A Quick Rant on GBA SP Batteries

[@OkiDingo]

“Quick” 20 minute video....lol. All jokes aside we all appreciate the work and time you put in to these video.

[@dimitrypilin3098]

"Yo, check this nerd reviewing batteries!" * takes out huge knife *

[@alanwatson2287]

All I know is when I was like 9 I broke my first gba sp screen and wanted to take it apart for fun and when I removed the battery it started heating up while I was home alone and I just set it in the a/c until I could figure out what to do, which eventually meant tossing it into the yard before my dad came home and hoping it never got found haha. Love your sp videos man, I got one coming Saturday and I got the new shell ready and a dsi battery to rig into it lol

[@jacobcollinsworth6620]

Tell me more about the DSI battery rig, I’m having extremely low battery life in my IPS screen SP, I’ve gotten both 900-1000mah and no change or fix

[@theultimatemegaman]

As I've stated in one of your earlier video about GBA SP Battery mod, yours are the one I've been looking for because of a few reasons : - I did open 3 of the OEM battery, all of them didnt have any circuitry whatsoever. - I'm currently trying to get a replacement battery which could match/exceeded the OEM battery, but cant find one - your guide includes simple pcb gerber design which I could order and try to replicate, and your guide is easy to understand I'm not an electrical engineer nor have any training and degree for that matter, but I think from quick reading on the internet, its pretty safe to use Li-Po in an Li-Ion circuit, charging and discharging Huge fans of what you did! Good luck on your next projects

[@robinmedia405]

Neat, that's my thread you linked in the description, glad someone else noticed this. If you still have that "850mAh" battery you opened at the start, if it smells kind of pungent or sickly "fruity" it likely means the cell has been punctured/physically damaged and exposed to air. I had two 850's I got from RetroModding, and both had this smell, which could be partially why the capacity is so insanely low. Also (kind of unrelated to the video) voltage sag can impact battery life, if it's put under load the voltage can drop quite significantly and cause the system to see the battery as "dead" much sooner than it theoretically should. My OEM battery is a good example of this, even though it tested at just under 500mAh, after a full charge the LED turns red after about 30-60 minutes, and dies soon after. Despite the voltage bouncing back to around 3.8v when the load is taken away. (Also the led can bounce between red and green depending on the light setting, which is a good indicator that the battery is sagging a good amount).

[@makho]

Yep, that 22mAh rated battery has this issue. The actual capacity when ran in a SP is a lot closer to 60mAh based on the run time. My battery meter puts a much higher load on these batteries than an actual SP does so the batteries that are closer to lower end of the spectrum will test much worse relatively.

[@CY1RG]

Thank you for suffering on our behalf. This is super useful info

[@SavingPrivateBob]

That shiny gold one would look so good in a clear shell

[@makho]

Maybe. But on the same note, you can also just use stickers for any even more customization.

[@ReshiramZekrom_]

This looked like an ElectroBOOM video at a certain point 😂️

[@yobelkcip]

I have to agree that the OEM 3.8v batteries don't really hold up as well as the 3.7v batteries, because all of the 3.8v batteries I've accumulated over the years have bulged quite a bit. Edit: About the thing you said about early/later batteries at 13:17, I saw a picture of a Japanese first-run batch SP (low serial number and all that) and the battery had that same all-blue design, which could mean that it might be an early battery, or some new old stock that they put in the later SPs.

[@X2Brute]

personally I really like long rambling videos by people with reasonably pleasant voices, they make great background noise. one of my favorite videos was a guy testing several hundred minidisk players for like an hour or more

[@Zestypanda]

Techmoan

[@bluepingwu]

I read some comments about asking how to prolong battery life. If you not going to use a battery for a long time, store it away at 80% charge. that percentage varies for different battery tech but in general that’s about optimum. Unused batteries will still have a leakage current either internal or external, so the stored charge will slowly discharge. But as long it’s between 50% - 80% the capacity degration in a year is about 5%. a fully charged or discharged battery will degrade in worst case 20%. again that percentage is a general rule for a wide variety of our modern batteries. The temperature is important too, but for most of us you’re not going to regulate just for a couple of devices. Moist and UV is mentioned too in other comments. don’t bother, most batteries are enclosed inside a devices that their influence can be neglected. As for intensively used devices, my advice is not worry too much about it. Being too careful will just ruin your user experience while it’s really not going to help much. A battery is a consumable. I’m a electrical engineer in circuit design, just did a minor in technology dev. So I’m still no expert by any means. The true experts are chemical engineers with minor electrical engineering. My question is: which aliexpress GBA SP battery is recommended?

[@makho]

Are you asking about bare cells for my mod or just a drop in battery?

[@bluepingwu]

@@makho just battery drop in, thx!

[@vwhooligan59]

Ran into similar issues with aftermarket PSP batteries years ago. Slim psp batteries labeled 2400 mah only had 1200mah cells in them. Same thing with phat '3600mah' batteries. 1200mah cell and foam packing... Ended up ordering raw cells and soldering them onto the board of the original battery pack and taping them back together. Worked like a charm. A lot cheaper too (well mah\$ anyway...)

[@WhoEls]

I got the same aftermarket battery when I installed an IPS display half a year ago. The battery is complete rubbish, the 17 year old original performs better. Nintendo built these Gameboys to last.

[@lotusdarkrose]

Thank you so much for doing this video and testing. I recently installed a V3 IPS screen in my GBA SP, and got a new battery (blue plastic, green sticker "850mah" generic) at the same time without realizing how bad the generics are. I only got a measly 50 minutes before the red light came on playing an OEM Minish Cap cart at 8/15 brightness. I just ordered one of the tested 950mah MaxPlay batteries from Retro Game Repair Shop, so curious how long that will last. It's a shame that there are SO many of these bad generic batteries being sold all over the place. I also found out the USB-A to USB-C adapter I was using with my charging cable was throwing fits so that's what was causing charging to be cut off intermittently. The generic battery still sucks though. I took it apart and it has "PCTXSQ" on it. A google search tells me the bare cell is sold as a 300mah battery. Ridiculous.

[@makho]

You shouldn’t rely on the low battery warning being accurate. It’s tuned for a different chemistry of battery and nearly always comes on way too early with modern replacements.

[@iamredjustice5984]

I actually just went looking for a video like this when I bought an SP today with a dead battery. The SP is fine, but this battery won't work in any other SP. It appears to be an OEM based on the markings, but it's all white label with light grey housing around the ends. I wanted to see if I could salvage it because it's not bulging in any way, so I found this video to see what I would be getting into if I tried opening it. None of the batteries in this video look like mine though, but it was still helpful! I've decided I won't open it and maybe do some further electrical tests first.

[@makho]

If it's OEM, the plastic frame is likely sonic welded and only comes apart destructively ;(

[@iamredjustice5984]

@@makho Thanks for the tip, I got a new battery today and now all of my SPs work! I just want to know what went wrong/bad with the OEM battery. Even if I destroy it.

[@Hightower2804TP]

This is one of the reasons why I prefer the AGB-001

[@husky3g]

Alkaline batteries do have their benefits with the biggest being you don't have to worry about buying expensive batteries that may/may not be the advertised capacity. Using NiMH you do run into the same thing, though.

[@KnightOfKnights]

Heck.. out of 5 or 6 SPs, I had to throw away all but one battery as they all started bulding and don't want to risk anything. But interesting to see all the differences between them, had quite a few different looking ones. Also it does make me wonder if there are any aftermarket batteries that are good. Bought this battery that is sold by major retailers that goes by "CS-NTSPSL" or "SAM-SPRBP". Maybe someone did test those if they are actually 900mAh? Either way, already planning to do your SP battery mod! Thanks for this insight

[@GuilleCoo]

Hey dude your work is awesome 😁👍. Do you still use that tester? Because I built one like that and have the same problem. Some batteries test at ridiculous small capacities but then last more than that. The blue plastic casing ones test hight but the rest, all the og whites and new Chinese ones test so low on charge and discharge. I would love to have some advice from you in the matter since im a noobie at this. Thank you so much and greetings from Spain.

[@makho]

I still use the jig I made but I use a different battery tester. I charge and discharge at constant rates and just check the timer.

[@TheWizard666]

I'm not an expert, but I think the difference between the two batteries at around the 6:40 mark would simply be related to regions. Japan has a different voltage in their power outlets than North America does. The Li-ion Mn battery has Japanese text on it, whereas the Li-ion one has English. They probably used slightly different batteries to account for the difference in voltage.

[@Kpk43]

Fascinating video. If I need to buy a replacement battery for my SP, do you have a recommendation from where I should purchase?

[@makho]

I made another video on my SP battery mod

[@spedtron]

Can you advice which is the 900mah battery you are using? Or which video if you mention it? Is it just drop in or require modification? Thanks.

[@makho]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvRgIGeiLuppqM

[@xIcedShadow]

nice vids! Do you have any suggestions for buying sp batteries in 2020? things to avoid/be aware of?

[@makho]

The battery mod I did seems like the best bang/buck: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvRgIGeiLuppqM If you don't want to do any soldering, Batteries Plus sells a rayovac branded cell that also seems pretty good. It's quite a bit more expensive though.

[@xIcedShadow]

@@makho I had seen that mod and looks cool, soldering's not a problem, but getting the custom plate becomes the problem since you mentioned a site which I think is american and being in europe would make that more expensive than the battery altogether. I'm a noob in this world, so... is there any diy way to make a good contact plate for the battery without soldering it directly to the gba?

[@jakontolovsky]

That 700mAh battery with gold holographic sticker is pretty nice. Mine is still holding-up pretty well. I'm still using it on my 001 and I'm using your battery mod on my IPS modded SP. Not sure if I got lucky and bought from when they still make good batches of aftermarket battery.

[@makho]

The problem with these batteries has always been either the consistently low capacity or the total lack of consistency. There have always been good ones, diamonds in the rough as it were, but there are just so many more bad ones. If yours works, no reason to replace it now.

[@zanabria_spm]

I'd like to ask what kind of advice would you give us in order to keep battery life longlasting and prevent battery bulging as much as possible. I wonder how to make that 2003 OEM battery still work at nearly 600 mAh capacity in 2020! Thanks beforehand, and congrats for all your videos!

[@makho]

Lithium batteries have a shelf life. You can take precautions for preserving them like ensuring that they are at a storage charge (about 50% charged) and by making sure they are not exposed to high or low temps or moisture or UV but otherwise what you get is what you get. The best bet is to find newly manufactured cells.

[@SuperSpyMonkey]

I know this is a 2 year old video, but I'd figure I would chime in with some interesting trivia related to nintendo batteries. I found that my DS lite charges the lithium battery to 4.1 volts, not the 4.2 that is common on the vast majority of other lithium batteries and chargers. It makes me wonder if this contributes to a longer than normal battery lifespan, since most lithium battery aging occurs from fully charging and fully discharging the cell. Charging to 4.1 volts instead of 4.2 puts less wear and tear on the battery. I also wonder if this applies to the GBA SPs as well. Of course, it could also be a limitation of how far we could push lithium in the mid 2000s, or just different chemistry that required it.

[@makho]

Potentially. Are you certain that it's only charging up to 4.1v? I think it's more likely that it charges to 4.2v but the aged battery is leveling off at 4.1v. As lithium batteries age, they start self discharging at an increased rate. The proper way to verify this will be to do a full charge and check the voltage right before the indicator goes off and then watch for the next few minutes. Leave it and then check it again 24 hours later and see if the voltage changes again significantly. If it's under 4.0v after 24 hours, it's well past the usable life.

[@SuperSpyMonkey]

@@makho I did test the ds batteries again. While I didn't check them 24 hours later, I am still glad I did. I tested the same DS lite, a 3DS and another DS lite. I also tested a fully charged 18650 from a separate charger to get a control, just in case my multimeter was off. The 18650 I tested was quite old and measured 4.2 volts when I tested it. I measured the official battery in my personal DS lite and it was 4.13 volts, so okay. That's kinda close to 4.1 volts. I tested my 3DS and it was 4.09 volts. After that I thought I was on to something. But then I tested another DS lite and it was 4.17 volts. So yeah, theory of the DS charging to 4.1 volts is pretty much debunked. I guess that really shows how large samples sizes are very important.

[@makho]

@@SuperSpyMonkey Thanks for the update. I wonder how this could affect battery health long term if implemented. It's kind of difficult to test something like this though because I'd have to test over the course of years. On the same note, SP consoles will only discharge the battery to 3.4v before shutting off (3.3v on the micro). I haven't measured any DS consoles but I wouldn't be surprised to see them do something similar and I bet that has a net positive on long term battery health.

[@onlyfacts5701]

So in conclusion which battery do you recommend and where can I buy it

[@Dylan-jp9mr]

Personally I'd buy a funny playing battery

[@onlyfacts5701]

@@Dylan-jp9mr any link for Canadians?

[@marcoantoniogutierrezferna758]

Which batteries are you buying for the GBA SP? You know a really good batterie for the console, other than the original? Sorry i don't know English xd

[@makho]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvRgIGeiLuppqM

[@snakoi]

Hey dude quick question. I just got an modded gba sp with a modded screen without a battery. I bought one out of ebay for 8$ and it worked for about 2 hours but wont work anymore. When i charge it the light stays red and when i try turning it on it wont work. Is the problem the battery or the charger? (Charger is also off market)

[@makho]

I cannot accurately diagnose this issue with the information you gave. Does the charge light even come on? The charge light is orange, not red.

[@snakoi]

@@makho when i put my gba sp to charge the light turns on showing its charging, but whenever i try to turn it on it shuts down after a few milliseconds like almost immidiately. Sorry im German so my english isnt very good

[@makho]

@@snakoi Time to start swapping parts out. A new, quality battery might solve your issue or a new charger might solve your issue. I'm not sure which. Could also be that your charge port just needs cleaning, especially if the light flickers when you touch the cord.

[@snakoi]

@@makho Thanks for the help i appreciate it

[@husky3g]

I'd bet the battery is just a dude and won't recharge. I'd say it still had some charge from the factory when you first got it and that's why it worked as long as it did. I'd suggest getting either Makho's battery from Retro Game Repair Shop or RetroModding or the Helder Megabatt 800.

[@SneakerD84]

Always worth watching!

[@IronPoints]

just the video that I needed it xD, thanks!

[@big_boy_chris]

So what is the current longest lasting battery on the market for GBA SP's right now? I just installed a funnyplaying IPS screen and my batterylife is barely 2 hours on medium brightness... :(

[@makho]

Mine is. retrogamerepairshop.com/collections/gba-sp-power/products/gba-sp-game-boy-advance-sp-rechargeable-850mah-lipo-battery-mod-by-makho Close second is helder's.

[@sonricsgamerbp381]

I have a question, the battery with 1000mah and 2000mah fits for the GBA SP or only the battery with 900mah? I need a answer please 🥺

[@makho]

2000mAh is not possible. The capacity is wrong.

[@fatefinger]

Since some of these batteries that you find online are super snug to the point where you can’t even physically fit them would taking a file to the plastic around the battery safe to do?

[@makho]

Depends on the specific type of battery cell but in more cases than not, this results in fire so I don't recommend shaving down the battery. Buy a better battery that properly fits.

[@fatefinger]

@@makho any recommendations so I’m not just wasting my money? I mean the 21 year old OEM works. It does though have probably over 2,000 hours on it and no bulge but it doesn’t last even 2 hours anymore.

[@makho]

@@fatefinger retrogamerepairshop.com/collections/gba-sp-power/products/gba-sp-game-boy-advance-sp-rechargeable-850mah-lipo-battery-mod-by-makho retrogamerepairshop.com/collections/gba-sp-power/products/gba-sp-game-boy-advance-sp-real-750mah-replacement-battery The more expensive ones are much higher capacity but the power per watt for the cheaper ones is better. Depends on how long you want to play between charges, I guess.

[@emmettturner9452]

I still have my Cobalt GBA SP from the 2003 launch. Still seemed to work fine last I checked. How can I test it?

[@makho]

If it still works fine, I'd leave it be. If you have a battery charger that does capacity testing, you can just chuck it in there though.

[@emmettturner9452]

@@makho Thanks. Was curious to test it just for curiosity and contributing statistics. ;) It's literally a launch-day unit.

[@NYKWHY]

Will you give any specific vented recommendations?

[@makho]

I'm making a new video on this soon. I hope to have it up by Monday.

[@robthomson1581]

So what battery should i look to buy? My standard lI-ion Mn battery sucks and i bought an ebay battery but its not much better. What battery can be bought today that you found to be good?

[@makho]

I talk about my specific battery recommendations more in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXyWeYqPftBjgaM but I like my DIY battery (if you can DIY) otherwise the Rayovac battery is a good alternative even though it's quite a bit pricier

[@justinguzman5308]

Look I know this is really late but I need a battery recommendation I can buy form Amazon

[@__-ni1kz]

Much too late to this video, but that component on the lead strip is indeed a thermal fuse cutoff.

[@j.carlosrodriguez6030]

I recently see new Hsabat gba sp batteries 1100mha, 2 years warranty, in aliexpress, you think is real? Also there are Cameron sino that looks more real but are the most expensive

[@makho]

lol no. Stay away from that trash. I was just working on a video last night about the hsabat garbage out there.

[@levi9874]

Lol 😂 I was gonna buy one but I was like to good to be true I’m glad I did research

[@kareemhakeem8665]

Are you able to make a video installing the 2000 mAh rechargeable battery in a dmg gameboy and/or a pocket?

[@thepokerus4184]

This subject about batteries have been eating at me all week. I am very split on whether to use tp4056 with 2000mah lipo or AA ladda 2450 each. Understanding protection for overcharged, discharge, over current and load sharing is a pain too.

[@makho]

Yep. That's why I usually just recommend the simplest solution, which for everything but a GBA SP and a Micro is a set of LADDAs (or whatever brand you prefer). With a TP4056, there is no load switching so you cannot (should not) charge and play simultaneously. I understand the added convenience of an internal USB based charger but the same can be done for NiMh based consoles too (just don't try to charge alkalines). It's also worth taking into consideration any electronics you have to add to condition the voltage (as a GBA will not work on a fully charged Li-Ion otherwise) and also the actual power capacity of batteries. Power capacity is in watts which is calculated by multiplying the amperage by the voltage (2.4x2450 vs 3.7x2000).

[@thepokerus4184]

@@makho that last part about power capacity being in wattage (V *A=W) does that mean that 2450*2.4 =5800w and 2000*3.7=7,400w and therefore the 2000mah will actually last longer than the AA's?

[@daijoubu4529]

@@thepokerus4184 you should look at Wh, V * Ah, 2000 mAh * 3.7V = 7.4Wh vs 2450 mAh * 2.4V = 5.88Wh, so the LiPo will last 25% longer, the equivalent Lipo capacity would be a 1600mAh one

[@daijoubu4529]

Load sharing is simple to implement but May not be necessary, the TP4056 will simply never stop charging when its running as charge termination occurs with C/10 and the default charge rate of 1A, so 100mA, the GBA uses more than that so the battery will simply be slowly drained. Worst case scenario, battery life will be shortened. Look here for an example, you only need 4 components, a P-ch mosfet, Schottky diode, a resistor and a bypass capacitor blog.zakkemble.net/a-lithium-battery-charger-with-load-sharing/

[@daijoubu4529]

And here www.best-microcontroller-projects.com/tp4056.html#Using_3_Components_to_achieve_safe_charging

[@lodestarlondon8850]

what are some of the games you play on the gba? you sure do make alot of videos on it lol

[@makho]

lol who plays games on their Game Boy? Nerds

[@lodestarlondon8850]

@@makho though really what are your favorite games?

[@makho]

@@lodestarlondon8850 I play a lot of Pokemon and ROM hacks thereof. On GBA, my favorite games are Red Rescue Team, Advance Wars, and Pokemon Emerald

[@lodestarlondon8850]

@@makho Advance war? What a nerd! Every one knows that fire emblem is for Chads.

[@Glisern]

Are there videos on how this test is done?

[@makho]

Not from me. You can test batteries by applying a known load to them and just measuring the time it takes for the voltage to hit whatever you designate as the cutoff. You can also measure internal resistance to make rough estimates to the health of the cell (though without baselines, it can be a guessing game and since some batteries have integrated protection boards, you cannot reliably measure internal resistance). Last, you can also just time how long it takes to charge the cell with a known current limit but since Lithium Ion batteries use constant current and then constant voltage to charge, results can be a bit inconsistent if you just time start to finish. My battery charger does all this for me automatically.

[@BlazingKhioneus]

I just bought some batteries off amazon. Should I be able to assume they have the switch that allows me to play them on the charger?

[@makho]

They have the what?

[@BlazingKhioneus]

@@makho I forget where I saw it, maybe it wasnt a gba sp video, but it was something about a battery that isnt recommended to be charging and played on at the same time

[@makho]

@@BlazingKhioneus that does not apply to the SP

[@BlazingKhioneus]

@@makho Gotcha

[@frankentrip]

Which one do you recommend for IPS mod SP? Thanks!!

[@makho]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvRgIGeiLuppqM

[@Goopy731]

Late, but I feel lucky with my OEM cell now nearing 20 years old and not even showing signs of inflating as I check it every few months now at this point.

[@makho]

Some cells are still around and kicking but those are mostly the exception to the rule.

[@mrniceguy7168]

Have you tried out the Dantona battery from Batteries Plus

[@makho]

I've tried out the Rayovac battery. I have not tried others from B+

[@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo]

From a little I've looked up it seems the dantona has the same specs from the original rayovac and the same holding charge performance. Weak theory is that it's the same battery and dantona was the original manufacture under the rayovac branding.....

[@captainrobots1]

I finally found a gba sp 101 and it had that BT-GH188 battery It doesn't want to charge at all It was brand new battery and the charger they got with it doesn't work.

[@ronald7378]

Have you ever tested Hand Held Legends batteries capacity? They claim that their batteries are 850mAh

[@makho]

those batteries are garbage. I have tested them and they are not good. I am currently working on a video for them.

[@-Gothicgirl-]

Yeah these green China battery's are crap. I got 3 of that and every are around 300mAh

[@LeBlancMain]

How do you measure the capacity of the battery?

[@-Gothicgirl-]

@@LeBlancMain I have a device for diverse Power Source where I can Set Ampere to drain the Batterie. When after the Time the Batterie is empty or the Under Voltage Protection cut off I can Look on the Display and it Show me how much mAh it was

[@LeBlancMain]

@@-Gothicgirl- and what device is that? I wanna build one on my own. Thanks a lot!

[@-Gothicgirl-]

@@LeBlancMain I can not post anything to a Chinese warehouse (that with A and ex in the name) because yt delete it. But search after Main Battery Aging Discharge Test 35W Constant Current Dual Adjustable Knob Load Tester DC USB Tester 0.1-4.5A

[@Roninkinx]

My current has a 3.8v AGS 003 that while I don't have a battery tester, it gets about half the life of the other I have that I gave to my SO. I am not sure what that ones battery is but next few months I will crack it open and look.

[@vvalmart]

Do you have a multimeter recommendations for working on gbas?

[@makho]

UniT ut123

[@vvalmart]

@@makho ty bubba ur videos make this hobby way easier and a lot more fun to get involved with

[@kensprivateinvestigation2128]

I'm about to buy every aftermarket GBA SP battery I can find on Amazon and run them through a few cycles and see what is the best battery for the money.

[@makho]

You're not likely to find anything good on amazon but I'd love to be wrong about that.

[@kensprivateinvestigation2128]

@@makho so far from the ones I have tested it's not looking good. Especially when running an ips screen.

[@PowerPawaa]

@@kensprivateinvestigation2128hey. 10 months late but did you find a battery?

[@christopherresch]

Just discovered that Rayovac makes a replacement 3.7V lithium ion battery. Currrent available online from batteries plus. Going to buy one and try it

[@stormbreaker932]

I saw that mentioned in the reddit thread too. What's your experience so far?

[@Blehstor]

Hey! How do you test mah on the batteries? I have a multimeter

[@makho]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/baLTdWekYsaKqcU

[@lemaire0gontran]

thx for this lesson, how many time to wait until you can make your video about your AGB battery mod posted on github ?

[@makho]

Still waiting on parts. Shipping from China is slow this time of year and the virus did not help that along.

[@lemaire0gontran]

@@makho thx for your answer :)

[@ShadowcasterZero]

so how exactly do you test for Mah?

[@makho]

I have a battery charger with a test mode. Basically, it will fully charge a battery, put a constant load on it (in my case 300mA), see how long it takes to reach a low voltage cutoff, then charge it up again. It's a liitokala lii-500

[@eeveenation64]

I dont know if anybody will see this but how long do the batterys last? I also dont know if its a dumb question sorry if it is

[@makho]

run time per charge or recommended life cycle of the battery?

[@eeveenation64]

@@makho sorry for not responding earlier but yeah the life cycle of the battery how long does it last?

[@makho]

@@eeveenation64 I wouldn't expect more than three years out of any of these, especially with regular usage. They generally start showing wear after a year or so though. Time will tell and I'll retest assuming I still have all the batteries.

[@eeveenation64]

@@makho Oh ok Thanks for telling me!

[@finmat95]

So...what is the solution?

[@makho]

buy better batteries

[@drinks_menu]

where can i buy a good batt to hold a charge?

[@makho]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJvRgIGeiLuppqM

[@MizuhoChan]

You weren't much of a fan of that post were you.

[@makho]

There was an absurd amount of misinformation, so no, I was not.

[@daijoubu4529]

Just bought an INSTEN battery on ebay for a mere 5 bucks for my DSL, claimed 1700 mAh (lol) ran it dry and charged it back up, 940mAh per my USB meter, assuming 80-90% efficiency, that's just 750-800mAh while the OEM is rated 1000mAh with still 75% capacity left lol

[@makho]

Yep. Any batteries in this form factor that claim over 900 are absolutely lying about that.

[@julianlindsay4000]

I have not tested my OEM battery but then again i don't have a tester. But your video did help a lot about how certain things work and some confusion fixing. Also this is related to batteries but it's completly differn't question. I was wondering if you have looked into any way to hook up leds to gb, gbc etc in a way to have it showing when the battery is charging, when it is fully charged and when it's low to show differn't colors depending i guess on the frequency. I don't understand it all to well. But I have been trying to figure how how to get a RGB led to work in place of the old light on the gbc when i add a recharable battery.

[@makho]

I made this kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXKaYWiBlLx5Y6c Well, I assembled it. But it already basically does what you want. No reason you can't tweak the open source code to support an RGB LED instead.

[@MrRobbyvent]

Li-Ion battery degrades even if it is not used .So when we buy "new" batteries actually we don't. The problem becomes pretty unsolvable when we consider retrogaming. The vast majority, if not all of the batteries You buy in fact are "new old stock". No manufacturer invests in producing so old models. Similar problems in smartphone's world: there are hundreds of new uncompatible models coming out every year. People then is forced to dismiss their perfectly working phones because of this.

[@makho]

I'm actually facing a similar issue with my Lumia 950 right now. That's the camera I use for filming my videos and the battery is getting really weak. It's unbelievably frustrating.

[@zanabria_spm]

Planned obsolescence, for sure.

[@gcz-zy9ix]

"quick"

[@makho]

Have you even seen my other videos?

[@gcz-zy9ix]

hmm maybe less long than some of the other videos

[@makho]

@@gcz-zy9ix Yep, exactly. This is quick for me lol

[@BlazingKhioneus]

What does OEM mean?

[@makho]

Original equipment manufacturer. It refers to the hardware that originally shipped with the device (or authorized 1st party replacements).

[@BlazingKhioneus]

@@makho Gotcha, would you by chance have an OEM battery listing on amazon? or any of the really good batteries listed?

[@makho]

@@BlazingKhioneus you misunderstand. You can't get OEM batteries on Amazon. You can't get them at all except by pulling them out of other SP consoles and since lithium ion batteries have a shelf life, this isn't even a good idea.

[@BlazingKhioneus]

@@makho Yeah, good point, is that battery with the protection circuit you pop in your gba sps available anywhere?

[@makho]

@@BlazingKhioneus the SP itself has the protection circuitry.

[@neves188]

How do i test my gba batteries?

[@makho]

with a standalone battery charger that supports 1S LiPo and an adapter to plug the battery in to said charger

[@makho]

or just turn it on and see how long it takes to turn off and extrapolate from there

[@Matty_the_Zapper]

OEM DS (original) batteries are a legitimate 850 and will fit and function perfectly fine in an SP if you cut off the tabs so it's definitely possible to fit 850 mah in that size.

[@makho]

no. Stop recommending that people modify a 16 year old battery to replace a 17 year old battery.

[@MGTwenty3]

@@makho why?

[@makho]

@@MGTwenty3 because not only should you not have to modify a battery, but because DS batteries have the exact same issues that SP batteries have. They are all old and all the generic aftermarket batteries suck. Or do you really think that batteries aren't susceptible to time?

[@Matty_the_Zapper]

@@makho Clipping physical tabs is hardly a mod, it doesn't change any functions of the battery. The connections and all of the specifications except capacity are the same as an SP battery which explains why they work properly. If you follow the logic that OEM DS batteries are unwise to use because they're old then it's even more unwise to use OEM SP batteries, which you don't seem to have a problem with unless they're visibly concerning.

[@harrisontashjian752]

You should test an original ds fat battery, you can remove the tabs on them and get them to work in a gba so

[@makho]

Original DS batteries are like 15 years old. I don't see what info could possibly be gained. I think all but one of my DS batteries are bloated too which makes them unsuitable for testing (or use even).

[@harrisontashjian752]

@@makho good point the one I have is in perfect condition

[@makho]

@@harrisontashjian752 That's fantastic. It's still not a good alternative.

[@harrisontashjian752]

K than, I did not know so thanks for telling me, I've seen vids of people using them

[@xXCid]

Maybe its a thermal cutoff or a diode. :/

[@makho]

Thermal fuse seems to be the consensus and was my second guess (after regular fuse).

[@daijoubu4529]

@@makho probably just a fuse fuse

[@makho]

@@daijoubu4529 If it were a regular fuse, it would have popped when I ran multiple amps through it.

[@lolztony]

@@makho A few years ago I was doing a lot of testing with GBA and Batteries. If I remember correctly, that part near the end of your video is probably a diode. When I was modding one of my old GBA's I remember needing to drop the voltage a tad with a diode, since the discharge rate of the battery wouldn't activate the low power red light LED correctly without one. I thnk the red light turns on around 1.8volts, but a LIPO is dead around 2.2-2.5v I think?

[@makho]

@@lolztony if that were a diode then this battery would not be able to be charged. This is also a battery for a GBA SP, not a GBA.

[@toonlinkplays5961]

"A Quick Rant" The video is 19 minutes long 💀💀💀

[@makho]

I think that if you'll take a quick peek at my catalogue, you'll find that this is indeed quick ;)

[@toonlinkplays5961]

@@makho how long would a long version be 😱

[@thurmanlester]

I have a pelican brand extended life battery pack 3.7v and says 1000 mAh it's a little bit thicker but it replaces the battery cover. www.amazon.com/dp/B0002EA5XG/?coliid=IKC5VR41M58P8&colid=28AXMEIK3732R&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it. Oh and it also has a circuit board in it.

[@makho]

I had one of those back when they were new. It did not last very long. I think I got maybe twenty charge cycles out of it before the capacity started taking a noticeable hit.

[@chamoo232]

The original DS battery are exactly the same as the SP batteries and Nintendo mark them as 850mAh so it's not that crazy for after market ones to write that much too. What I really think is crazy is how your average phone today is thousands of times more powerful than an SP and the batteries are only 4-5 times better. Can you imagine if someone made a new SP with power efficiency we have today. A 4000mAh battery would power it for a month.

[@makho]

If the batteries are "exactly the same," why would Nintendo put such different values on them?

[@chamoo232]

@@makho I mean they are the same size with the connectors at the same place. The 2 little plastic tabs are not exactly in the same spot but if you file one of them down and a little bit of the other, you can use a DS battery in a SP. Or put an SP battery in a DS. i1.wp.com/blipretro.com/wp-content/uploads/gba-sp-battery.jpg?resize=960%2C640&ssl=1 just like this.

[@tommylyeah]

You gotta cut off the 2 tabs, but leave the locator tab, that's in the same spot as the SP battery. The NDS battery terminals are in roughly the same spot, because they're larger. The physical size of the NDS battery is larger, enough to bulge the SP battery cover, even after removing the sticker to slim it down.

[@chamoo232]

@@tommylyeah On mine I had to cut 1 tab completely and file down half of the other. I didn't need to remove the sticker and have no bulging problem. Maybe my battery is in better shape and the one you had was a bit bulged. The original SP batteries are complete plastic shell while the replacement and the DS battery only have the outer edge being plastic with a sticker holding everything together. That explains why the SP are 600mAh and the others are 850mAh. The battery is the same size but the cell itself is a bit ticker.

[@tommylyeah]

@@chamoo232 - Maybe I should return or buy another NDS battery, if yours closes fine over the battery 😒

[@Moshugaani]

It's pretty shitty that you can't be sure of the battery capacity even if you buy a supposedly _new_ aftermarket battery. :\ Macho Nacho did a battery life comparison and his GBA SP aftermarket battery faired dreadfully on an IPS modded AGS-001. Here's the Macho Nacho Productions video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4TPeYxji5qGq7c

[@makho]

This is why I sourced better quality cells and made an adapter. The aftermarket is a wild wasteland for batteries and at least the generic cells test better on average.

[@Moshugaani]

@@makho Yeah, I noticed that on the Retro Modding website. Great job providing them! Too bad I'm in Europe so it'd be quite expensive to order anything from the US.

[@DavyMcWavy]

I got a 850 mah battery made by “Helder”.

[@makho]

Those ones are actually pretty decent in my testing

[@DavyMcWavy]

@@makho it’s been great so far.

[@pekachu9257]

Thanks for the video.... very informative. But please cut your fingernails......Those gross hobo nails are very distracting.

[@makho]

just for you, I'm going to start growing them out longer