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FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
As many of you know , about a year ago , a guy called Adam Curtis , started to make a back light for the GBA. About a year on , and it's reality ! And how gooder reality it is !
I recieved mine on wednesday morning , because im only 14 , i had to go to school , so i installed it that night.
It comes in a small package , wrapped in a bubble wrap envelope.
The instructions are all published like real published book and each part of the kit is well constructed and easy to install.
INSTALLATION :
So I start out by taking apart my GBA with the tri head screw driver that I got with it (from liksang) , which took all of 2 minutes.
Next I follow the easy instructions , and start to CUT my gameboy ! yep you heard me right , CUT my beloved gameboy.
I mark out the bit I have to cut it out , and do it , which took me about 20 odd minutes to get it right (im a bit of a perfectionist) so that the light would fit into it.
Luckily the bit that you have to cut out is where the black gameboy advance logo is , so when you put the screen back on you cant see the damage , phew !
Now I have to put some reflective film on the lcd screen , which stops the light from reflecting … this is when the problems start :(
I determine which side of the film is sticky , line it up with screen , get the black plastic card that is provided , and lift up the corner of the “release film” , my heart sinks when a tiny bit of the glue layer lifts off , and im left with a corner with smudged up glue on it … DAM ! ..and … it’s visible from the outside ! But I can’t change that now , so I carry on.
The non reflective layer , goes on perfectly without any bubbles or anything underneath it … nice.
Now I have to solder … uh oh ;) In the past I have ruined things by soldering for too long , but I’ve learnt from my mistakes and .. start to solder. I have to put the black and red wires onto the ribbon cable coming from the afterburner (the light), which surprisingly is very easy , and goes off without a hitch ! wahoo !
For the next hour or so , I’m fiddling about inside my gameboy (and out) fitting a resistor to a very small terminal thingy ( like fitting a switch to your gamecube) that also surprisingly goes very very well , and I get it right first time ! Now the real problems start, problems that almost make me give up…
I could finish it now , and just have the light inside without a switch on the outside to change the brightness. I thought it would be pretty easy , and cool to have this brightness switch so I go for it … oh what a terrible mistake it was.
To start with I have to make 4 small holes on the right hand side of the gameboy (on the back , below the r button). To do this I use my soldering iron , and then flatten them out with my screw driver.
All going well to far, then I put the brightness dial on , and I notice a problem , I made the holes to far up , so soldering is hard.
To cut a long story short , I try and try to solder the wires to these 2 (the other 2 prongs were used for mounting only) very close together prongs , and succeed, when I try to put the GBA back to together the wires get caught on the game cartridge bit , where you put in the games , and they snap. This happens twice on the second time , I am so demoralised , that I just forget the dial , and finish it without it. I can go back and fit it later if I want to.
OVERALL:
The overall result , is probably the best add on I have ever bought ! I can see my screen , AT LAST !
I can actually look directly at the screen without having to tilt it towards the light. And most of all, I can see it perfectly at night, and the graphics and the whole game in general looks excellent, and I can honestly say they look better with the light.
I may have made it sound as if it was a nightmare to install, but it really wasn’t. The hardest part was having to cut out bits of plastic from the casing, and fitting that switch (but that could have been easy if I had put it in the right place, I could have made new holes , but I thought it might look messy) .
All in all , for £30 , it’s well worth the money , it will enhance your games playing by infinite amounts (unless of course you break your gameboy in the process of installing it , but it seems very hard to actually break it). The only problem with it is , that the light is SO bright , that after a while of playing in pitch darkness it does hurt your eyes a bit , but that’s what happens with most bright lights. And of course , you wont be able to play during lessons , that you have to watch boring videos, and they turn off the lights , because the gameboy turns into a light itself , it’s just that bright.
RATING : 10/10 !
SUPERB
As many of you know , about a year ago , a guy called Adam Curtis , started to make a back light for the GBA. About a year on , and it's reality ! And how gooder reality it is !
I recieved mine on wednesday morning , because im only 14 , i had to go to school , so i installed it that night.
It comes in a small package , wrapped in a bubble wrap envelope.
The instructions are all published like real published book and each part of the kit is well constructed and easy to install.
INSTALLATION :
So I start out by taking apart my GBA with the tri head screw driver that I got with it (from liksang) , which took all of 2 minutes.
Next I follow the easy instructions , and start to CUT my gameboy ! yep you heard me right , CUT my beloved gameboy.
I mark out the bit I have to cut it out , and do it , which took me about 20 odd minutes to get it right (im a bit of a perfectionist) so that the light would fit into it.
Luckily the bit that you have to cut out is where the black gameboy advance logo is , so when you put the screen back on you cant see the damage , phew !
Now I have to put some reflective film on the lcd screen , which stops the light from reflecting … this is when the problems start :(
I determine which side of the film is sticky , line it up with screen , get the black plastic card that is provided , and lift up the corner of the “release film” , my heart sinks when a tiny bit of the glue layer lifts off , and im left with a corner with smudged up glue on it … DAM ! ..and … it’s visible from the outside ! But I can’t change that now , so I carry on.
The non reflective layer , goes on perfectly without any bubbles or anything underneath it … nice.
Now I have to solder … uh oh ;) In the past I have ruined things by soldering for too long , but I’ve learnt from my mistakes and .. start to solder. I have to put the black and red wires onto the ribbon cable coming from the afterburner (the light), which surprisingly is very easy , and goes off without a hitch ! wahoo !
For the next hour or so , I’m fiddling about inside my gameboy (and out) fitting a resistor to a very small terminal thingy ( like fitting a switch to your gamecube) that also surprisingly goes very very well , and I get it right first time ! Now the real problems start, problems that almost make me give up…
I could finish it now , and just have the light inside without a switch on the outside to change the brightness. I thought it would be pretty easy , and cool to have this brightness switch so I go for it … oh what a terrible mistake it was.
To start with I have to make 4 small holes on the right hand side of the gameboy (on the back , below the r button). To do this I use my soldering iron , and then flatten them out with my screw driver.
All going well to far, then I put the brightness dial on , and I notice a problem , I made the holes to far up , so soldering is hard.
To cut a long story short , I try and try to solder the wires to these 2 (the other 2 prongs were used for mounting only) very close together prongs , and succeed, when I try to put the GBA back to together the wires get caught on the game cartridge bit , where you put in the games , and they snap. This happens twice on the second time , I am so demoralised , that I just forget the dial , and finish it without it. I can go back and fit it later if I want to.
OVERALL:
The overall result , is probably the best add on I have ever bought ! I can see my screen , AT LAST !
I can actually look directly at the screen without having to tilt it towards the light. And most of all, I can see it perfectly at night, and the graphics and the whole game in general looks excellent, and I can honestly say they look better with the light.
I may have made it sound as if it was a nightmare to install, but it really wasn’t. The hardest part was having to cut out bits of plastic from the casing, and fitting that switch (but that could have been easy if I had put it in the right place, I could have made new holes , but I thought it might look messy) .
All in all , for £30 , it’s well worth the money , it will enhance your games playing by infinite amounts (unless of course you break your gameboy in the process of installing it , but it seems very hard to actually break it). The only problem with it is , that the light is SO bright , that after a while of playing in pitch darkness it does hurt your eyes a bit , but that’s what happens with most bright lights. And of course , you wont be able to play during lessons , that you have to watch boring videos, and they turn off the lights , because the gameboy turns into a light itself , it’s just that bright.
RATING : 10/10 !
SUPERB
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i owe my dad £38
hehe
Heh- he did try, but he did not prevail. I manipulated him. Hehe- manipulating is fun!
:D
:D
ohhhhh , anyway , well done on getting the £15 out of him , i bet he tried to blame it on you ?
The fingerprint was actually on the afterburner itself, so I thought for an extra £15 (myDad paid the other £50|) instead of getting another AB, I thought i'd get one already installed.
:D
:D
where is the fingerprint ? on the screen ? if it is you could just clean it , or is it under the reflective film , and you could have hovered the dust out. But getting a black on will be nice ;)
Indian-DudeY2K wrote:
>
> i am SO sorry for you ;( , what happened ?
My Dad Happened! ;) He didn't believe me about dust and he thought he should solder grrr! I do electronics at school and solder all the friggn' time!
----------
did you burn out something
> ?
-------
Nope, AB was fine, AR was fine. Just friggin dust everywhere and a big fat finferprint from my dad. I now know he has the swirl type fingerprint. ;)
---------
> what did your dad say ? did you take a picture of the look on his face
> ?
-----------
My Dad said it was a waste of money. I replied with, "Dad- it was fine. YOU wasted it! He said he was sorry, and offered to put £50 towards a GBA wth one installed, which is nice
:D
-------------
> Did you swear at him ? Did you have a butterfly kind of feeling in
> your stomach thats made you feel sick ? Is your dad saying sorry every
> five minutes ? will you ever trsut a solderin giron again?
Soldering was the easy part. Keeping my Dad away was the hardest. ;) I wasn't worried- I wouldn't be able to see any damage outside, so I decided to sell it when I get my new one!
have fun with it , and dont
> let your dad touch it. Happy birthday for sunday.
Heh- thanks! :D
>
> i am SO sorry for you ;( , what happened ?
My Dad Happened! ;) He didn't believe me about dust and he thought he should solder grrr! I do electronics at school and solder all the friggn' time!
----------
did you burn out something
> ?
-------
Nope, AB was fine, AR was fine. Just friggin dust everywhere and a big fat finferprint from my dad. I now know he has the swirl type fingerprint. ;)
---------
> what did your dad say ? did you take a picture of the look on his face
> ?
-----------
My Dad said it was a waste of money. I replied with, "Dad- it was fine. YOU wasted it! He said he was sorry, and offered to put £50 towards a GBA wth one installed, which is nice
:D
-------------
> Did you swear at him ? Did you have a butterfly kind of feeling in
> your stomach thats made you feel sick ? Is your dad saying sorry every
> five minutes ? will you ever trsut a solderin giron again?
Soldering was the easy part. Keeping my Dad away was the hardest. ;) I wasn't worried- I wouldn't be able to see any damage outside, so I decided to sell it when I get my new one!
have fun with it , and dont
> let your dad touch it. Happy birthday for sunday.
Heh- thanks! :D
i got my afterburner from liksang , and it comes in about 4 days from hong kong , and airmail for the afterburner was about $6 about £3.50 , so for a gameboy it will be more , about $10 , maybe £10.
it's probably the best place to get them. (or portable gamer)
it's probably the best place to get them. (or portable gamer)
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