Mod your RGB20SX! Rumble, D-Pad & Trigger EASY Mods

EDIT: It turns out the plastic used on the clear shells is a little less flexible than the opaque plastic of the yellow one I have, so be careful when removing and reinserting the motherboard!
A few easy modifications to improve the feel and performance of the PowKiddy RGB20SX retro handheld.
RGB30 mods video by ‪@RetroBreezeYT‬ :
• PowKiddy RGB30 D-Pad F...
FREE 3D printable STL files for replacement triggers here:
www.printables...
Here's the link for the case I 3D printed:
www.printables...
POWKIDDY RGB20SX (affiliate link)
powkiddy.com/e...
Use discount code JOEBLEEPS for 5% off
Here's the motors I used for the rumble mod:
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Kapton tape:
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Get your modding gear from Zedlabz (discount applied automatically):
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Affiliate link disclaimer: I may receive a commission if you use the above links to purchase items - you will be supporting this channel at no additional cost to you, so thanks!
Music: Joe Bleeps
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Camera: Sony ZV-1F / Google Pixel 7a
Mic: Rode NT USB+
Hardware: MacBook Pro M3 Pro
Software: iMovie/Keynote
www.joebleeps.com

[@DaneJorgensenSD]

I printed your triggers this morning - very nice!

[@JoeBleeps]

That's great to hear!

[@willm127]

Awesome stuff! You always make these mods look easy!

[@JoeBleeps]

Thank you! In this case, they were actually quite easy 😅

[@scherge]

Nice improvements. Thanks for sharing.

[@JoeBleeps]

Thanks for watching! I appreciate you taking the time to feed back 🙏

[@benjaminbjacobsen]

Thanks for this. Mine was a struggle to get the board out of. Not sure if it's clear -vs- yellow or what but I had to flex the shell to get the headphone and USB-C ports past the plastic. Then on top of that twice I put it back together and tried to screw the sticks in before the board and something would shift between the d pad or buttons. I ended up having to pull the board 3 times to finally get everything back together... But again, thanks for the video so I knew I was at least on the right path!

[@JoeBleeps]

I think you have a good point there that I hadn't thought of. Clear plastic is generally less flexible and more brittle than its opaque counterpart. I hope you didn't break anything

[@benjaminbjacobsen]

@@JoeBleeps I was able to not break anything doing this BUT my case already has a few cracks around the D-pad...

[@JoeBleeps]

@@benjaminbjacobsen oh no that's a shame. I'll amend the description in the video to factor this in

[@thrillhausen8858]

Is Arkos good for battery life on this device. Thanks.

[@JoeBleeps]

Seems good so far but I will have to do some more testing and comparing

[@dave_diy]

It lasts for a very long time on my RGB30, so I'd expect the same on the RGB20SX. IIRC, I was playing a SNES game for ~5 hours and I was still at around 50% battery.

[@dbgrasta420]

Would an adhesive felt pad work in place of the pad that was used?

[@JoeBleeps]

On the back of the motor? Yes I'd say so. Just something to prevent two hard surfaces touching and rattling.

[@dbgrasta420]

I managed to get the motor installed but im having trouble getting games to rumble, only pokemon pinball rumbles a little bit. I am on arkos, is there something else i need to set up besides turning on rumble in advanced settings?

[@JoeBleeps]

@@dbgrasta420 have you tried drill dozer? That's a great one for testing. On the PlayStation emulator as I noted in the video it's a bit of a headache. You need to enable rumble, set the controller as a dualshock, save both of these and then exit and re-enter the emulator. It does work but it took me a while to have success with it. Worth it when it works though

[@artofraw8151]

Can this be done with the Powkiddy V10?

[@JoeBleeps]

Ahhh I keep seeing people raving about that console, I am tempted but I don't need it, so at present I don't have one to check.

[@artofraw8151]

@@JoeBleepsIt’s great for GBA. I’ve been disappointed in GBA with 4:3 and 16:9 handhelds, but couldn’t justify the Trimui Smart Pro price for a single system. Enter the V10. Rad little thing, but sadly missing a rumble motor and gyroscope.

[@JoeBleeps]

@@artofraw8151 I got one this weekend! It was on the Aliexpress sale and I couldn't pass it up at the price. First impressions are great, as you said a GBA machine for sure. Shame about the rumble, I wondered if I could add a motor but I can't see any suitable contacts on the motherboard.

[@Kevin-Schmevin]

As an American, it sounds weird to me when Brits refer to handhelds as consoles. Great video though, subbed.

[@AhmadZakwan-fd3xc]

It's a handheld gaming console, kid

[@Vaskomyr]

Late to the comments here but I was curious are you able to in general print in translucent colors? I saw some custom lime green clear buttons from sakura mods that made me pull the trigger on one of these. But it would be nice to have a full set of clear lime green buttons and maybe a grip. Obviously I don't have a 3d printer or I'd probably be a bit more in the know on print materials.

[@JoeBleeps]

It is possible, particularly with resin 3D prints, but it's not as clean as moulded buttons. I have been meaning to attempt a resin print of these buttons, just not got round to it yet. The PLA is a lot more hard wearing and flexible though

[@karoo_bushman6880]

Great video. I like your presentation style and you have a positive vibe. Looking forward to your future projects.

[@JoeBleeps]

Thank you so much!

[@X91X-km7hp]

Will you do a review of the Anbernic RG35XXSP?

[@JoeBleeps]

I haven't bought it yet. Would love to try it but I've been buying too many of these things lately!

[@dave_diy]

Love the combo of ArkOS and the rumble motor I soldered to my RGB30, so I'm happy to see that you covered this! One mod I did on my RGB30 that you may want to consider doing on your RGB20SX is to remove the d-pad and use some 200 grit or higher sandpaper to smooth the transition edges of the d-pad top surface. I found the d-pad edges to be too sharp compared to my other retro consoles, but was fixed with just a few minutes of careful sanding. Also, the PSX buttons from SakuraRetroModding make for a nice change from the default ABXY buttons.

[@JoeBleeps]

Thanks for the input! I think the d pad on this one is more comfortable than the RGB30, it hasn't caused any discomfort so far. I do love all the Sakura button sets, they look awesome.