Hacking EZ Flash IV vs IV Lite

[closey]

Hey guys!

I recently dug up some of my old handhelds, including my GBA (with stock screen for now) and my DS.

Way back I got a M3 Lite Pro that works well enough for DS games but it can't of course play GBA games.

Kind of want to be able to play GBA games now though. I know there's a few options for the DS but I'm thinking that it might be nice to be able to use the original GBA as well. I might mod it with a SP screen in the future.

That might not happen though, or it might at least take a while to get around to so..

The easiest option would be to get the ez flash iv as it'd be usable in both the gba and the ds lite. It sticks out a bit in the ds though and that might be anoying after a while.

Is there anyway to use the lite version in the GBA? Maybe mod it somehow or swap the cartridge with a gba cartridge? That way I'd have something that'd be slim and nice with the DS Lite but still usable if I ever get around to modding my GBA.

Not sure if that's possible though and if it's now I guess the best bet would be to get the regular IV.

What do you guys think?

 

[FAST6191]

Make sure you do not get an EZ4 lite compact if you are heading down this path -- it has the same sort of limitations are your GBA limited M3. There are still some lite compacts out there (especially if you are sticking with local vendors like shop01).

Anyway yeah you can mod the/a case and stick it in something else. I had an EZ4 lite (the original non dust shell one) I used in an original DS and GBA SP for years. In my case I filed some things down and stuck some tape on there to pull it out when I needed to.

On sticking out then it is not like it goes where your hands are.

 

[closey]

Thanks mate, good points there.

And yeah, true, it doesn't stick out too badly I suppose. It just doesn't look quite as good and make the otherwise quite slim DS a bit more bulky and less easy to fit in pockets and so on.

Since they seem to come with a few different colored replacement cases I suppose I could file one down for use in the GBA and keep another for use with the DS.

And thanks for the heads up about the compact, wouldn't want to go down the same road again. (Still bugs me that I bought the dumbed down M3 Pro.. but that's what you get for being cheap and saving a few bucks.)

 

[FAST6191]

You can fit your DS in your pockets? I normally wear work trousers and would think twice about sticking a DS in them. Is it time for MC Hammer style parachute pants to come back into fashion?

My EZ4 lites did not all come with replacement cases -- the M3 did for some of its but various vendors and revisions of packaging of the EZ4 might not.
I should also say that you might have to replace the battery in your EZ4 lite as most were not rechargeable and only the GBA sized one (and the new microSD slot version) were made in recent years.

 

[closey]

Well it is a DS Lite so at least it's pretty small and it fits some pockets. It'll probably end up in a jacket pocket though. I've got a pretty tight leather case for it as well and if I wanted to use that I'd have to remove the cart every time I wanted it to fit (if I were to get the gba sized one version that is).

How long do the batteries tend to last? At least they're cheap to replace.

 

[FAST6191]

Usually well up into the years range (holding data in basic SRAM is not a power hungry task), however it had also been years since they were made and thus years of them sitting in a possibly cold warehouse/garage. If the vendor has not replaced them themselves, some will do so, then it might not work or work for long.

 

[closey]

Good to know.

Leaning towards an ez flash iv lite then (unless I get some slot 1 card and a 3 in 1 for the ds lite and a ez flash iv for the gba.. I suppose I don't HAVE to have the same for both of them really, it just saves a few bucks)