Sega Gamegear Screen

Some people don't like the original gamegear lighting.

 

the led backlight mod is primarily to improve battery life which apparently it does greatly. i havn't done it personally tho.

 

Indeed it give you more batteries life than the original fluorescent tube. But it give some bright spots that I like to work a better diffusing solution to move the bright equal. To do a Ds backlight mod have to work the GG screen holder and find a ds screen.

 

Here is a thread on smspower, http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13132

I got it to work fine, but I need to finish it in it's entirety, one day....one day.

 

shame you can't do the same screen swap on a GG as you can on the Nomad

 

OK. I am done.





A minor amount of screen "ghosting", but barely noticable. Success!

Edit: looks better if you can get a good picture of it ofcourse :witless:

 

its hard to get a decent pic of the gamegear screen

 

Yes, but as I said, it will NOT remove those ghost lines. And congratulations on paying through the nose for your parts, then! I'd suggest taking a look at my suppliers sticky

You'll find some of them hard, if not impossible, to desolder with a standard iron. They're connected underneath and require quite some heat therefore - risking damaging the tracks again. If you don't have a reflow solution, the best way is probably to break the component off with the legs still in situ, then desolder.

Sorry, no. This just shows that you ordered the wrong capacitors.

That's how you get dry joints. Poor soldering practice. Why aren't you using helping hands?

No you won't. SMD components are more expensive than the cheapest electrolytics, which are usually around 3p each. SMD ones are always going to be more - probably around 20p. My main point was that a lot of people don't have the equipment to use SMD components properly. Furthermore, they'll cheap out buying the cheap Chinese components rated at around 1000 hours @ 85C instead of the proper SMD replacements, which would have a better lifespan. Then they'll advertise their service as if SMD components have some inherent fault, not that it's a fact that electrolytic capacitors have a limited shelf life.

 

OK hot-shot. I think misinterpreted the DIY spirit of my post.

I was happy that I could pick up my cheap soldering iron, use my limited knowledge of electronics and find some spare time from work in order to fix my GG. I don't have a lot of cash, so there was a certain element of "make do with what I have". The fix was a success and that is what mainly matters here.

You live and learn.

 

Don't get me wrong, it's good that you did it. However, taking the time to learn how to properly desolder before doing it on something that matters to you is a good idea! Also, the place where you most likely got the list of caps did state use sub miniature electrolytics. Had you done that, you wouldn't need to mess around with wires at all. And in fact, the only place where it should be a problem is on the sound board under the shielding.

 

@ retro yeah true but it makes it a whole lot more bare-able / less noticeable when you're playing with the caps done.

to be honest i don’t think the components cost that much, was a few extra p for the smaller / low profile caps but it didnt break the bank i will check out your supplier sticky though will come in handy!

 

Most people can't get through hole components in volumes or from suppliers where the price is going to make any real difference. If you order single units from farnell the difference is almost nothing, in many cases the SMDs cost more. Ordering from most places (including almost all the UK suppliers in the suppliers sticky) you cant even get surface mount capacitors. Even if the SMD parts do cost less, once you take into account the extra equipment you might need to do the work its a no brainer, particularly if you aren't going to use the equipment more than once or twice. You can get also get very high quality (and consequently very expensive) through hole capacitors.

 

Err, what? ALL of the UK suppliers on my list sell SMD capacitors. The black ones in the Game Gear are technically NOT surface mount.

I use very high quality capacitors in my Game Gear repairs, and it's not that expensive. More than buying the ultra cheap capacitors, yes - but my original point was that most people cheap out on those. And I do believe I also mentioned that most people won't have access to proper SMT gear. Thanks for repeating what I already said, though!

As I mentioned to you before, SMD capacitors are generally more expensive. Here's an example:

10uF 6.3V SMD 3000 hours @ 105C £0.29 (MOQ 10)
10uF 6.3V through hole 2000 hours @105C £0.258 (MOQ1)

As you can see, the SMD version is both more expensive when you're buying in the low quantities that you argued don't make a difference, and also has a higher rating.

Incidentally, Maplin's price for a low profile 100uF 6.3V capacitor with unknown rating (probably 1000 hours @ 85C) is £0.49. So be my guest and buy from Maplin if you want. For the price you pay there, you might as well have asked me to do it for you!

 

Retro, how much do you charge to do this sort of thing? I've got like 3 Game Gears that have some sort of issue going on....

 

Sorry for the delay in replying. I'm actually about to restock on the capacitors, so I'm re-evaluating what quantities I buy. This may very well mean I'll be able to offer a better price. I'll take a look over the weekend and get back to you.