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.