Wire type and chip leg install procedure V9's

[ShadowKnyght]

Hope you don't mind Douglas - but I think the answer to your question could help others so I posted it here not just in a PM back...

Hi
Please excuse my boldness in sending you this PM.
I have been modding PSx and PS2 for several years and am competent at soldering. I have always used the Magic chip and feel comfortable with its reliability whether or not thats a good thing...
But as the revisions of the PS2 increase they are becoming progressively harder. In particular I am referring to the vias used on the underside of the board. Whilst trying to do a 50010N I maganage to nuke the mb. These vias have been getting smaller in dia and on this board are smaller than the dia of the wire.
So if I may I would like to ask the following questions
1. What wire do you use/recommend ?
2. What tip size do you use on your iron ?
3. Do you have a pic ?
4. Is it a 15W ?
5. Do you emply any special procedure to solder to the chip legs ? I have seen many pics of your work and notice you use them. Have heard various ideas on how to attach to the legs and thought I would just ask your procedure.
I thank you in advance for your answers and comments
Douglas

1) Vias on the V9 are small - also requires you to use longer wire to reach them and with all the problems people are having with V9's I decided to use the chip legs instead - just to be safe on wire length issues.

2) I use plain old Kynar wire for the chip legs - AWG30 - but it is an aquired skill to use wire this thick on chips with such a fine pitch.

...a) I suggest using AWG32 or smaller - and if you have access to it - enammelled wire - as it comes in smaller gauges than kynar.

...b) You could use the razor trick - but I find this harder to use than just being careful - the chip legs are longer on the V9 than they were on the V3 so it is easier to solder to them even though the pitch is the same. (be warned - still takes ages to complete the job).

3) My soldering iron is a Hakko 936 with a 0.4mm tip, I suggest use of 0.4 to 0.2mm tips - 0.1mm tips loose heat to quickly.

4) 15 watt irons are ok - but mine is a 80W temperature controlled iron so wattage does not apply the same with mine - I use 325 to 350 degrees C

5) Use 0.35mm resin cored silver / lead / tin solder - yes it helps if the solder is also small - 0.8mm solder is to hard to work with on fine points.

Soldering procedure for chip legs: (will add this to my tips page)

1) Very slightly tin the chip leg you are about to solder to - dont tin more than one leg at a time as this will make accidental shorts occure more easily.

2) Strip 4 to 5mm of insulation off of the wire - more than you usually do on normal solder points and pads. The extra length makes it easire to work with - keeps the thicker insulated wire out of the way of judging the middle of the chip leg and also out of the way for connecting the next wire along - the insulation starts to get in the way about 3 legs along if not stripped far enough back.

3) Tin the exposed wire - making sure not to excessively tin it - globs of solder will almost gaurantee shorts.

(- always have a tiny pin handy to remove accidental shorts - safer and works better than those nasty jolting hand held solder suckers that use a spring loaded vacuum pump to remove solder, pads and chip legs if you are not carefull )

4) As the wire is long enough - hold it steady by placing the end of the exposed wire against the chip leg on the MB and the edge against the verticle section of the leg.

5) carefully hold the iron with a tiny dob of solder on it - against the wire until it melts the two tined areas together.

6) remove the iron and after a second test the joint with a very gentle tug.

7) If it held, bend the wire back across the top of the chip and glue it in place with a tiny glob of super glue - or use double sided tape if that is your preference.

8) holding the wire at the glued point bend the wire in the direction of the chip (holding ensures no stress is applied to the glue or the solder joint) - then cut to length so that it just reaches the chip - solder in place - and neaten if you wish with glue or double sided tape..

see attached for end result - much neater with thinner wire - but my enammelled wire is TO thin so I hate using it.

Also see - www.psxmodchips.net/ps2tips.htm for more of the same.

[kima]

Nice guide.

But one thing is knowing what to do, an other thing is doing it.. ;-)


I have always used kynar at the chiplegs, and with the long legs in V9/V10 it is a very simpel task.


Kim A

[loy]

one of the easiest thing is to tin the wire then flux it place over the pin then solder away

[darkmaster2]

nice little guide shadow. I use the razor method all the time simply for the reason i dont have a tip smaller than .5mm, and shorting is a problem without the razor, If i do get a decent iron+tips i`ll certainly try your method..

PS. I NEVER use the vias, they are tiny in the new v9-v10. + if you do bridge the CDX pins its not the end of the world, shorts can be removed easily enough with a pin as you say, or a razor blade


thanks man.

[TomasAlmgren]

When i started chipleg soldering i used a super thin flat tip (0.1 or smaller) and 450C temp. Then i presoldered my 30AWG stripped wire and fluxed it. Then put the flat tip between the leg you want to solder and the leg next to it. Take the pretinned wire and apply to chip leg. Hold for 1.5 sec so the tin is melting and creating a strong connection. Now i feel this takes to much time, so i just use a 0.28 tip and solder with care

[shingun]

I always forget not to drink coffee before I solder and one way I deal with the little shakes is aluminum foil. I twist a piece of aluminum foil large enough to rest the rear part of the soldering iron tip on to. The aluminum disperses heat quickly so you won't harm the MB. Then holding the wire with my free hand I can slightly rock the soldering iron in and out with precision when I need to apply heat to the chip legs.

[ShadowKnyght]

now that is original! never heard of doing that before - 10 points for originality!

[Gladiator]

It feels easier soldering to the chip legs, especially using the razor blade technique. You can get pretty fast if you use the tool shown in the picture. Just grab a razor blade and cut it to the shown shape. Use some tacky glue to stick it on top of the chip while soldering. Hope it helps.