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Modded Game Boys are downright gorgeous

Foltzie

Foltzie

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
6,780
SharpX68K said:
My favorite "modded" Game Boy - the Gulf War Survivor Edition

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Nintendium at its finest.

I'm curious if they ever swapped out the internals. I thought the original story in Nintendo Power was that LCD screen was fine because the cover was damaged, which has been removed.
 
retrobotjr

retrobotjr

Member
Jan 10, 2018
2,023
lunarwhale said:
goddamn, might have to hit up some stores to find an original GBA to mess around with. Looking at Retromodding, I can get the parts to do this pretty cheap.

Any other decent sites to source the components from? Mostly with respects to an aftermarket shell.
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I got my shells, buttons, button membranes, and screen lenses all from hand held legend, prices were pretty dang reasonable
 
carloshacecosas

carloshacecosas

Member
Jan 1, 2018
87
Madrid
Here's mine!

DLon6gMX4AI-80p.jpg:large


It's actually pretty simple (just changed the screen and re-shelled it keeping the original D-Pad and buttons) but I love it. I'm currently thinking on modding my second one and going with a translucent shell.
 
DHR54

DHR54

Oh well.
Member
Oct 26, 2017
685
Canada
Is there a decent backlight modding guide anybody has handy? Already picked up a GBA to mod in a back light or 101 screen, but found instructions conflicting on how easy it is. Some of the steps change between guides so I would like to try one somebody here may have tested already.
 
aidan

aidan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,769
DHR54 said:
Is there a decent backlight modding guide anybody has handy? Already picked up a GBA to mod in a back light or 101 screen, but found instructions conflicting on how easy it is. Some of the steps change between guides so I would like to try one somebody here may have tested already.
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I used this guide (PDF) from Rose Colored Gaming when I modded mine.
 
mandiller

mandiller

Member
Oct 27, 2017
570
Australia
Yep! I've become hooked with reshelling and modding my GameBoys. The /r/Gameboy subreddit is amazing for this sort of thing.

This is my modded GBA:

33_BFF0_CD-71_E3-48_D3-_BC51-_E5588207_AFB7.jpg
 
Megatron

Megatron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,445
I bought a gba to mod 2 days ago for $12. I ordered a backlit screen off ebay. I hope it goes well.
 
LemonLime

LemonLime

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
325
I modded my DS Lite into a "Gameboy Macro" where you essentially remove the top screen and DS cartridge slot and solder on a resistor and the thing becomes a fully functionally GBA!
 
gaogaogao

gaogaogao

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,679
LemonLime said:
I modded my DS Lite into a "Gameboy Macro" where you essentially remove the top screen and DS cartridge slot and solder on a resistor and the thing becomes a fully functionally GBA!
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ehhh, I would rather keep mine working properly. my hinge is busted and (someday) im gonna replace it with a transparent shell.
 

Deleted member 3010

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,974
How ironic, I was modding my GBA today...and damaged the LCD screen by getting it out....BUT it was to replace it by a backlit one so I'm all good.

Will share photos later, my original one was damaged to hell, so I ordered a Atomic Green shell at the same time.
 
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OP
OP

Deleted member 1378

User requested account closure
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,741
kiguel182 said:
Where can I get a gameboy pocket like that with a good screen and shit?

Some of those gameboys look damn amazing.

That one Enter The Dragon one is sweet. I want that.
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The sidebar on Reddit.com/r/Gameboy has a ton of links to places that sell both premade ones and parts. Plus, reddit.com/r/GameboyMarketplace has a ton of people selling their own for normally 80-120ish shipped
mandiller said:
Yep! I've become hooked with reshelling and modding my GameBoys. The /r/Gameboy subreddit is amazing for this sort of thing.

This is my modded GBA:

33_BFF0_CD-71_E3-48_D3-_BC51-_E5588207_AFB7.jpg
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Looks amazing, though I'd prefer white buttons
 
topplehat

topplehat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
905
Austin, TX
Have a backlight GBA I bought off eBay, where they run anywhere from $75 and above. Bought a rechargeable battery from RetroModding and can plug it in to charge via micro USB, really neat!
 
storaføtter

storaføtter

Member
Oct 26, 2017
952
I have been thinking of modding my SP with a new screen, but from what I have seen you need to know how to modify it to get the right colour that resembles the original screen. This has put me off changing screens as I want it to look as good as the original SP.

An example of the obvious inferior quality if you do not know how to fix the issue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onqB8Wk4VLg
 
lake

lake

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,289
storaføtter said:
I have been thinking of modding my SP with a new screen, but from what I have seen you need to know how to modify it to get the right colour that resembles the original screen. This has put me off changing screens as I want it to look as good as the original SP.
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I've keyed into the same thing. I am confused that the /r/gameboy people seem to downplay this issue / consider it solved despite videos like the one you posted, or this one.

When they do acknowledge an issue, they say you have to adjust the pots (there are at least two, one is for screen voltage), but I have seen other folks reply that they tried this and the Chinese screen is still quite inferior. So that worries me.

Edit: Another common suggestion is to get a different ribbon cable, such as this. Reading the comments on the video you shared, many suggest he did the mod wrong, which is encouraging re: Chinese screen quality.
 
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shnitzel

shnitzel

Member
Dec 3, 2017
733
Okay, the blue one is just too sexy... i ordered a blue shell kit which should arrive in about two weeks and if everything works out i will look into a backlight mod.
 
storaføtter

storaføtter

Member
Oct 26, 2017
952
lake said:
I've keyed into the same thing. I am confused that the /r/gameboy people seem to downplay this issue / consider it solved despite videos like the one you posted, or this one.

When they do acknowledge an issue, they say you have to adjust the pots (there are at least two, one is for screen voltage), but I have seen other folks reply that they tried this and the Chinese screen is still quite inferior. So that worries me.

Edit: Another common suggestion is to get a different ribbon cable, such as this. Reading the comments on the video you shared, many suggest he did the mod wrong, which is encouraging re: Chinese screen quality.
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Yeah it is solvable but it is not something anyone without some knowledge would be able to do without some extensive research. I think it is interesting solution that you have to make sure that the new screen is not pushing too hard on the motherboard, adjusting a screw basically!.

I know I should give it a try instead of knocking it. I have an OG GBA that has a scratched plastic screen so it wouldnt be any harm giving it a go. it is of course the only solution we have if a screen needs replacing.
 
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Symphony

Symphony

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,361
I can't get to my one to take pictures currently, but I got hold of one of the dark purple transparent GBA systems and modded in an AGS101 screen. Considered changing the buttons and such but the plastic just doesn't feel right on the unofficial parts.

RWDVviz.jpg
 
Martin

Martin

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,432
I wanted to change the plastic display on my gameboy. Should I take one of the glas ones?
 
Pancakes R Us

Pancakes R Us

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,335
Nice thread. Totally agree with the OP, those models look amazing. I have both a backlit OG GBA and a frontline Color, which I'm hoping to get backlit sometime. The OG GBA I'm of is courtesy of Peagles.
 
Ain't Nobody

Ain't Nobody

Member
Oct 30, 2017
671
I have a couple modded GBs myself. Wish I had photos handy. My mods are pretty basic though...

Black GBA with an AGS101 screen modded in.
AGS101 with a replacement black shell.
Micro with a replacement black shell.

I really want to get that custom Raspberri Pi 3 board and give that a crack...it's ludicrously expensive though.
 

Deleted member 3010

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,974
Seik said:
How ironic, I was modding my GBA today...and damaged the LCD screen by getting it out....BUT it was to replace it by a backlit one so I'm all good.

Will share photos later, my original one was damaged to hell, so I ordered a Atomic Green shell at the same time.
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So...follow-up time!

After all it seems that my OG screen isn't broken, that black dots that appeared right after removing it from the OG case came off after a few hours.

So I can at least try it out in the new case while the backlit kit is coming in the mail. :)

One less fortunate thing is that the 'glass' screen I got on Amazon apparently isn't glass. The first time I got the GBA out of a pouch I got for it, the screen barely touched the zipper and there are many thin line scratches...even more now that I passed a wipe on it. :(

I sent a complaint to the seller, I'll get a new one in the meantime that I'll replace along with the backlit kit.

Before (My OG unit from launch, yellowed, scratched to hell and battery door missing):

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After (We can already see the million scratches lol...not even an hour after placing it):

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