Hacking G6 Lite + Passcard combo, How's the battery life?

[Rykar]

I really, really recommend flashing your DS lite if you have a G6 lite + Passcard 2/3 combo. It saves so much battery life and is retardedly easy.

1. Copy flashme files to G6 lite
2. plug in DSL/insert G6 lite & Passcard 3
3. pop off battery cover
4. run flashme
5. short SL 1 connection

Done. It may seem complicated, but it really isn't. I didn't find any guides specifically one the G6L/Passcard 3 combo, but it couldn't have been any easier. Hello awesome battery life...

Or you could just simply take out the passcard once the G6 menu appears.

 

[htoxad]

Does having a regular DS card in Slot 1 affect the battery life of a flashed DS?

 

[Synergy]

To answer both of you -

Yes, you could just take the passcard 3 out of the DS after the G6 DS menu loads up. However, that's a pain in the arse to have to do every time - at least for me. Then you'd need to pop a retail game in for it to go into sleep mode, and back to the passcard 3 if you turn it off and start it up again. It's a lot of pointless switching in my opinion for such a simple process.

I'm not sure if having a retail DS card in the slot for sleep mode purposes kills the battery life any extra amount - but I have heard that yes it does. It's obviously much less than the passcard 3, but I don't know exactly how much extra it drains.

I know some people have mocked them, but I ordered a dummy card from psxbox.net to test this theory and see if I can save even more battery life. I've been playing my flashed DS lite with Trauma Centre in slot 1, and the battery life isn't as good as it was with *just* a retail DS cart, though it's better than my old G6 lite + Passcard 3 combo. I will post some results when I'm able to test it further.

I personally own 23 NDS games, so it's not a matter of not wanting to fork over the cash for a retail game to stick in the slot so much as it's trying to figure out the best way to extend battery life.

Oh, and having a matching black cart in slot 1 doesn't hurt either.

 

[lynxxsdc]

Pathetic! four hours at the most (at the 2nd brightness level), after a full charge. I'm gonna try and see how much time is gained by removing the passcard3 after the initial loading.

 

[corbs132]

so low?

I could play HM: DS for almost 8 hours on a single charge, at 2nd brightness level.

me too, straight!

 

[gr33dy]

Pathetic! four hours at the most (at the 2nd brightness level), after a full charge. I'm gonna try and see how much time is gained by removing the passcard3 after the initial loading.

Same here!

Did you try removing the Passcard? If so, did you notice any significant difference? I'm going try it as well after the next full charge.

 

[lynxxsdc]

After some testing, removing the passcard 3 b4 loading any games did give me a small boost in battery life (in my case 1-1:30 extra time), but still no where even close to what the actual battery life is capable of. I should be in the 13-16 hour range, since I play at the 2nd brightness level, but I'm sitting around 4-5 hours max. This is going to make taking the DS on a long trip pointless.

"How long does the rechargeable battery last before it needs to be charged again?
The Nintendo DS Lite has four levels of brightness. The battery will last 15-19 hours on the lowest settings, and 5-8 hours on the brightest.This can also vary depending on the type of game activity."

 

[gr33dy]

For anyone who is interested, here are the results of my test:

DSL (Full Charge @ 2nd Brightness) & G6L w/ Passcard3 - ~6h + 52m (RED LIGHT)
DSL (Full Charge @ 2nd Brightness) & G6L w/o Passcard3 (removed each time @ G6 menu) - ~8h + 4m (RED LIGHT)

Difference = 1h + 12m

The tests were not perfect, but I think they are fairly accurate. I simply glanced at the time every time I turned the DS on and off and made note of it. I also tried to play similar games for each test. For the test w/ the Passcard inserted, I primarily played "New Super Mario Bros." & "Mario Kart." For the test w/o the Passcard inserted, I primarily played "Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2" & "Super Mario 64 DS." Notice I said *primarily* for each test; I may have played a few other games for very short periods of time (i.e. "Tetris"). Obviously, it would be most accurate to use only one game for testing, but that's boring!

Based on my results, I would venture to say that the Passcard is definitely affecting battery life. Some argue that it doesn't because you can obviously remove it. However, it cannot be removed during game play (only @ the menu), which leads me to believe it is being accessed.

 

[lynxxsdc]

Based on my results, I would venture to say that the Passcard is definitely affecting battery life. Some argue that it doesn't because you can obviously remove it. However, it cannot be removed during game play (only @ the menu), which leads me to believe it is being accessed.

Huh? once the G6 menu has loaded, you are able to play DS games w/o the passcard 3 inserted. If you plan on using IGR, you must put the passcard back in b4 the reset. I have found out if you skip that step most games crash once loaded. I am wondering how much using the WI-Fi affects the overall battery life, because I play a ton of Tetris online.

 

[gr33dy]

Huh? once the G6 menu has loaded, you are able to play DS games w/o the passcard 3 inserted.

Yeah, I know. Others have argued that the Passcard does not affect battery life because it can be safely removed before launching games. Thus, the implication is -- because it works w/o it, it obviously wouldn't access it and, as a result, drain the battery. All I was saying is that this notion must be false because you cannot remove it after a game has been launched. So, once a game is launched, it is being accessed in some way or another and, as a result, draining the battery more. Sorry if I sound confusing... I'm having a bit of difficulty explaining it.

 

[ugly_rose]

Yes, the fact that the game you play closes down when you remove the Passcard and says "insert game" clearly points out that it drains the battery in some way or another.

I am wondering how much using the WI-Fi affects the overall battery life, because I play a ton of Tetris online.

Probably a lot since it has to send information back and forth constantly. You can see when you turn on bluetooth on cellphones for example that it drains the battery notably faster.