Hardware GBA Backlight! (AGB-001)

[opt2not]

Got my Rainbow Deluxe cables!

I'm going to try to get these installed this week, I'll then post the results. Woot!!

 

[MTC]

After Log Time, i managed to get an Adaptor Cable from AliExpress and do the Mod. Heres the Final Result. Im very happy with it. I adjusted the Pot a little bit to clear some interference and now it looks very sexy!

 

[Rosni]

After Log Time, i managed to get an Adaptor Cable from AliExpress and do the Mod. Heres the Final Result. Im very happy with it. I adjusted the Pot a little bit to clear some interference and now it looks very sexy!

Your LCD has white or brown tab? If is white, Can you share the listing link please?

 

[MTC]

Your LCD has white or brown tab? If is white, Can you share the listing link please?

Have a 32 Pin GBA. I used a white tabbed LCD and i bought this Cable: http://de.aliexpress.com/item/for-g...bon-Cable-32-pin-for-AGS-101/32255628533.html

 

[Kazzie]

I bought a cable from e-Bay to attach a front-lit AGS-001 screen to one of my 40-pin AGB-001s. (I'm not interested in spending the money for a backlit 101 screen: I just want something visible in dim light.)

Alas, it seems the cable I bought is intended for the 101's LCD. I thought this would be no problem, as this post gave the AGS-001/101 pinouts as being identical, but it hasn't worked straight-off. The game boy would cut out on powering on. (Attaching the cathode supply to pin 34 of the LCD via "P1" on the ribbon would light the screen in the moment before it cut out, but made no other difference.)

My ribbon cable connects the AGB's board and the AGS' LCD as follows:

AGB-001 M/B  AGS-001 LCD
      1      N/C
VSHD  2       1 VSHD
DCK   3       2 DCK
LP    4       3 LP
PS    5       4 PS
GND   6       6 GND
VSHD  7       5 VSHD
LDR5  8       7 LDR5
LDR4  9       8 LDR4
LDR3  10      9 LDR3
LDR2  11     10 LDR2
LDR1  12     11 LDR1
LDG5  13     12 LDG5
LDG4  14     13 LDG4
LDG3  15     14 LDG3
LDG2  16     15 LDG2
LDG1  17     16 LDG1
GND   18     17 GND
LDB5  19     18 LDB5
LDB4  20     19 LDB4
LDB3  21     20 LDB3
LDB2  22     21 LDB2
LDB1  23     22 LDB1
SPL   24     23 SPL
CLS   25     24 CLS
SPS   26     25 SPS
VSHD  27    N/C
MOD   28     26 MOD
VCOM  29     30 COM
P2VEE 30     27 REVC
P2VSS 31     29 P2VSS
P2VCC 32    N/C
P2VDD 33     28 P2VDD
VDD5  34     31 VDD5
GND   35     32 GND and 33 U83

In addition to the above, pins 6 GND and 17 GND of the AGS-001 LCD are joined under the connector (sensible), as well as pins 34 VDD5 and 28 P2VDD (Unsure).

Through trial and error I found that blocking pin 34 on the LCD's ribbon cable allowed the game boy to power up and run correctly, but without the light. (Colours are washed out, but that's not an immediate concern.) This ensures V2VDD is only connected to pin 28 on the LCD, and not 34. Connecting the cathode supply on the LCD's board directly to the AGB's mainboard (upper left leg of DA1) caused the machine to cut out again.

Can anyone give me some further guidance on how, or from where, the LCD's frontlight should be powered? I tested the leg of DA1 as giving roughly 13.3V output, which seems rather high. Pin 34 of the donor AGS-001 only gives 5V to the LCD. Are there any suitable 5V sources of the AGB mainboard that I can use to light the LCD instead?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Kazzie]

A Further update:

Following advice from this very old guide I found that cartridge pin S2 supplies 5V. Connected directly, it gave a turquoise light. In series with a 71Ohm resistor I had to hand it gave a far more sensible white light. Now the remaining issue was the washed out colours on the LCD.

Blocking pin 30 on the AGS LCD (from this post got things looking almost perfect. Now there's just a hint of "interlacing" style noise, exaggerated by my camera.

 

[BazookaBen]

Kazzie, you know the AGS-001 is already washed out and a bit interlace-y, right? It's why they felt the need to make the AGS-101 in the first place. Maybe your mod looks even worse, just thought I'd let you know not to get your hopes too high for the results.

Thanks for posting your progress though, it might help me when I try to put the reflective LCD from AGB-001 into my donor AGS-101. They sell adapters on ebay that work with 32-pin screens, but not 40-pin. So I'm going to have to make my own using information gathered from this thread.

 

[Kazzie]

Hi BazookaBen,

I was aware that the AGS-001's screen isn't the best of the bunch, but the interlacing was noticable on my project when running side-by-side with an unmodified AGS-001.

I've finished putting the AGB-001 back together. Boy was it a tight fit! I had to open it back up and re-route wires, tape down the ribbon cable so that the socket fell in the right place, and then go back again to remove the thin adhesive foam surrounding the LCD just to get the case shut properly. I got a few scratches on the frontlight disperser(?) when cleaning the foam off, but that's my own darned fault.

Attached is a photo of the finished product in darkness (complete with new glass screen.. I played a few levels of Four Swords Adventures last night and didn't really notive the scratches I made. It was far better than using a worm light, or cramping my hands around an SP. If I want a better screen to play my advance cartridges on, I'll fish out my DS or power up my Game Boy Player


Ben, could I ask what you plan/motivation is with putting an AGB LCD in an AGS? My wife had coincidentally asked me if I was planning on putting my (surplus) AGB LCD into the donor AGS, but I opted to sell it instead.

EDIT:
Might this 40-pin ribbon cable extension be a useful start for making your own cable?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FFC-FPC-6...UK-STO-/151713625116?var=&hash=item2352d6341c

 

[BazookaBen]

Ben, could I ask what you plan/motivation is with putting an AGB LCD in an AGS? My wife had coincidentally asked me if I was planning on putting my (surplus) AGB LCD into the donor AGS, but I opted to sell it instead.

EDIT:
Might this 40-pin ribbon cable extension be a useful start for making your own cable?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FFC-FPC-6...UK-STO-/151713625116?var=&hash=item2352d6341c

I just want to do it because it bothers me having an working AGS system and AGB screen just laying around unused. I figure it would be a decent outdoor system, since the AGB screen can look pretty good in sunlight. I would sell the screen and motherboard but they just aren't worth much, since there is surplus of both items on ebay thanks to this thread.

I'm thinking about buying a couple zif-connectors and ribbon cables separately. The pinouts don't match up perfectly between the SP and 40-pin AGB, so I'm going to have to re-route some of the wires.

 

[rad3ds]

Say you have 2 ags-101, one has AB screen, one has B screen. Can you trade screens between the two systems and still work? Not that I want to, but I'm trying to better understand the actual differences between them and why they behave differently.

Edit: also do actual schematics for any of the various ribbon adapters exist?

 

[Jubash]

Recently I was thinking of repairing my old GBA to play the games that I skipped back then, and discovered the possibility of adapting the GBA SP 101 screen to my old classic model.
It seems that I need to check some things first, like the quantity of pins on my chipset, but I don't have means to open my GBA currently. With that in mind, would you recommend that I buy this screen? Or do I need to check that first?
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LCD-display-screen-Parts-Repair-FOR-Nintendo-GBA-SP/2024201070.html
Was the only one that I found. It looks very hard to find these nowadays, at least in stores that ship to Brazil.

 

[Deleted-355425]

Recently I was thinking of repairing my old GBA to play the games that I skipped back then, and discovered the possibility of adapting the GBA SP 101 screen to my old classic model.
It seems that I need to check some things first, like the quantity of pins on my chipset, but I don't have means to open my GBA currently. With that in mind, would you recommend that I buy this screen? Or do I need to check that first?
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LCD-display-screen-Parts-Repair-FOR-Nintendo-GBA-SP/2024201070.html
Was the only one that I found. It looks very hard to find these nowadays, at least in stores that ship to Brazil.

you can play GBA roms on the nintendo 3DS now, maybe thats an option to you?

 

[Jubash]

you can play GBA roms on the nintendo 3DS now, maybe thats an option to you?

Actually I would like to play on the original system, unless that's too much trouble. Just a personal preference
But thanks for the reply

 

[Kazzie]

All AGS-101 screens have 34 pins, so that is no issue. The original Advance (AGB-001) came in two revisions: 40-pin and 32-pin varieties. You need to buy an adapter cable to match your AGB-001, not the new LCD.

I understand that there are minor differences in image quality with different AGS-101 screens, but I can't advise on that. The number of pins on that LCD isn't going to be an issue, however.

 

[Jubash]

All AGS-101 screens have 34 pins, so that is no issue. The original Advance (AGB-001) came in two revisions: 40-pin and 32-pin varieties. You need to buy an adapter cable to match your AGB-001, not the new LCD.

I understand that there are minor differences in image quality with different AGS-101 screens, but I can't advise on that. The number of pins on that LCD isn't going to be an issue, however.

That was really helpful, thank you! I'll give it a try

 

[I8UrMum]

m8 mudding is 4 nubs. I recomend 2 smash it un da ground. (Shud fix da problum.) XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

 

[Margen67]

m8 mudding is 4 nubs. I recomend 2 smash it un da ground. (Shud fix da problum.) XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Exactly. Why wouldn't you want to play the game the way the dev intended?
For example, there's a 30fps cap, and a mod removes it. Why would you want to make your experience less cinematic??!?

 

[spinner]

Hi, I joined this group as people in here seemed to know some of the finer aspects of this conversion.
Ughh...some of the information seems to be contradicted probably by newcomers like myself.
I have a brown tabed 101 screen and a 40 pin GBA, I was hoping to buy a "2 switch position adaptor cable" from lee_chang screen but he doesn't seem to do one for this brown tabed screen? Is that right, can anyone recommend an alternative ?
Thanks

 

[rad3ds]

Hi, I joined this group as people in here seemed to know some of the finer aspects of this conversion.
Ughh...some of the information seems to be contradicted probably by newcomers like myself.
I have a brown tabed 101 screen and a 40 pin GBA, I was hoping to buy a "2 switch position adaptor cable" from lee_chang screen but he doesn't seem to do one for this brown tabed screen? Is that right, can anyone recommend an alternative ?
Thanks

Have you messaged him, or are you just going off current listings? He is a good, responsive seller, and he may have an idea of when he will have more, or if he has any stock that just aren't listed.

 

[Entroper]

I've finished putting the AGB-001 back together. Boy was it a tight fit! I had to open it back up and re-route wires, tape down the ribbon cable so that the socket fell in the right place, and then go back again to remove the thin adhesive foam surrounding the LCD just to get the case shut properly. I got a few scratches on the frontlight disperser(?) when cleaning the foam off, but that's my own darned fault.

Any tips you/anyone can give about this? I have an otherwise finished AGB-001 mod that I just can't get properly closed. Very frustrating, as I'm so close to having my perfect GBA--screen is hooked up, working, looks good, but the thing is just bulging, and there's pretty much no additional plastic that can be removed. As far as my amateur eye can tell, the real problem is the slip connector on the new [40 pin] ribbon cable, which creates a noticeable gap I can't seem to do anything about. Is there a specific place it should sit to reduce the spacing? Under the battery compartment maybe? I don't know quite what to do, so it's been sitting for weeks (the guy who sold me the kit bailed and stopped answering my questions or communicating with me at all once I got to this point). I can provide any number of pictures of anything if that helps.

Thanks!