Game & Watch: How to make a replacecment LCD Reflector?

[actualkoifish]

Okay, so if you know Game & Watch, then you know that under the liquid crystal is a silver metallic sheet called a reflector. I won't pretend to know much more than that, but the key is that they can be damaged. I watched a video about this, and the summary was that it happens from moisture damage (like being left for a long time in a place that wasn't moisture-controlled). Usually the damage looks like concentric rings of faded color on the screen, and this makes the picture look darker and faded, especially in the middle of the screen.

My understanding is that it's easy to replace these (indeed, they come out easily enough). My question is, how can I make a replacement? I've seen an ebay listing for someone selling replacements, but I have to imagine they are pretty cheap and easy to make if the ebay listing I saw was selling them for only about 5 bucks a pop. Yes, I realize maybe it's silly to worry over such cheap elements, but I actually have a number of G&W systems that could use a replacement, so I'd rather just keep the spending to a minimum.

I read somewhere that metallic silver vinyl sheets, cut to size, were a reasonable stand-in. Has anyone used that, and if so, was it okay? I'm most worried about using a product which will damage the device. These are going on 40 years of age after all, and I'd hate for one to fail not due to entropy but due to idiocy.

 

[Bloodeyes]

Hi, did you managed to test the metallic silver vynil sheet ?

Or have you found something better ?

Thx !

 

[iluvhockey]

Okay, so if you know Game & Watch, then you know that under the liquid crystal is a silver metallic sheet called a reflector. I won't pretend to know much more than that, but the key is that they can be damaged. I watched a video about this, and the summary was that it happens from moisture damage (like being left for a long time in a place that wasn't moisture-controlled). Usually the damage looks like concentric rings of faded color on the screen, and this makes the picture look darker and faded, especially in the middle of the screen.

My understanding is that it's easy to replace these (indeed, they come out easily enough). My question is, how can I make a replacement? I've seen an ebay listing for someone selling replacements, but I have to imagine they are pretty cheap and easy to make if the ebay listing I saw was selling them for only about 5 bucks a pop. Yes, I realize maybe it's silly to worry over such cheap elements, but I actually have a number of G&W systems that could use a replacement, so I'd rather just keep the spending to a minimum.

I read somewhere that metallic silver vinyl sheets, cut to size, were a reasonable stand-in. Has anyone used that, and if so, was it okay? I'm most worried about using a product which will damage the device. These are going on 40 years of age after all, and I'd hate for one to fail not due to entropy but due to idiocy.

Post automatically merged: Jul 25, 2023

This store has a lot of Game and watch parts

ebay.ca/str/collectorsclubhousecanada

 

[FAST6191]

It was not a question of where to buy replacements but whether a large sheet of something shiny (or a suitable sheet of something shiny) and presumably a nice ruler and scalpel (or oversize and trim to it once on) to make it is viable.
$5 is one thing but $5 times 30 adds up considerably when most shiny sheets of something might be more like $10-20 for an A3 sized sheet that might do a whole load of them or even a roll of metal foil tape -- we know you will pay it for replacement parts tax is very real.
For all the LCD stuff I have done* I have never done this so don't know where to look, and doubt the white stuff you might find on a scanner (usually quite a nice even reflective material) will do the job here. I don't think I have any game and watch things either (they didn't survive childhood/overzelaous cleaning sessions of parents) to pull apart and maybe make a suggestion.
Similarly oxidation like that would usually speak to something fairly reactive to begin with which also brings the option of chemistry or electrochemistry up to fix the original part if you can separate it like that and chuck it in a bowl with suitable chemicals**.

*for those that never pulled one apart

No silvered stuff these days either so going to a laptop shop and asking for a dead screen is probably not going to do much.

**no idea what the material is here but I usually find people enjoy seeing silver be restored quickly