I Bought a RARE iQue Game Boy Advance - But it Won't Turn On

I Bought a RARE, iQue Game Boy Advance - But It Won't Turn On - I love buying rare game consoles and I love buying broken consoles so I was excited when I found this one. The battery is slightly bulging and very dead but, as you would expect, that isn't the only issue.
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[@rodrigo53]

Have you seen the dkoldies video where they destroy 2 iQues because they thought they were fake. It’s a horrible horrible sight.

[@Tronicsfix]

YES! Agreed...a horrible sight!

[@Fynimus]

Finally someone who is not stupid

[@YaaSalty...0_o]

Thee most dedicated and professional gaming enthusiast 😂 not.

[@AliAli-ju2ke]

Even if it was a fake...like why destroy it? What will that accomplish? Completely stupid and childish behavior

[@Lumilicious]

"Rising Sun - international organized piracy" seems like a legit game you've got there. lmao

[@brendonbone1459]

My copy of lego Bionicle doesn't have the language menu either.

[@frankfuller975]

My thought as well lol

[@djgarf1210]

rising sun was a piracy release group for gba games back in the day so its certainly not an original

[@djgarf1210]

@@brendonbone1459 it has a language selection as its the european version

[@brendonbone1459]

@@djgarf1210 oh damn that's cool

[@mattwillis4562]

What happened with that flatpack lead is that when you accidentally bumped it to the side, the heel dropped down into the trough between the mounting pads. Instead of trying to force it sideways with the dental pick or X-Acto blade, you should have used a micro tweezer and pulled the gull-wing lead straight out and slightly up to lift above the edge of the mounting pad and let it spring back into place. Takes about 5 seconds. I could recommend a set of micro tweezers that I use at work if you're interested.

[@joe_higachi]

He knows what he’s doing 😂

[@TimeShrike]

@@joe_higachi you can always learn more mate. Be curious.

[@Charlies_Factory]

@@joe_higachiNever once did Op say he didnt? Even master plumber thats been working since they were 12 still learns new things regularly.

[@joe_higachi]

@@Charlies_Factory man I bet he never thought to use tweezers before 😅😭

[@brucepreston3927]

I would be interested in a recommendation for a good set of micro tweezers! I use them all the time, but mine are not very good...

[@dave_s_vids]

Nice repair! - Anyone else notice the "Organised Piracy" logo at 11:50? From China you say...

[@jochenwuerfel]

I did ^^

[@SGTSHOOTnMISS]

I typically don't like to backseat, but just for future reference, you don't have to remove the hinges from the SP to remove the screen. Not removing the hinges saves you a bit of time and effort, especially on the brittle shells.

[@notesysnook]

Love your videos! I have repaired my own Game Boy Advanced SP as well as bought, repaired and sold a few others. Watching your expertise and vast knowledge of boards and chips has helped me broaden my own abilities in small electronic repairs.

[@iheartdiscgolf]

Best way to start my Friday. Love watching you work and seeing you fix stuff.

[@Tronicsfix]

Thanks for the comment! So glad you enjoy these!

[@OliverMay1]

"Let's Flux It Up!" (at time 4:37) would be perfect on the next range of Tronixfox merch 😉

[@Amphium]

Fun fact that cartridge seems to be a repo card as that rising sun intro is from a cracking group that used to release roms back in the day.

[@grahambaker7563]

Another entertaining video, Steve! Just love watching you doing these repair videos! Keep up the great work!

[@seguramlk]

Nice piece of history there, man 👏

[@Tronicsfix]

Yeah, I found it interesting

[@fla_vrossi]

Nice video, as always! Just to mention that iQue was an AGS-101 model, not an AGS-001. Anyway, it's great to see this badboy back to life!

[@CrashFan03]

doesn't he say that himself

[@fla_vrossi]

​@@CrashFan03 you're right, i didn't noticed, maybe because the replacement screen is a AGS-001. Sorry!

[@CrashFan03]

@@fla_vrossi looks like a 101 to me, it's probably just dark because of the lighting. You can't exactly swap 001 and 101 screens without modification if memory serves

[@losingmyfavoritegame8752]

All of my nostalgia juices are over-flowing! I grew up with an Advance SP and it surprisingly powers on now without having charged it in like 7 years!

[@rairai5114]

This was so cool! Man, I love when it is all fixed under the microscope!

[@tinystar3010]

Wtf! That was an exacto knife? This really shows how incredibly tiny these components are when zoomed in this close that an exacto knife looks like a thick butter knife on camera. Definitely takes a skilled hand to repair these.

[@LS-ed2mk]

same, I thought he was using a shard of glass at first with how thick it was until he turned it sideways. Perspective is always crazy

[@tevinhair5267]

I think it would be neat to see you buy a bunch of un-labelled Nintendo cartridges that are broken and try to fix them and see if you can turn a profit on the ones you fix, maybe even find a gem in it.

[@abdelali9279]

not only an iQue GBA but also an AGS-101 SP, it is so great to see that working again!

[@WillM.]

I love watching these videos!

[@brianritchie75]

This man is needed in the auto repair industry. Obviously repairing game consoles is much more fun. Huge fan of this channel

[@chrisyboy219]

I dunno, if any part of my car looked like the leg he repaired on that IC, I wouldn't be too happy.

[@mavowar72]

You should have a link in the description to your eBay store. Love the videos

[@MGlBlaze]

I actually didn't know there were more iQue branded consoles (They actually go from the GBA SP to as recently as the 3DS) other than the original iQue Player. So this is a fascinating little bit of trivia. From what I can tell, none of them were particularly well supported so that probably factors in to their obscurity.

[@MizuhoChan]

GBA actually, not just SP.

[@heavyarms55]

There was an N64 variation too!

[@kylekartgaming]

The iQue Player is the N64 variant iirc.

[@tank2045]

Okay I come to this channel to relax while learning something new, but today I'm more stressed than ever watching you fiddle with the pin on that chip. 8^) But seriously, well done getting that GameBoy working...

[@vibaek78]

Would have been epic if the non-labeled cartridge had rickrolled you with a pixelated Rick Astley. Thank you for your videos and for showing us that a lot of your projects are repairable

[@MyRegardsToTheDodo]

Well, it's a pirated copy, the funniest thing is that the pirates seem to have taken a rom dumped by Rising Sun.

[@mtshark7]

Nicely done Steve!

[@Navinrjohnsonspecialpurpose]

Like your "turn the page" shot transition. Clever. Love your channel and how it has grown!

[@XENONEOMORPH1979]

it is a lollypop stick 🤣😉nice vid ste.

[@RocketboyX]

The last time I was this early, everything was still working.

[@Tronicsfix]

Ha, ha, nice!

[@TimeShrike]

11:51 that Rising Sun bit was interesting tho, on a blank cart.

[@lookitskazzy]

it's a bootleg cart that uses a ROM downloaded from the internet. Rising Sun is a warez/scene group that put their intro on the ROM.

[@leftcoastdrifter]

Very cool repair video. ❤

[@richardbriansmith8562]

Awesome Video tronicsfix

[@stuartcollins82]

One if my dream collection consoles is the iQue Dragon SP from the beijing olympics. Still havent seen one for sale.

[@bikkiikun]

You might want to try trickle charging the battery, with very low current to get it over the low voltage limit. Although... it is possible that the protection circuitry on the battery itself might try to prevent that.

[@OQuinn-nv3rz]

Hey I have a question for you do you know how to fix 3d printers I just wanted to know how to fix a boot up screen issue I tried every possible thing to fix it but I haven’t had any luck 🍀 I love your videos you do a great job 👏 that’s why I wanted to ask you

[@briandoss9232]

Nice work!

[@DanielOliveiraViolao]

Great, dude!

[@Kangamoos]

That's so interesting, I hadn't heard of iQue before

[@albertbermudez9269]

Another victory for Tronics fix!!!

[@beefbmx]

Man that xacto knife looks huge at the level wow haha

[@geo2262]

Did you have any issues with the buttons being less responsive when you put it back together? I know the GBA SP has self tapping screws and I ran into the issue of not being able to tighten them as much as needed, leading to the buttons not being as responsive.

[@Tronicsfix]

No, I did not have that problem. Usually if you can get the screws in the same screw tracks as they were originally and you don't overtighten them they're fine.

[@geo2262]

@Tronicsfix Ah okay. I must have mixed up a screw or two from their original locations. Thanks!

[@blastufat]

@@geo2262 a good way to ensure the screws go back into their original thread tracks is to rotate them counterclockise before actually screwing them in! You’ll hear the screw “pop” or set into the original track. Its good for when you are constantly reopening a console with self tapping screws!

[@geo2262]

@blastufat1769 wow that's a really neat trick to keep in mind. Thanks for the insight!

[@edwardmclaughlin719]

lol, works for any screw or screw top from a gas tank to a bottle of milk@@geo2262

[@raymondburris5108]

Love these videos they help pass the time at work.... Perfect thermal paste till I die!!!😂

[@koford]

You where lucky, that leg twisted a little from chips itself, internal connection to the leg could had been broken. But it works, that awesome.

[@TheSkaldenmettrunk]

Love the AGS 101❤

[@ThatGuy68580]

Can you make a soldering video, I watched your ps4 pro disassembly video because mine was making airplane noises and when it got to the part where you used a tweezer to remove the 4-pin power from the connector on the motherboard it broke the cable?

[@joe_higachi]

OL on the fluke meter stands for “out of luck” 😂

[@allfather885]

Was the power LED indicator working there at the end? Supposed to have a green light when the unit is on, but I couldn’t see it. Might have a bad LED.

[@maxdoingtech]

Good job👏

[@JCN14]

Quick question about the repair, does it matter what fuse you use or can you juat use any fuse?

[@TheLaMa57]

I bought a gameboy advance sp off ebay and was having the same issue with the amber light only turning on for a second before turning back off. If you repeatedly plug and unplug the charger eventually it will stay on. I had to charge mine for a few hours before the battery had enough juice to power the system.

[@TheFiftyQuid]

A little Novus 2 plastic polish followed by Novus 1 Plastic Shine will get those surface scratches out easy peasy.

[@jeremypalmer5695]

Fun vid. Next time could you explain what makes them special earlier in the video. I was confused for a good chunk of the video. Love your vids.

[@Duxa_]

"Lets check the bulge" "There is a little bit of a bulge there " Love your videos, some humor there too!

[@AkiraPoland]

Have you considered repairing guitars for the Guitar Hero series? They are no longer produced, but the series has a large fan base, so the price is only going up. Even the repairable ones are quite expensive. Just a suggestion.

[@MrFullbladder]

I have one of these iQue Gameboys. I didn't know they were considered rare because in my years of living in China I've seen hundreds of them at random computer markets.

[@willfultrain6779]

I've still got my original graphite/onyx gba sp, unfortunately I had to do a shell swap because my cat knocked it off my shelf and broke some pieces off the original one.

[@Bo2_mastery]

Hey, I have a question, earlier I drop my ps5 about 2 inches from my gaming setup, will the Liquid Metal inside be ok or will it drip into the gasket or even worse, leak out of the APU

[@MiguelPerez-cn4ee]

My WWF WrestleMania 2000 (N64) from my childhood does not boot up. I have to take it apart and clean it with IPA for it to work for a while. Any idea Tronics?

[@GuffWantsGifts559]

Hello, I got a Nintendo 2ds, the bottom screen is a little dim(faded) when I play games it’s more noticeable on other games then others… what do you think is the problem? Since the 2ds is all the screen for both displays

[@jasonputtock4428]

I would love to see a motherboard from a pc to be fixed by you. that would be awesome

[@madmadworldful]

Steve, you should sandpaper and then polish top cover

[@brisingr14]

Ayyy the Bionicle! Nice!

[@leonardpayne8795]

11:51 Is that a Pirated/Cracked Copy of European Version of Bionicle for Game Boy Advance by Rising Sun?

[@scott5minutes]

10:02 AHHHH!!!! Folicles!

[@Tronicsfix]

Lol

[@smile-tk2zp]

my XSS startup indicator light remains on for about 1 minute and then goes out. The fan stops after running for about 15 seconds. May I ask if this is a problem with the motherboard or SSD?

[@Violaetor]

No one going to point out that the game is a pirate/bootleg cartridge? 11:50 "Rising Sun - International Organized Piracy"

[@mercuraz]

Did you check to see if the battery charged ok? I'm guessing it did but it pays to check

[@jonsmith5087]

Yeaqh sometimes it dont look pretty but best to quit while ur ahead - ive snapped one off messing around to much - and in reality you will hever see it

[@mikegrey5663]

Not related but I have been playing Red Dead 2 on Xbox one for a while but couple weeks ago I went to play it and it was doing where these black (sometimes white) dots would randomly pop up in different spots on the screen and then it does where a black square appears and it gets bigger until it covers the entire screen and all that is visible is the map and when pause it the pause screen is normal any idea how to fix this

[@dylanleach1604]

Hi I have an Alienware laptop with what I believe to be 2 fried smd's do you have any advice on finding the replacement chips?

[@dylanleach1604]

The chips are stamped fkj0041

[@KosmoCrisis]

I'd live to see you fix a PSP Go with a broken slider mechanism so I can do how it's done. 😢

[@sobertillnoon]

Cotton bud? Like, he's your little swabbing buddy?

[@Tronicsfix]

Lol!

[@daniel070487]

that pin benting got me almost an heart attack

[@Canna-Forest2424]

THE BEST EVER!!! MY TEACHER!!!

[@arshedthelegend1097]

Hello there i have gameboy like this but the problem is when I was playing it fall from me it's working fine the screen is good but the back Light isn't working any idea how to fix it.

[@timehunter9467]

I miss my SP, spent hours on it.

[@hawkfeather6802]

9:54 I found out the hard way you can't replace the screen lens on a gba sp ags 001 without messing up the frontlight

[@Houtka86]

Replaceable batteries what a time we used to live in

[@jmdilley02]

How come you didn't show if the charging port works for the battery after getting it to the point where it will power on?

[@justanotheerampart]

Gameboy doesn't work: no one ever: yeeeeey !!!lol

[@GForceGaming-mr1lk]

You just have spare ags 101 screens laying about 😮

[@JB-zd2rk]

Question do you repair phat ps3?

[@tobycrystal]

You should make a shirt that says "I'm here to flux things up".

[@TheMegatron673]

Yeah I had that black version back in the day.

[@ChodaBoyUSA]

Did the original bulging battery take a charge?

[@vietkongcomrade8224]

I have problem with my ps4 controller, it non stop vibrating so how to fix this sir ?

[@eliasskopelitis4886]

Before you ditched the lcd screen,did you see if maybe there was damage on the ribbon cable and was causing these artifacts.Nobody is making 2.9 inch 240x160 lcds anymore.

[@KSW3567]

I have one with a broken speaker where should i get a replacement???

[@Tronicsfix]

Idk...maybe eBay or console5

[@mysticaxolotl8215]

I recommend Retro Games Repair Shop or Retromodding for replacement parts!

[@MrWill7980]

Did you try smashing it? It worked for dk oldies

[@andrewhaydon8212]

Hey tronics! I think I found your website (I hope I did) and sent an email with some questions and I just wanted to make sure that this is your website.

[@AzumiRM]

That DK company is getting exactly what they want: free advertising. Even though it's for the wrong reasons, everyone in the retro gaming community now knows who they are and will likely buy things from them out of curiosity. Clever move DK.

[@JiuJitus1210]

Where else will you hesr, "Actually, I don'twant this to work." ? 😂

[@slapchip5042]

nice when you always have replacement parts

[@thematthewlondon]

i was thinking "oh he should use an exacto knife" then he brings in the exacto knife and it looks like a 2x4.. it's so incredibly disorienting zoomed in

[@thomasandrews9355]

The green led wasn’t working anymore?

[@DanielIanRuizdeMendozaLafont]

Do you do something to prevent dust from getting on the screen when doing a screen replacement?

[@PenguinYayOne]

So how was that iQue branded battery doing at the end? You forgot to conclude that part of the story

[@gqinc1202]

that battery's been drained for so long theres a good chance it will no longer take a charge, and it was measured at 0.0v, when the voltage gets below a certain point on a battery it can't recharge anymore

[@thegees]

nice repair, 'if it works then it aint sketchy' aha

[@striderskorpion]

It looks like that cartridge may have been a bootleg. Rising Sun was GBA piracy group, and it looked like their logo appeared at boot.

[@OCT94]

Replacing the screen with a non ique screen kind of ruins the novelty I mean yeah they are the same thing but when you start replacing major parts can you even still call it an ique?

[@alextoppen]

That pin is a no connect anyway, isn't it?

[@MrDAVE1505]

Is that pin even connected to something?