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kkarhan / pico360-harness

A custom PicoFlasher [Xbox360] Cable Harness setup for chipless RGH3 modding

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Pico360 Harness

A custom and more professional Harness for the PicoFlasher

Prerelease 0.1.0

Kevin Karhan et. al.

FAQs

Why did you make this?

I wanted to mod multiple Xbox 360 Slim & Slim-E that I got for a bargain in one go, so I wanted to avoid having to desolder anything and make that experience as plug and play as possible.

Since RGH3 doesn't require any expensive and/or out-of-production modchip but instead builds a custom NAND signed with the per-device unique console key, it'll basically result in an instant-booting 360.

Basically, instead of soldering and desoldering a bunch of probe pins every time, I decided to only solder / stick in what I can't reasonably remove and instead install some 2,54mm pin plugs.

Furthermore, I wanted a more elegant way to [dis]connect stuff that is more in line with a professional tool and allows me to undo the work if need be.

What one will still need to install and solder on their Xbox 360:

  • The necessary bottom wires
    • Use 0,05mm² aka. "30 AWG" solid core for best results.
    • Including the appropriate resistor
      • 1 kΩ on "Corona" mainboards
      • 10 kΩ on "Trinity" mainboards
    • The "Postfix Adaptor"
      • Some people claim to be able to solder diectly to that XCGPU pin, but if you're that kind of person, than you don't want or need this adaptor anyway.
  • 2,54mm pin header jacks

Why would anyone want to do this?

Instead of having some "ugly wiring" this will inevitably make it easier to just setup stuff.

In fact I do plan to refine this into some product that would utilize the Pimoroni PGA2040 which s the most compact version of the RP2040 that won't require one to make a custom PCB to access all the necessary pins...

  • It's also very well available on the market...
    • So wiring is similarly easy or hard as directly soldering to the Pi Pico, yet it'll be small enough to fit inside the casing of DA-15 connector.

Why did you choose the connectors you chose to do this?

Short answer: It looks more professional.

Long Answer: To idiot-proof the tooling!

  • The DA-15 connector - unlike the VGA-Connector - is quite uncommon and won't fit in neither VGA nor RS-232 connectors.
    • Yes I know it's the same connector as the Gameport used and the Apple IIc & IIe Display but if you think those belong hooked up to an Xbox 360 then maybe you should not be allowed to touch anything more complex than a light switch and a "stupid phone" with a number pad.
      • Yes I also know that the PC2NEO USB looks similar but it's safe to assume these won't get mixed together
  • I could've used a "RJ-50" 10p10c connector if I put all the GND lines together, but not only are they even harder to find at a reasonable price, but some people may attempt to violently shove it into an RJ-45 Ethernet socket anyway.
    • Also I don't want to fiddle with said tiny connectors when I can get DA-15 terminal blocks & plug casings for less than the tooling needed to properly crimp 10P10C connectors.
      • I can put the PicoFlasher in the same case as the adaptor and basically have a clean setup - at least from the outside.

What it won't do:

Since it's RGH3, it'll not do more or less than it does.

This includes the lack of moddability for the "Winchester" - Revision, which is the last Xbox 360 "Slim E" version which are made 07/2014 and later. You can identify them just by looking through the top grade and see if there's a metal heatspreader on the XCGPU or not.

  • If you want to be 100% certain that your console is moddable and worth the effort, then it's recommended to stick with an Xbox 360 "Slim S" which are easily identified by having no Memory Unit ports on the front, a HDD slot on the bottom instead of the top-mounted HDD and capacitive front buttons.

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A custom PicoFlasher [Xbox360] Cable Harness setup for chipless RGH3 modding

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