I lurk quite a bit here and over on r/gameboy. While they both have a love of gameboys in common they're very different communities. It was pretty interesting to see this interaction between the two lol. I don't think a lot of people over on r/gameboy really appreciate the amount technical knowledge that exists here.
1 Apr 13, 2016 6:16 am
Re: "Whatever pleases the anal retentives" - AKA: "Gravity 5uit" Mod (39 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
2 Apr 5, 2016 4:39 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
I don't think I'm quite savy enough to set it up to be controlled by the gamepad just yet haha. I've only been modding gameboys for a little over a month.
3 Apr 5, 2016 4:36 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
The installation instructions have it on the top of the front half of the case opposite of the cartridge slot. You could probably put it just about anywhere it'll fit though.
4 Apr 5, 2016 4:24 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Kitsch sells an RGB backlight that goes with the start/select buttons and a 3 knob controller that let's you change the colors on both. I'd already bought a HHL pink backlight though so I just set it up to match my backlight.
5 Apr 5, 2016 4:12 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
I hadn't gotten my EMS cartridge yet so I'm sort of kicking myself for adding something else that draws extra power but now that they're in there I'm too in love with how they look to get rid of them loll.
6 Apr 5, 2016 4:01 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
I got them from Kitsch's shop. They're RGB, so depending on how you hook them up I think there's something like 7 different color combinations.
7 Apr 5, 2016 3:34 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Well I've got backlit start and select buttons also which probably just makes the whole issue worse. My gameboy also has the older style regulator that only has a single cap instead of three. That may be part of the issue as well.
8 Apr 5, 2016 3:10 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
I already swapped all the caps in the entire gameboy. It was one of the first things I did when I started having this issue. The contrast problems only happen when I'm using the EMS cartridge. It seems to draw more power than the official game cartridges. I've heard of people with backlights having contrast problems with the EMS and the Ever drive cartridges because they use more power. At least that seems to be the consensus.
9 Apr 5, 2016 2:47 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Sorry for the double post. I'm on my phone :-\
10 Apr 5, 2016 2:45 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
I already had it wired board to board. I had it soldered directly to the output of the regulator board. I moved it up to the regulator input and it's actually greatly improved the contrast problem. Certain CPU intensive sections of games that would cause the contrast to flicker horribly are barely noticeable now. The regulator board isn't getting hot anymore either. I may still look into the variasuit mod from Nonfinite because I'd still like to be able to adjust the brightness but this seems to have helped quite a bit. As for batteries, I generally use a DC power supply. I don't run my gameboy off batteries very often.
11 Apr 5, 2016 2:45 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
I already had it wired board to board. I had it soldered directly to the output of the regulator board. I moved it up to the regulator input and it's actually greatly improved the contrast problem. Certain CPU intensive sections of games that would cause the contrast to flicker horribly are barely noticeable now. The regulator board isn't getting hot anymore either. I may still look into the variasuit mod from Nonfinite because I'd still like to be able to adjust the brightness but this seems to have helped quite a bit. As for batteries, I generally use a DC power supply. I don't run my gameboy off batteries very often.
12 Apr 5, 2016 1:45 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Is there any chance of damaging the backlight if I connect it to the regulator input? If not I'd be interested in at least giving it try. Also do you know which solder point is the input? If I'm going to test it out I'd rather connect it there instead of the switch. I'd imagine it's one of the 4 wires running to the regulator and since I already have it connected to regulated output then I wouldn't have to reroute the wires to test it out.
13 Apr 5, 2016 1:15 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Not to jump into the middle of something here lol, but can't you add a decoupling capacitor to where the backlight connects to the regulator to reduce the buzz created by the backlight? Also, I toyed with the idea of connecting the backlight to the batteries but wouldn't the backlight be on all the time unless you install a switch? Forgive me if that's a stupid question, I'm not super knowledgeable when it comes to the gameboy's inner workings.
14 Apr 4, 2016 2:13 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Is it the pot itself that won't last or will it negatively effect the life of the LEDs? I like the idea of using the trim pots and they're fairly cheap, so if the pots go bad I'd be ok with that I guess.
15 Mar 31, 2016 4:17 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
After thinking about it and looking around a bit I think I'm probably just going to take your second bit of advice about trim pots. I think I'll get the Variasuit Mod from Nonfinite and just hook it up to both. It seems pretty small, and discreet. That way I can turn down the brightness while using my EMS cart and turn it back up when I'm using normal carts.
16 Mar 31, 2016 1:06 am
Re: Power problems with an EMS 64m cart, backlight and RGB start/select (41 replies, posted in Nintendo Handhelds)
Ok, thank you. I'll start out with trying to add another resistor to the backlight. I guess I could try to get into contact with Kitsch-Bent or Thursday Customs to see if they have any advice on using resistors with the start/select RGB board.