SNES DA RW Installation Guide for the Original SNES Console:

All modding of the original SNES console requires removal of the RF box in order to make room for the digital audio board. I will be referencing some of RetroRGB's pictures along with some of my own to show how these mod boards are installed. For even more detailed information beyond the scope of these guides, you can visit www.retrorgb.com for all sorts of modding information.

First is of course to unscrew and remove the heat sink attached to the board and voltage regular, which reveals the RF box underneath:

The RF box is secured by screws and four posts that are soldered to the board. These posts must be desoldered from the board in order to free the RF box and remove it. There are two easy methods: One is to use a desoldering gun, which heats up and sucks the solder from the post joints using a motor pump. The other method is to use a large blade-edge soldering iron tip that you lay up against all 4 joints at the same time. When the posts get sufficiently hot enough, the RF box can be tugged on until the posts pull through the board holes. Below is RetroRGB's before and after:

From here, you'll want to decide your output choice from the RW mod board. If your equipment handles coaxial digital jacks that you prefer to use, we'll need to prepare the RW board for seating into the location where the RF box used to reside. The trick is to first line the bottom of your RW board with electrical tape to cover up all the holes. These holes have been tented at the factory, but it's always a good idea to go the extra step for safety and cover the backside with electrical tape. This prevents any chance of circuit shorting:

To secure the board to the SNES main board in the spot shown earlier, I like to use an inverted loop of electrical tape, although I'm sure a dab of hot glue will work just as well.

I press this loop of tape (sticky side out) to the backside of the RW board. Then I firmly press the RW board into this location shown in the image below:

Note the location of the RF porthole in the image, and install your RCA jack provided in the kit accordingly. One plastic washer on the outside, then one on the inside, then the ground ring, followed lastly by the securing nut. Connect the ground ring peg to the "RCA -" pad and then connect the center positive 'cup' of the RCA jack to the "RCA +" pad (as seen in the photo).

You'll also want to source ground and Vcc to wire the corresponding "G" and "V" pads of the RW board. I used a multimeter to check for continuity on ground, and did the same for Vcc power. As such, you can see in the photo the red and black wires have been soldered to power and ground planes respectively. This was on an "APU" revision SNES board, so of course these locations may be entirely different from one revision of the SNES to the next. A digital multimeter is essential for this task of finding good ground and power points to tap into. 












DSP and APU Wiring:









The RW board has wiring assignments silkscreened on the back for each chip type found in various SNES console revisions. You'll want to write these down before covering them up with electrical tape, so you'll have reference, or you can use the photo below:



























With the pad assignments on hand, it's time to wire the five pads on the RW board to the corresponding pins of the "DSP" or "APU" chip. Early models of the SNES had the DSP chip, while later models had the APU chip. The easiest revision to deal with is the "1CHIP" series, which were the last revisions Nintendo made of the original SNES console. They are the easiest because all five wires can be soldered to 'vias' (little junction holes in the circuit board of the SNES). Meanwhile, earlier revisions can be more challenging because they require fine-pitch leg soldering. In fact, the earlier the SNES revision, the more legs of the chip you end up having to solder. The oldest revisions of the SNES use a separate sound module that can be detached from the main board by unscrewing two screws marked in the locations in the image below courtesy of RetroRGB:




























Once removed from the main board, you can open the module to expose the S-DSP chip for leg soldering. This is delicate work and requires experience with fine-pitch leg soldering. I've marked each wire's pad assignment for the RW board below:
























Later revisions of the SNES that don't have the separate sound module, you'll find the sound chip in the same location. It will just now be directly on the main board. You may find that some of the legs we need to solder to go to vias, making the job a bit easier. Below is an "APU" revision SNES, where I have done a complete coaxial configuration mod for the RW board. Only wires #1 and #2 had to be soldered to legs, while the rest I was able to solder to vias. I've numbered each wire so you can see each assignment:

























Moving on to the 1CHIP series, the APU chip happens to have vias we can solder to for all five wires. Below is the wiring assignments for each via on my 1CHIP-03 console:













































Optical configuration:











If you prefer installing the RW board to output via the optical jack that comes with the kit, you'll need to solder it to the board from the bottom. The finished result should look like this:

























Next, you'll want to use an X-acto knife and start carving the RF port hole into a square shape. The trick is to use the VERY TOP of the RF port hole as the guide for the MAXIMUM height of the squared off shape. In other words, do NOT carve higher than the top of the original hole. This is important because optical cables need space to insert into the optical jack, and if your port hole is too high, you won't be able to fit a cable into it. 


Another important thing to remember is to not carve the hole too large. The goal is to get it to where the optical jack just barely fits snugly into place. As you get closer to the poper shape and size, start using a metal cosmetic nail file to sand edges. With care and a little obsession, you can make these optical jack ports look factory perfect! Below is my own work on my 1CHIP-03 console:


























Once the hole is as perfect as you can get it, apply some super glue around the outside of the optical jack on the RW board where you know it will come into contact with your squared off port hole. Then instert the jack+board firmly into place and allow the glue to dry. That's all there is to it for optical!
























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