Hardware GBA Backlight! (AGB-001)

[wiggatron]

I have joined the ranks of the modded! The color in the photo is a bit off, and I hadn't adjusted the image switch yet when this pic was taken, but yeah... it works! And it was pretty easy to do!

Awesome! I actually just made a white one for myself last week as an early Xmas present

May I ask (or anyone else for that matter) what tool they used to remove the plastic to allow the screen to fit in? The guides don't go into detail other than stating "use a knife or rotary tool"?

To be very specific I use both a hobby knife with a #2 Xacto blade and a Dremel with a the pictured trim bit (AA battery for purposes of illustrating scale).

Also while the switch is a cool idea, if you use the GBA to GCN lead, it won't be able to connect since the switch would block the hole. Unless you buy an unofficial one, which I did had but modded to work on the Gameboy Micro.

This is very true.

 

[cYbErTiM]

Nah... I gonna post this anyway...
...pin layout..

Thanks, this was exactly what i was looking for!
Just registered my account to thank you

Just ordered some fcp connectors, flux and small copper wire to do this mod myself
It's way more cheap this way than ordering this 'cable mod' from china
And i'm going to put in my old ags-001 display, and when this works i will make another one with a ays-101 display

 

[wiggatron]

Looking forward to seeing your results

 

[KipMudz]

Thanks, this was exactly what i was looking for!
Just registered my account to thank you

Just ordered some fcp connectors, flux and small copper wire to do this mod myself
It's way more cheap this way than ordering this 'cable mod' from china
And i'm going to put in my old ags-001 display, and when this works i will make another one with a ays-101 display

Good luck to you mate!

You will put the frontlit AGS-001 display to AGB-001? I wonder if it will fit inside since it's way thicker than the backlit LCD.

 

[wiggatron]

You can just put the front light itself in. There's really no reason to go through the trouble of wiring in the WHOLE display unless you just want the practice. The light just requires 2 wires to be soldered in. I've done a few, and it does require some careful, crafty cutting to make it fit, but it's a lot easier than sticking the whole thing in there. Heck, you'll have to tear the AGS-001 display down anyway in order to make it fit. It absolutely will not fit as is.

 

[cYbErTiM]

Okay, I received my GBA today and it's a 32pins version..
It looks exactly the same as the 40pins in this topic by KipMudz, but this is only the 'backside' of the mainboard The fpc-connector-side of the mainboard is totally different..
So i could just ignore the fpc connector and solder everything to the solderpoints on the back, but it would be smarter to index these points on the connector so we know what's different.

@KipMudz, would it be possible to make an editted picture of the AGB main board's 'backside' with ID's of which solder thread leads to what 'pin' so i could just ignore the connector and directly solder the leads like you did?

I also took apart my SP, removed a lot of stuff from the ags-001 LCD and also the bezel of the agb-001.
To answers wiggatrons question; an ags-001 will fit in total, but yes, it's a little bit 'tight', and yes, it's more a practice kind of hobby project, before placing the way more expensive ags-101 displays.

I will probably receive my extra parts later this week, so i can start soldering, but i also ordered a bunch of extra GBA's, they are really cheap, around only 7 euro's a piece. Hopefully there is also a 40 pins version in the batch

 

[cYbErTiM]

Since i'm sick at home (the flu, no work for me today) i had time enough to be bordered with multimetering all the connectors on the 32pin agb-001.
Ang guess what the pinouts are exactly the same as the ags-001 display! Except for pin 33 and 34, but they are there to give power to the forntlit, so that is no surprise.

Only one minor issue though, both main boards have the connector mirrored.. so you can't just simply pop in the ags-001 display into the agb-001, you need to mirror the cable, that's all...
So when my extra ribbon cable's and connectors are in, i only need to solder the connector mirrored on the cable and the 'mod' cable is finished..

The guy making these cables should really give a discount on people requesting the 32pin mod cable

 

[KipMudz]

Since i'm sick at home (the flu, no work for me today) i had time enough to be bordered with multimetering all the connectors on the 32pin agb-001.
Ang guess what the pinouts are exactly the same as the ags-001 display! Except for pin 33 and 34, but they are there to give power to the forntlit, so that is no surprise.

Only one minor issue though, both main boards have the connector mirrored.. so you can't just simply pop in the ags-001 display into the agb-001, you need to mirror the cable, that's all...
So when my extra ribbon cable's and connectors are in, i only need to solder the connector mirrored on the cable and the 'mod' cable is finished..

The guy making these cables should really give a discount on people requesting the 32pin mod cable

Good thing you figured out that the pinouts 32-pin AGB-001 and AGS-001 has the same pinouts except that the AGS-001 (and AGS-101) has 2 extra pins for powering the frontlit. I would like to work with the 32-pin one because of its fewer pins but I only have the 40-pin one which is a pain in the ass because aside from flipping the order of the pins, some pins needs to be swapped to another pins by putting a jumper wire.

Please post some photos of your progress if you already started your work.

 

[GBA rocks]

So, I've never owned a GBA, I was shopping for the best model and I've recently discovered this whole "ags-101 screen into original agb-001" thing.

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?

I'd just like to have an original agb-001 modded with an original ags-101 display.

Sorry if this has already been mentioned in the thread.

Maybe I should just contact the chinese guy to ask.

 

[GBA rocks]

or from wiggy of "rose colored gaming" (USA based). I'm in Europe.

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

my bad and, hi.

 

[Bitbyte]

Lol, you should definitely do some more research. The guy from China, Zerey, is the one who originally created the adapter cable and who's also supplying wiggatron. Zerey uses an original GBA and AGS-101 screen, no need to worry. He'd never send you a GBA clone, there's no reason for him to do so since he's pretty much the inventor of the AGS-101 screen to AGB-001 backlight mod.

 

[GBA rocks]

I'm not disputing that he mods them, with the adapter cable and all.
But about the starting parts (agb-001 and ags-101 screen), how can we be sure they're original?
Just asking. The price is very low after all.
For instance look at this clone

 

[cYbErTiM]

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.

 

[GBA rocks]

ok, so to recap, to those looking for a pre-modded unit

zerey: roughly 90$ (66$ + 18-25$ shipping) worldwide express shipping included (dhl or ems), original AGB-001, compatible replacement AGS-101 screen

rose colored gaming: 160$ shipped (to EU), basically the same but with optional bells and whistles (2 brightness levels switch, paint jobs, glass lens), plus peace of mind of USA based operations and shipping for USA people, plus nice packaging, support, etc.

Basically I could order a pair of units from zerey (hopefully the 25$ express shipping doesn't add up) at the same price point of 1 unit from rcg.

If you all are 100% positive he uses at least original AGB-001 (with original buttons and stuff), that would sound good...

am I missing anything?

 

[Auyx]

I'm not disputing that he mods them, with the adapter cable and all.
But about the starting parts (agb-001 and ags-101 screen), how can we be sure they're original?
Just asking. The price is very low after all.
For instance look at this clone

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.

 

[Kouen Hasuki]

I already own a 001 GBA SP and a Micro but I have always loved the feel of the original GBA.

A Friend is passing me his old Ice White GBA so I may try this on it

 

[Strainer]

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.

 

[Braware]

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

 

[cYbErTiM]

I tried making the cable myself.. but i must admit my defeat! I cannot solder such small ribbon cable .. need to buy some better equipment.. but that will not justify the costs ;P

So i will just order a ribbon from the chinese seller i guess.. already got the gba's and displays

I also managed to destroy a AGS-001 display by touching the pololirize filter.. so the frontlit doesnt work anymore.. almost made one frontlit gba myself till that happened.

 

[KipMudz]

I tried making the cable myself.. but i must admit my defeat! I cannot solder such small ribbon cable .. need to buy some better equipment.. but that will not justify the costs ;P

So i will just order a ribbon from the chinese seller i guess.. already got the gba's and displays

I also managed to destroy a AGS-001 display by touching the pololirize filter.. so the frontlit doesnt work anymore.. almost made one frontlit gba myself till that happened.

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.