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Bad news. I managed to power up the original GB despite some severe corrosion. It loads games fine and the sound is good. The horrible bad? It has the feared horizontal lines of death which cannot be fixed apparently :(
With the GB the screen is soldered into the front motherboard so it can't be replaced. You need to change the whole thing. Now I am left with having to find a junker with at least vertical lines which can be fixed.
That link you left yesterday shows how to solder out and replace the screen. if you've got a soldering iron it wouldn't hurt to try, the worst that could happen is you still can't use it...Quote:
Originally Posted by kup
Does't cover my needs unfortunately. I'll explain why:Quote:
Originally Posted by UltraMarginal
The Screen is soldered to the front mainboard through two flex PCB connectors. The one connecting from the bottom controls vertical lines (Y) and this can be easily fixed with a solder to re-establish the connection as it's heat resistant. So if you have 'columns' on your GB, it's an easy fix. My GB above had that and it was easily fixed.
However the other connector coming from the side that controls the horizontal lines (X) is also a flex PCB but the end leading to the LCD is of this horrible flimsy material that is not heat resistant at all. As a result you can't really use a standard solder iron as it would burn right through the ribbon.
So now I have the GB all fixed up but it's got one very thin horizontal line in the middle and a large bar at the top (where the score would be in Mario Land). From what I can see online, no one has been able to fix this problem other than replacing it with a part of a junker. Apparently you can't buy screens on their own for original GB since they are hard connected into the front board through those flimsy connectors - Removing/replacing is instant kill.
Here is some visual aid:
http://blog.gg8.se/wordpress/2011/07...harder-to-fix/
Two avenues are open to me now to fix this:
- Buy a junker and hope as hell the screen is ok or at least with dead columns instead of bars.
- From a bit of research, the (X) ribbon has a melt point of 200c so if I buy a heat adjustable solder, I may have a chance.
All in all, pulling apart that GB was one hell of a learning experience. I am now very familiar with how the system works. It is infinitely more elaborate than the GBA and most of it is easily repairable which is a shame about the screen issue. If it wasn't for that, the GB would now be in fully working condition.
I will see about buying one of those adjustable solders for $20 on ebay and hope for the best. Long shot at best but if it succeed - new gameboy :)
I think restoring these units take real time and dedication, and should be considered a form of art in their own right.
Well done, kup. :)
Thanks Sam :) But so far I only had success with the GBA. That GB is proving to be a real pain in the A.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sam
I tried baking the GB screen part to see if I can get the carbon fibers on the X ribbon to melt but nothing. All it did is melt the wrong contact which I had to re-solder. No harm done I guess as no further damage was done.
My last chance is still to try a solder with a variable temperature setting or get a junker. Too bad as although it doesn't look it in the photo, the case is real nice and everything else works superbly.
Success :)
Yep, it's the same Game Boy as the previous page ;)
http://kupscigar.com/consoles/newgb1.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/consoles/newgb2.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/consoles/newgb3.JPG
That is absolutely brilliant Kup, this sort of thing seems right up your alley dude and a good application of your known aptitude for fixing things. ;):)
I look forward to seeing more of your efforts with various consoles as I too have an appreciation for older technology, especially vintage consoles which we've all sunk many hours into at one stage or another in our lives. :cool:
Definitely let me know if you ever start working on a Color Gameboy or Gameboy Pocket. :D
Thanks Hursti :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Hursticon
I actually have started working on a Gameboy Color :)
Unfortunately the one I got is certainly beyond repair without finding new parts. A unique capacitor is damaged and there is no way to replace that so motherboard is gone. Everything else is fine however so hopefully I can find a junker somewhere which has bad screen and buttons and scavenge the motherboard or at least the component from it that I need.
^^Whole-eeeeee Shiiiiiiiiit - that restored GB is fantastic :cool:
That nice clean Gameboy is really making the cartridge look like it took a bath in a pot of tea!