Hardware How to mod a Game Boy Advance SP in to a Game Boy Color?

[FlyingFire64]

I've been wanting to cram the insides of my Game Boy Advance(including the backlight) in to my Game Boy Color(About the buttons, all of GBC's buttons will be the same except they will function with Game Boy Advance games, and two new buttons for L and R will be added on the sides, as well as support for the GBC's headphone jack and GBA SP's AC Adapter), mainly because I was inspired by this:

However, I do not know how to do this at all, and I came here for help. I'll also need to get the speakers in my Game Boy Color fixed, and gather all the tools I need for the mod before I start. Thanks to all who help.

 

[duffmmann]

I've been wanting to cram the insides of my Game Boy Advance(including the backlight) in to my Game Boy Color(About the buttons, all of GBC's buttons will be the same except they will function with Game Boy Advance games, and two new buttons for L and R will be added on the sides, as well as support for the GBC's headphone jack and GBA SP's AC Adapter), mainly because I was inspired by this:

However, I do not know how to do this at all, and I came here for help. I'll also need to get the speakers in my Game Boy Color fixed, and gather all the tools I need for the mod before I start. Thanks to all who help.

I personally can't help you, but I have to ask, why would you use the GBC color with the GBA in there? Seems to me you should also be transferring the GBA speaker into the GBC shell with the rest of the inner workings and the screen.

 

[FAST6191]

Do you have any experience with soldering, machining, electronics or any other type of manufacturing (woodwork, plastics....)? At the very least do you have access to the tools of any of those?

If you are already versed in one or more of those then you might be able to get something done. If not then you have just jumped in the deep end without being able to swim.

First what is wrong with your GBA speakers? Such things do not typically break. The adjustment might have but that is a different matter and not the speakers. If it is the GBA speakers then that is not so bad to sort.

Going further you have a few options. The ways I would do it are either gut a GBA for its controls, isolate them from the rest of the board and wire it in. Think how people do SNES to USB mods. The other would involve trying to fit the GBA SP controls into the GB brick form factor.

The third option of fudge something with the SP itself. I just grabbed a GBC and a SP and busted out a set of callipers... there have been worse fits. This would be fine for a piece of simple equipment, however for a games console I doubt you could get it working.

The screen looks like it might fit OK and with the SP already being a wired screen you have more options, though you might have to find something to fill in the gaps. Up there it looks like the placed they screen below (recessed) and cut things out accordingly.

Your best bets might then be to design a GBC lookalike shell to fit the guts of a SP. That though would be a fair trick if you are not already versed in plastics manufacture.

 

[Shorkio]

I personally can't help you, but I have to ask, why would you use the GBC color with the GBA in there? Seems to me you should also be transferring the GBA speaker into the GBC shell with the rest of the inner workings and the screen.

Maybe they find GBC to be more comfortable to hold than GBA SP?
While the idea is interesting, I'm afraid there's not enough room in GBC's case to hold GBA SP's screen, PCB, battery, triggers and other stuff.

What I'm curious to see is GBC's parts inside the original GameBoy, and I'm pretty sure it would be possible.

 

[Cartmanuk]

it would look like this..

 

[FlyingFire64]

I'd use an original Game Boy like the mod I already showed you, but I don't have one.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

Probably the "easiest" and I use the term in quotes for a reason... lol

http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/07/diy-game-boy/

I think I could pull it off, but it's not something I would enjoy.

Save some money time and effort just buy a PSP hack that, or get a JXD or a Nvidia Shield or any number of other Andoid consoles. Not only will they work great for GB and GBA you can also do so much more with them if you want, or if you don't want just stuff it with emulators and enjoy it dedicated for just that.

 

[FlyingFire64]

I looked at the post I started the thread with and noticed a huge problem: I said I would cram the insides of my Game Boy Advance in to a Game Boy Color when I meant to say I'm planning to cram the insides of my Game Boy Advance SP in to a Game Boy Color! I'm not sure if this makes things easier, but I compared the width of my Game Boy Advance SP to my Game Boy Color with a measuring tape and this is the result I got:

GBC:
-Width(vertically), 3 1/18in.
-Height(vertically), 5in.

GBA SP
-Width(vertically), 3 3/18in.
-Height(vertically), 6in.

 

[Silentsurvivor]

IT CAN be done, as shown in the picture up there. And you can do it in the same way the mod was done to the Original GameBoy.

It's not that hard... The worst part is probably the cartridge slot, which you'll have to desolder and attach wires to all the pins so you can put it where it should be. I looked into doing it myself - you can position the board in a way that you can avoid soldering the cartridge connector though, so it depends.

I thought about doing it, I measured everything and I saw it could be done, but I decided it was just too much work, so I did a Backlight mod to an Original GBA instead, since I like that one better.

 

[FlyingFire64]

Forget the whole project because my GBA SP got bricked, yesterday.

 

[Shadow#1]

Forget the whole project because my GBA SP got bricked, yesterday.

Can u enlighten us on how u "bricked" your gba sp?

 

[Monty Kensicle]

How the heck did that happen? The Game Boy line as a whole are tough little buggers. Even my 3DS withstood accidentally being run over by a car.

 

[chicodiesel]

FlyingFire64, in the event that you happen to get another GBA SP and decide to try this mod, you can follow this in depth guide by modder Arcade-TV.

 

[duffmmann]

Maybe they find GBC to be more comfortable to hold than GBA SP?
While the idea is interesting, I'm afraid there's not enough room in GBC's case to hold GBA SP's screen, PCB, battery, triggers and other stuff.

What I'm curious to see is GBC's parts inside the original GameBoy, and I'm pretty sure it would be possible.

I wasn't questioning why he wants to move it all into the GBC, I understand that, but I was wondering why he was stating that he needs to fix his GBCs speaker if he's going to be using the GBC shell to play it as a GBA, why wouldn't he just transfer the GBA speaker with the rest of the GBA?

 

[Parasite X]

I've been wanting to cram the insides of my Game Boy Advance(including the backlight) in to my Game Boy Color(About the buttons, all of GBC's buttons will be the same except they will function with Game Boy Advance games, and two new buttons for L and R will be added on the sides, as well as support for the GBC's headphone jack and GBA SP's AC Adapter), mainly because I was inspired by this:

However, I do not know how to do this at all, and I came here for help. I'll also need to get the speakers in my Game Boy Color fixed, and gather all the tools I need for the mod before I start. Thanks to all who help.

Please make a tutorial for moding GBA SP into the original GBA as in the fat GBA the SP sucks ass no offense

I'll even except DSLite modded into GBA if anyone wants to trade for the SP its in good condition