Any purchase or mod a GBA original with the new lit screen?

wyndcrosser

wyndcrosser

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I was going to do the mod myself, but I found a guy on aliexpress who was selling the handheld modded for $80. Couldn't pass that up and it avoided me cutting into my original GBA. I enjoy my NGP/NGPC, but a lit screen original GBA is perfect, plus the huge catalog of games. Anyone else have one?

Thanks
 
GohanX

GohanX

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No, but I'd like one.

Be careful on Aliexpress though, most of the backlit GBAs I see coming out of china are clones and not modded original systems. Not that the clone is a bad thing, mind you.
 
famicommander

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I stick with the micro due to the significant ghosting on backlit SP screens.
 
wyndcrosser

wyndcrosser

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Famicommander said:
I stick with the micro due to the significant ghosting on backlit SP screens.
Click to expand...

the ghosting is on those GBA's modded with SP screens. The new LCD's that were made "for" the GBA original's work REALLY well. yea, I was curious if it was a clone or not, but it plays games well and even my flash carts, so I can't complain.
 
M

MtothaJ

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Back in the days I had a GBA with the Afterburner screen backlight mod and flash cart from Lik-Sang (anybody still remember them?). Loved that thing and deeply regret selling it. Will need to have a look into this
 
opt2not

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Yeah I absolutely love my back-lit GBA! So comfortable to play on.

I just finished modded one recently, still working on finishing up my second one (have to get a new ribbon adapter since the guy I bought it off sent me an incompatible one).

72kCNWw.jpg


I decided to spend a bit more money on getting the ribbon cable that has the 5-brightness settings, via toggling Select+L. I didn't want to put any janky switches into the case, and I prefer having more dimming options than just the 2-settings that a majority of ribbon adapters out there have.

PVBXLQI.jpg


The mod is pretty easy. Really the toughest part about it is cutting the case tabs inside so the GBA SP LCD fits:

sudQDYn.jpg


Here are the tools I used for that:
SnwWGXc.jpg


Three wires to solder:
F72uA0A.jpg


And voila!
9UlME5w.jpg



*Bonus photo: This is what my second GBA it looks like with the incompatible ribbon adapter. I have the proper one on-route to me now:

leMVuJc.jpg
 
NeoSneth

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I was just looking into parts for doing this, but ultimately decided against it. My DS phat does the job, and has a better screen than the SP that I would have to destroy.
 
wyndcrosser

wyndcrosser

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NeoSneth said:
I was just looking into parts for doing this, but ultimately decided against it. My DS phat does the job, and has a better screen than the SP that I would have to destroy.
Click to expand...

That's the genius part, you don't use the SP screens, you get a brand new one. I think some sites still sell them, but they might become rare now due to everyone buying them up. I'll look around for the urls.
 
L

leonk

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There's a lot of misconception out there when it comes to GBA screen mods. I've done many of them using aftermarket LCD as well as SP. personally, I find the SP screen to be much better than 3rd party. But not only do you have to get the right cable, it has to be modded correctly to get best results (people just use ribbons without modding them to their screen and get ghosting and other artifacts)
 
GohanX

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It's almost impossible to find new SP screens now, even though they were common and cheap just a couple of years ago. Rumor has it the Pink Colored Assholes drained China dry and they never manufactured any more.
 
K

ki_atsushi

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By the way:

Famicommander said:
I stick with the micro due to the significant ghosting on backlit SP screens.
Click to expand...

I don't see the "significant ghosting" that people talk about (you're not the first). And honestly the color saturation and contrast are so much better on the backlit SP screen compared to the micro.
 
Danthor

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No, but I'd -love- to have this mod done to my OG GBA. I put a 101 screen in my NES edition SP, and I love it. But the other GBA is just so damn comfy, comparatively.
 
MidnightAbyss

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I've modded a couple of these. Very easy and very little skill required. The ghosting can be an issue. I had one that was really bad. I adjusted the little pot on the back of the GBA and that made it better but it was still somewhat noticeable. I definitely like the feel of the old GBA over the SP. This gives you the best of both worlds really. Only problem is parts for the mod are expensive.
 
everten

everten

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The mod is pretty easy. I think the hardest part is cutting the case to fit the new screen. I don't find myself playing GBA enough though, need some game recommendations..
 
DNSDies

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I modded my white GBA with a 101 screen.
It's fairly simple. I used a razor blade to carefully shave down the plastic and a sheet of sandpaper to smooth it down.

The hardest part was fitting the ribbon adapter in the case firmly.

also, I'd recommend a glass lens mod. The original plastic ones look muddy.
 
SmokeMonster

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DNSDies said:
also, I'd recommend a glass lens mod. The original plastic ones look muddy.
Click to expand...
Are there any glass lens replacements for the GBA SP? I bought one a few years ago that was advertised as such, but it turned out to just be a stick-on screen protector.

If anyone is on the fence about getting a backlit GBA, I would say to just track down a backlit AGS-101 SP to begin with. I have two, and I bought both for peanuts by just sorting through about a hundred eBay listings until I found 101s by looking at the back label. Many sellers have no idea that the 101 is anything special, and just list them as normal GBA SPs.
 
zaneiken

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ki_atsushi said:
I don't see the "significant ghosting" that people talk about (you're not the first). And honestly the color saturation and contrast are so much better on the backlit SP screen compared to the micro.
Click to expand...

I'm of the opinion that the response time on the Micro is slightly better, and the AGS-101 screen is a little over-saturated.
 
K

ki_atsushi

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zaneiken said:
I'm of the opinion that the response time on the Micro is slightly better, and the AGS-101 screen is a little over-saturated.
Click to expand...

You might be right. I am noticing ghosting on fast action games, but it's not enough to bother me. Still light years better then the old DMG, so I can tolerate it. The micro's screen might have a faster response time, but it still looks washed out to me. And the micro is too small for me to enjoy because I don't have tiny hands.
 
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