Gameboy Pocket - Adding a Backlight, how and why you should do this!

[@P1983sche]

You make terrific videos. Very interesting topics. If only I knew about this modification when I was a heavy game boy player. This would have saved a lot of frustration with lighting issues. This makes me want to dig out my gameboy and play it again. Thanks for the nostalgia.

[@drackolf]

I have not see this jewel of video and not even suspect that you have work with portable consoles in the past. I'm a portable consoles freak and a video of you and consoles are just great. I'm so glad youtube suggest this video to me. Thanks a lot to you for made it.

[@AutomotivEivind]

Great vid! I had a Gameboy Pocket, and remember how I though the none backlit display stood back from mobile phones for example (in the late 90's). The batteries went out so quick on that thing. - I got a power adaptor for it, and my spot for gaming became this one spot in the living room, under a lamp. Crazy how the Gameboy Color weren't backlit either. They took their time in that aspect.

[@sethbramwell]

I've been watching your videos for a while now and I usually very much enjoy them. I was listening to this one in the background this morning while getting dressed and happened to look down and catch out of the corner of my eye a brain of morbius! Nice prop!

[@lipariangelo]

Your channel is absolutely great, I love it! I've been following you for quite a while. :)

[@bondjovi4595]

Your techniques worked really great. I scraped mine with a credit card, also. I used lighter fluid to get the rest of the adhesive. Rubbing alcohol to clean off all residue and fingerprints. All applied with Q-Tips.

[@10mbc]

This video inspired me. I ordered a AGS-101 Gameboy advance SP from the ebay equivalent in my country. There were only 2 AGS-101 listed and tons of AGS-001. I got it for the equivalent of $36. I'll receive it tomorrow. Regarding the lack of any sort of illumination of the screen was mainly because of the cost. The gameboy was accessible to everybody back in the day and the light was an addition failure point and production cost.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

yet the Sega Gamegear had a backlight screen in 1990... one note about playing gameboy games on a Gameboy advanced the l and R or trigger buttons will make the screen wide or normal gameboy size. So it's still emulation to a degree

[@method9706]

@@sheilaolfieway1885 its not actually emulation, its running totally in gameboy color mode, as theres a switch inside the cartridge slot, but there are a few cpu registers that affect the screen rotation / other stuff, which is what is going on when it widens or not

[@lozdubya]

I miss my "Gameboy Light" it was a Japanese import and really only a pocket with an El backlight and took AA rather than AAA batteries. I have only seen them in gold or silver and all the instructions were in Japanese. My favourite UK computer trade in store CEX were threatened with legal action by Nintendo and had to stop importing them! Keep up the good work, as a musician and computer nerd I find all your channels fantastic.

[@IvoPoblete]

Such a fine channel, David.Because of you I've learned how to properly cleaned my SNES cartridges and the console itself with its yellowed plastic.Woohoo!!

[@icetcold3296]

I really like your place man. Its so clean, wires organized, wall looks painted well and over all your tools and stuffs looks organized.☺

[@1Raphael]

I really like how it was like sooo easy for you to pull out the polarizer and the reflective film that's always the hardest part of this upgrade.... you shouldn't of edited all that hard work.. lol thanks for sharing you always have awesome content.

[@gravecactus]

keep spending most our lives living in an electron's paradise, this guy's cable management and devices are an electron's paradise

[@Paulygon]

I modded my original GBA last year and added a backlight to it. I used the screen of a spare AGS 101 Game Boy Advance SP and used a special ribbon cable, along with a couple solder points to connect the screen. The brightness is amazing and is fun to play at night.

[@travismoss3492]

I have no real interest in doing retro tech stuff myself. However, I really enjoy your videos and the way you present your content.

[@OneUponADime]

Been watching every video in reverse order. How far youve come

[@spookerd]

The most amazing thing about this video is that you got a GB Pocket for $25 in 2014 and the average price (per PriceCharting) is still about $25. Glad to see some prices stabilized.

[@ElisandroDeLeon]

ive been searching for this for a while on youtube. Beautifully explained.

[@lovetheprincess1]

I love this guys videos. I don't even know why. Very personable.

[@moftsoft]

Glad to see people are still making stuff about this!

[@SwankeyMonkey]

David, what I'd really like to see your skills applied to, would be the Dreamcast portable memory VMU backlit. I've seen videos of those who have their VMUs LED backlit, but none of whom post any videos on how to do it. Might make for a really good video from you, showing the way to do it properly and with that we get your inside knowledge about the VMU. Thanks again for your videos.

[@jaykay18]

Nice job with this one. We didn't have backlights way back when for 2 reasons. LED technology was not where it is today, and as such an existing backlight solution would just EAT those batteries alive. Early screen such as the PalmPilots used an electroluminescent backlight, which gave a greenish glow, they worked great especially when the device had a contrast control; you could dial it right in to where it looked best. EL was the least current draw available at the time. Also it appears in the video that the leftmost LED at the bottom seems to be a different shade of white. Is that correct or is it a camera/KZbin compression artifact?

[@The8BitGuy]

jaykay18 - Yeah, I had wondered about that. I remember my palm-pilot as well as other "indiglo" type backlights from the time. Honestly anything would have been preferable than nothing. Like the Palm Pilot, Nintento could have allowed the backlight to be switched on only when needed to conserve battery power. Also keep in mind you could run it from an external power source. They should have had a low-end and high end version of the gameboy so that people who wanted to spend the extra money would get the backlit version.

[@MacTheGoomba]

***** Maybe if you give him some money lol

[@MacTheGoomba]

***** Well, that is what he does for a living. He sells and repairs Apple products.

[@MacTheGoomba]

***** k

[@BenTheTechGuy]

+Macadamia Nut actually he stopped about 3 years ago.

[@raul7293]

You are doing a good job and not making crappy videos.

[@happyogre]

This is a bit late. Just wanted to give you a heads up on the tri-wing screwdrivers. You can pick up the tri-wings from any worthwhile hardware store, Fastenal, Snap-On dealer, MAC tools, Brown Tool and many other aviation supply companies carry them and you can get them quickly from a state side supplier.

[@LazyBunnyKiera]

Secret for the ribbon cables, and people generally don't realize this. There's something i do called "Ghetto Lamination" You use clear packing tape, pre-cut it to the right length to cover the cable, but not the connector ends. Slide it under the cable, and press it down to smooth it out and attach it. Then do the same on the top side. At this point you can leave it, or trim away some of the excess tape, this is the most dangerous part, but a plastic card to protect the screen and an X-Acto knife, and you can trim it. Leaving only a few mm on each side. This will greatly strengthen the ribbon cable if you're often opening your system. If this is a 1 time deal, then it's not really necessary. But i do it to all my film ribbon cables like that, since they really are very fragile (like paper)

[@wolveric0]

perfect way to play old gameboy games and gbc is with a psp, bottons are really confy and the emulation is perfect, gba emulation is maybe 95% so not every game runs perfect on the psp (mainly pseudo 3d gba games). great mod anyways, love your videos!!!

[@bradleysmith2043]

The WB-40!!! Genius! I ruined a couple of GBP screens trying to get the polarizer and reflective backlayer off. Thanks for the tip; made the job so much easier. But really, this mod is a pain, haha.

[@HA7DN]

That brain on the desk is EXTRAMLY COOL!

[@TylerSteven9]

SO EXTRAM

[@Buy-n-large]

Sasszem maybe it's yours

[@HA7DN]

:D

[@alarmingly_good]

Nah

[@TwoMoreFingers]

Great vid! Pretty funny that your shirt fits the room - even with the cables running on the wall and your shirt ;)

[@stickfigure0112]

I was thinking about doing this to one of my gameboys. GBA next cant wait... good video thanks for the warnings

[@AcrOfSpades]

Never knew this was possible! Can't wait for the game boy advance video, since I don't have a pocket!

[@Maniac536]

There was a backlighted game boy pocket made called the Game Boy Light. It has a similar Link Cable port to what ended up in the Game Boy Color. As far as I know it was never released in the US.

[@adrianbelzer5630]

Hey man just want to say keep up the videos, I really enjoy your content!

[@asdfasdf4345artsdfg]

Hey Adric, I discovered a web browser that you may or may not have have heard of, and surely haven't pointed it out in your videos. This is an old project, apparently of NeXT OS origins. It's called 'Omniweb' and is a browser for MacOSX. The current version 5.11.2, which I believe was released in 2012. While it may be around as old as the last Camino release, nothing seems to be outdated on it. In fact, I am sure they are planning to work on it for years to come; I am using it now and nothing on KZbin is distorted or broken. It is definitely full-featured, with built-in pop-up/ad blocking, and runs pretty well. On faster Macs like my PowerMac G5, it does not perform as well as Leopard Webkit, which I use regularly, but it's definitely a good alternative to poor Camino and sluggish TenFourFox. The cool thing about this browser is that the current version is compatible with Tiger or later, so no having to sift through some 'legacy downloads' page for an older, dated version. If you haven't used it before, I would recommend trying it out on an older Mac, preferably a PPC Mac, and see how it compares to TenFourFox and default Safari 4. It would be a good thing to mention in a video in case people are looking for a good alternative browser. -maccollectorZ

[@8Bitrabbitech]

Where are the blue pixels in the upper left corner coming from? Did WD40 or glass cleaner got between the layers?

[@The8BitGuy]

No.. This, unfortunately, was on the screen when I got it from ebay. The first screen I ruined didn't have it, but the second one did. However, it doesn't interfere with any of the actual pixels so I figure it is just an annoyance.

[@8Bitrabbitech]

Ok, thanks I want to do an conversion on my GB advanced and also go for this method. The color screen will look beautiful I think.good luck with your next project.

[@calvincole1752]

The 8-Bit Guy hey the first screen you broke is repairable. The vertical lines are fixable by running a soldering iron along the bottom cable. You have to remove the little foam first.

[@KyleRVeenstra]

8Bitrabbitech that’s what I call screen cancer, it only gets worse.

[@mrgtmodernretrogamingtech6891]

I came here because of your Gameboy Color Backlight Mod, nice videos! Keep it up sir! =D

[@SuperRobertson79]

Hi! You can repair that damaged screen. Did it yesterday. You have to use flux on there where the connectors are, and than flow solder on it to connect the ribbon cable with that contacts again.

[@SwissArmyTin]

If I ever get the chance to get one for really cheap, I'd go for a Gameboy Light. It's essentially a Gameboy Pocket, but with a built-in backlight. It was only released in Japan, and didn't sell as well, so they're rather more expensive nowadays, rivaling the Gameboy Micro's pricerange.

[@sebnagel3097]

I saw your video too late I made the same mistake as you!😂 But now I know how to do it thanks to you👍

[@Demonanimator]

I'm just glad i own a Game boy Light. You can also use a Game boy Pocket display to replace the Game boy Lights or vice versa.

[@monkeywithocd]

I ended up getting a gameboy advance and advance SP from a garage sale for $15 IIRC, and a few months ago I got around to installing the SP screen in the normal advance. Bit of a tight fit, but it works near perfectly. When I eventually get older gameboys I'll probably just leave them non lit just to preserve the authenticity, and also because I suspect I would mess it up like you did to your first one. =P

[@viper3905gt]

i dont like any thing with an "i" in front of it but i do like your videos

[@MP-Fin]

Nice video as usual. Visiting some old ones I haven't seen.

[@n000g]

You can indeed get more contrast with the "bivert" mod. You put in the pol-filter the other way, so the screen gets inverted. Then there's a little IC that again inverts the screen on the electronics' side. The result is as twice inverted screen with more contrast. Look up "bivert" on the web for more details.

[@adrianbiankin]

I've been waiting for the gameboy Advance video

[@rationalraven8956]

Mostly we used those bendy lights that plugged into the data port and was essentially a reading light. For a while for my GameBoy Color I also had a magnifier-light, which was a big magnifying glass that fit over top the gameboy screen and included a light with its own batteries.

[@mojo42]

Hi! A little feedback, maybe someone else already pointed it out but I think there is a strange kind of audio echo resonating un the video (around 5:00). Thanks for your great videos !

[@dlarge6502]

There was a backlit version of the Pocket released in japan. At the time the EL backlight tech used too much power which is also one of the reasons it was never used in the GBA until they stuck a lithium rechargeable into the GBA SP. The main selling point of the GB line was the battery life. I have a game gear and Lynx, both colour backlit screens. 6 hours max from 6 AA's. Using rechargables may have not worked and at the time they used to need charging overnight as they were less tolerant of fast charging. Plus they were too expensive. If you really want the classic look to using a gameboy pocket, then you can pick up a magnifier as they usually have front lights. These were using bulbs, but it would be great to replace those with super bright white LED's.

[@shurdi3]

I'd also add an 18650, and one of those charging circuits that come with a buck/boost converter as well

[@dogeymon83]

I thank you for this video back in the day but the drop in IPS is a much better option now

[@cchewwitup]

what you said at this end of this video made me subscribe

[@Crux161]

The lid wasn't damaged beyond repair. Heating the ribbon cable at the point of failure (dead pixel line) reconnects the circuit so it can function again. There are videos on YT about how to do this (obviously).

[@ChrisMX9]

This fix is only for the original gameboy ... Not the gameboy poket

[@Crux161]

Pretty sure a ribbon cable is a ribbon cable, and thus a trace is either connected or it's not. A broken connection is just that, and often such small connections break from excessive heat/time/wear and tear ie microfractures. Think before you comment next time eh?

[@ChrisMX9]

Crux161 it's not the same connection to the lcd

[@ac-wu7jq]

@@ChrisMX9 yes same my pocket is dead after trying this mod , lines appears and impossible to get back. So i put the backlight on my fat and no problem

[@MuppleUK]

I have one of these gameboy pockets and my main issue with it is that I also have that line going down the centre of my screen, even though I've never opened it up or tried to alter it internally in any way. I've heard that this is a common issue and that it can actually be fixed sometimes by finding a way of keeping the ribbon more securely inside the socket.

[@RealAndres143]

I really enjoy your Videos, David!!!!

[@JohnMazz]

I bought a back light kit for the original GBA in around 2005, but I was always too afraid to take apart my GBA, and I'd never soldered anything before, so I never attempted to install it. =(

[@hhhapz]

I'm really sad you don't have many subs or likes, you deserve more ;(

[@travismoss3492]

Well, he nearly has half a million now.

[@mrc14_2]

Travis Moss 524k now

[@Rocky712_]

1 million now ^^

[@Reman1975]

I really liked my Gameboy pocket, but it suddenly felt like junk after I got a second one and did the backlight mod to it. But in turn, my backlit one suddenly felt like junk after I got another and fitted an IPS screen in it (well, "robbed it of it's motherboard and fitted all new stuff around it" is a more accurate description of what I did. :) ). The IPS screen upgrade is just so much better than the original. The original screen has horendiously motion blur, and even with the backlight and bivert mods they still really show their age. The IPS screen's night and day better. I've currently got 8 GB Pockets, 2 have IPS screens, 5 are backlit, and one is completely original. Both the IPS one's have the "Alberto Gil Tesa" USB-C Charging Kits and 1000mAh Li-Po's fitted (A great mod to go with the power hungry screen), 3 of the backlit one's have Li-Po mods as well, using generic TP4056 charging module. Once the USB socket's removed it fits almost perfectly in the top shell between the D pad and B button to shine it's charge status LED's through the thin plastic of the top shell (It looks especially good on a transparent blue case I've got on one). 2 of those have the bivert mod, One of the others has a drop in Li-Po and charger kit that all fits in the (Modified) battery compartment, and the last backlit and the totally standard one have the normal 2x AAA arrangement......... As you can see, I have a bit of a thing for Gameboy Pockets. :D The trouble is, my standard one, and all the backlit ones don't get used anymore. I cleaned them right up with isopropyl alcohol, removed the batteries, and they're all now in Ziploc bags with a few silica gel sachets in each. Once you've experienced the crystal clear sharpness of an IPS screen on one of these, the stock screen (Backlit or not) feels barely fit for purpose ! All I can say is, if you still get that happy nostalgic feeling from playing on your stock or backlit stock Gameboy Pocket, don't even LOOK at one kitted out with an IPS screen, let alone play on it if offered. It'll ruin the whole original experience for you ! It would be like continuing to bang your clothes against a rock in the river to wash them while knowing full well that automatic and reasonably affordable cloths washing machines exist ! :D

[@Minecraft101ToonLink]

If you had a Super Nintendo, you could get a Super GameBoy off of eBay, I dunno how much they sell for these days, but that is another option if you wanna avoid having to do any sort of modifications.

[@mini-_]

What are the blue spots on the top left of the screen?

[@AustinBryant718]

probably some damage hat happened to the Gameboy with the previous owner. most likely the reason why he got it dirt cheap.

[@Chriva]

Damage caused by the wd40 more than likely.

[@gavincurtis]

Bad seal between the glass panels, the LCD fluid is leaking out. Air pockets will have the same color as the activated pixels.

[@Boyo_5978]

My guess is left over adhesive

[@Mobin92]

The scene term for that is "screen cancer"... it's just some damage in the crystals.

[@gentuxable]

As a kid I never wanted a GameBoy (Classic, Pocket, Color, Advanced) because it lacked backlighting :) My brother had a Game Gear but I only played at home, with the AC adaptor because it uses so many batteries. And now we want our phones to have more runtime.

[@estebann]

great video! waiting for the GBA one since I still have one that would like to mod

[@TheMinecrafterBoyzz]

IM YOUR 14,400th sub bro!

[@natehal2012]

I was never willing to deal with a lack of backlight. My first Game Boy was the Advance SP even though I'm old enough to have owned the original when it was still the newest.

[@Kmegatores]

I really like your channel, congratulation!

[@JacobHollis96]

I got a Gameboy advance sp back in 2005 and I still have it. It's backlit as well and to anyone who may ask: No. It's not for sale and nor are the cartridges.

[@AgentKilo]

There is a Gameboy Light that was released in Japan only. it's basically what you built here: a Gameboy pocket with a backlight​ (or frontlight, I'm not sure).

[@xdantox]

Cool videos man! Well done.

[@asmretro]

Fantastic tutorial! May we link to this at our shop? By the way, at 2:31 you mention not being able to remove the ribbon cable. Some people choose to desolder the cable at the bottom for the reflective film removable, and then resolder it afterwards.

[@trulyinfamous]

I remember playing my ganeboy advance and color. I also remember playing on one of the early models of the DS. I am an early 2000's kid but thankfully I was exposed to vintage game systems.

[@buttsbutts7858]

Funny thing is there was a GB Pocket with a backlight, the "Gameboy Light". It was only released in Japan though.

[@isaacsteen4828]

i actually sub'd for the Nintendo stuff nice job 👍

[@Msfili]

i love watching your vids any topic even ones i didnt know i was interested in

[@P1983sche]

I like how you can see the fart cloud animations pretty clearly with the new screen.

[@tinazill4870]

Make a Video abaut how usable PowerPC is in 2014!

[@robotbanana4261]

I really want to get a game boy pocket now just to back light it and play the classic games.

[@Rongaryen]

You effectively modded a US Gameboy Pocket and turned it into a Gameboy Light, which was exclusive in Japan. Which is pretty cool.

[@twistedyogert]

Could you somehow sandwich some white LED lights between the outer shell and the screen?

[@hermie5556]

You can also use a super gameboy with a snes to play on a tv

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Yes, but that's not the purpose of the mod.

[@ViperJay5]

Lucas was just mentioning one of the other alternatives like David did near the end. One and only problem is that the Super Gameboy will not support Gameboy Color only games, they will fit and boot but then upon the title screen appearing, it will tell you it doesn't work and you need to put the game in a Gameboy color in order for it to work.

[@AmysFantasies]

There's also the Game Boy Player add-on for the GameCube of course, which is effectively a Game Boy Advance and so has the same excellent compatibility. Though you do need a boot disc for that and many eBay listings you see for the Game Boy Player don't include it. Worth mentioning too that certain original Game Boy games have enhancements that ONLY work on the Super Game Boy, nothing else (including the Game Boy Player) will get you those, so it's nice to have a Super Game Boy for those.

[@TheBestFanGirlEver]

My original games (I have Tetris, space invaders, and mortal combat) seem to work just fine on the gameboy sp which I believe has a backlight.

[@TheBestFanGirlEver]

Whoops... Didn't wait til the end of the visor before commenting. My bad.

[@SPCmuncie]

There is another alternative, the Gameboy Light. although you will most likely need to have it imported from Japan, as it was a Japanese exclusive.

[@DrFearCo]

Its crazy we didn't get a backlight until the Anvanced SP

[@imalsoTOMATO]

MamboPython You're half right on that one. Japan got the Gameboy Light which had a electroluminescent backlight, since LED didn't exactly exist back then

[@DrFearCo]

Interesting... I didn't know that. I always had one of those goofy attachable lights

[@imalsoTOMATO]

MamboPython Oh, yeah! The one's with the magnifier. I had one too.

[@AfterDark33]

MamboPython Actually the original SP only had a front light. it really sucks.

[@stolz_ar]

Please do the GBA backlight video! If you do, I may do the upgrade with my own GBA if it's not too complicated.

[@vb7200]

Good project to do if you want to do the work yourself, but you can just buy a GameBoy Light if you'd rather have the Pocket form factor. Nintendo started making them right before the Color was released, so they didn't think it would do well in America or anywhere else, so kept it to Japan, so not too many of them were made. They can be a bit pricey, just the thing itself is about $50, but every once in a while they might be a little less/more.

[@jimday666]

Is there a make video on the sci-fi brain jar?

[@TechHowden]

It’s for a different channel

[@MRSTU1210]

would like to see a neo geo pocket colour back light mod

[@MegaGreenman28]

Another alternative is the Gameboy Light. A bit expensive but real nice. All it is is a Gameboy Pocket Modded by Nintendo to have a backlit screen. Even though it was only released in Japan it will play western games because gameboys are not region locked.

[@aquadoesnothing]

There is a Gameboy with a preinstalled Backlight, but those systems are pretty rare.

[@JakeStars]

the first system i got is a gameboy advance sp! it still works!

[@TimeLemur6]

I've still got my SP! :D Time to dig that out and see if the battery still works.

[@HammerGalladeBro]

This is really nice, I still have one and might do it. But I still have 2 questions: 1. How much time the batteries last with this? 2. Can this be done in an original Game Boy and Game Boy Color?

[@R4dm1n]

Well, I can answer your second question. Yes. It is possible, but you might need other Backlight Kits.

[@nathanmazz3965]

there is an old game boy only in Japan called the game boy light it's a Nintendo product so if you don't like modding or something about the sp makes you made get a game boy light

[@TechnologySpotlight]

The GameBoy lights are quite rare.

[@NiGHTSnoob]

+Technology Spotlight They also eat batteries in only a few hours. The light was pretty inefficient compared to modern ones.

[@TechnologySpotlight]

NiGHTSnoob Yeah...

[@nathanmazz3965]

I've never had a problem with my game boy light. Actually it gets the same amount of battery or more as the original game boy

[@NiGHTSnoob]

+nathan mazz The light? Are you sure you're not referring to the pocket? The light was a Japan only update to the Pocket and while it still had a leg up on the Game Gear and Lynx it was known for draining it's batteries faster than any other Nintendo handheld.

[@mattcrowell5875]

I find this idea to be interesting, but there's some issues here: - Screen is risky and expensive to install - Isn't so well presented at the end You could also get a Game Boy Light off of eBay as well. Btw: Actually the original DS and DS Lite had GBA support and there also was the Game Boy Micro.

[@franciscop6295]

can you try this method with a front lit screen? i see online a lot of people recommend using a front lit screen as it is easier

[@michaelmatar5807]

What are the blue spots on the left side and left top corner

[@MikeDijital]

You can also load custom firmware to a sony PSP and load a gameboy emulator

[@samuelstinson3274]

David, I hope you revisit this project!

[@allluckyseven]

Very cool video, thanks. So does the GBA also have a reflective layer? (by that i mean the original gba, of course.)

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

The Gamegear by sega had a backlit screen AND COLOR when it came out. It took Nintendo till the gameboy SP to have back lighting from the factory..

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

@Mudkip909 92 america 90 Japan for gamegear

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

@Mudkip909 was the gameboy light external or internal?

[@POKEGAMERZ-uy5lv]

There is also the GameBoy Light which was released in 1998.

[@ahmedp800]

I LOVE Gameboys

[@Ebiru2387]

So what are your other youtube channels? i would love to watchem