Hi was going to replace Slot1 on my DS lite. Is it a job for a DIYer or should it be left to a pro ? If anyone could send me a link to a site which gives help, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
If you can strip down the DS and take out the board and have basic soldering knowledge it is quite easy. When you have the board out, remove the 4 large retaining tabs (de solder wick or gun) reheat them and gently prise them up till they are free. When all 4 are free remove the metal top from the slot 1, basically at this point you need to remove all the bits of it and just leave the pins. You should now have just the long pins soldered to the board, heat each one in turn and remove using pliers (they will get a bit hot) Once the board is empty clean each pad with de solder wick. Place the new slot onto the board - it self locates, and solder a couple of the 4 retaining points. To solder the pins, start at one end and do each one, if you get a bridge, remove and resolder, once completed solder the remaining retaining points - all done. I have done this several times and never had an issue - the hardest part is trying to reuse an old slot 1 - if its a new part it is a lot easier
Hi kittymat, many thanks for that, I'll give it a shot at the weekend. Again thanks, much appreciated. Mike.
Hi, I tried desoldering my Slot-1 today, and it was a disaster. Thankfully it was from a scrap DS that my friend gave me when I asked for a slot-1. Pretty much, I was suppose to desolder that, desolder the slot-1 on my ds, then resolder it onto my ds. I used a 23 Watt soldering iron, tinning flux, and ... it didn't quite work out well. Maybe it was because it was my first time soldering, but what happened to me looked certainly didn't look like what happened on the Youtube videos I watched when learning how to solder. Problems I had: - with the 4 major retaining tabs, there's that huge glob of solder on it. I was able to melt it, but for some reason, if I try to melt it through my copper wick (so soldering iron is touching copper wick, which is touching the solder), the solder wouldn't melt. No matter how long it stayed there. So I tried another way. I would try melting the solder first, then kind of make the copper wick touch the melted solder, in hopes that it would quickly absorb it. Didn't happen. The solder solidified VERY quickly, and my copper wick ended up getting stuck to it. - after utterly destroying one tab, and ripping the circuit board off with the 3 others (solder wouldn't just come off >_<), I decided to just practice on the tabs. I sucked up some solder with the copper wick, but I experienced the same problem. The tabs are practically "glued" to the circuit board. I tried prying gently when the solder was melted, and it still wouldn't budge. In the end, I gave up, and decided to practice soldering. Boy, that was a LOT easier than desoldering. I used lead solder and it worked marvelously. Not only that, but I was able to desolder that pretty easily as well. All of this leads me to believe that the solder Nintendo uses is ... more durable than what I had? Would it have worked if I was using a 40 watt soldering iron? Any help/suggestions is appreciated, while I wait for my new part to arrive.
Buy a desolder pump - the solder Nintendo have to use is lead free, however this is not as easy to use as leaded. (a larger soldering iron usually means more problems with tracks lifting)
Ah no wonder it was so difficult. I'm thinking of getting a desoldering iron/pump from Radioshack. That should probably do the trick. Hopefully it works next time, I'm currently waiting for a new replacement slot-1 to arrive.
Hello, I have a NDS Lite that one of my wife's friend gave to me to fix, it has the Slot 1 screwed up, her duaghter stuck a pencit in it and messed up all the pins, I already looked on Ebay for the replacement slot wich is around $10, what tools will I need? just the Triwing screwdriver? and phillips prescicion? and is this soldered through-hole, or smt? (on top of the pads?), I do have soldering skills, but only have a soldering pencil, will this do?... P.S. Is there any page with step by step photos on how to do this?
The step by step guide to take the DS apart are all over. The pins are on top - each on a pad. I wrote how I did mine earlier in this thread. Start at one end and remove solder from bridged pins as you go - the soldering bit is quite easy if you have a little experience. I used an 15w iron, you do need a small tip!
I only have a Stanley 40 watt, think this will work anyways?, I don't have $$ to buy a new soldering iron!
