splain
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- Joined
- Mar 18, 2016
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Worthless Game Boy modifications that nobody asked for? Don't mind if I do!
I was marveling at the thickness of the original DMG Game Boy, and wondering if there was some way I could thin it down. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted a slim Game Boy. I realized after waaay too long that Nintendo already did that. Game Boy Pocket. Doh! I tried to forget about the idea, but my brain kept telling me that the existence of the Pocket didn't invalidate my idea, it made it MORE POSSIBLE.
So ok fine, I'll trim down a DMG shell and put a Game Boy Pocket in it. Completely pointless.
If I'm doing this, I might as well backlight it in the process. I also biverted it, not because Pockets benefit very much from biverting, but because I didn't want to leave anything out that the Game Boy modding community could point to.
Easy things:
- De-solder everything from the "sides" of the Pocket and extend them out slightly to reach the edges of the DMG.
-- headphone port
-- link port
-- volume dial
-- contrast dial
-- power switch
- Add an 18650 that conveniently fits in the extra space in the bottom of the shell.
- Rewiring the buttons shouldn't be too hard, I just need to keep everything as thin as possible, since the cartridge slot pretty much determines where the whole board goes, and there's not a lot of room for buttons
Hard things:
- Trim the DMG shell in a way that doesn't look like death. (already failed.)
- Figure out a good way to put the whole thing together in a way that isn't too "final" in case it needs maintenance later
- Figure out where to put extra stuff like the charge board and the 5v reg daughterboard (which has to be relocated because it's in the way of where the buttons have to go.)
Ideas:
- Glue all "side" interfaces (dials and ports) to the front shell, and use wire connectors to non-permanently connect them to the Pocket. This takes up more room but I think it's a good idea.
- Use magnets to hold the two halves together. I've done this on other projects and it works fine.
- Instead of using the Pocket link port, wire up a DMG link port. It should work like a DMG, shouldn't it? I'll have to find pinouts to make this work.
The board sits in a good spot with a cartridge holding it in place. No modification needed there.
I had to carve out a little bit of the plastic where the battery sits, because my trim was just barely too thin for it. I ended up poking through the case in one spot. Phooey! The battery will be removable because I'd rather use a spring than solder directly to it.
The dials. I decided to glue them to the all-the-way-down position and solder other dials to the same contacts. I don't trust myself to de-solder them without ruining them. The headphone port and link port came off ok.
I was hoping this would be a really quick project, but it turns out there's a lot of stuff to mess up, so I have to go slowly and carefully. UUGHHHH. I have an average of about 5 minutes a day to work on this, so it'll be done in a few years. Luckily, the screen backlighting is successfully finished, so if I completely toast the board, Pockets with bad screens are a dime a dozen.
Here's a quick FAQ:
Q: But if the Game Boy Pocket is already that thin, what's the point of making a DMG as thin as a Pocket?
A: Go away
The battery fits after removing the headphone port and grinding down the AC port. That's the bivert chip hanging out the side:
Already soldered connectors for the headphone port and battery. Unfortunately I don't have a 5-wire connector so I'm using a 2 and a 3. Ready to glue in the battery terminals.
It will be just over half as thick. Whenever I think this project is stupid, I just pick up a full-size DMG and marvel at how gigantic it is. You can see in the speaker grill where I carved too deep to fit the battery.
I was marveling at the thickness of the original DMG Game Boy, and wondering if there was some way I could thin it down. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted a slim Game Boy. I realized after waaay too long that Nintendo already did that. Game Boy Pocket. Doh! I tried to forget about the idea, but my brain kept telling me that the existence of the Pocket didn't invalidate my idea, it made it MORE POSSIBLE.
So ok fine, I'll trim down a DMG shell and put a Game Boy Pocket in it. Completely pointless.
If I'm doing this, I might as well backlight it in the process. I also biverted it, not because Pockets benefit very much from biverting, but because I didn't want to leave anything out that the Game Boy modding community could point to.
Easy things:
- De-solder everything from the "sides" of the Pocket and extend them out slightly to reach the edges of the DMG.
-- headphone port
-- link port
-- volume dial
-- contrast dial
-- power switch
- Add an 18650 that conveniently fits in the extra space in the bottom of the shell.
- Rewiring the buttons shouldn't be too hard, I just need to keep everything as thin as possible, since the cartridge slot pretty much determines where the whole board goes, and there's not a lot of room for buttons
Hard things:
- Trim the DMG shell in a way that doesn't look like death. (already failed.)
- Figure out a good way to put the whole thing together in a way that isn't too "final" in case it needs maintenance later
- Figure out where to put extra stuff like the charge board and the 5v reg daughterboard (which has to be relocated because it's in the way of where the buttons have to go.)
Ideas:
- Glue all "side" interfaces (dials and ports) to the front shell, and use wire connectors to non-permanently connect them to the Pocket. This takes up more room but I think it's a good idea.
- Use magnets to hold the two halves together. I've done this on other projects and it works fine.
- Instead of using the Pocket link port, wire up a DMG link port. It should work like a DMG, shouldn't it? I'll have to find pinouts to make this work.
The board sits in a good spot with a cartridge holding it in place. No modification needed there.
I had to carve out a little bit of the plastic where the battery sits, because my trim was just barely too thin for it. I ended up poking through the case in one spot. Phooey! The battery will be removable because I'd rather use a spring than solder directly to it.
The dials. I decided to glue them to the all-the-way-down position and solder other dials to the same contacts. I don't trust myself to de-solder them without ruining them. The headphone port and link port came off ok.
I was hoping this would be a really quick project, but it turns out there's a lot of stuff to mess up, so I have to go slowly and carefully. UUGHHHH. I have an average of about 5 minutes a day to work on this, so it'll be done in a few years. Luckily, the screen backlighting is successfully finished, so if I completely toast the board, Pockets with bad screens are a dime a dozen.
Here's a quick FAQ:
Q: But if the Game Boy Pocket is already that thin, what's the point of making a DMG as thin as a Pocket?
A: Go away
The battery fits after removing the headphone port and grinding down the AC port. That's the bivert chip hanging out the side:
Already soldered connectors for the headphone port and battery. Unfortunately I don't have a 5-wire connector so I'm using a 2 and a 3. Ready to glue in the battery terminals.
It will be just over half as thick. Whenever I think this project is stupid, I just pick up a full-size DMG and marvel at how gigantic it is. You can see in the speaker grill where I carved too deep to fit the battery.