I’m blind (the device in back with the Freedom Scientific logo is an assistive magnifier). Both cooking and sewing are common skills taught in rehab centers for the newly blind, and soldering has aspects of both, being mindful of something very very hot near your hands, and having a certain amount of dexterity.
Here’s what I did to build up confidence. I bought a bunch of perf board and resistors and I just started soldering the resistors to the perf board, that’s it. No goal other than to practice soldering. I had tried one of those beginner’s first electronics kits off Amazon, the ones with just an LED and a switch or whatever. I got discouraged because I messed up. So I figured if I didn’t actually try to make something, I could relax and focus on soldering technique. I was eventually able to solder header pins onto a Raspberry pi zero and even terminate a coax cable, and now I can say I replaced a GB cart battery.
my dude you did this with major vision loss? i take back my earlier compliment. that’s not deserving of a smooch and a butt grabby. that’s deserving of a full on makeout and maybe a little hand down the pants butt grabby. make sure to ask yourself for consent first.
Fire isn’t a concern, really, the temperatures are low enough that it starts slow. Rest it on wood and you’ll have time to wonder why you smell wood smoke, then wonder why it’s inside, etc. before it burns down.
The real hazard is inhaling rosin fumes (says the guy who doesn’t properly ventilate his workstation). If you’re anxious about lead (I was) there is lead-free solder, though it requires higher temperatures to work with. As far as lead goes, the risk is from getting flecks of it on your fingertips and then touching your eyes or mouth. I imagine it’s less of a problem than it feels like in my head, but something something environmentally friendly.
Leaded solder is sooo much easier to work with. Wash your hands well after each soldering session, have a fan gently blowing over your work bench & a window cracked open & you should be (relatively) fine**. Unless you’re doing it very regularly for long periods in which case a proper extractor is worth the investment. Occasional hobby tinkering for 15-30 mins at a time over an iron is unlikely to be bad for you if you follow basic steps.
**Not medical advice!
P.S. Awesome work. I can remember the first time I modded Wii 1st gen, as my first non practice soldering, I was so nervous. But the mod still works to this day, many many years later. More people should learn to solider, it’s not overly hard if you have a decent enough soldering iron, a steady enough hand, & are willing to practice. It’s so satisfying when it works!!
Your solder joints don’t actually look that bad. Ive seen much worse; and “works” is the gold standard anyway. You’re probably the only one that will see the board in person.
If you want advice, it looks like your iron was either too cold, or you didn’t work fast enough and your flux burned up before the joint set.
Also it depends on the tip used for the soldering iron: those large surfaces have a lot more volume of metal that needs heating (plus you also need more volume of solder) so if one uses a conical tip it doesn’t transmit heat fast enough and you ended up with an irregular solder hill like that.
If you’re use to soldering smaller components, doing something like that is quite different and won’t come out as well until you get used to its peculiarities.
If you’re not at all used to soldering, that’s actually pretty good.
Totally agree on “works” being the gold standard, especially on a something like that which isn’t subject to significant mechanical forces (like, for example, a push switch would).
Mostly just visual in terms of shine vs matte. For the quality of the joint itself, lead-free has a higher melting point so you need more heat to keep it flowing nicely.
Your joints will do what they’re supposed so, so they’re fine. Chasing perfection is just a fun minigame.
FYI on the next one - they make CR1616 battery holders (like this) which allow future you to swap in new batteries whenever you want without additional soldering
I figure if I’m gonna do it, may as well just do it once
Yeah I came looking to see if anyone had mentioned this. 100% the way to go. Worst case you’ve added no work, best case you make your life so much easier the next time around.
I was talking to someone and they were saying that the solders on these adapters always suck and it creates more work. Is there any truth to that? I have 6 games I want to do this on.
The adapter I shared has no solder except that which you put into it. It solders into place just fine with a little flux, I’ve had 0 issues in ~20 games from this.
Be sure to clean your iron tip, I had a little bit of difficulty on the first one I did because I have had the same iron tip for like 10 years. A $2 replacement made life much easier. Probably also could have just hit it with sand paper. And double-check polarity on the connection points - watch a couple of YouTube videos to confirm you’ve got +/- right. I think it’s wonky on some carts.
The ones that are soldered and often suck are the ones OP posted. Be sure to check the battery voltage before you install those ones because they use cheap batteries and duds are common.
I’ve also seen people go the cave man approach and just un-solder/pry off only the battery (from the attached “arms” that connect to the board) on old carts and just tape a new battery in place but that’s an approach for monsters and psychopaths.
I’m a bit foggy on the details but I think Pokémon Silver / Gold were a little trickier because the RTC changes the PCB layout and the battery is actually mounted on top of a chip, so space gets a little tight and you have to build a bit of a solder bridge up to the connectors.
I so badly want to learn how to fix old tech like this. I’m fascinated by the tech repair YouTubers that can bring an old gba back to life. Someone I know has an old Pokemon Crystal with a dead battery from childhood and was broken up about losing their childhood save. I don’t think it’s possible to bring the file back but I’d love to get the cart working again at least.
Just so you know, the orange tape is called Kapton tape. It’s useful for higher temperature work (such as soldering) since it can continue to stick up to 400°C.
There are solder practice kits you can get. They’re usually a PCB and a bunch of components to install, then once the whole thing is correctly assembled it should do some simple function. They’re usually pretty cheap so you shouldn’t have to worry about messing it up, and the kit should be trivial to replace in comparison to the part you actually want to work on.
Not long ago, I bought about 15 different little soldering kits on AliExpress for like 1-5 dollars each. Instructions will be in Chinese, but that does force you to learn the more universal symbols in the schematics. Also, you can translate the Chinese with your phone. Anyway, after doing those and a bigger AM/FM radio kit I got from Amazon, I’m pretty confident in my soldering skills.
Oh and as far as how I learned, mostly trying to fix broken stuff (radios, amplifiers, VCRs etc,) and then making guitar effect pedals. Thats a good way to learn circuits!!
Note, dont try working on a tube amp or CRT right away. They aren’t evil scary like people say but you do need to study up before you go poking around zappy bits. Anything else like an old radio or VCR is totally fine if its unplugged.
I did this pedal 10 years ago. Support these guys!! Dont use amazon.
Now i mostly work on old consoles. Need to recap my 2600, and I modded a dreamcast and a ps1. Granted the Dreamcast didnt even need soldering besides replacing the clock battery holder.
Or, get some broken gameboys on eBay and try fixing them!
Pinecil, haven’t heard of that. I’ll take a look, thanks! Is there anything you used to practice ahead of time? Before jumping right into the actually hardware you were trying to fix?
Another happy owner of a pinecil here. For me it gets plenty hot and works great. There isn’t a battery though, you’re meant to use it wired with either USB C PD 65 Watts or 12V standard size barrel plug at similar wattage. More info on the pinecil wiki: https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinecil_Power_Supplies
Maybe, but it is pretty affordable (~$26 USD), the hardware and software is open source, and it is very portable due to the lack of a soldering station. It is also temp adjustable and has features like temp boost for heat sucking components like ground planes. For nerds, they have a risc-v devboard that you can use with the soldering iron’s CPU. So, there are reasons it has a CPU, but some would probably still prefer a regular dumb soldering iron.
For the most part you do not need expensive JBC tools or some super expensive testing tools.
If you plan to dive in, start simple with some USB soldering iron, multimeter and some cheap 20V labratory PSU. I found FNIRSI offers a USB-PD soldering iron with JBC tips for under $100 that is comparable to Weller 80W professional soldering station I got at work.
The other part is just trial and error. Try with simple electronics or guides. Get the general idea on how things work. Most of problems are already solved. It is easy to find repair guide for some old gaming tech or how to chip your consoles.
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update 2: I’ve now done the same to my copy of Gold. It requires a different battery compared to either yellow or sapphire.
you probably just werent blowing on the cartridge in the right way
Yeah, you’re supposed to treat it like a popsicle, not a balloon.
I’ve been so on the fence about attempting to solder, but it frightens me the idea of causing a little sparky fire.
So, good on you!
I’m blind (the device in back with the Freedom Scientific logo is an assistive magnifier). Both cooking and sewing are common skills taught in rehab centers for the newly blind, and soldering has aspects of both, being mindful of something very very hot near your hands, and having a certain amount of dexterity.
Here’s what I did to build up confidence. I bought a bunch of perf board and resistors and I just started soldering the resistors to the perf board, that’s it. No goal other than to practice soldering. I had tried one of those beginner’s first electronics kits off Amazon, the ones with just an LED and a switch or whatever. I got discouraged because I messed up. So I figured if I didn’t actually try to make something, I could relax and focus on soldering technique. I was eventually able to solder header pins onto a Raspberry pi zero and even terminate a coax cable, and now I can say I replaced a GB cart battery.
my dude you did this with major vision loss? i take back my earlier compliment. that’s not deserving of a smooch and a butt grabby. that’s deserving of a full on makeout and maybe a little hand down the pants butt grabby. make sure to ask yourself for consent first.
That’s impressive as hell, tbh. I’m glad rehab centers focus on such useful, otherwise seemingly inaccessible skills
Fire isn’t a concern, really, the temperatures are low enough that it starts slow. Rest it on wood and you’ll have time to wonder why you smell wood smoke, then wonder why it’s inside, etc. before it burns down.
The real hazard is inhaling rosin fumes (says the guy who doesn’t properly ventilate his workstation). If you’re anxious about lead (I was) there is lead-free solder, though it requires higher temperatures to work with. As far as lead goes, the risk is from getting flecks of it on your fingertips and then touching your eyes or mouth. I imagine it’s less of a problem than it feels like in my head, but something something environmentally friendly.
Leaded solder is sooo much easier to work with. Wash your hands well after each soldering session, have a fan gently blowing over your work bench & a window cracked open & you should be (relatively) fine**. Unless you’re doing it very regularly for long periods in which case a proper extractor is worth the investment. Occasional hobby tinkering for 15-30 mins at a time over an iron is unlikely to be bad for you if you follow basic steps. **Not medical advice!
P.S. Awesome work. I can remember the first time I modded Wii 1st gen, as my first non practice soldering, I was so nervous. But the mod still works to this day, many many years later. More people should learn to solider, it’s not overly hard if you have a decent enough soldering iron, a steady enough hand, & are willing to practice. It’s so satisfying when it works!!
It’s a fruity note… inhales deeply … reminiscent of… fir with notes of cinnamon.
Babies love it too, if you have lead paint they will lick the walls and let you know
One theory for why there were so many serial killers in the 70s was because of lead paint.
I saw a chart based on America on violent crime rates and leaded fuel
It’s a useful skill to know, and it’s not super hard to learn. It just takes some practice.
As long as you have some common sense(eg: dont set the iron down on something flammable) you shouldn’t need to worry about fires.
You should be proud of yourself indeed
I’m an IT guy and I get mad anxiety with anything soldering, welding, …
I am incompatible with anything less digital than a PC so I got mad respect for this sorta stuff.
Congrats thats awesome!
Swap it for a 18650 and give Pikachu some VROOM
Your solder joints don’t actually look that bad. Ive seen much worse; and “works” is the gold standard anyway. You’re probably the only one that will see the board in person.
If you want advice, it looks like your iron was either too cold, or you didn’t work fast enough and your flux burned up before the joint set.
Also it depends on the tip used for the soldering iron: those large surfaces have a lot more volume of metal that needs heating (plus you also need more volume of solder) so if one uses a conical tip it doesn’t transmit heat fast enough and you ended up with an irregular solder hill like that.
If you’re use to soldering smaller components, doing something like that is quite different and won’t come out as well until you get used to its peculiarities.
If you’re not at all used to soldering, that’s actually pretty good.
Totally agree on “works” being the gold standard, especially on a something like that which isn’t subject to significant mechanical forces (like, for example, a push switch would).
It’s lead free solder. I think that affects how the joints look.
There are lots of LF alloys, some shiny some not. Your joints are fine, regardless of the alloy :)
Mostly just visual in terms of shine vs matte. For the quality of the joint itself, lead-free has a higher melting point so you need more heat to keep it flowing nicely.
Your joints will do what they’re supposed so, so they’re fine. Chasing perfection is just a fun minigame.
Chasing perfection was my sanity back when I was a welder.
that’s awesome. I’m happy for you. Nowadays, it’s great to see ppl find some happiness in this shitty shitty world. 😌
hey at least it’s not the electrical tape method a lot of us did when we were kids.
I held it in place with captan tape and that seemed to work well.
If you ever saw any of my solder points you’d be round house high fiving yourself. Nice.
FYI on the next one - they make CR1616 battery holders (like this) which allow future you to swap in new batteries whenever you want without additional soldering
I figure if I’m gonna do it, may as well just do it once
Enjoy having your old games back!!
Oh hell yeah. Thanks For the link. Just what I needed.
Yeah I came looking to see if anyone had mentioned this. 100% the way to go. Worst case you’ve added no work, best case you make your life so much easier the next time around.
I was talking to someone and they were saying that the solders on these adapters always suck and it creates more work. Is there any truth to that? I have 6 games I want to do this on.
The adapter I shared has no solder except that which you put into it. It solders into place just fine with a little flux, I’ve had 0 issues in ~20 games from this.
Be sure to clean your iron tip, I had a little bit of difficulty on the first one I did because I have had the same iron tip for like 10 years. A $2 replacement made life much easier. Probably also could have just hit it with sand paper. And double-check polarity on the connection points - watch a couple of YouTube videos to confirm you’ve got +/- right. I think it’s wonky on some carts.
The ones that are soldered and often suck are the ones OP posted. Be sure to check the battery voltage before you install those ones because they use cheap batteries and duds are common.
I’ve also seen people go the cave man approach and just un-solder/pry off only the battery (from the attached “arms” that connect to the board) on old carts and just tape a new battery in place but that’s an approach for monsters and psychopaths.
I’m a bit foggy on the details but I think Pokémon Silver / Gold were a little trickier because the RTC changes the PCB layout and the battery is actually mounted on top of a chip, so space gets a little tight and you have to build a bit of a solder bridge up to the connectors.
Fun, I have to change the batteries for my Pokémon gold and silver. Thanks for the heads up, I will use fresh tips and borrow a multi-meter.
I have no soldering skills or interest in Pokemon. The only reason I’m giving you that background to emphasize that I’m proud of you, too!
Your soldering looks much cleaner than mine, great job! Keep at it. It’s a unique and fun skill.
I so badly want to learn how to fix old tech like this. I’m fascinated by the tech repair YouTubers that can bring an old gba back to life. Someone I know has an old Pokemon Crystal with a dead battery from childhood and was broken up about losing their childhood save. I don’t think it’s possible to bring the file back but I’d love to get the cart working again at least.
the hardest part of soldering is holding the damn thing in place. if you have something to clamp it, it becomes a hell of a lot easier.
Lol yeah I’ve seen people use fancy microscope looking things and using that orange tape to tape it to a surface depending on where they to solder.
Just so you know, the orange tape is called Kapton tape. It’s useful for higher temperature work (such as soldering) since it can continue to stick up to 400°C.
That’s the name! I kept thinking Krafton but no…that’s the company who’s in trouble for doing those shenanigans with Subnautica 2 lol.
Yeah two shots of rum right before get those shaky hand jitters out
Its ridiculously easy! Get a hakko
Oh thanks! I’ll take a look.
Is there something I can use for practice? Or how did you learn to actually do it?
There are solder practice kits you can get. They’re usually a PCB and a bunch of components to install, then once the whole thing is correctly assembled it should do some simple function. They’re usually pretty cheap so you shouldn’t have to worry about messing it up, and the kit should be trivial to replace in comparison to the part you actually want to work on.
ok cool, I’ll take a loko for those.
Not long ago, I bought about 15 different little soldering kits on AliExpress for like 1-5 dollars each. Instructions will be in Chinese, but that does force you to learn the more universal symbols in the schematics. Also, you can translate the Chinese with your phone. Anyway, after doing those and a bigger AM/FM radio kit I got from Amazon, I’m pretty confident in my soldering skills.
Ye just get a solder kit and practice on some PCBs!
ok Thanks, I’ll take a look around for those.
Oh and as far as how I learned, mostly trying to fix broken stuff (radios, amplifiers, VCRs etc,) and then making guitar effect pedals. Thats a good way to learn circuits!!
Note, dont try working on a tube amp or CRT right away. They aren’t evil scary like people say but you do need to study up before you go poking around zappy bits. Anything else like an old radio or VCR is totally fine if its unplugged.
I did this pedal 10 years ago. Support these guys!! Dont use amazon.
https://store.generalguitargadgets.com/products/mxr™-phase-90™-replica-complete-kit
Now i mostly work on old consoles. Need to recap my 2600, and I modded a dreamcast and a ps1. Granted the Dreamcast didnt even need soldering besides replacing the clock battery holder.
Or, get some broken gameboys on eBay and try fixing them!
It’s not hard. My Game Gears were broken and now I fixed 4 of them by replacing all caps.
I got the Pinecil for soldering and it’s so easy to use and versatile. I got a couple of flux pens so the result looks nice and clean.
Pinecil, haven’t heard of that. I’ll take a look, thanks! Is there anything you used to practice ahead of time? Before jumping right into the actually hardware you were trying to fix?
I went right off the deep end. I followed along with someone else doing it, some YT video.
Oh damn lol. Brave.
Just took a look at the pinecil. That looks pretty slick. Have you run into any issues with it? Battery not lasting or it not getting hot enough?
Another happy owner of a pinecil here. For me it gets plenty hot and works great. There isn’t a battery though, you’re meant to use it wired with either USB C PD 65 Watts or 12V standard size barrel plug at similar wattage. More info on the pinecil wiki: https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinecil_Power_Supplies
Also, here’s some more general info about pinecil from their wiki: https://wiki.pine64.org/wiki/Pinecil
Seems a bit over-engineered to me. Why would a soldering iron need a CPU?
Maybe, but it is pretty affordable (~$26 USD), the hardware and software is open source, and it is very portable due to the lack of a soldering station. It is also temp adjustable and has features like temp boost for heat sucking components like ground planes. For nerds, they have a risc-v devboard that you can use with the soldering iron’s CPU. So, there are reasons it has a CPU, but some would probably still prefer a regular dumb soldering iron.
For the most part you do not need expensive JBC tools or some super expensive testing tools.
If you plan to dive in, start simple with some USB soldering iron, multimeter and some cheap 20V labratory PSU. I found FNIRSI offers a USB-PD soldering iron with JBC tips for under $100 that is comparable to Weller 80W professional soldering station I got at work.
The other part is just trial and error. Try with simple electronics or guides. Get the general idea on how things work. Most of problems are already solved. It is easy to find repair guide for some old gaming tech or how to chip your consoles.
Have fun!
Awesome job