Time to mod the ol' PS2! (installing a mod chip)

where are you looking?

 

"No clean" is the name for it. These are only acid when they're hot so you can leave them on the board.

 

eBay, though searching for "no clean" as l_oliveira suggested has given me some results.

 

Not sure about the "no clean", but I just searched "liquid flux" (without the quotation marks) in ebay.com and found lots of it

 

Perhaps a lot of people can't ship to Australia or something? Dangerous chemicals maybe? Well, I've ordered some of the "no clean" flux, it comes with a little dropper, handy! Using flux just involves squirting some of it on the area you want the prep for soldering, heating it then soldering away right?

 

Yes, pretty much that. Refer to youtube videos for further details. (standard and lazy disclaimer).

 

Yep, that's where I got my information from. You don't need to boil off the flux before you start soldering right? You can put the flux down and begin soldering can't you?

 

That's what you saw people do in the videos, no ? That's how I do it and I never had any problems with it. (Do not breath the fumes, that comes without saying lol)

 

Yep, but I'd seen both boiling off the flux and then soldering as well as applying the flux and soldering into the flux, and I was wondering if one was better than the other.

 

Okay, I've brought a new soldering iron (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/170923167169?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649), the seller says the tip is 0.5 x17mm, is that a suitable size for PS2 modding?

 

if in australia just buy no clean flux from element14 - theyre in chester hill and you can pickup after ordering
you should also use kynar wire

tip for soldering on the IC legs, tin the wire
hold it vertical against the chip leg and just give it a quick touch with the soldering iron and it will join
then tape the wire over the chip and route to where you placed the chip

 

Lol, that's in NSW, I'm in QLD Yes, I used kynar wire, but as I said previously, I was having trouble tinning the wire and getting the wire to bond to the leg, despite doing just what you described. I think my crappy soldering iron was the cause of both these problems.

 

Put some flux on the wire aswell you must tin the wire before puting it on the chip.

I hope i can be of help.

 

Yeah, I was trying to tin the wire, but wasn't getting very far. I have a feeling a better iron and some flux will sort that out.

 

Got the new soldering iron today, it seems pretty awesome and great quality. What's a good temperature to be using when doing this kind of soldering?

 

Okay, the liquid flux has arrived, and I've been able to use it to remove the bridges. However, the issue of the bent leg still remains, basically, one of the legs has been bent to the right, so it's not only no longer touching it's pad, but it's also touching the leg next to it. I've got some tweezers, but they're not near thin enough to be able to grab the leg and bend it back to where it should be. Any advice?

 

scalpel

 

Yeah, I've been trying to bend it back with a scalpel, but no success so far.

 

Well, I'll be damned! The PS2 lives!

I did my best to try and fix that leg, but it was looking pretty mangled, so I patched it up with a short bit of wire. Also of note, doing this with the new soldering iron and flux made it as quick and simple as I thought it was suppose to be. So yeah, crappy tools was probably my problem all along. Anyway, I plugged in the PS2, turned it on... And it booted! Plays games as normal and everything. So does that mean I've successfully repaired that little chip? Or will everything appear to be OK before it suddenly all goes pear shaped?

*EDIT* The eject button has stopped working, so that probably answers my question.

 

*EDIT* Found what should be another V3 PS2, hopefully I can get it for around $5, sounds like the simplest solution. Armed with experience and some better equipment, should be a success this time!

There's still that lingering issue as to why the CX point doesn't exist on the board I tried to mod though...