Lushbob
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Hi!
I'm really, really new to the whole idea of chip music and LSDJ and everything, so please excuse any stupid mistakes that I'm sure to make.
I recently bought a USB 64M smart card from kitsch-bent, with LSDJ on it. It arrived this morning, so I slotted it into my MGB and started messing around and starting some music. As soon as I pressed start to trigger the playback, the screen of my Gameboy faded almost immediately, and the power LED got very faint, almost to the point of it seeming to be switched off. I tried the cartridge in my other MGB, a CBG and two DMGs, with identical results. I tried replacing the batteries of the Gameboys, and it appeared to fix the problem. However, after about 30 seconds of the screen looking fine while playback was triggered, it suddenly went faint again.
The only conclusion I can come to is that the cartridge is draining the batteries of the Gameboy extremely quickly. I had read about the 32M USB smart card (I think), running down battery, but I thought that was referring to the battery in the cartridge, not that of the Gameboy. And I wouldn't have thought it would be this drastic - draining batteries in under a minute. Either way, I thought that had been fixed with the 64M smart card.
Really not sure what's the cause of this problem, or if anyone can help me with a solution. I'm hoping it's not some silly mistake that I've made. It's just a bit annoying that I can't seem to use LSDJ on any of my Gameboys without spending a fortune on batteries.
Hopefully one of you can help me, and I look forward to your responses. Thanks!

Last edited by Lushbob (Nov 29, 2012 4:14 pm)

kitsch
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matt's mind

can you check a couple things on the cart for me?

-- look up into the cartridge case from the bottom.  does the circuit board look perfectly centered?  if not pins are most likely shorting.  if/when you open up the case to fix it, the circuit is held down with double-sided tape (to prevent slippage oddly), so it needs to be peeled up very gently.  just keep that in mind...  tape.

-- don't plug the usb cable in when the cart is in the gameboy.  just in case you're doing this, it seems to be a compulsion in a lot of people tongue

-- make sure the cartridge's internal battery is seated properly.  it may have popped out.  not sure why this would be a problem tbh, it would just impact saving, but just in case its shorting something.

-- do you have an ac adapter you can try and see if everything fades then as well? 

-- a contrast change during playback isn't abnormal.  is it a drastic change, or just something you notice happening?

-- if switching out the batteries has helped, do you mean it seems to have solved the issue other than when playback is happening or that they appear to help for a little while, then the whole unit fades away like before?

-- just as a general rule, pockets battery life is going to be less when doing the exact same thing on one of the other two you mentioned.  cartridge aside.  this has been my experience with them, i have no fact to base this on.  apart from differences in battery types, but i don't know the system's overall draw....

ok, that's a long list smile

Lushbob
Offline

Thanks for your quick reply!
1) The circuit board looks pretty much perfectly centred to me. I can't seem to open the cartridge - once the screw is out, does it open like a normal game cartridge (slide it down, then take it off)?
2) I haven't tried plugging in the cable yet, certainly not while the Gameboy is on, so it can't be that.
3) Again, I can't open the cartridge so I can't see that yet tongue
4) Unfortunately no, I don't have an AC adapter, so I can't try that either.
5) This is an extremely drastic change - the screen fades to almost entirely blank.
6) Well, the problem only occurs when playback is triggered. When I replace the batteries, the screen and LED are fine even while playback is on. But after about 30 seconds or a minute, the screen and LED fade while playback is on. The screen and LED are perfectly normal when LSDJ is switched on, without playback. This is true with old and new batteries.
7) I thought that might have been the problem, but as I tested it on DMGs and a CGB with the same result, I'm thinking it probably isn't something wrong with the Gameboy itself.

Last edited by Lushbob (Nov 29, 2012 4:38 pm)

nitro2k01
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Sweeeeeeden

Avoid batteries marked "heavy duty". (Misleading name...) Use alkaline type batteries. Or better yet, buy Ni-MH rechargeable ones and a charger. You won't regret it.

fluxer
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nitro2k01 wrote:

Or better yet, buy Ni-MH rechargeable ones and a charger. You won't regret it.

This this this this

Lushbob
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Okay, I'll get myself some rechargeable batteries and use those, see if it fixes the problem. Thanks!
Just curious, as it seems it's not a console problem, and it doesn't look like it's a cartridge problem, does this happen to anyone else? Or do you just all continuously have your Gameboy plugged in with an AC adapter/use rechargeable batteries?

DotMatrix
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DC
fluxer wrote:
nitro2k01 wrote:

Or better yet, buy Ni-MH rechargeable ones and a charger. You won't regret it.

This this this this

THIISS!! THHHHIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

Catf1sh
Offline
my mom's basement
DotMatrix wrote:
fluxer wrote:

This this this this

THIISS!! THHHHIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

What they said.

lastfuture
Offline
Freiburg, Germany

What are you guys' experiences with those eneloop batteries? I hear they're NiMH with the benefit that they don't lose a lot of power by themselves when the device is powered off. Are they better than regular rechargeable NiMHs then?

Also there are different capacities available both with eneloop and "regular" rechargeable Ni-MH batteries. I'm assuming higher mAh means I can actually power the Game Boy for longer with them, correct?

pivot.
Offline
Andromeda's Black Hole

Eneloop XX series AAA batteries. That is all.