Carthik
Offline

Hi ChipMusic,

I'm looking for a lighting option for my GBC.

Based on my understanding there is the AGS001 SP Frontlight mod, the Kitsch Bent front light, and the Kitsch Bent frontlight adhered to the LCD with LOCA.

I have an AGS101 and to be honest nothing seems to provide a quality looking screen on the GBC, however I have decided I need to use a GBC and need to figure out what the best method is for lighting the screen internally.

Has there been any progress in GBC screen lighting?

Are there any other options I'm missing?

Cheers,

Carthik

Last edited by Carthik (May 13, 2015 12:15 pm)

katsumbhong
Offline
Taichung, Taiwan

There's a method to rotate the front light panel 90 degrees that looks really nice. If you have an AGS-001 GBA SP and your GBC, I suggest contacting Thursday Customs and having Justin do the mod for you.

jmc1987
Offline
Washington, PA

I'm going to try the Kitsch frontlight once I get some time. As noted, it doesn't seem like any method is perfect, so I'm not bothering with the LOCA.

What I'm hoping is that installing a trimpot and dimming the light considerably will be a suitable fix for the washed-out look. I only use my GBC for LSDJ, so as long as it's legible, I'll be happy.

I'll report back with my findings once I get it done.

Run n Alch
Offline

LOCA is highly recommended as it seems to have the best results when done well.

vucifer
Offline

LOCA +1. also, dont loca the bumpy side on the kitsch-bent kits.

Koji-Kendo
Offline

There are several methods to frontlight mod a gbc.:

1 - SP (standard/vertical light panel)
2 - SP Corrected (horizontal/cut light panel)
3 - Kitsch-bent (w/ or w/o loca, but highly recommended with)
4 - Composite SP + Kitsch (SP horizontal/cut light panel + kitsch led strip)
(5 - PDA + LED Strip (pda backlight panel + multiple led strip from gb backlight or kitsch-bent gbc light panel) pics coming soon)

The top 2 are the clearest. 3 and 4 are the brightest and 3 is the most versatile. 5 was the most fun. :-)
(In my opinion of course...)

Here are some comparison pics I did not long ago of 1-4.

(complete post: http://imgur.com/a/6avVz#0)

Tried a couple other methods besides these long ago, but I didnt feel they were worth further hassle.

Last edited by Koji-Kendo (May 18, 2015 7:37 am)

Carthik
Offline

Thanks for the very informative post vucifer.

Can you elaborate on the fourth one?

I will be using my GBC for it's intended use, so I value image quality.

I like how it keeps the contrast. I don't think I'd mind uneven lighting if I can retain image quality. Plus, I will be installing a pot and a switch so I can adjust the lighting.

Why are the Kitsch Bent panels washing out the screens? Is it because the light source is too bright? Is the screen is not opotically clear? Or is it because of the way the light reflects off the screen? Has anyone figured this out? If it's simply because the light source is too bright, this can be solved by resistors or a pot, but that seems too easy.

I would really like to figure out a way to make the Kitsch Bent front lights acceptable for use, as it seems to be the easiest route to take, however if the problem lies within the actual glass/plastic screen of the light then I guess there's nothing that can be done.

Another annoyance of mine with the Kitsch Bent front light is the color of the LED, it seems to be blue-ish. I'd prefer a pure white. Does anyone know what type of LEDs the Kitsch Bent panel uses? I don't see why I wouldn't be able to change them out if I decide to go this route.

To me so far it seems that the best method to retain the GBC's image quality is just to have a/some LED(s) mounted inside the shell. I know it won't be uniform, but I think it'll keep the contrast. Has anyone done this? Any pics?


Cheers,

Koji-Kendo
Offline
Carthik wrote:

Thanks for the very informative post vucifer.

Can you elaborate on the fourth one?

I will be using my GBC for it's intended use, so I value image quality.

I like how it keeps the contrast. I don't think I'd mind uneven lighting if I can retain image quality. Plus, I will be installing a pot and a switch so I can adjust the lighting.

Why are the Kitsch Bent panels washing out the screens? Is it because the light source is too bright? Is the screen is not opotically clear? Or is it because of the way the light reflects off the screen? Has anyone figured this out? If it's simply because the light source is too bright, this can be solved by resistors or a pot, but that seems too easy.

I would really like to figure out a way to make the Kitsch Bent front lights acceptable for use, as it seems to be the easiest route to take, however if the problem lies within the actual glass/plastic screen of the light then I guess there's nothing that can be done.

Another annoyance of mine with the Kitsch Bent front light is the color of the LED, it seems to be blue-ish. I'd prefer a pure white. Does anyone know what type of LEDs the Kitsch Bent panel uses? I don't see why I wouldn't be able to change them out if I decide to go this route.

To me so far it seems that the best method to retain the GBC's image quality is just to have a/some LED(s) mounted inside the shell. I know it won't be uniform, but I think it'll keep the contrast. Has anyone done this? Any pics?


Cheers,

No problem.
The 4th one (sp and kitsch composite) is an SP frontlight panel (w/ perspex bar) paired with a Kitsch-bent 4-led strip.
(strip only, no light panel)

I used loca to bond the sp light panel to the lcd screen and attached the k/b led strip (w/ the sp perspex bar) to the bottom of the sp light panel using the reflective tape from the k/b light panel.

Those black marks is some loca which got on the light panel during installation, so it needs to be cleaned off.
The tearing on the bottom, left corner is from too much pressure on light panel / lcd, which I now know how to avoid.

In my opinion, the Kitsch-bent light panels only LOOK so washed out in photos.
When you have a properly done one right in front of you, you get to see how clear, nice and bright it truly is.
I like installing trim pots in mine, but I usually keep it on full brightness cause I feel it looks the best, unless I'm playing in complete darkness, which is rare.

It also may seem bluish with the crappy loca.
I don't seem to have that problem with Osaka brand.

Just sticking some leds in a gbc would look pretty much like this, but crappier.:

That's with a light panel from a PDA / palm pilot.
I was screwing around last week with it, but pretty much scrapped the leds since other adjustments didn't do much to improve it.

Last edited by Koji-Kendo (May 18, 2015 6:30 am)

pselodux
Offline
Melbourne

^ that kinda looks cool though, in a way big_smile