Lavar
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I've recently bought a DMG for €10 with the first 2 Super Mario Lands and of course, that deal was too good to be true. This was the first time I bought a DMG, so I looked over a couple of things. The batteries leaked and now I can only play using an adapter. I've tried using nail polish remover and it did remove a good bit, but not everything. Also, both the games and the Game Boy smell terrible. I know this might sound a little weird, but I just can't stand the smell. Any tips on how to remove the smell and battery residue?

Also, I'm going to (try to) mod it. I was thinking of the following:
- LEDx3 Backlight or V³ Triple LED Backlight (heard the LEDx3 is better but harder to install)
- Replace capacitor using the Kitsch-Bent kit
- batt_dmg low battery warning
- Pro Sound mod (either 1/8" or RCA, I don't know which is better, any suggestions?)
- Clear coloured buttons with LED lights in them (link for a tutorial?)
- Bivert/invert (I don't know the difference, invert seems easier)
- Replace the screen protector, mine fell off (don't think there will be problems here)

Which ones should I pick? I've never worked with electronics before. I have some time to spare, so if there are some excercises I can do before using my DMG, feel free to tell me (it took a long time for me to find one, I don't want to ruin it). Soldering doesn't seem too hard, but I could be wrong here.

I'm mainly worried about the first two, for the rest I can find some tutorials on the internet but I just thought I'd ask the forum first.

Zef
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If you're going to do any mods, you might as well do them on a decent GB, pick up a good quality DMG on ebay or something first, inverting/biverting is over-rated, especially since LSDJ can do it with software, I'm not sure what the capacitor does, but it's not necessary. The Battery warning is also unnecessary for normal use, batteries last something like 16 hours I've heard, so just get rechargeables and charge them before then.

The pro-sound is worth it, it doesn't matter which you do, they sound the same it's just a matter of which sort of output you want.

Moriokun
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Milwaukee Area, WI
Zef wrote:

If you're going to do any mods, you might as well do them on a decent GB,

Word, the first mod I did I had the LCD and the sound chip die on me after I finished D:

Keep looking around on craigslist and then swap the best parts from multiple DMGs into one.

Apeshit
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Moriokun wrote:

I had the LCD and the sound chip die on me after I finished D:

There is no sound chip on the DMG, it's all built into the CPU. There's probably just a solder bridge somewhere on the board.

Lavar wrote:

- LEDx3 Backlight or V³ Triple LED Backlight (heard the LEDx3 is better but harder to install)

Why would they be harder to install? Have you compared specifications?

kineticturtle
Offline
Matthew Joseph Payne

If you don't decide to find a new unit, take the whole thing apart, pop the screen protector off. Use a small tool to poke the battery contacts off the back half of the case. Soak all the plastic for a day in warm soapy water, clean with toothbrush, soak again, let air dry.

Use toothbrush to clean gunk off electronics, contact cleaner in jacks ad pots.

De solder the battery contacts from the main board. Soak all the battery contacts in contact cleaner or rubbing alcohol. Put on rubber gloves and hit them with a steel brush.

While it's open, prosound it maybe. Mostly, make music with it for a month before you bother spending any £££ any mods, unless the modding itself is the part you're really into.

Kris k
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BK

If your battery contacts have corrosion and you don't have rubbing alcohol, vinegar also works.

Lavar
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Apeshit wrote:
Lavar wrote:

- LEDx3 Backlight or V³ Triple LED Backlight (heard the LEDx3 is better but harder to install)

Why would they be harder to install? Have you compared specifications?

Because according to nonfinite, you don't have to cut any pieces to install the backlight, it fits perfectly.

Lavar
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kineticturtle wrote:

If you don't decide to find a new unit, take the whole thing apart, pop the screen protector off. Use a small tool to poke the battery contacts off the back half of the case. Soak all the plastic for a day in warm soapy water, clean with toothbrush, soak again, let air dry.

Use toothbrush to clean gunk off electronics, contact cleaner in jacks ad pots.

De solder the battery contacts from the main board. Soak all the battery contacts in contact cleaner or rubbing alcohol. Put on rubber gloves and hit them with a steel brush.

While it's open, prosound it maybe. Mostly, make music with it for a month before you bother spending any £££ any mods, unless the modding itself is the part you're really into.

I'm probably going to clean it that way and then resell it for €10. Also, I don't need to desolder the contacts, they didn't have any residue on them for some strange reason. Also, I have already taken my DMG apart so cleaning it like that won't be too hard. Thanks for the help!

Lavar
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Zef wrote:

If you're going to do any mods, you might as well do them on a decent GB, pick up a good quality DMG on ebay or something first, inverting/biverting is over-rated, especially since LSDJ can do it with software, I'm not sure what the capacitor does, but it's not necessary. The Battery warning is also unnecessary for normal use, batteries last something like 16 hours I've heard, so just get rechargeables and charge them before then.

The pro-sound is worth it, it doesn't matter which you do, they sound the same it's just a matter of which sort of output you want.

It might be overrated, but it comes free with a backlight and only costs 2$ for the chip, so it's inexpensive. Is there any reason I should do it, or is it just a matter of taste?

Apeshit
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Lavar wrote:

Because according to nonfinite, you don't have to cut any pieces to install the backlight, it fits perfectly.

I can safely say that's not the case because I had a DMG with one of those panels come in on a repair. It's not a matter of the panel not fitting, it's a matter of whether or not you want to crush your wires. There's no space between the LCD and the plastic housing for the wires to go unless you cut the plastic. 

The LEDx3 panels have the polarized film and the resistor built in, which eliminates two steps of the installation. They were designed to be beginner friendly.

And here's my opinion on some of the other mods:

- Replace capacitor using the Kitsch-Bent kit

For a first mod, this isn't necessary. It's a great kit, but Nintendo used good capacitors and you might not notice any change in performance after changing them. You'll probably end up ripping out traces if you attempt it without any soldering experience.

- Pro Sound mod (either 1/8" or RCA, I don't know which is better, any suggestions?)

Neither is better, it's a matter of preference. RCA is more difficult to install

- Bivert/invert (I don't know the difference, invert seems easier)

From left to right: Normal, inverted, biverted
http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_ima … BGuide.jpg

Seems like you may be taking on too much for a first project. Generally ambitious first projects either will have crushed wires, won't close properly, cold solder joints, or just won't work.  My best advice is to take it slow, good luck!

pulseflux
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The Central Coast, Australia
Apeshit wrote:
Lavar wrote:

Because according to nonfinite, you don't have to cut any pieces to install the backlight, it fits perfectly.

I can safely say that's not the case because I had a DMG with one of those panels come in on a repair. It's not a matter of the panel not fitting, it's a matter of whether or not you want to crush your wires. There's no space between the LCD and the plastic housing for the wires to go unless you cut the plastic. 

The LEDx3 panels have the polarized film and the resistor built in, which eliminates two steps of the installation. They were designed to be beginner friendly.

So I don't have to cut the plastic for the LEDx3 kit?

Apeshit
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pulseflux wrote:

So I don't have to cut the plastic for the LEDx3 kit?

No, I'm saying you need to cut it for any backlight with that style of mounting.

pulseflux
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The Central Coast, Australia

Really? I didn't cut the plastic at all while installing my V3 backlights. I just got some LEDx3 kits from Kitsch, I'll give it a go installing them the same way and see how that works out.

Lavar
Offline
Apeshit wrote:
Lavar wrote:

Because according to nonfinite, you don't have to cut any pieces to install the backlight, it fits perfectly.

I can safely say that's not the case because I had a DMG with one of those panels come in on a repair. It's not a matter of the panel not fitting, it's a matter of whether or not you want to crush your wires. There's no space between the LCD and the plastic housing for the wires to go unless you cut the plastic. 

The LEDx3 panels have the polarized film and the resistor built in, which eliminates two steps of the installation. They were designed to be beginner friendly.

And here's my opinion on some of the other mods:

- Replace capacitor using the Kitsch-Bent kit

For a first mod, this isn't necessary. It's a great kit, but Nintendo used good capacitors and you might not notice any change in performance after changing them. You'll probably end up ripping out traces if you attempt it without any soldering experience.

- Pro Sound mod (either 1/8" or RCA, I don't know which is better, any suggestions?)

Neither is better, it's a matter of preference. RCA is more difficult to install

- Bivert/invert (I don't know the difference, invert seems easier)

From left to right: Normal, inverted, biverted
http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_ima … BGuide.jpg

Seems like you may be taking on too much for a first project. Generally ambitious first projects either will have crushed wires, won't close properly, cold solder joints, or just won't work.  My best advice is to take it slow, good luck!

Thanks for the tips! I'm probably going to drop the LED lights behind the buttons, the batt_low light and the biverting. For the electronics I'm going to do it step by step, starting with the hardest (resistors) and end with the easiest (backlight). Now, one questions remains: LEDx3 or V³ Triple LED?

Apeshit
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pulseflux wrote:

Really? I didn't cut the plastic at all while installing my V3 backlights. I just got some LEDx3 kits from Kitsch, I'll give it a go installing them the same way and see how that works out.

Like I said, you only "need" to if you don't want to crush your wires. I've already done the tests, so I can save you the trouble and say it will crush the wires, or the LCD won't sit flush on the panel, or both.  There's no reason not to cut the plastic. It takes ten seconds and doesn't affect the stability.

Last edited by Apeshit (Dec 18, 2011 2:45 am)

pulseflux
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The Central Coast, Australia
Apeshit wrote:
pulseflux wrote:

Really? I didn't cut the plastic at all while installing my V3 backlights. I just got some LEDx3 kits from Kitsch, I'll give it a go installing them the same way and see how that works out.

Like I said, you only "need" to if you don't want to crush your wires. I've already done the tests, so I can save you the trouble and say it will crush the wires, or the LCD won't sit flush on the panel, or both.  There's no reason not to cut the plastic. It takes ten seconds and doesn't affect the stability.

Righto, I'll bear that in mind when installing my new ones.