Hacking EZ flash 3in1 - Repair or replace?

[JumpingShadow]

Hi everyone

I've been wanting to replay some old GBA games and instead of using an emulator, I thought it would be nice to use my NDS lite for it. I have a EZflash V and the first version of 3in1 pack.

Of course, the battery inside the 3in1 is dead, which implies no saving, so i need to fix the problem. I've seen that there is a tutorial to change it without soldering (i'm in europe so i don't have any idea where to find the battery with the little thing to solder) but all the images are dead and i'm afraid to completely screw my 3in1

On another hand, I don't have any idea if it's still possible to buy one of those, since it's so old and most people don't care about gba on nds anymore. Are they still made/sold? and if not, what would be a good replacement?

Thanks in advance for your advice :3

 

[how_do_i_do_that]

They still sell them. If you find 20 bucks or the equivalent in EU too much, I suggest replacing the battery. Otherwise give up and move on.

Places that sell batteries with tabs, check places like radio controlled toy hobby stores or whatever the equivalent of digikey is in france. Or try searching for it online.

 

[Yepi69]

EZ Flash IV would be good, and you can still find them for sale (though very limited), as for the battery you can probably follow the same procedure like replacing the battery of a pokemon game, you can do it solderless as well although you need a new battery and some electrical duct tape.
You can also do the soldering method but you need a CR1220 battery with tabs, those are the ones which come with the tabs you can already solder on.

 

[JumpingShadow]

In the case I go for buying a new one, wouldn't the battery be dead already?

Is there any better alternatives to the 3in1 by now or is it what's best for playing gba games on a dslite?

Edit because i skipped a reply while posting mine : I can find the battery WITHOUT the tab without too much trouble here. For the one with tabs i really got no luck finding one.

 

[Searinox]

Battery soldering is often exaggerated. I have changed the battery on a combined 10+ GB and GBA cartridges so far and never once soldered. Take a thin screwdriver and slide it underneath the solderpoints of the battery, and push until they pop. Then replace the battery with a new one, and use tape to wrap it around the connectors. You can even use bigger batteries if they fit inside.

 

[Yepi69]

In my opinion and experience, the best flashcart to play GBA on a DS Lite (or GBA) is definitely an EZ Flash IV.

It uses its own MiniSD card so you don't have to write roms to the PSRAM or NOR memory everytime using a DS Lite, its just pickup, choose your game and play it, simple as that, if you want one I suggest you get one fast because the production for those shut down so they maybe a bit *rare* to find.

In case you're interested: http://shoptemp.net/products/EZ%2dFlash-IV.html

Also, you can also replace the battery without the tabs, by lifting the tabs carefully to not break them, and then replacing the battery and using tape to connect the tabs to the battery.

 

[JumpingShadow]

I used to have one of those back then with my gba sp i should have never let that one go. They stick out quite a lot on the dslite, i assume there is no version that is "shorter" but still use the minisd? (Those were really the best though, no need to worry bout writing the roms from the other cartridge).

Thanks for the link btw

 

[Yepi69]

I used to have one of those back then with my gba sp i should have never let that one go. They stick out quite a lot on the dslite, i assume there is no version that is "shorter" but still use the minisd? (Those were really the best though, no need to worry bout writing the roms from the other cartridge).

Thanks for the link btw

There's the lite version, but finding that one is really rare, almost impossible if that, if you don't mind it sticking out then Ez flash IV is the flashcart for you (I played on my ds lite and I didn't mind the sticking out)