Handheld Hijinks Vol 2 - Run DMG

Inviere

I bought an really old bruised and battered DMG-01 years ago, with the intention of fixing it up, and doing a bivert mod on it. Since then though, the drop-in IPS screen mods came along, and offer fantastic visuals, easy installation, and aren't too expensive. So having been watching a lot of Mark Fixes Stuff on YT lately, I got a bit inspired to finally dig the old DMG out and give it the once over. All parts were bought from Retro Six in the UK, and they were here in a matter of days....very fast postage.

It's very hard to capture the quality of the IPS screen on my phone, but in person, it's really really nice. I made one mistake and bought the 'brilliant white' replacement shell, and only realised when it got here that there's no branding on it...it's totally white. RetroSix sell a 'pearl white' version, with the expecting Nintendo branding on it, so that's been ordered and I'll fit it when it arrives. That's just a personal thing, others might like the spartan look of the brilliant white one. I've always looked white handhelds (have the Analogue Pocket ordered in white too), so I think with the black buttons and screen glass this looks very well.

@Retr0gamer yes yes yes I know the devs used the slow response of the original screen to create transparency effects in certain games, but the original screen is virtually unusable. It's so dim and blurry, that I'm willing to compromise the single benefit of it, for the many benefits of a modern replacement. And for any purists, no DMG's were harmed in the making of this mod...it's completely reversible. I've a minty original DMG in the box too which will stay fully original. This will be just to pick up and play if I ever feel the need!

Steve X2

What's the deal with the CleanPower/CleanJuice pcb's? Can you power it different batteries types?

Looks nice and clean by the way and you may have just reduced my wallet a bit :)

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118555387#Comment_118555387

Aye Steve, its just a more modern power delivery/regulation circuit. It replaces the original one, which may/may not be dodgy at this age.

This particular one has the RetroSix battery pack fit into the battery compartment, with a lovely USB-C charge port on the battery cover....its just a drop in battery, no soldering/modification required other than sliding out some of the battery springs.

Steve X2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118555451#Comment_118555451

Seems like a really nice setup and I'll definitely give it a go. Now, to go for the DMG or GB Color first?

Retr0gamer

There will be one or two games that used the flicker effect that will be unplayable but they aren't that many. IPS screen looks gorgeous.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118557977#Comment_118557977

There's a tiny bit of filing/cutting needed, around the shell at the volume wheel. The wheel just barely clips the shell when rotating. If you shave 1mm or less even off the area, it's solved. There's also some slight gaps around the screen itself that allow you to see past the edges, I'll need to revisit that so it's a better seal. I'll wait until the other shell I want arrives though.

As for which one to go for Steve, put that X2 in your name to good use 🤔😊

Inviere

So the Pearl White shell arrived, which is GameBoy branded (in a don't sue me way...see "for Nintendo Gameboy".

Whatever it is about this shell, it feels ssooooo much nicer to hold, there's a rubberised quality to the plastic, as opposed to the brilliant white shell which feels very, well, plastic. The only problem is the battery cover for the Pearl white shell doesn't quite match the shade of white the rest of the case in...but given the vastly improved feel of the Pearl one, it's a minor compromise.

@Steve X2 here's some shots of the clean juice internal battery

And I'm done with the DMG.

Next up is a PS4 Pro that needs thermal paste and thermal pads replaced....then some C64 love I think....

Steve X2

Are the cases the same as the original DMG-01, or modified in some way?

The reason I ask is I have 20+ new/old stock DMG-01 cases in various colours(sold as new/old stock, but most likely very high quality remoulds). Most importantly they all have new screen lenses, battery terminals, buttons etc and I have most of them in the original grey/off white colour(they also have the correct branding).

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118590664#Comment_118590664

I could be wrong Steve, but I THINK they're slightly different in that the ips screen is a drop in part with the RetroSix case. Whereas, OG cases require some internal cutting to accommodate the larger screen. You could use the NOS cases you have, but they'll require modification and manual screen alignment.

Pretty sure I've one of those NOS cases that I got from you, original grey.

Steve X2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118590789#Comment_118590789

Yes I think you have one. They are pretty good cases, but not true new/old stock. But a decent remould and good for modding and stuff like that so you're not taking a real case to bits.

CosmicSmash

If you are you are going to do a GBC Steve I'd recommend this one. VAT is prepaid and shipping only took ten days.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003205834440.html

Inviere

@CosmicSmash they do indeed look very well. Two different cases shown though, the one has the nintendo name embossed, the other is plain. Did you buy one, did it have the nintendo logo?

CosmicSmash

It has the logo, a lot of the time they're not shown in the listings but they are there. I always check the reviews with pictures, that way you know what you're going to get

Inviere

Sweet, might look at those for a GBC project, cheers 👍

The Last Bandit

Looks great, is the screen bigger than the original GBC one ?

CosmicSmash

They're meant to be 25% bigger than the original screen. It's a sealed unit so no dust to worry about either. You can shift the screen position using the start and select buttons, I had to adjust mine slightly, just to centre it. The colour of the Game Boy logo can also be changed and there's a touch sensor that adjusts the brightness at the top inside the shell.

Steve X2

I'm thinking I might do the GB Color first. I've done a few DMG-01 mods and stuff over the years(nearly 10 years since i stuck the first Raspberry Pi inside one) and the GB Color is a favourite of mine.

@CosmicSmash That screen looks amazing!

Inviere

Yeah same, I think I'm gonna do a GBC next and use the funnyplaying stuff above. Seen a stunning all white one online, shell, glass, dpad, buttons....looks amazing.

CosmicSmash

You won't be disappointed with the results. That's the video I used when I was installing mine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0f8w6nBtz0w&t=1638s

CosmicSmash

geotrig

That screen looks great in the GBC , I did change my one a few years ago but have no idea what i put in it now and dont remember looking that good.

The Last Bandit

Ordered one of these kits as well, looking forward to trying it out. Must see if I can pickup another GBC with a broken screen though, I want to keep my old working one intact with the original screen just so the kids can see how crappy we had it bitd.

geotrig

You can punish them by making them play, on the non backlit one when they are bold !😁

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118598977#Comment_118598977

I'm the same. I've a boxed one in storage that I'm not going to go near. Ideally I'd rather buy a broken one to fix up. Don't like the idea of taking OG ones out of the wild for mods like these.

Inviere

@CosmicSmash do those funny playing kits come with silicon pads for the buttons do you know? The store doesn't list any silicon rubbers for the GBC at all....

CosmicSmash

@Inviere they don't actually come with them. I reused mine along with the start and select buttons. I may have some around if you need them.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118664956#Comment_118664956

Much appreciated, I've a fairly rough GBC en route courtesy of eBay, so I'll see what condition the pads are in. I may take you up on that offer, thanks again 👍

CosmicSmash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118666278#Comment_118666278

That's no problem, just let me know what you need when it arrives.

Inviere

Had an issue with the pcb for the clean juice battery pack, where there must have been a flaw with a component on the pcb which drained the battery very quickly.

RetroSix sent me out a new pcb, which just connects to the battery pack via connector, and its working perfectly now.

Inviere

Well, a bit of a bump! This remains working perfectly, but one issue it's always had is really poor volume/audio levels. Well, that gets put to bed today!

^^ The DMG. I do love a white handheld I have to say.

^^ Mainboard out & ready for work...

^^ Behold, the Clean Amp Pro for the DMG. A discreet audio amplifier, purporting great levels & quality.

^^ A nice quick solder ribbon installation. Pretty nice.

^^ I've tinned the three points on this side, and have begun aligning the ribbon with the solder points...

^^ Same for the 5v and Headhone points here...all tinned & ready to be soldered to the ribbon now...

^^ Right side done...

^^ Left side done...

^^ Bottom done. That's the ribbon soldered to the mainboard. Next up, the speaker itself...

^^ I A brand new 1 watt speaker. Considerably smaller in diameter than the original, but a nice bump in performance from it.

^^ Original speaker removed...

^^ New speaker in. That's it, just need to close it up and test now...

^^ Back together...

^^ As you can tell by the images, the sound is working absolutely perfectly (it really is.) The original volume was really low, and there's plenty of punch in it now. I'd have been happy with the original audio had it not been so low, so now there's a much broader range of volume available - from ear piercingly loud, to a nice pleasant level...with a nice and crisp range throughout.

Finito!