GameBoy Advanced SP in Original GameBoy Shell

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Yet another GameBoy Advance SP crammed into an original GameBoy (DMG-01) shell. Neither cost much; the DMG had a broken screen, and the SP had a damaged case. The plan is to make it as unassuming as possible, fitting both Original and Advanced cartridges.

I started by finding an original GameBoy on eBay for very cheap as it had a damaged screen. Having previously seen how some types of damage can be repaired by re-flowing the solder on the screen's ribbon cable, I felt confident this wouldn't be an issue, and I'd have a working GameBoy. As it turns out, the screen was beyond repair, leaving me with the choice of finding a new screen of something else. A cheap GameBoy Advance SP on eBay made my mind up...

The SP was disassembled, and then had the large components de-soldered from the PCB - the charging, audio and link jacks, and the cartridge interface. the latter lifted a couple of traces in the process. This made the PCB very thin, allowing for more flexible mounting options.

An adapter was made from laser cut acrylic to fit the SP's cartridge interface where the DMG's mounted. This was then re-connected to the main PCB with lengths of enamelled magnet wire - the lifted tracks were repaired at this stage. With a quick test to ensure the cartridge still read correctly, the solder joints were reinforced with epoxy.

The DMG came without a screen lens, but the SP's was in good enough condition to reuse - for now. it required a little bit of shaping, but otherwise is not a bad fit; it's only about a millimetre too short. The screen hole was then opened up to match the border on the lens, and the screen position finalised. Some stand-offs were removed to make space. the screen is currently double-sided taped in place, and will be glued when the time comes.

The link port has been glued into place.

The Front buttons are being handled by a common ground DMG board. this will be wired to the test points on the SP PCB. this is being left towards the end due to its simplicity.

The current hurdle is finding a nice place to put the shoulder buttons. I had purchased a kit to use reproduction A & B buttons, but have since used it on the Kite's Circuit Sword project. Due to the relatively limited use these buttons get in many of my Advance games, it is looking like a pair of small tactile switches will be used.