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ChipMusic.org / Forums / Tutorials, Mods & How-To's / Apeshit's Gameboy Modding Guides - PS/2 Adapter Tutorial
Revamping this thread. Old tutorials will return soon.
Instructables:
How to Disassemble a Game Boy
How to Backlight a Game Boy
DIY LSDj PS/2 Keyboard Adapter
YouTube:
Fixing Dead Vertical Pixels (Columns)
Last edited by Apeshit (Apr 7, 2015 8:09 pm)
I was wondering if a 25 watt soldering iron would suffice in my gameboy modding endeavors.
I got a problem with one of my DMGs. Powers on and has no video, but sound is clear. It had power issues before (battery contacts) but other than that it been functioning properly.
I completely forgot about this. Won't be updating this for a while.
I was wondering if a 25 watt soldering iron would suffice in my gameboy modding endeavors.
Will be fine for most mods. You really only need more wattage if you need to heat up a lot of solder, such as with the battery contacts, the copper shield, or the headphone jack (though 25 watts should be sufficient) etc...
I got a problem with one of my DMGs. Powers on and has no video, but sound is clear. It had power issues before (battery contacts) but other than that it been functioning properly.
Too many possibilities here. Is it modded or has it been opened?
Last edited by Apeshit (Jun 20, 2012 9:33 pm)
Wow man this is actually some very useful stuff thanks for posting this. I'm curious about the acetone soaked gameboy though..was it sticky or did it solidify? It kinda gives me an idea...lol
My sound doesn't work when I put in the ribbon cable. It is modded (RCA + backlight + biversion). and everything else seem to work fine.
Last edited by relo (Jul 6, 2012 6:39 pm)
A small addition to the point "(Some) buttons don't work". The power supply is generating a negative voltage, about -19V, for the LCD. The lead on the ribbon cable that carries this voltage, is right next to one of the lines that has to do with reading the joypad. If you disconnect or connect the ribbon cable while the power is on, these two may short and permanently destroy one of the button inputs on the CPU. When this happens, left and B stop working at the same time.
My Clearboy has horizontal lines but by maxing out the contrast and the reverting back it usually fixes the problem in one shot, sometimes I have to repeat a few times.
A small addition to the point "(Some) buttons don't work". The power supply is generating a negative voltage, about -19V, for the LCD. The lead on the ribbon cable that carries this voltage, is right next to one of the lines that has to do with reading the joypad. If you disconnect or connect the ribbon cable while the power is on, these two may short and permanently destroy one of the button inputs on the CPU. When this happens, left and B stop working at the same time.
BEWARE! DON'T EVER TAKE THE RIBBON CABLE OUT WITH THE POWER STILL ON!
I have lost 3 or 4 of my DMGs due to doing this accidentally.
Thanks for the tip nitro, I'll add that to the post.
Added half of a DMG wiring guide.
This whole tutorial needs to be fixed up, but as my current projects wrap up I'll have more time to update this.
"If your screen has horizontal lines, you're probably out of luck."
Not really, i pushed as mush foam under the ribbon cable to the right as i could get, just under the screen, between upper layer and pcb side.
catch some heat-resistant material and push with a little bit of pressure the screen down and then just heat up the right side were the ribbon cable goes to the screen with a hair dryer 1cm away from the screen. gently rub up and down und this side. after a while the screen wents black, dont worry, it will be fine again after cooling down.
thats how it worked out for me 
Last edited by Dragoon (Aug 13, 2012 2:12 pm)
"probably"
Not really, i pushed as mush foam under the ribbon cable to the right as i could get, just under the screen, between upper layer and pcb side.
catch some heat-resistant material and push with a little bit of pressure the screen down and then just heat up the right side were the ribbon cable goes to the screen with a hair dryer 1cm away from the screen. gently rub up and down und this side. after a while the screen wents black, dont worry, it will be fine again after cooling down.
thats how it worked out for me
The cables are different material. That method is already common knowledge, it just doesn't usually work.
but there must be an effective method for this too, right?
Just wanted to point out that Magic Erasers (the brand-name ones, not generic versions) tend to work FAR better than using rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone (which I just tried using all three on four different DMGs today) at removing Sharpie and permanent marker.
Apeshit, I know you mentioned that it can remove the texture of the shell, which upon scrubbing each DMG multiple times (including across the blue and red text), only seemed to remove a tiny bit of that 'shine' from the casing. And I was scrubbing HARD. It didn't affect the texture of the shell (just removed some of that shine), nor did it even affect the colored paint on the DMGs at all. Plus, it got rid of some black scuff marks, ground-in discoloration around nicked areas (like if you dropped it on pavement/a dirty jagged surface or something). Some damn kid ground his initials into a PERFECTLY CLEAN DMG with a fine-tipped Sharpie on the bottom. I tried as hard as I could to take it off with both rubbing alcohol and Goo Gone, since I was concerned of your warning. It barely worked. I mean, after being on there for nearly 21 years, what do you expect?
Well, desperate times call for desperate measures, and in this case, the Magic Eraser. Worked like a charm. The abrasion from that dumb ass kid's writing is still slightly visible, but not noticeable at a glance.
Just wanted to point that out. Magic Erasers DO work, but heed Apeshit's warning before even attempting it.
EDIT: If you want to add this info in, I'm cool with that, I can also post up-close photographs of the shells after cleaning and scrubbing them.
Last edited by Monkeymook (Aug 27, 2012 1:39 am)
Just wanted to point out that Magic Erasers (the brand-name ones, not generic versions) tend to work FAR better than using rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone
That's debatable. In my experience, sharpie always just wipes right off with either one of these solutions.
There's no doubt in my mind that Magic Erasers will remove the marks; they're abrasive. You're essentially just sanding the plastic by using them.
I know you mentioned that it can remove the texture of the shell, which upon scrubbing each DMG multiple times (including across the blue and red text), only seemed to remove a tiny bit of that 'shine' from the casing. And I was scrubbing HARD. It didn't affect the texture of the shell (just removed some of that shine), nor did it even affect the colored paint on the DMGs at all.
Magic erasers can, and will take the silkscreen off. This is how I remove it from clear DMGs. I also have a DMG shell here with a patch of missing texture from trying to remove someone's sharpie markings. I can also direct you to a lot of NES game collectors who are kicking themselves for trying to remove sharpy with a magic eraser.
In moderation I'm sure there won't be much, if any noticable damage. Albeit, it sounds like you removed the polish from the plastic.