Xbox IR Dongle Mod
This tutorial describes how to permanently wire an Xbox DVD remote dongle into the Console. It wires into controller port #4. If a controller is inserted into that port it will automatically switch to the controller and disconnect the DVD dongle.
Step 1 - Open the Xbox
Disassemble the Xbox as usual removing the Lid, the Hard Drive assembly, the DVD drive assembly, the IDE cable and the yellow DVD cable. (for instructions click here)
Next Remove the 3rd and 4th Player controller port assembly by unplugging it, removing the two T10 screws holding it in place and pulling up on the back of the ports until it pops out.
Step 2 - Battle Plan
This step is really up to your own interpretation. Depending on which port your planning on using to switch with the dongle, and where you plan on placing your dongle and or IR eye things can really change here. There are essentially 4 parts: The port, the Relay, the Dongle and the IR eye (which can be removed from the dongle and relocated or you can link up and use an existing IR eye from an xIR or XERC) Basically decide where you want everything to go first. so you have an idea of how long wires need to be. In the installs I've done I've typically placed both the relay and the dongle on under the DVD drive, and secured them to the ram chips with some hot-melt. You might have different needs depending on what you already have in there and where you want things to go.
Step 3 - Prep the Port
Notice that the area of the case under where each port sits has three little metal tabs that press up against the metal parts of the port itself. We need to ensure that the metal in the case does not make contact with with the metal around the port you plan on hardwiring the dongle to.
Break off the two metal tabs that press up on the sides of the port. I was able to pry them up and wiggle them back and forth until they broke off.
Once that is done cover the bottom tab with some electrical tape, as well as all the metal edges that might come in contact with the metal parts of the port itself.
Also just to double the efforts cover the bottom and the left and right sides (but not the back) of the actual port with electrical tape (see pictures below).
Note: Be careful while you do this the metal is often sharp enough to cut through the tape and make contact. Also don’t worry about taping over the screw hole, the screw will go right through it.
Tabs you need to break off:
The case after the tabs have been broken and tape has been applied:
Cut and strip a length of wire long enough to comfortably reach from the port to where you plan on locating your relay.
Solder one end of the wire to the metal on the back of the controller port itself. It should solder pretty easily.
The Wire attached to the port:
Once that's done place the ports back into the Xbox case and screw them back down.
Finally check (using a meter or a continuity tester) that there is no connection between the metal in the case and the metal part of the port (or the wire you just soldered). If there is a connection you need to go back and find out where it's making contact and fix it.
Step 4 - Prep the Device to be hardwired
Microsoft DVD Remote Dongle
To crack open the DVD Dongle: basically there are small clips all the way around and it’s glued together on top of that. This sucker is NOT EASY to get apart.
Start by taking a utility/Xacto knife. If possible only extend the blade out about a quarter of an inch. Stick it right in the seam that goes around the dongle and cut away at the bottom. Once you have the bottom completely cut you can either cut the sides and top away or try to pry it off. It’s very tricky.
Note: The PCB inside will be attached to the back of the dongle and the controller port insert part.
The dongle once the front cover has been removed:
Once you have the front off you're ready to remove the back (this is the hardest part of the whole tutorial)
gently bend the IR receiver (the big black part in the center) so it’s sticking about straight up.
use your most comfortable de-soldering method to remove the 7 pins soldered against where the IR receiver was. The center 5 are the controller port pins and the 2 on the end are to attach to the metal shielding of the controller port insert. Once these have been completely de-soldered the dongle's PCB should be completely free from the casing
Keep in mind that that it's easy to get the pins of the dongle messed up, The rounded edge of the PCB is the bottom. Looking at the side with the IR eye the pins are:
(Shielding) | Red | White | Green | Yellow | Black | (Shielding)
I would recommend taking a sharpie marker and marking an "X" above the Red pin and an "0" above the black pin to give you some reference.
If you plan on relocating the IR eye or using the IR eye from an xIR or XERC you should take this opportunity to de-solder the eye from the PCB.
Step 5 - Wire it all up
The wiring Diagram:
Remember when looking straight at the dongle as if it were plugged in the pins go: (Shielding) | Red | White | Green | Yellow | Black | (Shielding)
Start by soldering the Diode directly to the Relay, you can trim and bend the legs of the diode to fit against it cleaner if you so desire.
Next, take the wire you previously attached to the back of the controller port, and solder the other end to the appropriate pin of the relay (should be the same as one of the Diode leads)
Cut and strip 2 wires to run from the relay to the Dongle, Solder one wire to the Red pin Of the Dongle to the Appropriate pin of the Relay (should be the same pin as the other end of the diode). Solder the other wire from the green pin of the dongle to the appropriate pin of the relay.
Cut the green wire running from the port to the Mobo right in the middle (make sure you're cutting the wire for the correct port!). You need to leave ample room on both sides. Strip both ends. If your controller port has a sort of "black ball" in the middle of the cord It's a ferrite core (used to clear out interference from the data lines) you'll need to carefully cut off the surrounding plastic covering the core and the wires inside without damaging the wires. Once it's off you should be able to easily cut the green wire.
Cut, strip and Solder 2 wires to extend the two ends of the green wire you just cut to the appropriate pins on the relay.
Cut and strip 3 wires long enough to run from the where the controller port plugs into the mobo all the way to the dongle. Solder one end of these to the Red, White, and Black Pins of the dongle respectively.
Fold the other end of these wires in half to make a small hook (needle-nose pliers can sometimes help). These "hooks" can then be inserted into the back of the controller ports mobo connector (as shown by the blue wires below). If they fall out too easily, unfold the hook slightly until it fits more snug. If it still has problems you can try putting a small amount of solder over the hook to fatten it up.
Step 6 - Testing and Finalizing
You're essentially DONE!
Reassemble the Xbox, you don't need to put the whole Xbox back together but enough so that it runs safely
Start by booting up without a controller in the port and make sure that the dongle works
Shut down the Xbox and boot up with a controller in the port your modified (make sure it's the whole controller and not just the controller dongle) and make sure the controller works
If you experienced problems with the last two items then go back and double check your wiring, Also double check that the metal surrounding the controller port isn't making contact with the rest of the metal in the case.
If everything seems to be working properly then try unplugging and plugging in the controller (slowly), Some Xboxs seem to handel switching while powered on better than others.
Finally use some hot-melt or electrical tape to secure the relay and DVD dongle inside your case. Make sure they're not making any electrical contact with any other internal components that might cause problems.
Dongle Alternatives
A. If you're extending the IR eye
De-solder the IR eye (this should have been done back in step 4)
Find where you want to locate the IR eye (this should have been done back in step 0) I should note that the signal strength from the eye is very strong, I've seen it extended as far as 15ft though I would still recommend keeping the wires as short as possible for the best possible signal.
Cut and strip 3 wires long enough to go from the dongle to the IR eye.
Solder the pins of the eye to where they were formerly attached in the dongle.
B. If you have an xIR, XERC or any other IRmod and want to use 1 eye for the both of them
You MUST use the eye included with your IRMod, those eyes can function while the Xbox is powered off while the DVD dongle eye cannot.
Remove the IR eye from the DVD dongle (this should have been done back in step 4)
Solder one end of a 1N4004 diode to the DVD dongle as shown below, you may cut or bend the legs of the diode to clean up it's installation.
Cut and strip and solder a wire to run from the other end of the diode to the appropriate pin on your xIR or XERC IR eye.
Note: the two empty pins left on the Dongle are not needed, so don't worry about them.
but i prefer the ir dongle to be just beside the dvd drive opening. the is a small black panel beside the drive which can be easily dremeled out and the eye sits nicely behind it. (as done on my xbox magma) then all i did was cut a small bit out of a window on an old ntl (now virgin) receiver and the looks were near 100% match. 
anyways man hope that helps - i can always take the wee window off my magma to show you my eye if you interested 