Gameboy Mods

Game Boys have a large community around them as retro handhelds, but the original hardware has its problems: the screen has no backlight and is hard to see, and the old cartridges could only keep saved games alive with a small built-in battery. Modding these consoles has become a standard practice in the community.

Everything I did here is already well documented, so I was not breaking new ground, but it was a good exercise to do it all myself.

The screen replacement gives stunning visuals compared to the unlit original, and even longer battery life, since the new screen consumes less power. First I had to disassemble the case and take the electronics out. I moved them into a new case, where the new, slightly larger screen meant I had to carve out some space, then I soldered in the power for the backlight and packaged everything back up. The difference is clearly visible on the comparison photo.

The cartridge fix was a simple battery replacement with one twist: instead of using a tabbed battery meant for soldering, I soldered in a battery holder, so next time no soldering is needed, just a battery swap. If you do this while the cartridge is in a running Game Boy Advance (it sticks out, so it works), the saved games are not lost, since the console powers the cartridge, just make sure not to short anything.