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Modded Game Boys are downright gorgeous

Listai

Listai

50¢ - "This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,682
Radokat said:
My display and case finally arrived today from China - I love it so much.
Sorry for the mediocre picture, I just want to show it <3



I also did the soldering for the brightness, which was not that complicated for me even though I hardly ever solder things.

Start/Select were not available in red at the time - so I skipped them.
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I just installed mine and it looks great! - the only thing I noticed is there is some smearing artifacts on high contrast backgrounds how does yours look?, I should note that its invisible on games with detailed backgrounds but really obvious in games like SMW and SMB3.
 

MajorBritten

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
1,080
Anyone know of any decent alternatives to the Freckleshack GB Color screen? Bought a glass lens and housing months ago but am fed up of waiting with no idea when or if theyll be back instock. Noticed similar screens on retromodding and funnyplaying, plus of course sellers on aliexpress, anybody bought any of those screens?
 
Quaker

Quaker

Member
Oct 27, 2017
261
MajorBritten said:
Anyone know of any decent alternatives to the Freckleshack GB Color screen? Bought a glass lens and housing months ago but am fed up of waiting with no idea when or if theyll be back instock. Noticed similar screens on retromodding and funnyplaying, plus of course sellers on aliexpress, anybody bought any of those screens?
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I ordered a Chinese screen off AliExpress and have had no problems. It took about 2 weeks to arrive and cost around $40USD. Install was dead simple and required no soldering.

Here's the install videos I used.

The AliExpress heading was "High Light GBC Backlight Back Light LCD Screen Kit For GameBoy Color".
 
singo

singo

Member
Nov 5, 2017
283
Modded my childhood GBA with an IPS screen, a new shell, and buttons :) It's got the same color scheme as my old Atomic Purple GBC. I have to say it looks fantastic.

imgur.com

Gameboy Advance IPSv2 mod

Imgur: The magic of the Internet
imgur.com imgur.com

I didn't insulate the ribbon cable well enough, so I'm going to have to open it up and remedy that. I think I will also put the original rubber under the D-pad, as the repro one is not the best. Pretty pleased with the result, as it's the first time I did something like this :)
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
My journey is finally starting, I managed to snag a AGS 001 SP yesterday on eBay for 30€! I'll get the screen some other month, can't wait :D
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
singo said:
Good luck, and remember to show us when you are done :)
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Thanks and will do! :)

I guess I need to set some money aside over the year because I need:

- The screen obviously
- Potentially a new shell
- Potentially a new battery
- A flash-card would be handy so I'm not juggling my cartridges on the go
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
Listai said:
Yup! It's a great kit - definitely install the brightness control though.
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So it isn't really 100% drop in afterall? I have a disability which pretty much makes me unable to solder and I don't know anyone who can, let alone anyone who even has a solder device. Wasn't there one that was meant to be just, connect and play? :/
 
Listai

Listai

50¢ - "This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,682
Skyfireblaze said:
So it isn't really 100% drop in afterall? I have a disability which pretty much makes me unable to solder and I don't know anyone who can, let alone anyone who even has a solder device. Wasn't there one that was meant to be just, connect and play? :/
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That's this one - don't worry though the brightness controls are optional the initial brightness setting is plenty.
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
Listai said:
That's this one - don't worry though the brightness controls are optional the initial brightness setting is plenty.
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Okay alright! :D I might order it sooner than I thought because the pictures in the other thread have me salivating. If I ever meet someone who can solder I can always do it later I guess. Thinking about it, I'm not sure if right now is a good time to order one as I saw they ship from China right? I worry that my shipment might get in a mess due to the whole Corona Virus situation.
 
Listai

Listai

50¢ - "This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,682
Skyfireblaze said:
Okay alright! :D I might order it sooner than I thought because the pictures in the other thread have me salivating. If I ever meet someone who can solder I can always do it later I guess. Thinking about it, I'm not sure if right now is a good time to order one as I saw they ship from China right? I worry that my shipment might get in a mess due to the whole Corona Virus situation.
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I've been holding off on a few projects myself in the hopes things normalise somewhat.

It's a great screen though - I sold my AGS-101 to pay for it and I have no regrets. That said order a new shell and lens with it otherwise you'll need to cut your original shell and the lens will obscure some of the screen.
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
Listai said:
I've been holding off on a few projects myself in the hopes things normalise somewhat.

It's a great screen though - I sold my AGS-101 to pay for it and I have no regrets. That said order a new shell and lens with it otherwise you'll need to cut your original shell and the lens will obscure some of the screen.
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I see, so it might be better to wait a few months after all. And ah okay, the shell of the GBA SP I scored on eBay looked somewhat beat-up so I want to replace it anyway. Do you have any recommendations as to what to get?
 
Hamchan

Hamchan

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
5,005
Gosh I want to buy a pre-built or built to order one right now but the Analogue Pocket coming out this year means I should probably hold back...
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
It's not modded yet but I still want to post the first step of my journey here! :D

EQq3CmlWoAYLJLG.jpg:orig
 
J.Devesh

J.Devesh

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
479
I have one of them (OG GBA clear cyano with a backlight screen) and I have to admit that it is gorgeous. The only problem is a too rigid d-pad, and I don't know how to fix it!
 
Bend

Bend

Member
Oct 27, 2017
455
J.Devesh said:
I have one of them (OG GBA clear cyano with a backlight screen) and I have to admit that it is gorgeous. The only problem is a too rigid d-pad, and I don't know how to fix it!
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I haven't found a solution yet for the stiff d pad, one of my only complaints about the Advance body and backlit screen combo. Just comes from the components being too tight in the case as far as I can tell
 
J.Devesh

J.Devesh

Banned
Nov 6, 2017
479
Speaking about modded GB... Do you know if there is some places that sell modded GBMicro faceplates?
 
MrWindUpBird

MrWindUpBird

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
3,686
Might be a good a place as any to ask, but has anyone had any luck with PSP mods like this? I picked one up a few days ago and the shell is cracked in some places and the screen is a little bit scratched up and I'd love to replace it.
 
Listai

Listai

50¢ - "This guy are sick"
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,682
Skyfireblaze said:
I see, so it might be better to wait a few months after all. And ah okay, the shell of the GBA SP I scored on eBay looked somewhat beat-up so I want to replace it anyway. Do you have any recommendations as to what to get?
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I think you can pick them up when you buy the screen. That said I went with an AGS001 as I find it much more comfortable than the SP.
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
Listai said:
I think you can pick them up when you buy the screen. That said I went with an AGS001 as I find it much more comfortable than the SP.
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Alright I'll look into it when I order the screen. And that's fair, it's personal preference afterall, I felt right back in 2005 when I held the SP in my hands, it was a very nostalgic feeling.
 
Pargon

Pargon

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,079
This randomly showed up in my YouTube feed:


Looks like a really good option for the original Game Boy: original size, aspect ratio, and resolution; but a modern IPS LCD.
 
Monado Blade

Monado Blade

Member
Oct 25, 2017
68
Kuala Lumpur
Pargon said:
This randomly showed up in my YouTube feed:


Looks like a really good option for the original Game Boy: original size, aspect ratio, and resolution; but a modern IPS LCD.
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This looks soooo good that I was immediately tempted to get one for myself. Buyer beware though. I did some research on it and initial batches of the kit have two of the grey colors in the palette swapped by mistake. To fix this you'll need to cut a trace and solder some wires on the original DMG board which is a huge no-no for me. Apparently later batches will have this fixed so I'm going to wait it out a bit before I get one. Well, it's not like I have a choice because of the coronavirus delaying everything in China anyway.
 
Charizard

Charizard

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,911
Got a modded IPS v2 GBA in the mail. The only issue:

The modder did an offcenter installation but used a centered screen lens lololol. The screen itself looks great though haha
 
Chinner

Chinner

Member
Oct 25, 2017
520
What are the new trends /tech advances for the modding scene in 2020 apart from ips screens?
 
Charizard

Charizard

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,911
Skyfireblaze said:
Ah okay too bad I thought there would be some other resellers.
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There are ones on etsy and stuff who also sell ips GBAs but I sadly haven't found solo ips screens that aren't from questionable sources.

I plan to do some modding of my own when they get back in stock though. But yeah these look surprisingly good.
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
Charizard said:
There are ones on etsy and stuff who also sell ips GBAs but I sadly haven't found solo ips screens that aren't from questionable sources.

I plan to do some modding of my own when they get back in stock though. But yeah these look surprisingly good.
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Hanzo said:
You are looking for the SP IPS right ? It's still available here

http://videogamesnewyork.com/gameboy-advance-sp-ips-lcd-replacement-kit-version-2-gba-sp/
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Yeah that's exactly what I look for, wow, thanks! :D

They ship from the US to Europe right?
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,257
singo said:
I think I saw someone post on Reddit that their AliExpress order had been sent, so maybe just order it from the official Funnyplaying AliExpress store? They are the cheapest way to get the real deal anyways.
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Hmm honestly I've been trying to avoid ordering from China because I fear even if it gets shipped timely I fear it might get tangled up at the customs or somewhere else due to the increasingly worse Corona situation also expanding in Germany.
 
RyuCookingSomeRice

RyuCookingSomeRice

Alt account
Banned
Feb 5, 2020
1,009
I ordered from Ali about two/three weeks ago, all went through fine. I'm in The Netherlands

Corona only gets transmitted through humans, not objects.
 
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