenoGC modchip?