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Satisfying Game Boy Restoration (lemmy.world)

submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by Jim_Just_Jim@lemmy.world to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world

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"Do you want this old thing?" My uncle asked, pulling the old Game Boy from an end table drawer. "Your cousin didn't want it anymore so I've kept it. Your aunt and I played Tetris on it for years, but now the screen's all messed up and the buttons hardly work."

Memories flooded back to me of begging my cousin for a turn at Metroid 2 in the back seat of my aunt's Chevrolet Corsica on the way home from the zoo. Passing it around playing Kirby and Super Mario while at a birthday sleepover with a dozen other 3rd graders. Pleading with my Dad for one for my own birthday.

As I flipped the switch, Tetris music filled my ears. It was dirty, and the screen had vertical lines, but I couldn't say no. It was FINALLY mine!

I got to work right away. I was able to resolve the vertical lines by reflowing the solder on the screen, and then I cleaned up the motherboard with alcohol while I soaked the shell in an Oxyclean solution. Now she's running in tip-top shape! A friend called me a glutton for punishment for not replacing the screen, but I want it just like it is. Every scratch tells a story!

Super excited! Had to share with y'all!

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[-] JovialSodium@lemmy.sdf.org 22 points 6 months ago

My first thought when seeing but before reading is "OP should replace the screen". But I can respect you wanting to keep it original.

Great work, looks nice!

[-] Jim_Just_Jim@lemmy.world 21 points 6 months ago

Haha I know what you mean. Replacing with a backlit screen or at least replacing the lens did cross my mind at first, too. As I thought about how many years of memories I had with it, and how treasured it was by my kin at one time, I just didn't have the heart. There's an old saying about car restoration that I think applies to this situation.

"It's only Original once."

[-] craftyindividual@lemm.ee 11 points 6 months ago

"The Gameboy of Theseus"

[-] guyrocket@kbin.social 10 points 6 months ago

DOT MATRIX WITH STEREO SOUND

[-] Zarxrax@lemmy.world 9 points 6 months ago

Wow, it cleaned up real nice!

[-] Jim_Just_Jim@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago

It really did! Now I have to get to work collecting all the games!

[-] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 8 points 6 months ago

Damn, it felt like the screen was bigger when I was a kid. I must've played thousands of hours of Tetris...

[-] MisterMoo@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

I’m the same way — I’d simply never remove working components from my childhood Game Boy. There’s a real connection to an object that you can have. I hope to be buried with mine!

[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 months ago

Congrats!

I recently found my game boy color with my copy of Pokemon Red in it - a fresh set of batteries and it started the game just fine, but most of the buttons are non functional. Did you need to replace the buttons, or did they just work after cleaning with alcohol?

I wonder if oxyclean will work for my lime green gbc or if something else would be better?

[-] Jim_Just_Jim@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Hey! So I had to clean the contacts on the motherboard fairly vigorously with rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth in order to get the buttons to register again. In my case it appears that something sugary had been spilled on the Gameboy and seeped down to the motherboard. I didn't have to replace the buttons, just clean the button membranes of residue.

And the Oxyclean solution I used on the housing was about 1/4 cup liquid concentrated Oxyclean to 32 oz of warm water. I soaked all plastics for 2 hours and then I brushed with a soft bristle toothbrush. It won't damage the color of your plastics at all, but may lighten them to the degree that you can see in my pics. Lots of people use the Oxyclean solution for colored Gameboys. There are suggestions out there for stronger solution recipes but I didn't want to take any risks. More than anything, it seems like Oxyclean helps with the yellowing that occurs over time, but beyond that, the soak helps make the grime loosen up so it can be brushed out of the crevasses.

Edit: you will need a precision screwdriver set that includes triwing bits to disassemble the Gameboy. I got a budget set on Amazon by a company called "Jorest" for $9 USD. It included all the right bits and spudgers and picks to get it cleaned up no problem. I'm not sure if links to products are allowed here so I'm not comfortable providing a direct link. Part number was AJJOJM0101ORDCAR1 if that helps.

[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago

Thanks for all of the advice! I'll have to try and get my gbc working again too. I knew I needed some specialty bits to disassemble but wasn't completely sure what.

[-] Jim_Just_Jim@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

You can do it! Dive in, and provide us with an update when you get it up and running!

[-] AlligatorBlizzard@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago

I've got the tools, I just need to get some oxyclean so that I can avoid disassembling the device multiple times, lol. I'm kinda busy and I'm hoping to get to it next week during my weekend.

[-] Jim_Just_Jim@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

You know what's bittersweet about this is that my aunt died of dementia. My uncle said she held onto it and played it for years. It makes me wonder what she thought about as she held her son's favorite toy.