Hacking 3-in-1 plus phat DS

hanman

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I know they make a 3-in-1 in a regular GBA sized cart, but let's say for whatever reason i can only get the DS Lite version. is it possible to get it to work in a phat DS? for example, could i take it apart and put it into an actual GBA cart? just wanted to know if anyone had tried this.
 

betawind

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I've heard of a few people suggesting to try this, but no results have come my way as of yet. I actually made the mistake of ordering a Lite size one and am going to try transplanting it to a M3 Lite GBA case my roommate loaned me. If it works, I'll let you know.
 

754boy

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I've heard of a few people suggesting to try this, but no results have come my way as of yet. I actually made the mistake of ordering a Lite size one and am going to try transplanting it to a M3 Lite GBA case my roommate loaned me. If it works, I'll let you know.

Same thing happened to me. I ordered the Phat version but was shipped the Lite version. So, instead of wasting time shipping it back for a replacement, I decided to do a little mod since I had an old dead Supercard CF casing lying around. I had to shave some of the plastic down on the inside so the 3in1 guts would fit flush. Then I wedged another piece of plastic in the little unused portion of the case to keep the PCB from sliding upwards into the case. Glued everything back together and it worked. Looks crude but since I rarely ever remove it from the GBA slot, no one will notice.
 

hanman

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I've got a copy of tetris i don't play anymore, so i figured i'd just take it apart and replace the guts with the 3-in-1. i was just wondering how much rigging was going to be needed.
 

Mangofett

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You could also just shave the little "tooth" (that all lite cards have) off, attach a string, and then push it into your DS with a pen.
 

betawind

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Edit: Note to self, don't try to post on GBAtemp using my phone...

I have considered a modification to the string trick using a super or hot glued paper clip bent in a "U" fashion, but for under 2 bucks you can get the case, and assuming the case works well its much better looking and no chance of your modification coming off when you try to pull it out.
 

betawind

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Well I got my expansion pack today and put it into a M3 Perfect Case (http://www.gamersection.ca/product_info.php?cPath=30_36&products_id=336) and its working well so far. As of right now, it does not sit perfect in there and is a slight bit slanted in the case. So far though its working flawlessly. At this point I'm not sure how exactly I want to secure it in there yet, but i'll figure something out.

For those who purchased a 3 in 1 expansion and dont want to take apart an actual GBA cart, this is an ideal solution in my opinion. Once I figure out how I want to brace it in the case, perhaps ill take pictures.

~Beta
 

betawind

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Ok...

So I did a bit more work, and I'm quite pleased with how it came out. Please excuse the quality of the pictures though as I was taking them with my camera. Also, there are no disassembly pictures of the 3 in 1, only the result of it being out of the case. One note of caution, the rumble part of it is attached to the case by a sticky foam, so exercise care when opening the case. I used a small flat head screwdriver to pry it up from the plastic it was attached to.

1. Get the 3 in 1 out of its case.
1.jpg


2. Take the M3 Perfect case apart. Notice the 2 circled areas?
2.jpg
3.jpg

I removed the plastic from both of these, as seen below, using a exacto-knife. This was so that the rumble mechanism could better inside the case. Also, on the right picture, the area circled in cyan, I shaved off just a small bit of this after I had already put it back together (I took it apart again though first, of course
tongue.gif
). That plastic part was sitting right on a piece of the 3 in 1 and it just didnt sit right with me. I have no clue if this is necessary, but the card did seem to go in a bit easier after I did it.
5.jpg
4.jpg


3. I placed the 3 in 1 inside the M3 Perfect case as shown below:
6.jpg


4. I used a small piece of plastic (a left over piece from a nerf gun mod project a few weeks back) that I super glued in to brace the right side of the cart. The left side was already held in by one of the tabs not removed from the M3 case.
7.jpg


5. I gave the glue a bit to set then put it back together. I then put it in my DS, fired up Rudolph's 3 in 1, and crossed my fingers. It booted up without a hitch.

Well, thats about it. Overall it was a really easy modification/transplant/whatever and I'm very please with it. The cart works flawlessly. The only thing I wish I could have done was gone out and purchased some double sided sticky foam tape to replace the stuff that came with it, as it got a bit non-sticky after me handling it so much.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a PM.


Hope this helps,

~Beta
 

Talaria

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Thank you! Now i can finally use the 3 in 1 i have lying around in my phat. Would the shell of a official gba game be similar to that of the M3 Perfect or would there be extra ridges and plastic bits i would have to shave off it?
 

betawind

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Thank you! Now i can finally use the 3 in 1 i have lying around in my phat. Would the shell of a official gba game be similar to that of the M3 Perfect or would there be extra ridges and plastic bits i would have to shave off it?

Truthfully, I don't know. I've read that some people have tried it with a GBA case and had it work, but I'm not going to tell you to take apart a game to test it
tongue.gif
I would imagine there would be something in there that needs to be cut/shaved/etc off to get the guts from the 3 in 1 to fit in there. You will probably also need the brace the right side as I did since its not as tall as the left side (the nitch cut into it so the rumble part can sit there and fit in the DS Lite case.

Best advice I can give you is if you don't mind losing a GBA game, give it a shot! Set the 3in1 guts in the empty case and see how it fits, then judge what you need to shave off, if anything. Make sure the gold contacts sit close to the opening and even with it, and that the guts can't slide back into the case. You can always buy the case I used at the http://www.kickgaming.com/m3lite-gba-shell...hite-p-138.html ....They're on sale for 25 cents right now! You can't beat that with a stick. If you do decide to disassemble a GBA cart, I'd love to see pictures. Might consider another transplant if it goes well in order to get a sturdier case.

~Beta
 

Canadacdn

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Has anyone tried to put the 3 in 1 into an action replay for GBA or something similar and tried to run it? I am assuming it would work, because if you have a .gba file loaded into it and boot to Slot 2 on the lite, it will start as a normal GBA game.
 

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