I’ve recently realized it’s quite rude of me to not introduce myself. So, HI! I’m Dallas or Dodjira, as you might know me already, and if you’re reading this you just might be a Dodji! If you’re not already active here Welcome to the community! It’s good to have ya!
Here I share my hobbies, pontificate about life, and give opinions which tend to be dubious at best. I’m one half of the power couple responsible for this website AND this blog! We’ve been putting increased effort into building ‘Dodjira’ for the past year + and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. So come along for the ride!
Just a little about me: I’m a 33 y/o video editor, graphic artist, and now content creator? (gag) Ever since I graduated from film school, I’ve been creating work in film and television for other people and THIS, dear reader, is my opportunity to bring you exactly what I want to create exactly how I want to create it.
I recently went to Japan for the first time since the lock-down (that’s 5+ years!) and while I was there I made a number of nerdy purchases. One of those purchases was something I never had as a kid. A Game Boy Advance SP. Now these Gameboys were manufactured over 20 years ago (22 to be specific) so finding them in good condition is pretty tough. The rarity of these items is often reflected in their price! I was lucky enough to find my Gameboy for about 4400 yen or $28 in a Madarake, a collectible and vintage chain with many locations in Japan.
Now a little nerdy info for anyone NOT familiar with the past of the GBA SP. The Gameboy SP released in 2002 with the FRONT-LIT screen (AGS-001) and then later was released with a universally better (depending on who you ask) back-lit screen in 2005 (AGS-101). The second incarnation of the Gameboy SP was released late in the consoles life cycle and, despite looking more vibrant, was less popular than the original version of the SP. Because of it’s lack in popularity these Gameboys are twice as expensive on the second hand market today. HOWEVER this fact has garnered massive interest in second party screens amongst Gameboy modders.
So, what did I do?! I purchased an original SP with an AGS-001 screen and a deeply scuffed shell.
The modding would fully replace the shell and screen as well as the buttons on the Gameboy. So yes, affectively, I spent $28 for a mother board, a tiny magnetic speaker, and a battery. Taking the motherboard out and looking at all the parts splayed on my desk was scary, I’ll admit, but I knew what I was doing (thanks to various youtube videos and online tutorial sites).
Now, this process wasn’t easy but I managed to get everything where it needed to be AND I even soldered a wire from the screen’s connection ribbon to the Q128 component on the motherboard to allow for the Gameboy’s analog brightness button to work with the new screen. I hadn’t done any soldering since high school! The most difficult part of this process was definitely removing the hinges from the original shell and installing them in the new shell, I managed to stab myself with my screwdriver TWICE! After everything was said and done I managed to fully modify my Gameboy Advance SP with everything I wanted and it looks and feels great! I hope that if anyone here has any interest in modding an old Gameboy you can take my success as an assurance that ANYONE can do it!
Materials:
Original GBA SP
Clear Green GBA SP Replacement Shell
Pink GBA SP Replacement Button set
IPS 3.0″ Replacement screen (Pink bezel)
Tools
Philips head screw driver 3.0mm
Tri-point screw driver 3.0mm
Plastic pry-tool (guitar pick works aswell)
Needle-nose tweezers
Soldering iron // solder
BOWL or CONTAINER for your screws (seriously don’t lose your screws)
THANKS FOR READING! I’m off to play all my old GBA games now!
