Backlit Game Boy Pocket, GBC, and GBA

[Bibin]

With some googling I noticed some people were talking about a backlit Game Boy Pocket mod. I made guides for this as well as Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, so I just thought I'd post them here:

 

Someone was also selling some hilariously terrible 2-LED frontlight of a GBC.

 

Game Boy Pocket (note: to get the backlight from an LCD, take a broken DS lite LCD and when you replace it with a brand new one keep the broken one for its light!)

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=210

 

Game Boy Color (technically a frontlight):

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=916

 

Game Boy Advance (Again, a frontlight):

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=72

REALLY crappy pic; you can barely see it:

[Great Hierophant]

With some googling I noticed some people were talking about a backlit Game Boy Pocket mod. I made guides for this as well as Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, so I just thought I'd post them here:

 

Someone was also selling some hilariously terrible 2-LED frontlight of a GBC.

 

Game Boy Pocket (note: to get the backlight from an LCD, take a broken DS lite LCD and when you replace it with a brand new one keep the broken one for its light!)

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=210

 

Game Boy Color (technically a frontlight):

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=916

 

Game Boy Advance (Again, a frontlight):

http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=72

REALLY crappy pic; you can barely see it:

 

I think the original poster intended to post this in the Classic Gaming General Board.

 

I really like the results of these mods. I am having my full-size Gameboy modded with a backlight because I dislike the smaller controls and weaker sound of the Gameboy Pocket & Light.

[godslabrat]

There was at least one real backlit original Gameboy. The GameBoy Light was a Japan exclusive, however.

[Great Hierophant]

There was at least one real backlit original Gameboy. The GameBoy Light was a Japan exclusive, however.

 

I like his backlighting better than the Indiglo of the Game Boy Light. However, if it does require a DS backlight, then a used GB Light may be less expensive than a backlit Game Boy Pocket.

[Dittohead Servbot #24]

But aren't these mods rather useless if we have the GBA-SP?

[Chuck the Plant]

I have one of the Game Boy Lights you mentioned...I got really lucky and found one for sale in Japan. They're rare...I've been living here a year and a half and I've only ever seen one for sale, even in Akihabara. Mine's the Tezuko Osamu World Shop edition, red with Astroboy and other characters on the front.

 

It works great, and appears to be an evenly placed backlight with a greenish sheen which reminds me of the Timex Indiglo watches. It has easily the best playable display on any Game Boy until the Game Boy Micro.

 

I've never had the courage to open the thing and look inside at how it's set up. I've never found any online resources where someone has cracked a case and dissected on of these, but if something like that does exist it might be a good helping point for someone adding a GB backlight.