Best Front-light for Game Boy Color?

I own the frontlit GBA SP so the resource is already there for modding, but I curious if other front-lights have better quality than the GBA SP one for Game Boy Color mods? Thanks.

 

I've found that using the GBA SP front light yields much higher quality results than the kitsch-bent front light does, even if you use loca.
Compared to the GBA afterburner, both are considerably worse, and I've been curious as to why, since the tech is basically identical. The only difference I can find is the afterburner kit included anti-reflective film you had to put on the LCD. (and from what I understand, the AGS-001s also had some sort of AR film on their LCDs, too) I plan on getting some AR film and seeing if it makes any difference because, in my opinion, the mod isn't really worth doing as it. As I said, using loca does help considerably, but it still pales in comparison to the GBA SP and afterburner kits


Kitsch-Bent w/o loca vs w/ loca


GBA SP frontlight vs Kitsch-Bent w/ loca


Kitsch-Bent w/ loca vs GBA Afterburner

 

Rats sorry to hear this, especially after I placed an order for the kitsch-bent kit :| I've been playing with a GBC I picked up and I really don't remember the screen being this bad on it. I was going to give it a shot without LOCA and plan to pick some up next month after I'd given the non-LOCA variant a try, should I just put an order in now for the LOCA and not even attempt it without?

 

Loca does make an improvement, but it still leaves a lot to be desired, IMO. I think the texturing on the Kitsch-Bent light panel is partly to blame. I'm anxious to see what AR film does to improve the contrast.

Without loca is pretty much useless. The pictures I took of the Zelda menu were to provide the highest contrast I could (white on black) and its still really washed out.

Even with loca, I honestly don't feel it's worth it. The contrast is still too low. Not to say it's unusable. But it's not going to look like a front lit SP if that's what you're hoping for.

 

Thank you for posting those pictures are really gives me a better idea of what it would look like. The GBA mod definitely looks better in that picture. What anti-reflective film did you pick up to try?

 

Just to add to what adimifus said.. LOCA does make an improvement, but if not done well. It will show the slightest of imperfections.. the smallest of air bubbles are visible. I'm very particular about small details like that; I was not happy with the LOCA, so after a few unsuccessful attempts - I went without it.

 

I haven't picked up any yet. It's hard to find any in small quantities. I'm planning on ordering a sheet from here and cutting it down to size.

Loca is kind of a pain. You can see lots of bubbles in the one I did. But if you ignore them, it's still not that great. I have done some that turned out better, I just don't have pictures of them. Did your loca-free installation turn out better than mine did?

 

I've seen front light panels on aliexpress pretty cheap but I've heard that they seem blurry (it could just have plastic film to prevent scratches, replacement lenses have that).
the original defuser in the sp is a Acrylic pannel with super fine corrigations etched into it which also act as a polariser..

if you plan on getting a new pannel get some real close up shots of the pannel, some just have a fine honeycomb pattern printed on them to defuse light, which is no good for this application.

 

That's how the Kitsch-Bent panels are. Is there a good place (or any place?) That you know of where you can get the corrugated style diffuser? That's how the afterburner diffuser is, also. I've looked around but haven't found anything.

 

After Burner looks really good, however I'm not seeing any sites that sell it unfortunately.

 

The afterburner was a front light kit for the original GBA before the SP came out. They haven't been available for close to 10 years probably. It was a really good mod, and looked worlds better than what's currently available for the GBC. At the time, the GBA was a current console and the unlit screen was a big complaint about it. Since the GBC is much older, and fewer people are willing to put the effort into modding one (especially when the AGS-101 will essentially do exactly what a GBC can with a much much nicer screen than any front light could provide for a genuine GBC) so there's no incentive for anyone to put the kind of effort into making a kit like the afterburner for the GBC.

I remember someone front lighting a GBC around the time the afterburner was around, and used a similar diffuser. I wonder where he sourced it...

 

Yeah, it's a shame. The GBA SP is great, but there are a few flaws with it. For instance one flaw, with the AGS 101 is it has a high ghosting (response time) although the front lit one does not have that issue. The other issue is for GBC games the screen for it to look right is real small. I also much more prefer the comfort of a Game Boy Color to all handhelds really. It feels really nice. There is the GB Boy Colour, but the screen is smaller and the aspect ratio is off so I'd deal with using the real deal and a front light than that.

I own a Game Boy Player, but I'm not really satisfied with it for GB/GBC games even if forced 240p via Swiss, it still isn't as good as Super Gameboy for GB games. I just wish a cart was made to run GBC games on Super Nintendo for the best resolution you can get on a CRT.

Who knows, maybe a clone console will one day have Game Boy Color support outside of Retron 5.

 

The difference between the LOCA screen and the Afterburner and SP screens looks pretty stark in those pictures. I'm going to be trying my hand at installing the LOCA screen pretty soon, however I'm using the more expensive "Osaka 7" LOCA that's supposed to be removable. If I'm not satisfied with the results I may go back and do it over again with an SP screen from eBay, although HandheldLegend makes the claim that the Osaka 7 LOCA also offers a clearer image. It seems somewhat questionable, but we'll see about that. I'm more keen on the promise that I can undo it if I don't like the results, which I may have to test on some scrap plastic beforehand just to be safe.

An SP light in my Kiwi GBC would look fine, although I imagine it would be pretty difficult to do in an Atomic Purple GBC without making it look terrible. Maybe some electrical tape wrapped around the excess?

 

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Here are the two gameboy colors that I did with Osaka 7 loca and the front light kit. The one on the left looks a slight bit dimmer in this pic because it has old batteries in it, while the one on the right has a brand new pair of batteries. Both are perfectly playable at these light levels, though.



This is a mod that should be approached with the right expectations-- first of all, that textured diffuser is very prone to picking up bits of dust during installation and getting it to be very clear is difficult. A piece of scotch tape seemed to be the best way to grab the dust, although unless you have a flawless kit and a perfectly sterile workspace it seems pretty likely that there will be specks on the screen when it's closed up. Honestly though, I don't notice the specs during gameplay and you will only see them during black screens.

The keys to doing it right are to be patient enough to work any bubbles out, and to keep the screens and your work area as clean and dust-free as possible. Wear gloves when handling the screens if possible. I recommend keeping a AA battery holder handy so as to turn the light on and look for bubbles. Also, the Osaka 7 loca is reverseable. I had to re-do the Kiwi Green unit since I didn't properly clean the screen and got dust under the loca. With a little bit of fuss it peels off like a gummy gel, and you can clean it out of the "trenches" along the screen using a toothpick. I highly recommend the Osaka 7 in case you need a do-over, or if ultimately decide this mod isn't for you.

It's a little more washed out than my GBA SP 001 screen, but it's a bit brighter and has a "cooler" hue to it, which depending on your preference may be more desirable. More importantly, I get to enjoy Gameboy Color games on a larger screen area with the original GBC form factor. Whether or not this mod is worth it boils down to how much you like the Gameboy Color itself.

I haven't seen the SP frontlight mod to compare it with, but this mod is a fair bit easier to install, requires no modification of the GBC's housing, and doesn't require destroying an SP for parts. If you have a broken SP lying around and are handy with a hobby saw and dremel I'd say give that mod a shot, but I really like the results I got using the aftermarket kit and loca, and if I ever decide I want to do the SP light mod someday I can always remove the light kit and loca.

It's a somewhat tricky mod to install but I think it was definitely worth it. I've played with the Kiwi Green unit for several hours and I am very happy with the end results. It's really given me a new love for my old GBC.