Hardware Integrated Rechargable GBA mod

[Brenex]

I would be interested in hearing some more on it, Dend! Recently did a backlight mod that came out great (32pin w/ Ab brown screen).

 

[Sliter]

As promised i am posting the pictures of the rechargeable mod. In my opinion this is how the AGB was supposed to be to begin with, rechargeable and backlit. Makes the whole experience of using it hassle free. I am uploading the pics that i took just earlier. Sorry as they are kinda large, but its easier to see the details.

This is the port:
View attachment 82992
View attachment 82993

The following is the charging board and battery setup:
View attachment 82994
Sorry for the very large pic, but i wanted to show the detailed image. Its not very pretty but it works well. I have another AGB that i am going to do this to, maybe i will be able refine this a bit more. On a full charge it really lasts a long time, I probably have used it at least 4 or 5 hours by now and it is still running strong. The downfall is that with this charge board, I can't charge and use the AGB at the same time.

The board plugged in and charging, when it is charging a blue LED turns on and the red one turns off:
View attachment 82995

The cut that i had to do to the back of the shell. I had to remove the whole part the holds the batteries. When its put together its perfectly normal. The battery cover is also glued on so it will not come off anymore.
View attachment 82996

Here is how it looks from the outside:
View attachment 82997

And the unit running:
View attachment 82998


I hope this helps you guys,

Cheers!!

this is like a GBA of my dreams hahaha great job!

 

[Dend]

Thank you Sliter and Bernex.

I recently just got one of my favorite Castlevania games, Aria of Sorrow. So i fully charged the AGB and started playing it. I was able to get about 7 hours out of it without counting the time lost from dying in the game, so id say it lasts about 7.5 hours. Its pretty convenient, and with my playing habits i only have to charge it about once a week and a half or 2 weeks.

The charge board has overcharge and discharge protection as well, but for some reason i am still very cautious of leaving it plugged in after it is fully charged. Although, i have been using it for a while now and haven't had problems yet.

I am working on a second one currently, just waiting for the parts to come in; maybe i can design it a bit better. I'll keep the post updated.

I would be interested in hearing some more on it, Dend! Recently did a backlight mod that came out great (32pin w/ Ab brown screen).

If you are interested in doing it, here is the list of things you need:
- Charge board, a TP4056. Be careful with this since there is 2 versions. You want the latest one with the overcharge and discharge protection.
- Battery. I used a 1200Mah battery off of a camera. it fits perfect.
- A diode, I used an N4001. You need this to drop the voltage a bit to put it within operating range for the AGB

I hope this helps.

Almost forgot, there is considerable cutting that needs to be done to the back portion of the shell. Also the battery cover gets permanently glued.

 

[Sliter]

Thank you Sister and Bernex.

I recently just got one of my favorite Castlevania games, Aria of Sorrow. So i fully charged the AGB and started playing it. I was able to get about 7 hours out of it without counting the time lost from dying in the game, so id say it lasts about 7.5 hours. Its pretty convenient, and with my playing habits i only have to charge it about once a week and a half or 2 weeks.

The charge board has overcharge and discharge protection as well, but for some reason i am still very cautious of leaving it plugged in after it is fully charged. Although, i have been using it for a while now and haven't had problems yet.

I am working on a second one currently, just waiting for the parts to come in; maybe i can design it a bit better. I'll keep the post updated.



If you are interested in doing it, here is the list of things you need:
- Charge board, a TP4056. Be careful with this since there is 2 versions. You want the latest one with the overcharge and discharge protection.
- Battery. I used a 1200Mah battery off of a camera. it fits perfect.
- A diode, I used an N4001. You need this to drop the voltage a bit to put it within operating range for the AGB

I hope this helps.

Almost forgot, there is considerable cutting that needs to be done to the back portion of the shell. Also the battery cover gets permanently glued.

I hope I can find it when I could try it on mine! since I want to mod the screen to maybe I totally refurbish it xD

 

[gnmmarechal]

Pretty cool looking. I'll probably try to get another GBA and do this myself. I usually prefer the SPs , and I don't want to mess with my own GBA, so I'll get a new one for this purpose, I suppose. One can't have too many GBs. I have a couple charging boards lying around, probably. I bought more than one when I fixed my PS Vita with one.

 

[Dend]

I hope I can find it when I could try it on mine! since I want to mod the screen to maybe I totally refurbish it xD

Let me know when you want to do it Sliter and I will try to help you with links of the parts and directions if needed.

Pretty cool looking. I'll probably try to get another GBA and do this myself. I usually prefer the SPs , and I don't want to mess with my own GBA, so I'll get a new one for this purpose, I suppose. One can't have too many GBs. I have a couple charging boards lying around, probably. I bought more than one when I fixed my PS Vita with one.

Thanks gnmmarechal,
The original AGB001 can go for cheap, even the good condition ones. Although it does start piling up when you do the backlit and battery mods. The one that I have has the above and the glass screen and it cost a bit considering that it is an AGB001. I didnt want to change the case since i like it when it has small scratches and imperfections from its life as a handheld console.

Little off topic, did you do a separate charge circuit for your vita?

 

[GreatCrippler]

@Dend OMG, Take my money and make this for me please!

 

[Sliter]

Let me know when you want to do it Sliter and I will try to help you with links of the parts and directions if needed.

thanks!

The original AGB001 can go for cheap, even the good condition ones. Although it does start piling up when you do the backlit and battery mods. The one that I have has the above and the glass screen and it cost a bit considering that it is an AGB001. I didnt want to change the case since i like it when it has small scratches and imperfections from its life as a handheld console.

sadly tey aren't that cheap around here, it's what hold me back a bit about modding it (also because I'm kinda unlucky with these stuff I guess... even taking care... I'm having some probems trying to fix my old o3DS xp)

I like both the "used" and " out of the box" looking consoles XD(also customs and parts mix lolol) the only thing that I'm bit sad about mine is that it was white and now is that yellowish thing ahha one time I opened it to clean but don't lasted much(maybe not cleaned that well, I was afraid of losing the adhesives hahaha) .. some "time damages" like this or the paint lost of stuff like "platinum" GC controllers make it look that it was bad cared D:

 

[Dend]

@Dend OMG, Take my money and make this for me please!

Its not that bad a mod, you can get it done yourself if you have a bit of affinity to soldering.

@Sliter, if you want to clean your shell, use a water and white vinegar 50/50 mixture. Vinegar is a week acid (acids doesn't react with ABS plastic). Submerge the shell in the mixture and use a toothbrush to get all the grime out. It worked for me, but then again I have a blue shell, so idk how much it will remove the yellowing out of yours. Be careful not to use acetone or other chemicals like that as it will damage your plastic

 

[zigaboo]

Any safety concerns with this mod? Anything you should avoid doing?

Also, I assume you cannot play while charging, right?

 

[Dend]

Any safety concerns with this mod? Anything you should avoid doing?

Also, I assume you cannot play while charging, right?

I can only speak of my personal experience, but none so far for me. LI-Ion batteries are very susceptible to overheating and also catching on fire or exploding if wrongly connected, but assuming that you set up the connections properly so that nothing shorts you should be fine.

I have been using mine consistently and i have not noticed anything out of the ordinary, and no overheating during gameplay or charging.

There is one thing worth noting: If you want to connect more than one battery, it can only be done in parallel and it is not advisable to do so. I doubt anybody will want to do this, but just in case somebody finds small enough batteries and thinks of it... The data sheet of the charge board says that if more than one cells are used and the charge level is considerably different between them, there is high potential of overheating and fire.... So Avoid it altogether.

And yes, you can't charge and play at the same time. I don't find this to be an issue since about 30 min charge gives me a week of gameplay, if not more.

If you are using a brand new battery, it is advised to drain it completely and then perform a full charge cycle on it. (This is just healthier for the battery, not related to any safety issues)

I hope this helps,

Cheers!

 

[zigaboo]

thanks for the reply, I'm thinking of buying one of these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Lit...32680533403.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.L20GqD

all the glue in your pictures makes it kinda hard to understand what goes where haha

 

[Dend]

@zigaboo
Yea I know all that hot glue makes it look really bad. I have some ideas on bettering the design and making it look cleaner.

As for the battery of your choice, it all depends on how big the battery is physically. You don't want to put the battery over the charge board. The IC of the charge board gets pretty hot when it charges and i wouldn't want the battery over it.

My camera (which i rendered unusable by stealing its battery) had one of these:

Here is an eBay link for the above: http://www.ebay.com/itm/D-LI92-DLI9...294347?hash=item3d0181e24b:g:br0AAOSwLs5XLDPS

You can see in the pics of my AGB that it is a perfect fit.

This is a link for the charge board: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-5V-1A-Micro-USB-18650-Lithium-Battery-TP4056-Charging-Board-Charger-Module/182517301734?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=40130&meid=5508fca8b2a54b37a3182a7e0e10ddbe&pid=100011&rk=6&rkt=12&sd=152419707189

Sorry for the large pic, but i am using my phone for the post.

EDIT: Don't forget that you need a diode to drop the voltage, I used anN1004 diode.

 

[montiebro]

Hello everybody. Im new here, signed up after reading a couple of threads.
As the title says, i am interested in having a rechargable AGB 001.
Now, i know that there are rechargable packs and batteries that can be used out there. But was wandering if anyone has managed to have an integrated rechargable battery pack, with a usb micro or mini.

Sorry in advance if this is an already discussed topic.

Cheers!

Finally I found helpful information to do this mod!!!

 

[zigaboo]

Hey again Dend. One question, where do you connect the diode? That's the only thing left unclear for me.

 

[FAST6191]

The diode is being used for a voltage drop. To that end between the positive lead going into the GBA and whatever it comes out of (some chargers will have the output in the charger, others may want directly from the battery).

 

[Dend]

Fast6191 is correct, the diode goes between the positive power out of the board and the positive lead of the GBA. And make sure to get the direction of the diode correctly since these are one waay diodes and can only be installed in one direction.

If you have the polarity wrong, dont worry is not going to burn anything out. Its just going to stop power from going to the GBA. just reverse the direction of the diode and u'll be good.

 

[BB13]

i know I'm a little late to the party but I'm about to do this same mod myself. would it be possible to get a schematic. I work better with visuals lol. thanks

 

[Dend]

i know I'm a little late to the party but I'm about to do this same mod myself. would it be possible to get a schematic. I work better with visuals lol. thanks

Hello,
I don't have a schematic handy, I could try to draw one when i have some time.
It's really straight forward though. The hardest part is cutting the shell, oddly enough lol. Here is a picture of a cut back shell:


Here are some pictures pictures of some just recently:

And this one:


I know that this doesn't really show you the connections. But hopefully it gives you some ideas.
I started using JST connectors, perf boards and better USB ports. They turn out much nicer and neater this way.

For myself I am still using the first one that I built, that thing is filled with hot glue inside lol. But it is running strong and i only charge it about 20 to 30 min and it lasts me at least 2 weeks with my playing habits.

I hope this helps.

 

[BB13]

that does help a bit actually, so just to confirm you've got the diode going from the out on the charge board to the in on the gba board?