Hardware Does the original GBA scratch carts as badly as this?

[Trash_Bandatcoot]

Let me explain, for as stupid as this thread can be.

I bought an original Game Boy Advance at a second hand shop about a month ago. Before this I've owned only 2 identical GBA SP's, the only difference being that one is the better 101 model with a backlit screen. It was a little dirty and needed some inside cleanup, but other than that still in really good nick from being kept in a pouch for most of its life. However, after playing for a while now, I started to notice how scratched up my carts have gotten from the back, all in identical spots at the parts where there's a small piece of glossy plastic. All my other carts have gotten "plastic smears" on them from just ejecting them a few times, and my copy of Super Mario Advance 4 has gotten pretty bad. I've never experienced this with the SP models before. I tried cleaning and carefully sanding away a few milimeters of the glossy bits at the cartridge insert of the console itself (thinking that there's just a small bit of malformed plastic that I can't feel with my finger), but it didn't really fix it either.

So, my question is: Do GBA carts scratch quicker from inserting/ejecting on the original GBA compared to the SP, and am I the only one that has this issue?

 

[hippy dave]

That's not a regular thing, no. Maybe you can adjust/fix the shell, if not maybe a replacement shell would help

 

[husky3g]

The SP has a screw just behind the cart slot. That's what causes the issue. Typically from aftermarket screws/shells, originals are usually pretty flush. You can try tightening the screw a bit or you can replace it with another to reduce the length.

 

[Trash_Bandatcoot]

The SP has a screw just behind the cart slot. That's what causes the issue. Typically from aftermarket screws/shells, originals are usually pretty flush. You can try tightening the screw a bit or you can replace it with another to reduce the length.

This is not a problem with my SP, it's with my regular GBA.

That's not a regular thing, no. Maybe you can adjust/fix the shell, if not maybe a replacement shell would help

Are there some plastic polishing products out there? I don't really mind if it eats away a small layer at the cartridge port.

 

[Fel]

No, original GBAs never do that, so there must be some kind of an issue with it. My carts are all perfectly fine.