Nintendo Gameboy DMG-01 Restoration and Mods

I recently got an original Gameboy as a bonus with an eBay haul. In this video, I build a USB power cable for it, add a backlight and bivert mod to the screen and retrobright the case to its original color.
Here's the backlight/bivert tutorial I used (German, but the connection pictures are nicely color coded): circuit-board....
The music used for the soldering/timelapse portions of the video is called "8-Bit wannabe" and was kindly provided by Focus 10 aka Øystein Hansen. Thank you! Check out more of his work here: / user-993847645
"8-bit wannabe" is now also available as a single from CDBaby/iTunes/Spotify: store.cdbaby.c...
Edit: Just noticed that I left the intro text unedited. I'm just going to leave it like that for giggles... Shame on me... ;)
If you find this video helpful and/or entertaining please like, share, subscribe and/or consider a donation!
TWITTER: / thejanbeta
PATREON: / janbeta
WEBSITE: www.janbeta.net
TWITCH: / thejanbeta
Equipment and tools I use are listed here: kit.co/janbeta
Thanks!
#JanBeta #Nintendo #GameBoy

[@JanBeta]

Ha! Forgot to edit the intro text. *facepalm* I'm just going to leave it like that for giggles. Sorry for that. ;)

[@ToTheGAMES]

I loved it, it's so you, SO YOU!!!

[@fkthewhat]

I loved it too. Keep it for the next videos haha

[@waltherstolzing9719]

Well, it's *some* video, though; *some* video!

[@MindFlareRetro]

Love it! I'm so self-critical I would have deleted the video and re-uploaded with "corrections." You inspire me to embrace my mistakes. #JanBetaWasHere You're awesome - don't change!

[@alejandrooliver7197]

sorry to be so offtopic but does anyone know a method to log back into an Instagram account? I was dumb lost my login password. I would love any tricks you can offer me.

[@SaintKaede]

Ich würde meinen alten Gameboy mit einem Licht lieben. Ich habe zu viel Angst, irgendetwas durcheinander zu bringen. Ich wusste gar nicht, dass die Leute es versucht hatten, aber es sieht beängstigend aus. Schön zu sehen, dass jemand versucht. Cool to see someone doing other retro hardware restoration, keep it up Jan!

[@Richardddoobies]

I recently restored an original Gameboy... by putting new batteries in it. Still works fine!

[@BrassicGamer]

Fair play uploading this when you obviously weren't 100% happy with the outcome. I wouldn't have bothered, and would have felt like I'd wasted my time (and a Game Boy!). But I learned a lot from this. The case looks fantastic, and I've been wanting to retr0brite mine for ages so I'm definitely going to do it. Ahhh the nostalgia! I like the backlight idea - I think I'll do that too.

[@PureAudioTones]

Super video Jan because not all attempts are always successful and you shared what can go wrong. Very valuable in my opinion. Thank you. Looking forward to video about fixing.

[@BedfordLevelExperiment]

Some Video! Some VIDEO!!!

[@d-anger-noodle]

That case is SO CLEAN! It looks like you just opened a brand new Gameboy ❤❤❤❤

[@matthewschlotterbeck8819]

I loved this video. Especially because of the USB cable used. That will be very helpful considering my family already burns through batteries like crazy for when playing on wireless controllers for main consoles. So doing that for the Gameboy will definitely come in handy. Would love to try that mod myself sometime soon.

[@vladeb1104]

When i've read the title of your video i've said - whaaaatt?? game boy?? what you can do with a just simple game boy???borrriinngg... but then i've realized it is one of your top video - very interesting stuff - thanks a lot!!

[@SasaPaunkovic-camplus2]

Watching your videos is like meditation. Thanks

[@SuperJet_Spade]

I had the successor, the GameBoy Color, when I was 2 back in 1999. It was one of the things that sparked my interest in chiptune music in the present time. By the way, the DMG-CPU B is also the soundchip. 2 pulse wave channels, a wavetable channel, and a noise channel, all making 4 channels in total.

[@guitarboyjeff]

You guys got the pocket and light! NA never got either. We just went straight to the GBC.

[@lelandclayton5462]

I remember trying to mod my old GameBoy 15/20 years ago. in the end I screwed it up, didn't have the proper soldering iron, used one of those cheap direct mains irons and burnt up/lifted a trace or two. Magnet wire or solid core wire wrapping wire works great fir short jumper runs. Solder on one side then lay it where you want it, clip it with a exacto knife and use the heat of the iron to made the sheathing pull back if it is wire wrap wire and for magnet wire the heat from the solder should melt the varnish coating off.

[@JamesPotts]

From the glow on the camera, that grow light puts out much more UV than that black light, regardless of the visible light. And I'm sure the heat doesn't hurt, either. 😉

[@wizpin]

I did the same retrobrite on a nes and a c64, luckily, here in southern spain we have enough bright sun in the summer. Wonder where u used that growlamp for :S

[@Hagledesperado]

You need a hot air soldering station. They're not all that expensive, and they're very good for gently heating up glue for peeling it off, not to mention shrinking heat shrink. And as a bonus, you can also use it to desolder stuff very cleanly, gently and efficiently. I have recently decided I don't need to buy an expensive desoldering gun, because I discovered that I can use my cheap hot air station for that with excellent results. It takes a little bit of practice, though. But it's not that techinally difficult, the practice is mostly to overcome the nervousness and to learn a level of patience that is not necessary when using a soldering iron.

[@RobVegasShow]

Komplett geschaut. Grandios! Diese Kanäle machen KZbin aus.

[@thedevminer]

"Das ist mein Spiel, nicht deins..." Jetzt ist es deins!

[@Icza]

I need to do this to my Gameboy some day. Well I don't know about the mod but for sure clean it up and fix the contacts on the screen to get rid of those dead pixel lines.

[@mingotha]

I am missing the Ghostbusters tune for the retrobrighting! 👹

[@MindFlareRetro]

Great project - excellent refurb and mods. Love the new music, too. Nice work. Enjoyed!

[@bamdadkhan]

it's always nice when you upload Some Video! : )

[@Jimbaloidatron]

Rather you than me peeling that screen apart!

[@refractionpcsx2]

I'm not totally surprised you have dead pixels, you were pretty violent with those ribbon cables :P I did this mod myself (including the bivert mod, mine came on a single board which you just solder in place, I think is much cleaner to be honest!) and I tried to work within the limited space you get, although getting that silver backing off, even with a stanley blade is a nightmare. But yeah, even I managed to have a dead line or two in the vertical, but did just as you said with the soldering iron, just waving it over the top of the cable until it was fixed.

[@onedeadsaint]

SO EXCITED! *SO EXCITED!*

[@VicTheVicar]

I think that the dark area on the screen that you mentioned is probably the finger you left there when you mounted the polarizing screen.

[@Doomchild2XL]

Yeah, it drove me nuts how he just flat out touched everything without a care in the world. 😅

[@eengamer158]

I have one in green and it works fine

[@gyu9058]

Can u make a video of u putting the gba guts in a Gbc shell?

[@andywest5773]

Great video! Tip: If you look near the port for the power adapter there's a little diagram that shows it's center negative. :)

[@0fend0]

Watched this for the second time today. Great work. Subbed!

[@JanBeta]

Oh, thank you! Welcome aboard. More Gameboy stuff to come sometime. :)

[@keytide]

I cringed when you started scraping off that foil backing from the LCD! You're lucky that you didn't trash the thing entirely. As for the 74HC04: wouldn't it be better not to use the carrier card, but just stick the chip to the PCB with a double sided pad and wire directly to it with Kynar wire. btw Shouldn't you tie the unused inverter inputs to ground to prevent oscillation? Interesting video. Enjoyed it.

[@sebtex1]

Super Video , habe auch schon ein paar Gameboys repariert und auch gemoddet. Lustig dass du beim durchmessen der Batteriekontakte auch die durchgemessen hast die nicht mit dem Mainboard verbunden sind ; ) Bei Minute 23 sagst du auch Kondensator statt Wiederstand. Cool hab die selbe Peroxidcreme :)

[@googleBot89]

Interessante Retrobright-Station. Für jemanden, der tendenziell öfter etwas aufhellen will sicherlich eine gute Lösung. Wir haben leider nicht den Vorteil der "Texas Sonne" wie dein Kollege 8-Bit Guy. Da hilft nur warten auf den nächsten Sommer. Dann aber ist mein NES dran! :)

[@neilwallace4597]

Just a little tip it tells you on the side of the case the polarity of the power jack under the contrast control wheel 😉

[@HeyBirt]

Hi Jan! There are funny words in American English for sizes of things with a -0 -00, etc. We would say 'ought' and 'double ought', etc. Even though, 'ought' means the opposite of Zero, which is naught. No, it does not make sense but it is what it is. In some trades this naming is still prevalent such as large electrical cables sizes (double ought, 4-ought, etc.) and firearms (.30-06 being a 30 ought six, or double-ought buckshot as the size of the shot size for a shotgun cartridge.) Just some fun trivia...we can't all use the Metric system you know :)

[@JohnGotts]

Double ought is only used for guns. I use the expression number triple zero phillips all the time.

[@MitchKarajohn]

After going all savage with the screen I was pretty sure you had destroyed the horizontal ribbon connections. Turns out it can take some punishment though. Interesting video. EDIT: Oh, well, the horizontal ribbon cable connection was damaged after all :/

[@TheDefpom]

Use white vinegar to clean the battery corrosion off, works much better than ipa for that, clean with ipa afterwards.

[@Hagledesperado]

Or any mild acid. Citric or phosphoric should also be good.

[@Jonnynot1plate]

Would apple cider vinegar be alright? I know it works better with rust.

[@Hagledesperado]

As long as you remove all the residue I don't see why not.

[@BocaRetroGames]

For what I remember it's the only old episode I'vent properly watched yet, so let's watch it so I can properly watch qto ur future 1 may 2020 episode hehe

[@JanBeta]

Haha, enjoy watching me fail. ;)

[@Dre3ed]

Hi Jan, Compared to all the other videos I have watched, I actually love that you messed some things up. It feels like a real person doing something. Instead of a team of highly qualified engineers with a video crew. Loved the video and looking forward to seeing more. Ps: I have ordered a Gameboy and a cheap backlight from AliExpress. It will probably take 4 years to get here but I'm looking forward to it. There is however no chips with the one I ordered. Only the lift and the cables, is that ok? Thanks

[@allan.n.7227]

Interesting... 😊 am I the only one curious what the main part of the ebay haul is??

[@natgrant1364]

I'd like to hear more about that as well. I didn't know there were boxes of retro stuff on e-bay. :)

[@39Kohm]

I suggest cutting a bit off a hot-glue stick and putting it in the heat-shrink before you heat it, as the heatshrink shrinks the glue will soften and make a nice firm covering

[@Prizm44]

This guy was so destructive and reckless with his modding 😱 Fingers all over the screen components, scalpel on the screen, no gloves until the retrobrite.. Anyway, it was still interesting. Thanks.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, I'm a bit clumsy at times. Sorry if it was painful to watch. Glad you still found it interesting. :)

[@HairyDalek]

Could you have used IPA to remove that silver backing fro the screen without using a knife? If it can remove the adhesive residue, surely it could help with the whole part of that job (also, then, you could use a plastic tool to help)? Maybe that would reduce the chances of breaking the ribbon cables as well?

[@fkthewhat]

Kwirk was one of the first games I played on a Gameboy when I was in primary school and Gameboys were brand new haha. Das ist mein Spiel nicht deins! xD Nice one Jan!

[@ikubex9425]

Amazing video Jan!

[@trevormajula8462]

Great work Jan!!!!

[@marcinkrupinski3782]

Basically another fun to watch some video.

[@leadedsolder]

A kit like this was a disappointment for me too. It was a pain to get the original polarized film off the back of the screen sandwich, and I ended up with a similar mangling of the ribbon cables putting everything back together.

[@electroncycles]

Any idea why the back light would have a checkered pattern? I followed the instructions exactly but I get a weird pattern in the LED. I also installed a second one and have the same issue. Example here: kzbin.infoTLH4W5J2Bq4?feature=share

[@Oestberg79]

Very interesting video! Makes me want to buy a Gameboy, but I am now looking into the GBA SP. :)

[@klofisch]

Hallo Jan, du warst sehr tapfer :D. Ich habe das Spiel auch schon durch. Allerdings mit Backlight-Komponenten von HHL. Die sind etwas bequemer zu installieren. :)

[@DinovanderMerwe]

I just spent 49 minutes watching a Gameboy mod for no reason at all other than because I was intrigued. Ha ha Good job!

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Things didn't go quite as planned. Hope you liked the video anyway! :D

[@DinovanderMerwe]

@@JanBeta I did enjoy it thanks. It’s way beyond my skill levels. As much as I’d love to do this to mine, I think I will break it for sure 🤣

[@JanBeta]

There’s a new IPS replacement display for the original Gameboy that I ended up using now. It’s awesome and way easier to install. Maybe that’s something for you, I made a video about it a while back, too. :)

[@DinovanderMerwe]

@@JanBeta thank you. I will check that out for sure! Much appreciated.

[@MrGeekGamer]

I have one of these sitting next to me on a shelf and I am too lazy to buy some batteries. I think I'll make this cable :)

[@MrGeekGamer]

With that said... any chance you can tell us what the diameter of the power jack is? I'd rather not buy a set of connectors when I only need one.

[@sarreqteryx]

citrus oil cleaner for the glue. probably would have made the reflector easier to remove, as well.

[@ScarredRealist]

New retrobrighting lamp side benefits: You tan while your plastics whiten (Or don't, based on the video).

[@awilliams1701]

That battery compartment is super corroded. That reminds me of my game boy. I had a battery explode on me and it leaked juice into the PCB. I had to turn it into a repair shop to get it fixed. I don't remember what that cost. But I was without it for a while. I did get it back and working eventually.

[@stefanmarinescu5086]

Enjoyed every minute

[@nemo118]

Can you please tell me what adapter is used

[@sameregarde]

wieder ein super cooles video von dir vielen dank jan

[@MrTomFTW]

It's hard to kill one of those original Game Boys. Nintendo World in New York has one that was damaged in an explosion in the gulf war, the shell is blackened and melted... Still works.

[@RWL2012]

Mr Tom FTW the screen was replaced but yeah

[@mm-hl7gh]

very nice! just one thing, instead of flipping the thing endlessly back and forth in front of the camera while talking, you could also use the time for some closeups and detailshots.. (if you dont have a macro lens, look up lens flip macro hack at google)

[@juliashenandoah3965]

I will never understand why it took Nintendo TWELVE YEARS (till the GameBoy Advance SP came out with the first backlit display) to get the idea to solder two LEDs at the lower bottom or the back of the screen to make the original GameBoy actual usable........... In every condition and not only when sitting under a window with brightest sunlight ;D

[@JanBeta]

Yes, a bit of a mystery. I guess it was way cheaper to produce the old LCDs back then. And they probably still sold many GameBoys because the competition was way behind. :)

[@Th3OmegaPoint]

That polariser needs to be flat and have no bubbles or you will get an inconsistant image. I find it better just to place it on the backlight with sticking it down, it will stay in place inside the screen.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, makes sense. This mod didn't go as planned in some ways. Thanks for the tips!

[@RossRawlins]

Do you do or know of any places that can do this for me? I am not skilled enough to do it myself.

[@dotwithshoesofficial]

Gargoyles Quest was one of my favorite games!

[@JanBeta]

I never got very far in it but it surely is a great game!

[@kristosh_retro]

Nice one Jan!

[@captcan78]

Ich lieben den Gameboy. Ich hab hier immer noch meinen alten, den ich mit 10 Jahren bekommen habe. Ach ja, die Suche nach der Polarität am PSU Anschluß hättest Dir sparen können. Die steht nämlich an der Seite unterhalb des Kontrastreglers ;-)

[@beatadalhagen]

Just off the top of my head, a low heat air gun and a bottle of (have Ronsonol here in PNW) lighter fuel which is short work of many adhesives. Plus, air gun should help with the shrinking. That and IPA gets about 99% of the stuff I do done.

[@fernandoj.p.7761]

Show us the final result after the fixes! By the way, very nice video 😁

[@JanBeta]

I will! Thank you. :)

[@blackcountryme]

It's late, I'll have to watch tomorrow

[@RWL2012]

Nice to see another DMG Game Boy restored, even though it's modified :) But the mods are useful. Personally I would keep my original (immaculate with box!) Game Boy unmodified and get a second one for mods

[@billgates3699]

Don’t waste time with UV light. Just submerge it in 12% H2O2 and leave a kettle warmer in it to maintain a temp around 130° for about a day. When finished, you MUST apply 303 Protectant because the plastic will be very very porous and brittle. 303 keeps it from turning yellow or absorbing hand oils etc.

[@JanBeta]

I’ve done a lot of retrobrighting in the meantime and found that a combination of UV and moderate heat works best (both speed up the process and it’s much faster when combined, usually only a couple of hours). Never had to use 303 but it probably doesn’t hurt. The yellowing is slightly returning on some items I treated years ago but none of them is nearly as yellow as before the process.

[@TestBuddyHD]

Englich 4 Runaways 😂 „Some dirt that i overlooked“

[@fluval03]

Das ist mein Spiel, nicht deins... Ich kann nicht mehr 😂😂😂 einfach klasse

[@holleholl3057]

Retrobrite in einer Stunde ? Das ist echt rekordverdächtig. Ich habe auch so eine "Kartonkonstruktion" mit UV-Lampe gebastelt (hierbei handelt es sich allerdings um einen alten Gesichtsbräuner von LIPS ;) ) und ich verwende auch das MC Cream 12%. Das klappt auch recht gut. Der Punkt ist, dass es warm werden muss beim brighten, sonst wird das nix, mit Kaltlichtlampen ist da also nix zu wollen. Deine Geduld beim "Abknibbeln" der silbernen Reflektorschicht hätte ich nicht gehabt, wäre mir auch zu "knibbelig" geworden wg. des Flachbandkabels...

[@JaySmith-cd1ln]

Nice! This is gonna be a good one :)

[@EvilTurkeySlices]

If I got an OG Game Boy I’d keep it stock, I have a Game Boy Color AMD Advance SP to play it’s games.

[@SMlFFY85]

It's pretty much pot luck if you are successful or not with the screen mod, the ribbon cable is so delicate that it can break just by looking at it funny.

[@disposablebasterd]

I’ve still got my original, it’s screen is decaying and I’m seriously considering putting an iOS screen in it. Though my pi0w is in a retro flag gpi case

[@waltherstolzing9719]

I wish I had kept mine.

[@br4inChiLd]

Jan wo hast Du die Schwarzlichtbirne her?

[@tails64dsntchannel8]

Nice DMG, yeah that ribbon is way too fragile. i have one sitting in a box that i picked up for nearly nothing, waiting for a new case, and perhaps some Chip Music oriented mods.

[@console]

Some Comment! Some Comment!!!

[@waltherstolzing9719]

Some reply! Some reply!!!

[@Bergwacht]

my gameboy display has no more dark contrast :/

[@1stfloorguy59]

Are you saying grow light or glow light? Also subbed ty for the vid very informative

[@JanBeta]

It’s a grow light usually used for plants. :) Also, thanks for the sub & welcome aboard!

[@SuperLuigiGuy64]

I can do this stuff too, but I don't have a workstation/work desk xD

[@MrKeebs]

Is your growth light 300W, 600W or something else?

[@retroftw]

You can also buy a USB to power adapter on Ebay! These work, I have several :-) www.ebay.com/itm/113283738524 Edit: - Recommended mod dealer: handheldlegend.com/products/game-boy-backlight-white-normal-or-inverted-diy-4-led-lsdj-chiptune-nanoloop - You can also buy Gameboys cheaply from Japan on Ebay, not working ones can often be fixed (I have). - Changing the volume wheel can fix audio issues, I used the one for a Gameboy Colour which fits and works - As you learned the hard way, don't mess up the horizontal cable for the screen. It's not really fixable (what everyone says at least, please prove us wrong :-P ) Thanks for the video :-D

[@CheshireNoir]

Every time I see you shrinking heatshrink with a lighter I cringe :-) (That's a comment on me, not you BTW) I've got a nice handheld hot air gun left over from my wife's art projects that I have co-opted for heatshrink duties.

[@Hagledesperado]

And it leaves soot. My OCD is not pleased. :D

[@svenpetersen1965]

Ich habe die selbe Erfahrung mit den UV-Energiesparlampen gemach. Meine C64 Tastkappen sahen genau so aus, wie vorher. Ein Growlight will ich mir nicht kaufen, ist mir zu teuer. Vielleicht hilft ja echtes Glühlampenlicht mit der resultierenden Wärme, wenn ich das ganze in eine Kiste sperre.

[@JanBeta]

Ich vermute, dass eine Kombination aus Wärme und UV-Licht die besten Ergebnisse bringt. Das Grow-Light heizt ziemlich stark, in Verbindung mit der isolierten Kiste waren es bestimmt so 40 Grad auf der Oberfläche des Gameboy-Gehäuses.

[@svenpetersen1965]

Jan Beta Meine Nachbarn haben auch ein Grow-Light. Sie beleuchten tatsächlich Tomaten damit. Ich habe es selbst gesehen. Nun habe ich schon den 4. C64 und er läuft einwandfrei. Nix Repair und so. So werde ich ihn ein bisschen pflegen und retrobrighten. Ich mache mir dann eben ein bisschen Zusatzelektronik, ein Netzteil und gerade ein Power Saver, wenn ich doch mal Originalnetzteile betreiben will. Deine Videos haben bei mir Bob Ross ersetzt. Ich schaue sie gerne zur nächtlichen Erbauung am Fernseher :-) Du bist also ein Elektronik-Bob-Ross... obwohl, von dem echten hat man ja nicht nur den Pinsel gesehen :-))) Wie gesagt, super Kanal.

[@kaschtelator]

gute idee mit dem kabel ich hätte noch einen Lithium Akku verbaut

[@fleischer444]

Never use Varta batteries! They killed 3 Petzel lamps and one wall clock for me this year. :( Nothing leaks like Varta batteries.

[@Hagledesperado]

They also kill Amiga computers by the thousands.

[@PJBonoVox]

He didn't leave them in, as you can see from the video.

[@1stfloorguy59]

I like enloop rechargeable they never leaked on me yet and I had the same ones for 4 years

[@AppliedCryogenics]

Re: Gargoyle's Quest: Passcode for final town with max lives and gold: NPAN-RRXY

[@beatadalhagen]

I would love to hear the music track of Burger Time on your device. :)

[@leskobrandon6950]

I never got to own a game boy. I ended up with a game gear and I did love it, but I always envied my friends that had better games than I did. Mario, Zelda and the like. Sonic just wasn't that exciting to me. It was always cool to play in the dark when my friends couldn't though.

[@Mikeywil0003]

Sonic just wasnt the same on the Game Gear and SMS as it was on the Genesis/Mega Drive.

[@BavarianM]

Screen looks very dim and you killed about 5 or 6 lines of the screen

[@forevercomputing]

We call it cling film in the UK ;)

[@JanBeta]

Ah, didn't know that. Thanks! :)

[@Awsometurtle20]

Where do u get the plug for the power?

[@JanBeta]

It's a standard barrel plug, the one I used came with one of those cheap universal power supplies.

[@Awsometurtle20]

@@JanBeta thanks for the help

[@Starcat128]

cool vid that Line was there before the mod so you didnt do any thing to cause it

[@lennon4710]

Jan, why are you chained to your desk?

[@77slevins_video_channel]

ESD protection. Protection for electrostatic discharge damage.