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The Apple diyMod: My Take on the Famous iMod [56k killer] Featuring 3G, 4G, 5G and nano 1G! - Page 121

post #1801 of 2490
3/20/09 at 8:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by direcow View Post
Finally got my act together and tried to do the mod... would anybody be able to hazard a guess as to why the sound on the right is very very soft? There's sound, as long as I pump up the volume I can hear it... would it be my dock or the diymod, or how should I go about testing it?

Probably a cold solder joint somehwere on the right side channel. I'd check the wire link on the iPod itself first. Using a magnifying glass and a multimeter with audible beep tester can help (the beep will be loud on a proper link and weak on a bad link)
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback Black (5th Generation)
$509.22 at
See it »
iPod Nano Headset Music Player
$11.24 at
See it »
Apple iPod classic 160 GB Black (6th Generation) OLD MODEL
$309.99 at
See it »
post #1802 of 2490
3/20/09 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by direcow View Post
Finally got my act together and tried to do the mod... would anybody be able to hazard a guess as to why the sound on the right is very very soft? There's sound, as long as I pump up the volume I can hear it... would it be my dock or the diymod, or how should I go about testing it?
There are a lot of unknowns for us. First off, pictures are always helpful. Which model diyMod did you do? Where are you taking the audio signal from? How did you wire up your dock? Giving us pictures is probably the best way to get help here.
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post #1803 of 2490
3/20/09 at 9:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by direcow View Post
Finally got my act together and tried to do the mod... would anybody be able to hazard a guess as to why the sound on the right is very very soft? There's sound, as long as I pump up the volume I can hear it... would it be my dock or the diymod, or how should I go about testing it?
What volume are you having to "pump up"? The iPod volume? That shouldn't do anything after this mod (actually before this mod if you're using a dock).

The advice above is sound. Look for a bad solder joint. Basically go over everything you just did. You don't have to redo it, but you could just reflow all the joints as aquick first attempt to solve the problem.
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post #1804 of 2490
3/20/09 at 10:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EFN View Post
Probably a cold solder joint somehwere on the right side channel. I'd check the wire link on the iPod itself first. Using a magnifying glass and a multimeter with audible beep tester can help (the beep will be loud on a proper link and weak on a bad link)
Cool, thanks for the info... that might be it, it was close to 3am when I thought I was done with it - I'll check it again tonight.

Quote:
Originally Posted by joneeboi View Post
There are a lot of unknowns for us. First off, pictures are always helpful. Which model diyMod did you do? Where are you taking the audio signal from? How did you wire up your dock? Giving us pictures is probably the best way to get help here.
I did a 5.5G iPod video, I removed the caps above the chip to get a bit more working space, but soldered the ends directly to the pads near the dock... I realised on the dock the ground pin is slightly recessed compared to the signal pins, would that affect things? If problems persist I'll try to get pictures.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayduke View Post
What volume are you having to "pump up"? The iPod volume? That shouldn't do anything after this mod (actually before this mod if you're using a dock).

The advice above is sound. Look for a bad solder joint. Basically go over everything you just did. You don't have to redo it, but you could just reflow all the joints as aquick first attempt to solve the problem.
Changed the volume on my external amp, volume on the ipod is set to zero all the time now.

Thanks for the quick help guys... I'll see what works tonight.
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post #1805 of 2490
3/21/09 at 12:06pm
Good news, it WAS a cold solder joint. Didn't think to use my mm to check but there it was. Resoldered and rerouted the wires so that I could close the ipod a little better... Thanks for all the help, esp EFN!

Anybody willing to ship some spare 30G wires to Singapore?
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post #1806 of 2490
3/21/09 at 5:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by direcow View Post
Good news, it WAS a cold solder joint. Didn't think to use my mm to check but there it was. Resoldered and rerouted the wires so that I could close the ipod a little better... Thanks for all the help, esp EFN!

Anybody willing to ship some spare 30G wires to Singapore?
sure; PM me with your address, will ship some to you on tuesday or wednesday if you want. how much do you need?? will a few feet do?? its just SPC, but should do nicely, I use pure silver 34AWG, but I dont have heaps of that, could maybe give you a bit though. could maybe spare about 20cm of the silver (some that I have used before; and I can give you a few feet of SPC
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post #1807 of 2490
3/21/09 at 5:05pm
BTW guys, sorry i've been so slack with getting those pics up, i've been mega busy and when I went to get the pics yesterday when I had a spare minute the batteries were flat; will get them up later today
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post #1808 of 2490
3/21/09 at 10:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by direcow View Post
Good news, it WAS a cold solder joint. Didn't think to use my mm to check but there it was. Resoldered and rerouted the wires so that I could close the ipod a little better... Thanks for all the help, esp EFN!

Anybody willing to ship some spare 30G wires to Singapore?
Aaah the joy if DIY . Glad you solved them. MultiMeter is your BEST friend LOL!.

Now go enjoy some music!
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post #1809 of 2490
3/26/09 at 1:28am
The first page suggests 24 AWG kapton insulated wire for use in this mod. Does it make a difference which wire I use? What about 30 AWG wire or 24 AWG teflon, not kapton?
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post #1810 of 2490
3/26/09 at 10:38am
Thread Starter 
Wire is really up to personal preference. You can use anything you want. The original traces on the logic board are so very tiny that you're better off using almost anything to replace those traces.
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post #1811 of 2490
3/26/09 at 10:46am
Thread Starter 
Don't forget to share your iPod dock-making techniques at

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/ipo...allery-415418/
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post #1812 of 2490
3/26/09 at 11:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sputnik13 View Post
The first page suggests 24 AWG kapton insulated wire for use in this mod. Does it make a difference which wire I use? What about 30 AWG wire or 24 AWG teflon, not kapton?
30AWG is better... some 24AWG wires are too thick and will prevent your ipod from closing.
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post #1813 of 2490
3/26/09 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sputnik13 View Post
The first page suggests 24 AWG kapton insulated wire for use in this mod. Does it make a difference which wire I use? What about 30 AWG wire or 24 AWG teflon, not kapton?
The reason people will recommend kapton wire is that it's thinner. Teflon shielding is, in general, thicker. It has nothing to do with the thermal characteristics. It's a purely mechanical decision. You want about the thinnest wire you can work with.
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post #1814 of 2490
3/28/09 at 3:04pm
Okay, working on iPod mini.
To my understanding the 3rd and 4th from the left on the rows are the ones you have to remove right?

joneeboi- When I click on the links to the posts in the thread I go to the wrong pages. I have no idea why.
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post #1815 of 2490
3/28/09 at 6:25pm
Thread Starter 
It depends on where you're soldering to. It's recommended that you leave the inductors in there; I'm not entirely sure what the capacitors are doing there, so I'd prefer actually to remove them. Remove those capacitors and leave in the inductors. Also, those gallery links on the first page are incorrect, so that's why it's a good thing I left in the post number. I may fix them soon, but I'm actually working on the website for the diyMods. I'm undecided whether or not I'll leave the OP intact, so I don't feel like fixing every link right now. I'll have a gallery area with plenty of web space set up for the new diyMod website, so we'll still have to see how that will be organized. For now, all I can do for you is suggest you find the post by guessing which page their on, or do a search for their username and iPod model.
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Apple 30 GB iPod with Video Playback Black (5th Generation)
$509.22 at
See it »
iPod Nano Headset Music Player
$11.24 at
See it »
Apple iPod classic 160 GB Black (6th Generation) OLD MODEL
$309.99 at
See it »
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Misc.-Category Forums › DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Discussions › The Apple diyMod: My Take on the Famous iMod [56k killer] Featuring 3G, 4G, 5G and nano 1G!