Discussion Well. RIP.

[Mumble]

EDIT: I feel like this "Solved" Question has been going on for quite a while. If anyone wants to post dead stuff here, feel free. Who knows, maybe some smart peoples can share their knowledge and help.

I've now thrown away $165 due to my amazing soldering skills.

+ and GND are fucked

HOWEVER
I have a chance to make it $150 again. Is there an input on the chip for + and GND? If so, could you please show me the locations?

 

[jefflongo]

Can you explain your process when you're trying to solder to the pads? You should probably practice on a junk board for awhile first..

 

[Mumble]

Can you explain your process when you're trying to solder to the pads? You should probably practice on a junk board for awhile first..

I managed to hook up the video on the Wii. I'm just retarted and decided to get high on gfuel before soldering.

 

[JacksonS]

The IC is a PIC18F25K22. Power goes to pin 20 (VDD) and ground goes to pin 19 (VSS).

 

[Mumble]

The IC is a PIC18F25K22. Power goes to pin 20 (VDD) and ground goes to pin 19 (VSS).
View attachment 1530

You're awesome!
 
I think I got it to work! I don't have my tact buttons yet, but they should be here in the next couple days. Typically when I solder something incorrectly when it comes to controllers leads to my Wii shutting off. It hasn't done that, and I did it the normal side up (I hope that's how that pinout was...) But if this did it, I feel good. Thanks @JacksonS and @Noah

 

[Aurelio]

You can grab VDD and GND from the top connector. VDD is the second pad from the left and GND is the third one from the left

 

[Mumble]

You can grab VDD and GND from the top connector. VDD is the second pad from the left and GND is the third one from the left

I tried the pin thing. Not even sure if it worked because I don't have a tact button to test it .-. I'll update when I try one today

 

[Noah]

I tried the pin thing. Not even sure if it worked because I don't have a tact button to test it .-. I'll update when I try one today

You don't need a tact. Just short one button pad to ground and you can test it. Use wire or small tweezers

 

[Mumble]

You don't need a tact. Just short one button pad to ground and you can test it. Use wire or small tweezers

What exactly do you mean by use a short button pad to ground...?
Edit: By getting a tact button I meant to test something like "A"

 

[Noah]

What exactly do you mean by use a short button pad to ground...?
Edit: By getting a tact button I meant to test something like "A"

Yes I'm aware.

Take a wire, solder it to ground. Take the other side and touch it to the "A" pad or another button. That's how buttons work, just shorting the button signal with ground.

 

[Mumble]

Yes I'm aware.

Take a wire, solder it to ground. Take the other side and touch it to the "A" pad or another button. That's how buttons work, just shorting the button signal with ground.

Oh, alright I'll try that.
Edit: RIP not getting anything. My best thing to do is sit in a corner.

 

[Marchioly]

What soldering iron do you use?

I would recommend you get a helping hand tool (or built a similar contraption). I like using two of them mounted on a piece of crap board that I use for soldering over. It is very handy having a couple of them because when I started soldering I noticed that it pissed me off because it seemed like I was holding too much stuff and it felt awkward.

For practice, find a electronics recycler nearby. I go to my place 10-15 minutes away and I can get a couple broken laptops/some desktops every few weeks. Out of the working/tested speakers/wiring/power jacks/Usb/batteries i have enough crap to use on my projects to last awhile.
(Funny story, but the wire I usually use is all ripped from PSUs/Ribbon Cables lmao)

For soldering/desoldering practice, I would recommend trying to desolder hdmi connectors (lot of little points/finesse) and components from dead laptop motherboards.

 

[Mumble]

I've come to a conclusion actually.
I broke the player one slot on my Wii. I agree with @Marchioly on I should solder to something else before I get to anything else.
But yea I suck at soldering, and I'm not getting any signal from my player one slot.
So in conclusion, think before you leap.

 

[Noah]

If you destroyed the board I would just hold off on making a portable. A portable is really not recommended, especially a Wii portable due to the small soldering needed if you want things like USB/Bluetooth relocated.

I know it's probably not the news you want to hear, but it's probably for the best so you don't waste money on ruining things like this again. Practice your soldering on simple things before you continue because the skill level, even for basic portables, rises exponentially from simple soldering such as this.

Trust me, once you get a little more experience and make your first portable you'll look back and think how silly it is that you couldn't solder something like this.

 

[Mumble]

If you destroyed the board I would just hold off on making a portable. A portable is really not recommended, especially a Wii portable due to the small soldering needed if you want things like USB/Bluetooth relocated.

I know it's probably not the news you want to hear, but it's probably for the best so you don't waste money on ruining things like this again. Practice your soldering on simple things before you continue because the skill level, even for basic portables, rises exponentially from simple soldering such as this.

Trust me, once you get a little more experience and make your first portable you'll look back and think how silly it is that you couldn't solder something like this.

Yes. I agree.
I also already feel silly for not being able to solder to something like this
Edit: @Marchioly I do actually need a thinner Soldering Iron. If I got one of those it would make things easier, anyone have any reccomendations? I don't want something "too expensive" but also something that isn't "too cheap".

 

[Noah]

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC10...6847347&sr=8-1&keywords=weller+soldering+iron

Then get this tip as well:
https://www.amazon.com/Weller-ST7-C...rd_wg=IVh9p&psc=1&refRID=WS6MX3T4WFZZYZFCGYTS

 

[Marchioly]

Yes. I agree.
I also already feel silly for not being able to solder to something like this
Edit: @Marchioly I do actually need a thinner Soldering Iron. If I got one of those it would make things easier, anyone have any reccomendations? I don't want something "too expensive" but also something that isn't "too cheap".

Well. I would recommend looking at getting one with adjustable temperature and replaceable tips (make sure you read amazon reviews on the replacement tips and that they are in varied sizes. Realistically you want a small micro tip, no sense messing with a 1/8th inch one (friggen huge, not good for fine work).

You need to accept that this is an investment. Dropping 40-50$ for a good medium range soldering station should be no big deal because it saves you in the long run.

If you are trying to use budget/cheap soldering irons there are a few problems.
1) Usually come with a massive tip.
2) Fixed wattage, usually pretty high. Most budget soldering irons I have seen are 25-30 watt. If you are doing precise/little soldering on a circuit board you only realistically need 10 watts or so. 15 watts would be the max.

Before I got a decent iron off amazon, I was using 2 irons. One was a 15 watt and the other was a 30 watt monster. Both irons were less than 4$ each, so it was a good learning experience.

 

[cheese]

I started with an iron like this:

It was complete garbage and broke just about everything it touched. Now I use an iron similar to what @Noah linked. When I switched it was like magic, stuff stopped breaking

 

[Mumble]

Wow. Yeah the Iron I'm using is like Hulk-Finger fat. I'll definitely be putting a new iron on my list.
 
HOLY SHIT. I JUST GOT IT TO WORK (kind of). So just a few minutes ago I tried to connect a controller again, and already feeling like my Wii was screwed over, I connected to the smaller pins
Here:

instead of here:

When I plugged the power in, and turned the Wii on, nothing happened. I waited a few minutes, brought everything back into the house from the shop, and I still didn't get anything. I waited just a tad bit longer and guess what? I still didn't get anything. So what I did was I unplugged everything I soldered to make a connection to the controller, and the Wii, and boom it turned on. I still have the wires connected to the Wii, so in theory this all is working! I just need another controller which I found out there are some that are dead cheap.

 

[cheese]

Shoot a picture of the top and bottom, you may still have some shorts that don't rear their head unless you have boards connected.