2 Years ago i got my hands on DOL-101 (and a bit later also a DOL-001) and i began to search how to make the best of it.
First i installed Picoboot, but using a RP2040-Zero instead of a pico, because it is smaller and fits better.
I ordered a SD2SP2 adapter, just to realize that DOL-101 doesn't actually have a SP2 port.
No problem, as people have already figured out before me the SD card can be soldered directly to the mainboard.
I opted for soldering the SD2SP2 adapter since i already bought it anyways.
Finally, the last step was to get HDMI out. I settled for the "Pluto-IIx HDMI for GCVideo" fpga board, since most other options require using the digital out port (which isn't available on the DOL-101).
I did find this guide on how to install it (in theory), but apparently nobody every actually tried it.
So first i decided to give it a test run on my DOL-001 and instead of soldering to the recommended pins on the digital out connector (from inside obviously), i soldered directly to the U6 chip according to the guide and after some initial hiccups it eventually worked. So my DOL-001 was running with the Pluto-IIx HDMI modchip.
That was (almost exactly) a year ago. Now i finally found some time to install it in my DOL-101 and immediately ran into my first issue:
The 3D printed mount (linked in the guide) doesn't fit, because the AV port on DOL-101 is more centered compared to the DOL-001.
So i went ahead and designed my own 3D printed mount, which you can find here. The screws are extremely tight and can't be screwed in using a screwdriver.
I had to twist them in using plyers.
To solder to the U6 chip i used 0.1mm wires, simply because i had those lying around.
Although, there are extremly thin and for anyone trying to replicate this i'd recommend to use slightly thicker wires.
Either way, make sure to carefully scrape of the isolation from those wires until the color is more white metal (and not just put a blob of solder on and call it a day), because otherwise you'll have signal integrity issues.
Once soldered, i drowed the U6 chip in a blob of hot glue.
Protip: After applying the hot glue with a gluegun, melt it again with hot air so that it spreads better and lowers its profile and gets clear so you can see through.
If you mess up, just put on some Isopropanol and the glue is super easy to remove (at least from the PCB).
For 5V and GND i used thicker wires. GND i soldered to the bottom of the AV connector and 5V was a conveniently labled TP on the very edge of the PCB.
NOTE: I recommend soldering an ADDITIONAL GND wire to the U6 chip, for better signal. Without that i didn't get any Image!
For this i used a thin wire (thicker than the 0.1mm, but a bit thinner than the 5V and "main GND"). So i do have 2 GND wires connected!
For the 54Mhz, i also used a thin wire (i.e. thicker than 0.1mm) for better clock signal, as that is quite important.
I chose to use a controller to control the modchip instead of the IR, but forgot to solder to the trace as described in the guide.
Also, that location wasn't that convenient to me, because i already had a huge hot glue blob at that location to hold the wires for the SD2SP2 mod.
Instead, on the other side of the board there is a much better location. There even is conveniently a testpoint right next to where the flexcable is plugged it.
Not sure you can see it properly on the picture, but doing a quick continuity check will show that the 3rd pin on the flex wire is connected to the top middle pin inside controller port 1 (which is the signal we need anyways). When you plug it in, there is a direct connection to a testpoint right next to it.
So i just soldered a thin wire there and routed it around the colling element to the Pluto board on the same side of the PCB.
Here are some pictures:
PS: I really wanted to just reply to the previous guide, but since that was archived i decided to create a new post to share my experience for those who want to replicate it.
PSS: I orignally posted this in r/Gamecube https://www.reddit.com/r/Gamecube/comments/1jo6zdt/i_installed_pluto_hdmi_to_my_dol101/, but after less than 5 minutes my post got remove and i had no idea why. The whole point of my post was to share the experience to other who want to perform the mod, as the tutorials and experiences i found online were really helpful for me when i modded my Gamecube. Having my post removed without any explanation whatsoever is extremely frustrating, but since i don't want to bother with those people i decided to just post it here on my blog instead. Hopefully someone will find this useful.
