Modded Game Boys are downright gorgeous

[DjDeathCool]

I love the nostalgia factor with both the vanilla Gameboy Advance and the Gameboy Pocket....

I keep going back and forth between backlight modding them or installing Raspberry Pis.... I love custom front ends but at the same time I think there's something really novel about having the weird LCDs from the original Pockets... but then again when you backlight you lose a lot of contrast. So maybe having a 101 screen would be better? I just keep going back and forth on this. Haha!

 

[dock]

It's beautiful and it's great condition. It must have been expensive.
Where did you buy it ?

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Thanks! I bought my Game Boy Light for $80 from eBay, from a Japanese seller. You can see the paint is worn on some of the corners (like the top left corner) but it's free from scratches.

 

[dock]

I love the nostalgia factor with both the vanilla Gameboy Advance and the Gameboy Pocket....

I keep going back and forth between backlight modding them or installing Raspberry Pis.... I love custom front ends but at the same time I think there's something really novel about having the weird LCDs from the original Pockets... but then again when you backlight you lose a lot of contrast. So maybe having a 101 screen would be better? I just keep going back and forth on this. Haha!

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My favourite thing about the weird and slightly crappy reflective LCD tech is that it encourages you to play outside or sit by a window. It's so nice to have something which works better outdoors! Whenever the summer comes around I like to sit outdoors and play Neo Geo Pocket Color or Game Boy.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

Ordered a backlit GBA (regular colours) off Ebay. Battery cover feels like it might eventually become loose/fall off and the battery indicator seems to be a bit nonsense but otherwise it's great.

 

[retrobotjr]

My favourite thing about the weird and slightly crappy reflective LCD tech is that it encourages you to play outside or sit by a window. It's so nice to have something which works better outdoors! Whenever the summer comes around I like to sit outdoors and play Neo Geo Pocket Color or Game Boy.

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That's part of the reason I still have a stock screen in my gbp. So nice to play some Pokémon pinball outside and give my eyes a break from the backlit dmg

 

[Deleted member 48201]

Thanks! I bought my Game Boy Light for $80 from eBay, from a Japanese seller. You can see the paint is worn on some of the corners (like the top left corner) but it's free from scratches.

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Wow that's a great price. I have been looking on for one on eBay for ages and ones like yours usually go for double that but I'm in Canada and our dollar is low so that might have something to do with it as well.

I did manage to find a GBA SP AGS101 for $50 though.

 

[DjDeathCool]

My favourite thing about the weird and slightly crappy reflective LCD tech is that it encourages you to play outside or sit by a window. It's so nice to have something which works better outdoors! Whenever the summer comes around I like to sit outdoors and play Neo Geo Pocket Color or Game Boy.

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That's a very good point! I suddenly crave a more vanilla Gameboy Pocket experience... Haha!

I can still "get my mod on" with the Gameboy Advance, though. That thing straight up goes from nearly unusable to one of my favorite Nintendo handhelds with a backlight.

 

[VXLbeast]

Some of these are ludicrously gorgeous, never seen projects like this. Thanks for posting guys.

 

[metsallica]

Wow that's a great price. I have been looking on for one on eBay for ages and ones like yours usually go for double that but I'm in Canada and our dollar is low so that might have something to do with it as well.

I did manage to find a GBA SP AGS101 for $50 though.

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Try Yahoo Japan Auctions. That's where I got mine; it's pristine with everything included.

 

[Ceadeus]

My favorite is the micro famicom version. Now that is what i call pocketable

 

[Deleted member 48201]

Try Yahoo Japan Auctions. That's where I got mine; it's pristine with everything included.

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Don't you need to use some sort of broker to bid if you aren't in Japan ?

 

[TheWooniestWoona]

I just replaced the case on my original Game Boy.

I was going to just clean it up and replace the lens, but when I found out that the replacement shells were pretty affordable I decided I might as well go that way.

I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I think I might get a backlight at some point in the future, since I forgot how hard it is to see the original screen.

 

[metsallica]

Don't you need to use some sort of broker to bid if you aren't in Japan ?

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Definitely easier to use a proxy, sure.

 

[dock]

I did manage to find a GBA SP AGS101 for $50 though.

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Omg I'm so jealous!! I've never seen a 101 for less than 2-3× this! It's made worse by eBay being riddled with refurbs sold as AGS101.

 

[Deleted member 11370]

On my modded original GBA I just use eneloop AAs, and I prefer it that way. I don't regularly play my GBA, but when I want to all of a sudden I just want to be able to turn it on and not be tethered to a plug or wait for it to charge.

I always have a stock of fully charged AAs in my battery holder(s) and I like being able to simply put two of those in and be able to play.

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Yep, this is me as well on my modded GBA I posted above. Bought some new Eneloop Pros jsut this week for it (and other things).

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That's a sensible solution... that I can unfortunately not use :P The SP uses the same battery as the DS, not AAs, unfortunately.

 

[JustinH]

That's a sensible solution... that I can unfortunately not use :P The SP uses the same battery as the DS, not AAs, unfortunately.

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Ah yeah... lol. I thought when you said "modded GBA/SP" you meant "GBA or SP." You used to be able to buy replacement SP batteries on Nintendo's online store (in the US at least) for a good while, but I don't think they're there anymore.

 

[nekkid]

I've got an old GBA kicking around. How difficult is it to mod with a backlight or screen with backlight? Sounds like a fun project.

 

[Inugami]

I've got an old GBA kicking around. How difficult is it to mod with a backlight or screen with backlight? Sounds like a fun project.

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You can't just add a backlight, you have to completely replace the screen.

If you've got any practice soldering, it's a cinch to replace the screen. Though modifying the case can be a little time consuming.

 

[nekkid]

You can't just add a backlight, you have to completely replace the screen.

If you've got any practice soldering, it's a cinch to replace the screen. Though modifying the case can be a little time consuming.

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That's why I said "backlight or screen with backlight" 😉

I'll look into it. I've got access to a high precision industrial polymer 3D printer which might help with the case.

 

[johan]

Thanks for posting that. That GBA looks amazing. I want one.

What solution for the GBA is Bennvenn working on ?

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As retrobotjr mentioned: using the ds screens instead of the ags-101s. Trying to find myself a bunch of cheap (maybe slightly broken) ds lites as we speak :-). I'm also gonna need another GBA because I'd like to mod my own GBA with the GBA consolizer at some point.

 

[AhahaICantAnswer]

Is there a market for 3DS? kinda want to customize my launch OG one

 

[Deleted member 48201]

Omg I'm so jealous!! I've never seen a 101 for less than 2-3× this! It's made worse by eBay being riddled with refurbs sold as AGS101.

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It took a while to find it but I'm very happy with it.

You definitely need to pay attention when buying one from eBay. You can tell buy looking at the screen. It should be black when it's turned off, a AGS001 screen will be grey.

 

[Deleted member 48201]

Definitely easier to use a proxy, sure.

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Do you have any that you can recommend ?

 

[Deleted member 48201]

As retrobotjr mentioned: using the ds screens instead of the ags-101s. Trying to find myself a bunch of cheap (maybe slightly broken) ds lites as we speak :-). I'm also gonna need another GBA because I'd like to mod my own GBA with the GBA consolizer at some point.

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The video quality of the GBA consolizer is amazing. I'm waiting for him to release the premodded GBA consolizer cause I don't know how to solder.

 

[RoninChaos]

I love the mod scene for gba.

 

[RoninChaos]

Ordered a backlit GBA (regular colours) off Ebay. Battery cover feels like it might eventually become loose/fall off and the battery indicator seems to be a bit nonsense but otherwise it's great.

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What does your battery indicator do?

 

[Deleted member 11370]

Ah yeah... lol. I thought when you said "modded GBA/SP" you meant "GBA or SP." You used to be able to buy replacement SP batteries on Nintendo's online store (in the US at least) for a good while, but I don't think they're there anymore.

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There are a few DS/GBA batteries on eBay. Some of them claim to be 2000mAh... but I doubt it :/

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

What does your battery indicator do?

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It fluctuates red/green for no reason. Like you'll put fresh batteries in, one minute it's red, next it's green, then maybe it stays red for an hour or green for an hour. There seems to be no logic behind it, whereas ideally it would only go red when battery was low.

 

[Shadow]

It fluctuates red/green for no reason. Like you'll put fresh batteries in, one minute it's red, next it's green, then maybe it stays red for an hour or green for an hour. There seems to be no logic behind it, whereas ideally it would only go red when battery was low.

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I know the power switch on those systems are pretty finicky sometimes. Like, if you don't make sure it's completely over/on, it'll stay red even with a fully charged battery. Or it could be a completely different issue of course.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

I know the power switch on those systems are pretty finicky sometimes. Like, if you don't make sure it's completely over/on, it'll stay red even with a fully charged battery. Or it could be a completely different issue of course.

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Yeah since someone else modded it, I don't have the skills to take a look. It's a minor thing though. I'm happy just guestimating battery life.

 

[Inugami]

Yeah since someone else modded it, I don't have the skills to take a look. It's a minor thing though. I'm happy just guestimating battery life.

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It's easy to tell if it's the power switch, gently wiggle it while it's on. If the LED flickers a lot that's it. A proper cleaning will fix it, but that means taking it apart.

You can do a half measure by taking out the batteries, then putting a couple drops of high % (91% is ideal) rubbing alcohol into the switch then quickly flicking the switch on and off for 30 seconds or so.

Then just allow the rubbing alcohol to dry off completely. Should only take about 5 minutes, but if you're paranoid an hour or overnight will insure it's all off.

If you're using rechargables, that could also be the problem. The power LED basically switches colors once the voltage in the gba reaches around 2.3-2.4v. That's the regular voltage of 2 rechargable batteries.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

It's easy to tell if it's the power switch, gently wiggle it while it's on. If the LED flickers a lot that's it. A proper cleaning will fix it, but that means taking it apart.

You can do a half measure by taking out the batteries, then putting a couple drops of high % (91% is ideal) rubbing alcohol into the switch then quickly flicking the switch on and off for 30 seconds or so.

Then just allow the rubbing alcohol to dry off completely. Should only take about 5 minutes, but if you're paranoid an hour or overnight will insure it's all off.

If you're using rechargables, that could also be the problem. The power LED basically switches colors once the voltage in the gba reaches around 2.3-2.4v. That's the regular voltage of 2 rechargable batteries.

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I am using rechargable AAs, so I suppose that could be it. Would have to test with some non-rechargables, not sure if I own any haha! The power switch wiggle definitely isn't it though.

 

[RoninChaos]

It fluctuates red/green for no reason. Like you'll put fresh batteries in, one minute it's red, next it's green, then maybe it stays red for an hour or green for an hour. There seems to be no logic behind it, whereas ideally it would only go red when battery was low.

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That shit happens to mine too and I don't know why. So you just ignore it? It made me stop using mine. Lol

 

[retrobotjr]

Is there a market for 3DS? kinda want to customize my launch OG one

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I *think* they make replacement shells and buttons for 3DS but I'm not positive. Don't know of any other mods for it but I don't really follow that scene

 

[Deleted member 21003]

What's the battery life like on those Jellybelly GBC's? They're rad as hell and I think I might get one.

 

[smuf]

Do the backlit DMG's still work well outside in sunny conditions or does the screen become harder to see vs unmodded?

 

[metsallica]

Do you have any that you can recommend ?

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Sure! I've been using Tenso for nearly a decade now, never had a bad experience. They're manual, they just give you a PO Box:
https://www.tenso.com/en

For YJA, their service Buyee is what I've used lately:
https://buyee.jp/yahoo/auction?lang=en

For more complicated stuff I'll use White Rabbit. They helped me order the Famicom joycons while Tenso couldn't, for example:
https://www.whiterabbitexpress.com/

I've tried many others but those are my current picks! Good luck! I've been targeting a Panasonic Q lately myself...

 

[Inugami]

I am using rechargable AAs, so I suppose that could be it. Would have to test with some non-rechargables, not sure if I own any haha! The power switch wiggle definitely isn't it though.

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Yep, the batteries are the issue then. Just how the hardware reacts to the lower running voltage of rechargers.

 

[Deleted member 48201]

Sure! I've been using Tenso for nearly a decade now, never had a bad experience. They're manual, they just give you a PO Box:
https://www.tenso.com/en

For YJA, their service Buyee is what I've used lately:
https://buyee.jp/yahoo/auction?lang=en

For more complicated stuff I'll use White Rabbit. They helped me order the Famicom joycons while Tenso couldn't, for example:
https://www.whiterabbitexpress.com/

I've tried many others but those are my current picks! Good luck! I've been targeting a Panasonic Q lately myself...

Click to shrink...

Thanks for all that info I really appreciate it. I'm going to try finding one on YJA.

Those Panasonic Q's are pretty expensive. I have seen defective ones on eBay for $800. I was looking for a maziora edition Dreamcast but I gave up cause the prices for those are crazy.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

What's the battery life like on those Jellybelly GBC's? They're rad as hell and I think I might get one.

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I'll let you know. The only batteries I have are old ones that have lost some power, so the LED was already showing a red light when I popped them in. The guy at Jellybelly that did the mod did a great job.

 

[Bunga]

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These are beautiful. I love the Switch.

 

[chaobreaker]

Out of curiosity, are there mods to give these portables rechargable lithium ion batteries that you could charge directly on the console? I had a OG GBA years ago that had a third party battery pack that did exactly that. Plugged in from the back.

 

[retrobotjr]

Out of curiosity, are there mods to give these portables rechargable lithium ion batteries that you could charge directly on the console? I had a OG GBA years ago that had a third party battery pack that did exactly that. Plugged in from the back.

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Yep. I browse r/gameboy pretty much every day and the stuff I see people do is really cool. If you can think of any mod that will improve the usability of these old consoles, you'll find someone there that has done it.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Out of curiosity, are there mods to give these portables rechargable lithium ion batteries that you could charge directly on the console? I had a OG GBA years ago that had a third party battery pack that did exactly that. Plugged in from the back.

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At least for the GBC there is. Someone posted about an aluminium case GBC 101 screen mod which has a rechargeable, built/in battery.

 

[Fuzzy]

 

[retrobotjr]

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Another attractive option, this scene is so cool. Personally I'm going to get BennVenn's backlit screen soon because it takes less shell modification but this looks pretty great and I like that it functions well outside, too

 

[MajorBritten]

Decided to change the shell of my modded GBA but now I am having problems with the L shoulder button sticking. Anyone else run into the same problems? Any advice? I have already checked on google/reddit but couldnt find anything about shoulder buttons sticking.

 

[Inugami]

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That might be worth getting for my watermelon gbc, would give me a reason to finish off making it rechargable as well.

 

[Easy_G]

These all look amazing and really make me want one.

I also have a huge soft spot for game boy micros. I think they definitely challenge as the best looking modded console. GAF used to have a thread about them, but I don't see anything similar here on era.

 

[dabri]

Modded gba with backlight/ 4 face buttons/ recharge battery is the goat