[DMinor]

Nice work casey. What caps did you use for the mod, the Kemet's? Did you wire it directly to the lod pins?
 
Anyways, day and night difference (yes I mean it) for me now between the stock and diymod in terms of SQ. The fun from doing this thing is even unmeasurable.

 

[caseyfriday]

Thanks, DMinor!  I'm actually using Elna Slimic II's.  I read you stating others sound better, but since these are my first diyMods, to me they sound absolutely fantastic.  I've been toying with offering a few "special editions" with some crazy expensive Blackgates I might purchase on ebay from Japan.
 
You're right, it is ridiculously fun to do this!  Although I killed 4 iPod mini boards in the process (lifted pads), I've got the procedure down now, and I'm pretty quick and efficient with it.
 
No, I did not wire directly to LOD pins; I wired it as mentioned in the diymod guides. If you've wired yours directly to the LOD pins, how did you mange to get a clean connection on such a small, crowded area?
 

 

[DMinor]

I have tried Elan Silmic's, Wima films and the Kemet films. No doubt to my ears the Kemet's stand out. I recommend you try it and don't forget to thank me if you like them .

 
I killed one ipod during my fist attempt that was a little discouraging, but the fire kept burning under my skin and the 2nd attempt was successful.
 
Sorry I believe wiring to the pins is only for the 5g or 5.5g. I only work on the ipod video's, for now.

 

[caseyfriday]

I will try some of those.  I'm currently using a blue iPod mini that I haven't yet diyModded, and I wonder how the film caps would fit in that casing...

 

[thegrobe]

Casey, if you look a few pages back I believe I posted some pics detailing the pin mod. They were imbedded in a response to another post.

 

[thegrobe]

Nice work, Casey, BTW

 

[DMinor]

Quote:

Casey, if you look a few pages back I believe I posted some pics detailing the pin mod. They were imbedded in a response to another post.

I thought the direct out mod only applies to the ipod video's not the mini's, correct?

 

[thegrobe]

I thought the direct out mod only applies to the ipod video's not the mini's, correct?

I don't know, really. I've never looked inside a mini. Maybe that's the case...or maybe there's some way to do it, it's still a 30 pin dock, there's still pins there. I imagine you could pull them, solder, and put it back.

Casey said it was cramped. Exactly what I thought about the 5g at first ??
Might be the next fun experiment?

 

[DMinor]

Quote:

I don't know, really. I've never looked inside a mini. Maybe that's the case...or maybe there's some way to do it, it's still a 30 pin dock, there's still pins there. I imagine you could pull them, solder, and put it back.

Casey said it was cramped. Exactly what I thought about the 5g at first ??
Might be the next fun experiment?

 
Even if the direct out mod can be done for the mini's, I don't think it has the internal space for the 4.7uf film caps. But you can put the caps in the lod then, but still not as spacious as the ipod video with the thick plate for the caps. That's why I stick to the video's.
 
I remember I bought one mini for my mom many yrs ago and from my memory that thing is really compact in comparison to the video with a thick back plate.

 

[caseyfriday]

I just took a look at one of my minis, and although the dock pins are exposed, it looks like wiring them to the other side of the board essentially puts you at the exact same spot.  Experiment?  Yes.  Fun?  Meeehhhh.
 

 

 

[caseyfriday]

Quote:

I remember I bought one mini for my mom many yrs ago and from my memory that thing is really compact in comparison to the video with a thick back plate.

It absolutely is compact.  The 4.7uF caps I'm putting in barely fit when I strip the CF card of its casing (hope I'll never need the warranty!).
 
Although I fit these Elna caps in, and they have a 5mm diameter.  So with a short dimension of about 4mm, I could probably smush a film cap in there.
 

 
These are already MUCH bigger than the SMD caps, of course.
 

 

[DMinor]

I was actually talking about the 4.7uf film caps (7.3mm thick from memory), which is much more husky than the Silmic.

 

[thegrobe]

Dude, that pic of the dock pins:
Totally do-able!

5g is the same whereas the DAC is on the opposite side of the board, so you must file a notch in the frame to route the wires from the DAC to the line out pins.

Totally got to get my hands on a mini! But yeah, the film caps would need to be external. Put them in the dock connector like those pics I posted.

 

[DMinor]

Another candidate for killing time if you get bored, only if you can find those mini's. Looks like the project is getting bigger.

 

[caseyfriday]

Quote:

Another candidate for killing time if you get bored, only if you can find those mini's. Looks like the project is getting bigger.

I bought a lot of 36 of them to refurb and diyMod!