So decided to mod my GameCube with PicoBoot. I never use it anymore, I have a Wii and Wii U that are both hacked and Dolphin works very well, just wanted to do it for fun. Picked up a $10 PicoBoot kit from AliExpress and a GameCube HDMI adapter as well since my TV lacks analog inputs.
I didn't shorten the included wires at first, not knowing how much length i would need to route the PicoBoot to the suggested mount point, and the video guide I was actually following didn't mention anything as far as recommended wire length, that ended up not working at all, it was obvious there was a lot of excess wire when I had the console mostly screwed back together and the console wouldn't boot and I noticed the official basic instructions recommended a maximum of 10 cm length. The kit had 25 cm long wires. So i had to cut the wires and shorten them but it all ended up working nicely in the end.
It was not a hard install at all, the solder points are big and you are soldering directly to legs of components and not to surface mount pads so there is little risk of accidentally ripping pads or traces, I think even someone with only basic soldering skills and little experience could do this install (although cold solder joints will be an issue if it's your first time soldering, you need a little experience to learn how to spot and avoid those, I would never suggest getting practice on anything you care about breaking if you have never soldered before, if you make mistakes and you have to undo your work actually desoldering things can easily cause damage, ESPECIALLY if you have a cheap AC-powered non adjustable iron as those aren't really powerful enough to desolder components properly and desoldering braid will instantly just suck all the heat away from the iron and solder itself to the part)
Some pics:
I didn't shorten the included wires at first, not knowing how much length i would need to route the PicoBoot to the suggested mount point, and the video guide I was actually following didn't mention anything as far as recommended wire length, that ended up not working at all, it was obvious there was a lot of excess wire when I had the console mostly screwed back together and the console wouldn't boot and I noticed the official basic instructions recommended a maximum of 10 cm length. The kit had 25 cm long wires. So i had to cut the wires and shorten them but it all ended up working nicely in the end.
It was not a hard install at all, the solder points are big and you are soldering directly to legs of components and not to surface mount pads so there is little risk of accidentally ripping pads or traces, I think even someone with only basic soldering skills and little experience could do this install (although cold solder joints will be an issue if it's your first time soldering, you need a little experience to learn how to spot and avoid those, I would never suggest getting practice on anything you care about breaking if you have never soldered before, if you make mistakes and you have to undo your work actually desoldering things can easily cause damage, ESPECIALLY if you have a cheap AC-powered non adjustable iron as those aren't really powerful enough to desolder components properly and desoldering braid will instantly just suck all the heat away from the iron and solder itself to the part)
Some pics:
