Hardware Two GBA SP 101's screen brightness issues

[OfficialFBomb]

So i picked up a selection of gba sp's both 101's with a spare mobo. One however is not as bright even with both on max brightness. The one also has screen shudder at the top its slight and hard to see but its there. So here is my issue, i never noticed this before. But it had a original battery not the aftermarket i recently installed and also it had a different mobo with a possible bad charge port. Do you think either could have caused the system to appear darker and to have a studder> I will attempt to get some photos later but has anyone else had these issues, and do you think turning up the pot just a itty bitty bit would help?

 

[migles]

damn, i will have my first ags 101 soon.. now you got me worried that it will have some of that issues, waiting for pictures...

 

[OfficialFBomb]

It was def not something i was expecting. I remember the way the ags 101 looked even back as a child. And i really hope its something simple like the battery or mobo since i have spares of those i need to test. But if its the screen it's hard to source a oem screen without just buying a new 101 already working.

 

[Essometer]

Could it be that one of the screen is aftermarket? I recently bought an aftermarket AGS-101 screen at aliexpress
to modify my normal GBA and one of the feedback posts had this photo attached:

The original screen seems to be dimmer than the aftermarket screen.

 

[OfficialFBomb]

As far as i can tell both screen are original, with the black pad on back and all. I had an aftermarket one for my gba 101 mod and it looked way different, but also had that screen studder hmm.

 

[migles]

Could it be that one of the screen is aftermarket? I recently bought an aftermarket AGS-101 screen at aliexpress
to modify my normal GBA and one of the feedback posts had this photo attached:

picture

The original screen seems to be dimmer than the aftermarket screen.

lel, reminds me of the ips vs nt comparation...
i will open my ags 101 to make sure i was not scammed...
how can i make sure it's an official screen?

with the black pad on back and all.

could you show what is this black pad you speak of?

 

[Essometer]

Ok, I would like to see some pictures too. As you said, I would try to turn the potentiometer and see if it makes a difference.

 

[OfficialFBomb]

Yea i just tried the battery swap oem for aftermarket so thats not it. I will try the pot next. And tear down both with photos. And also try the first mobo and see if that works.

 

[Essometer]

lel, reminds me of the ips vs nt comparation...
i will open my ags 101 to make sure i was not scammed...
how can i make sure it's an official screen?

could you show what is this black pad you speak of?

I wouldn't worry about it. It was just a guess what could have been maybe the problem.
It's not like people actively swapping AGS-101 displays to than sell the "inferior" display or whatever.
I'm not even sure if the aftermarket display is inferior, I would need to compare it to my already modded GBA.

 

[migles]

potentiometer

lol, read it as a potion meter, for a while i was like "why dafuq he wants to measure magic juice in the gba"

I wouldn't worry about it. It was just a guess what could have been maybe the problem.
It's not like people actively swapping AGS-101 displays to than sell the "inferior" display or whatever.
I'm not even sure if the aftermarket display is inferior, I would need to compare it to my already modded GBA.

yeah but the listing made me believe everything in it is genuine.. if it's modded, i was practically scammed...
and i love "stock" and "original" an aftermarket screen would reduce its value a lot, and i paid too much for it..
if i end up not having a genuine thing, i will just file a complain..

 

[OfficialFBomb]

I don't think you could compare a 101 vs a modded 101 for compare. I think you would have to use two 101 boards with the same voltage to tell if the aftermarket screen is in fact worse. However from what i have seen the aftermarket screens are brighter but they are not as rich and dark colored as oem screens. If you want to check the screen, simply remove the 5 rubber pads and 5 try wing screws from the bezel once you open that carefully you can see the screen, if there is a thin piece of black pad on the back and between the screen and the plastic protector then you can basically guarantee genuine.

 

[migles]

I don't think you could compare a 101 vs a modded 101 for compare. I think you would have to use two 101 boards with the same voltage to tell if the aftermarket screen is in fact worse. However from what i have seen the aftermarket screens are brighter but they are not as rich and dark colored as oem screens. If you want to check the screen, simply remove the 5 rubber pads and 5 try wing screws from the bezel once you open that carefully you can see the screen, if there is a thin piece of black pad on the back and between the screen and the plastic protector then you can basically guarantee genuine.

thanks for the info, i got the try wing ready!
i will already look into signs of previous dissassemblies.. if there are signs the gba was oppened up, very likely i can assume a mod...

but anyway, couldn't the previoius owner apply thoose pads into the aftermarket screen?

 

[Essometer]

but anyway, couldn't the previoius owner apply thoose pads into the aftermarket screen?

I guess he could, but you would probably able to see that the pad was tampered with. It is sticks really well and is hard to remove in one piece.

 

[migles]

I guess he could, but you would probably able to see that the pad was tampered with. It is sticks really well and is hard to remove in one piece.

thanks for all the info, if you guys got pictures of theese stuff i can find in the official screens, it would be really great, just to put the "final dot" in it

thanks for the tips!

 

[Essometer]

thanks for all the info, if you guys got pictures of theese stuff i can find in the official screens, it would be really great, just to put the "final dot" in it

thanks for the tips!

Couldn't find a good picture, but this video has an original display in it.

 

[OfficialFBomb]

Well there are no aftermarket boards so that will be legit, he could have replaced the conductive pads for the buttons they should all be white with one black one on the brightness switch. (as far as i'm aware) he could have replaced the triggers or the actual tactical pads for the buttons which would be easy to tell from the solder work.
He could have replaced the buttons with aftermarket ones which would be easy to tell from the back they would have excess plastic. But the screen it would be extremely difficult to take those pieces of rubber and reapply them to a new screen. Honestly it would not be worth someones efforts.

 

[OfficialFBomb]

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

As you can see of the two screens both have pads on the back with a sticker and a stamp meaning there oem. But on the pic of the sides the left one is missing the rubber spacer and the right one is not, because i removed the left on. But you can see the black sp has a darker screen the the blue, and so far turning the pot has not helped, swapping the mobo's has not helped.

 

[JCR1]

I think that the dim screen is from a gba with many years of use, I have one, purchased from second hand, but I like how it looks with the second bright, no much excesive bright, maybe is at 75-80% of a normal gba, is you wish start always with the second bright just solder a wire in the button to close the circuit as is where pressed all time, or if you don't want solder, put something to press permanently the button inside the console.

 

[Dark_Knight_DA]

Have you tried messing with the trim pot on the dim one? Seems to solve a lot of issues with dim screens and interlacing. Just make sure to make very small adjustments each time

EDIT: Nvm, i just saw you tried that already. If you have not done so already, try swapping the screens between the systems and see what you get