Im going to be installing my Wiikey, and I want to do the wire install. I couldnt find the correct wire at radioshack, so Ill probably have to order it online.
I also couldnt find .015 dia. solder, and the smallest was .022. Is that small enough?
People make way too big a fuss about this stuff. The pads aren't nearly that small. The best idea would be to open up your wii and take a look for yourself. If you had to reconstruct the legs, then small wire would definitely help.
If you're looking for thin wire, you can find it anywhere. For instance, if you take apart ata66 ide cable, you'll have wire. If you cut apart some regular household electrical wire (like for a lamp) and use just a single strand, that'd be a tin wire.
As for gauge of solder, it doesn't really matter. The important part is that you get flux and use it. It helps a whole lot.
You don't need to solder onto the pcb. There's more than enough solder making up the pads already. If you want an easy approach, just lay the wire parallel to the pcb and point the iron at the pad. It'll melt and eat the wire. Then, when it cools, you'll be able to pull up to bend the wire and it'll be a strong connection.
To solder onto the chip itself, are you going to be mounting it the way it was designed or mounting it further away?
If you're mounting directly on top, just curve the wires so that they're going on and around the contacts to solder to, melt some solder on, then use scisoors, nail clippers, or what have to to clip off the extra wire.
It may help to tin the wires of course, but in this situation it doesn't make that big a difference either way if you do it right. Flux on the mod chip also can help.
