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모드칩 소개 (특집기사 에 번역내용 있음)

Welcome to my review of the Wiinja, the first Nintendo Wii Mod-chip. Here is the official statement (with my comments behind):

• Non Swap / Direct Boot; boot burned discs directly
• Boots Own Region WII Backups Directly; only your Wii's region is supported
• Boots Own Region Gamecube Backups Directly; only your Wii's region is supported (when booting directly)
• Boots Imports Gamecube Backups by SWAP; when using a swapping technique you can also run gamecube titles from different regions
• GameCube AudioFix; this is something I don't think matters, simply said GameCube titles run fine.
• MultiDisc/MultiGames; Multiple games on one DVD...?
• Easy Soldering & Remove / 5 Wires
• 35€ Retail Price (Doesn't include taxes); this of course highly depends on your reseller
• Support DVD-R and DVD+R (Burn +R on DVDROM Booktype); personally only tested Imation DVD's
• Universal EUROPE/USA/JAPAN Wii Console Supported; the same chip can be used in every console
• Stealth Mode; (should be) undetectable by the Wii
• NOT Upgradeable / ON SALES NOW!!

모드칩 케이스를 개봉한 사진

The Wiinja is a small PIC chip that connects to the Wii's DVD drive. For those that don't know what a PIC is click here. The exact workings of the chip are, for now, unkown (there is however speculation that it uses the debug port on the DVD drive to tell the drive to no longer check if a disc is valid). As is clear from the official statement the chip only works for the region your Wii is (meaning it will only run backups from the same region as your Wii). However via a swap method (freeloader) you should be able to run import games (doesn't work for Wii games). The chip (should) also allow(s) running GameCube homebrew (by booting SDload from a DVD, which in turn can start an application/game that can read from the DVD drive) such as the MFE distro of GameCube linux (which requires a DVD). As with the GameCube however you will need good DVD media (or possibly tweak your POT if possible). Installation should be fairly simple (though disassembling your Nintendo Wii, and soldering to the small solder points, could prove a problem for unexperienced users) as it only requires soldering of 5 wires (see below). Let 's see how the chip performs!

리뷰

패키지 

 
Wiinja 모드칩 패키지

모드칩 패키지는 붉은색 플라스틱 박스로 되어 있고, 그 안에 모드칩과 매뉴얼, 융 등이 들어 있습니다.
그런데 매뉴얼이 조잡해서 마음에 들지 않습니다.



제품 퀄리티 
퀄리티는 다른 일반적인 제품들에 비해 다소 떨어지지만, 괜찮습니다. 
파손을 방지하기 위해 박스를 좀 더 견고하게 했으면 하네요.


         설치방법 특집기사 에 있음
First let me excuse myself for not having more installation pictures. As the solder points are pretty small I was keeping all my attention to the solder job rather then the review itself, so I only remembered taking a picture after I was done.

Wii 드라이브를 본체로부터 분해한 사진

The first part of the installation (opening the Wii) isn't very hard. You only need to remove a relative low amount of parts; just keep track of where everything came from and you should be fine. There are many good guides online on how to open your Wii, so I won't explain how to do so here (just remember to get the proper tools and it should be a breeze, much easier then the GameCube).

What you need to gather before installing the Wiinja is:
• Most probably (some Wii's apparently got shipped out without tri-wing screws) a tri-wing screwdriver (only for two screws)
• The Wiinja
• A Wii
• A good soldering iron with a small tip
• Proper soldering tin (+possibly tin-leach)
• The proper wires; I didn't have any wires small enough lying around, and my local hardware store didn't carry them. Because of that I ended up salvaging them from an old PS/2 mouse by stripping its cable)

The real installation of course only starts when you pick up your soldering iron, though getting the proper wires to solder are also a must. I found it to be easier to install the wires to the Wiinja before putting the Wiinja inside the drive (I did however check in advance what would be the best orientation of the wires). I'm no big fan of gluing something on my Wii so I used tape to install the Wiinja rather then glue. After getting the Wiinja in place it was time to start soldering to the DVD drive's board.

The two power connections (the bigger soldering spots) are relatively easy to do without much trouble (nor do you need much skill, a little experience is however advised). As for the smaller (Top Secret Serial Port) points, they do require some soldering skills and a steady hand. I choose not to put soldering tin on the points, but to use the original solder with slight additions which I made to the wires before soldering them on to the board (to make sure I didn't bridge any of the points). You can choose whatever you like, it probably doesn't matter much.

In the end installing the Wiinja isn't hard, but not for the inexperienced as the solder points are quite small; If this is your first solder job, don't bother. Also, I prefer to have wires rather then a direct connection, it would have however been nice to have the wires delivered WITH the Wiinja rather then having to salvage/buy them.

Wiinja 모드칩 사용후기
제가 가지고 있는 것은 Wii PAL(유럽버전)입니다.
집에 굴러다니는 공DVD로 테스트를 해보았는데 안되더군요.

그리고 전에 사용하던 게임큐브용 백업DVD를 넣어보니 인식이 안되어서, 밖에 나가 이메이션 공DVD를 산다음 다시 테스트해보니 실행이 되었습니다.
모드칩이 공DVD를 가리는 것 같습니다.

모드칩이 올바르게 설치되었고 DVD를 제대로 구웠다면 Wii는 바로 부팅을 합니다.
Wii, GameCube 게임, 영화DVD, 그리고 홈브류도 지원을 합니다. 심지어 리눅스까지 사용할 수 있습니다.





결론

Wiinja 모드칩은 최초의 Wii용 모드칩으로 대박을 터뜨릴 것으로 예상합니다.

비록 제품은 단순하지만, 5개의 케이블을 연결해서 땜질을 하는 방식으로 설치가 간단합니다.

한가지 아쉬운 점은 펌웨어 업그레이드가 안된다는 점입니다.
따라서 닌텐도가 콘솔버전을 업데이트 한다면 Wiinja칩은 쓸모가 없어질지도 모릅니다.