Hardware GBA Backlight! (AGB-001)

[KipMudz]

I've just bought a dead AGB-001 with broken LCD and I used its ribbon to create an adapter...

I re-routed some lines here because the order of pinouts of 40-pin AGB-001 and AGS-001/101 are not the same.

2 moar photos...

 

[cYbErTiM]

Do you have some Hi-res version of this photo? And is that for 40-pin or 34 pin?
In my work, I used a plain 40W soldering iron, a tiny lead and a flux. That's why my work looks a little bit messy.

Also used a plain solder iron and some flux, but the tip is just a bit too big (guess 1.5mm), keep hitting two contacts at once making a mess.. and while cleaning it the cable always starts to melt (maybe a 0.5mm tip will help).
Anyways, ordered two of those pre made cables for my 32pin gba's. Still going to try it on the 40pin version tho with the solder iron. will receive some more material pretty soon

 

[KipMudz]

Also used a plain solder iron and some flux, but the tip is just a bit too big (guess 1.5mm), keep hitting two contacts at once making a mess.. and while cleaning it the cable always starts to melt (maybe a 0.5mm tip will help).
Anyways, ordered two of those pre made cables for my 32pin gba's. Still going to try it on the 40pin version tho with the solder iron. will receive some more material pretty soon

I used to try these kind of connectors but we got the same result. They're not heat-proof just like the ribbon for GBA LCD. Hot air soldering might produce same results but probably, it will produce cleaner results than soldering iron. I wonder if that chinese guy have used some very thin PCB to connect the ribbon and the socket.

 

[cYbErTiM]

Today I received a hot-air soldering station (for another project) but i will try it once more.
Regarding the chinese cable, if you look at the pictures closely you see some kind of small green (probably) pcb between the cable and the connector..
But i ordered some myself, so i can tell within a few days/weeks for sure if its connected directly or not.

 

[[Truth]]

2. Does zerey already use the new soldering spot resulting in a lighter display?

I also would like to know that. Any news?

 

[Count Duckula]

I decided to order a modded GBA too, seems like a very sweet deal. I am now thinking about necessary accessories. Could those that have already ordered modded consoles answer me a few questions?

1. Does the modded console come with some sort of battery pack? If so, how is it charged?

2. Does zerey already use the new soldering spot resulting in a lighter display?

3. IS there any place that still sells cases/pouches for an old GBA? I thought about getting a NDS pouch from dealextreme, not sure if it will fit it though. Any suggestions?

4. Is there anything else I should consider buying for my unit? (I have a 4 player link cable from my old, unmodded GBA)


I asked him myself, have exchanged mails for several days infact, but he has trouble understanding some parts. Seems he only has Crystal and Purple colors atm, guess I'm unlucky wanting a black one.

Thanks for your help, looking forward to my modded GBA.

Just received my pre-modded console from Zerey yesterday

1) No, just the normal 2x AA batteries
2) Not sure, can I tell without opening the unit? It seems plenty bright to me, although I always play my AGS-101 on the lower brightness setting.
3) I'd like to know that myself (if the price is decent, looking for a hard case)
4) EZ-Flash IV if you don't have a flash cart already.


http://users.tpg.com.au/msulley/Backlit GBA.jpg
(View at 100% and the screen looks crystal clear, scaling the image down makes it look blurry)
Zerey asked me if a used console would be OK as he did not have the colour I wanted new (I'm assuming he means a replacement case). The one I received has a few scratches on the casing itself but the screen is great and personally I prefer a used original case vs a 3rd party replacement. It has a worn down Nintendo sticker on the back etc.

 

[wiggatron]

I have no moddng/soldering skills and I wanna buy an already modded GBA.

I am now divided between buying it from the chinese guy (no disrespect meant) or from wiggy of "rose colored gaming" (USA based). I'm in Europe.

To be completely honest, but again no disrepect meant and probably I'm wrong, I'm a bit afraid the chinese taobao guy could send me a clone and not a mod based on an honest to goodness Nintendo AGB-001 machine. (not to mention an honest to goodness ags-101 screen)

Is my doubt legitimate?

Zerhey, the fellow that actually makes the adapters, is a really great guy and I wouldn't doubt him. If you're gonna trust me, then you have to trust him first as he's the one that's supplying me with the materials.

uhm I've just realized wiggy from rcg posts in this very thread

my bad and, hi.

LOL, hi!

The gameboy will be original for sure. But I doubt the screen will be from an original ags-101.
But never the less, the quality of the 'replacement' screens are identical. Even with an original ags-101 screen the quality can differ.

I'm going to order a batch of those replacement ags-101 screens to see how they work out.
Buying an original ags-101 here in the Netherlands would cost me around 70 euros... they are extremely rare.
Even the Micro's are less expensive.

This. I've never seen one of his modded GBAs, but I'm pretty sure he does a nice job. The ribbon adapters are nice and he's been making improvements with every order I've received. He's really streamlining the process it seems.

The screens are very much so aftermarket, but I have a modded unit with both an original screen and one of these and I absolutely CANNOT tell the difference in the picture quality. Can't speak to the longevity since I've only had it for a few months, but for now it's great!

Careful with the LCDs. The ribbon cable on them is really fragile. I've had a few folks run into issues with that so I've had to start taping them down before shipping them out to minimize the movement.

If I remember correctly the resolution of the screens they used in these emulation based clones was not the same as an original GBA. Same goes for the recent hardware clones of the GBA I'm sure they had higher resolution screens in them.

Do it! It looks killer with the white IMO.

I decided to order a modded GBA too, seems like a very sweet deal. I am now thinking about necessary accessories. Could those that have already ordered modded consoles answer me a few questions?

1. Does the modded console come with some sort of battery pack? If so, how is it charged?

2. Does zerey already use the new soldering spot resulting in a lighter display?

3. IS there any place that still sells cases/pouches for an old GBA? I thought about getting a NDS pouch from dealextreme, not sure if it will fit it though. Any suggestions?

4. Is there anything else I should consider buying for my unit? (I have a 4 player link cable from my old, unmodded GBA)


I asked him myself, have exchanged mails for several days infact, but he has trouble understanding some parts. Seems he only has Crystal and Purple colors atm, guess I'm unlucky wanting a black one.

Thanks for your help, looking forward to my modded GBA.

1. Does not, but I can make something like that for you if you're interested. Expect to pay a fair chunk more since it would require that I make a battery pack and a charge circuit.

2. Which spot are you referring to?

3. Not that I'm aware of, but again, I can make you something. I'm sort of a jack of all trades and soft goods are right up my alley

Shameless plug --> www.wiggyshifties.com

4. If you are thinking about ordering from me, then the only thing really worth considering is the glass lens. They're far better quality than the plastic replacements out there. Finding a mint GBA is tough, especially with a good lens. It'll save you $$$ to order one that I've essentially refurbished with a glass lens. Other than that, just stock up on AA batteries, cause you'll prolly play the hell out of it!

How can I buy one of those mod GBA? I'm in Brazil.

Send me a PM if interested. I can ship to Brazil for $10 more than domestic.

In my work, I used a plain 40W soldering iron, a tiny lead and a flux. That's why my work looks a little bit messy.

40W would be WAY overkill for this. Prolly lift the the traces. I'd stick with a 15W

I wonder if that chinese guy have used some very thin PCB to connect the ribbon and the socket.

Nope, just soldered to the ribbon. He does have two nice ground points at either end that help keep it planted though.

http://users.tpg.com.au/msulley/Backlit GBA.jpg
(View at 100% and the screen looks crystal clear, scaling the image down makes it look blurry)
Zerey asked me if a used console would be OK as he did not have the colour I wanted new (I'm assuming he means a replacement case). The one I received has a few scratches on the casing itself but the screen is great and personally I prefer a used original case vs a 3rd party replacement. It has a worn down Nintendo sticker on the back etc.

Not to further plug my own work, but I do NOT use aftermarket shells/cases. They're flimsy crap and they smell like magic marker. I hunt down good condition used unnits and refurbish them. As you may imagine, theis means that I end up with some crappy units that get sacrificed, so that it a portion of what makes up my prices. It's hit or miss when buying online, and that's the easiest way for me to find these in large quantities. Also, like I said before, almost all of the aftermarket plastic lenses are complete garbage. A micro fiber towel will scratch them. Avoid at all costs.

My pre-mods come with with a new set of stickers (model label and serial number), a 30-day warranty, option of brightness switch, glass lens option, retail packaging (for both the pre-mod units and kits themselves), and obviously customer service that involves someone fluent in English. Not to mention other options like custom colors, extra lighting, and I should have custom replacement buttons pretty soon as well. I'm building a show-off prototype with some new features right now actually.

 

[[Truth]]

Hey, can someone tell me what Zerey means when he writes "Adjust the image button."?
It´s step 5 in the pdf guide found on his seller page:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/t5hpu1

 

[cYbErTiM]

It's a little potentiometer which adjusts the contrast of the LCD screen.

 

[[Truth]]

So is this necessary or is the default position enough?

 

[Yepi69]

I think you are better off getting yourself an GBA SP AGS 101 or an 001.

 

[[Truth]]

I think you are better off getting yourself an GBA SP AGS 101 or an 001.

Why is that?

 

[Yepi69]

Why is that?

Because, IMO, it saves you time and money.

 

[[Truth]]

1.) I don´t like the GBA SP design.
2.) I like modding.
3.) A AGS-101 is around 50€ on ebay.

 

[wiggatron]

Because, IMO, it saves you time and money.

But what fun is that?

1.) I don´t like the GBA SP design.
2.) I like modding.
3.) A AGS-101 is around 50€ on ebay.

Ditto.

That potentiometer does indeed allow you to adjust the screen. I don't mention it in my manual because there is a possibility that you could damage the screen with too much adjustment. I can't afford warranty claims for user error and there's no way for me to detect if this is what caused the damage.

I've fond that 40-pin units rarely need any adjustment, but the 32-pin units often need a little. It just regulates voltage to the screen. When it's low, the image will be darker, possibly more washed out, have more visible scan lines, and the motion jitter/blur will be more significant. Adjust it in very small increments, like 15° or so at a time.

 

[Yepi69]

1.) I don´t like the GBA SP design.
2.) I like modding.
3.) A AGS-101 is around 50€ on ebay.

I like the GBA SP design, looks like a squared sandwich :3

Not to mention it bits better on the pocket.

 

[wiggatron]

But it's uncomfortable in most everyone's hands that's older than 8

A micro is really the way to go if you want something to go in your pocket.

 

[Count Duckula]

But it's uncomfortable in most everyone's hands that's older than 8

A micro is really the way to go if you want something to go in your pocket.

The micro is nice and portable, but when you have an ags-101 and a modded agb-001 its hard to look at the micro's tiny screen ever again

 

[wiggatron]

For sure, but they're just so cool

I'm working on a complete collection right now actually.

 

[KipMudz]

That potentiometer does indeed allow you to adjust the screen. I don't mention it in my manual because there is a possibility that you could damage the screen with too much adjustment. I can't afford warranty claims for user error and there's no way for me to detect if this is what caused the damage.

I've fond that 40-pin units rarely need any adjustment, but the 32-pin units often need a little. It just regulates voltage to the screen. When it's low, the image will be darker, possibly more washed out, have more visible scan lines, and the motion jitter/blur will be more significant. Adjust it in very small increments, like 15° or so at a time.

Hmm... you say that the potentiometer adjustment only works to the 32-pin version of adapter? In my own adapter (a 40-pin one), when I connect the pin#29 (the pin that connects to potentiometer) from the AGB-001 to the AGS-101 LCD, the picture becomes dark and the colors looks distorted. Nothing is changed even I set the potentiometer to maximum. Try look at my earlier post on this thread to see my problem in the past.
That's probably the reason why the potentiometer adjustment for 40-pin adapter is no longer needed because there's a chance that Zhang left that pin untouched just like my work.

About to the argument about AGB-001 vs. AGS-001/101 for the ergonomics, AGB-001 is my choice because that curved backside of its body and its thicker body gives comfort to my hands. The SP and later handhelds of ninty (not sure about DSi XL & 3DS XL because I've never owned one yet) gives me some trouble after hours of gameplay.