Gameboy Pocket Screen Transplant to DMG (Page 2 of 2)

If anyone wants to know how this project could start under the public's nose, it's not too difficult to connect the dots. http://chipmusic.org/forums/post/112545/#p112545 + the thread on "what will happen to chip music if all the Gameboys are gone/dead/owned/modded?" + http://www.noisechannel.org/5045 + all the interest in custom Arduinoboy boards (both internal and external). You don't need a special source or to be in an email chain, you just need to read in the scene. No one said NeX was working on it, but then again, no one said it wasn't happening at all.

For a while the people at the top of the modding community have known what all makes the Gameboy tick. It shows with stuff like nitro's Game Fighter teardown, and Kitsch's collection of various back PCB's for research. It was only a matter of time before someone who is great at what they do decides to investigate replicating huge components.

NeX is going above and beyond the immediate call for this scene. In X many years, it will probably be easier to just buy newer and enhanced DMG guts than it is to replace blown caps. It will be easier to put the device in the hands of all the kids who post videos of their crappy DAW-produced songs on Youtube if something like an internal Arduinoboy is ever integrated (every once in a while, someone special sticks out and turns into a notably growing artist in their scene). There could be things like an internal cart flasher and cart save storage space, eliminating the need for so much investing of R&D in flash cartridges and readers. Hell, one could even see an Arduino-based touch capacitive screen cover that could basically function like a KP3.

I don't think that there is much else to say besides those of us (including myself) who assumed the Gameboy Pocket screen mod was being held for unsatisfying reasons should promptly shut the hell up, cradle our DMG's and Pockets in separate hands, and wait.

i would always encourage people to try modding, if anyone thinks they can do this mod then they really should, it is a huge difference, especially when using a bivert mod and an RGB backlight. the blue in the backlights doesn't work well on the DMG screens but it is perfect on the pocket ones.

but as an example, i have a small pile of pockets that are useless because of failed backlighting attempts before i got the hang of it. though i did choose pocket gameboys with damaged cases and broken boards, but still i imagine that many people out there assume there is an infinite supply of gameboys and smashing up a few pockets can't hurt.

certainly the info for all kinds of mods has been around for a long time (just take a look at Jeff Frohwein's technical data!) and its great that that info is out, but things like datasheets and serial numbers are still gibberish to people who don't understand electronics, and that has blocked people from attempting mods before they know more, which i think is a good thing. people shouldn't be spoon fed tutorials, they should learn step by step so they know what to do if something goes wrong. you wouldn't like the idea of some kid doing brain surgery based on a tutorial on the internet?!

but if people just want a replacement front board that lets them plug in a pocket screen, i could possibly have that done by the new year depending on if i can source parts like the ZIF connector for the pocket screen, DMG ribbon cable and the LCD voltage regulator.

This is a good idea. The rest of the bells and whistles you mentioned (RGB controller for example) might not appeal to everyone. With this approach, people can add what they want, ...maybe internal arduinoboy will come with v2 or something

and @ 8bitdad, your avatar is soo good

Fixed: As time goes on, there is an ever growing supply of broken gameboys and salvaging parts from broken gameboys to make fully functional devices can't hurt.

ebay + search term "Gameboy broken"

As for the ZIF connector

No, but I'd rather have him do it, then someone who didn't look at a tutorial

I don't typically use too many bells and whistles, but would love an easier way to put a pocket screen on my DMGs. I support you, Nex.

but eventually there will be no gameboys left. i know there are millions of them out there at the moment but i just don't like the human attitude that we should simply consume things and worry about running out later. as soon as the pocket backlight mod was published i noticed more and more gameboy pockets coming up on ebay with broken screens, people thought it would be as easy as doing a DMG.

This is why i wanted to design a direct replacement board that didn't need DMG or Pocket parts to work. it would be great to be able to produce lots of parts for the DMG without having to cannibalize old ones that way people could always put their DMGs back the way they were.

you make a fair point, and to be honest i am not really worried about gameboys becoming extinct, there are a lot of them and they are not so commonly dealt with these days, is just more the attitude that for the sake of slightly higher contrast, tearing apart a bunch of gameboys seems wasteful if it can be done with non original parts.

and you are right manufacturing has its costs too, but then that is a whole other subject, but i get your point.

thanks for the complement i want to get back into being an active member on the forums and put up all the mods i have been doing, just gotta find the time for it.