Makara

Smoke is never a good sign and indcates something is getting extremely hot, usually from a short. If you already checked all caps are correctly polarised, one option is to spray IPA over the board, then power it up. You will see the IPA evaporate quickly where the heat is coming from. I would try recapping it again, maybe the incorrectly polarised caps have been damaged, or damaged some of the other caps. The fading screen issue looks like a capacitor problem TBH.

I was wondering if you had made any progress with this?

The clone screens have specific solder points for the brightness control, I don't believe the genuine Mcwill screens have these. FYI there is a new screen out made by some French modders which has a brightness control and is very energy efficient. The 'easy soldering guide' is pretty poor, but if you have installed a Mcwill it's basically the same. It also has 3d printed brackets which are quite nice. Oh, and it's cheaper. https://retrokai.store/en/accueil/33-magic-screen-lcd-replacement-for-game-gear.html

Simpler solution - get one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072QZP9VH/ ...and one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/HETP-Portable-25800mAh-Black-Red-Capacity/dp/B07W5YG32K/ Play for days, no mods needed.

There are two different versions of the GG internal power board, the UK/ Japan version uses a centre negative 5.5mm socket and the USA version uses centre positive 4.8mm.

Some things to check: - Did you test for 5v during the install? - Did you recap the power board? - Have you tried a different game/ tried cleaning the cart slot? - Tried a different LCD panel?

The Lynx version is really good, compared with the Game Gear and it is so far ahead and definitely closer to the ST/ Amiga versions.

It's 2020 and people are still using AC adapters - just get one of these and a battery pack: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072QZP9VH

I've bought a few things from the US in the last couple of months and it has taken around 4-5 weeks on average to receive it. Not just the US though, I've had some things from Japan, even via EMS, taking 3-4 weeks.

I wouldn't say it drains the battery life, I haven't noticed it being worse than the standard Lynx. However, the Ben Venn is apparently much better. Have a look at this article: https://atarigamer.com/articles/installing-and-testing-out-the-bennvenn-lcd-mod-for-atari-lynx It's not an issue for me since I only use my Lynx at home and use rechargable batteries or a USB cable. Regarding the brightness, yes it is very bright (which is not a bad thing) but sometimes may be a bit too harsh in low light and a control for it would be welcome - but I wouldn't say this is a deal-breaker. The MOSFET and Diode replacment is kind of a preventative measure as these can fail. I am not convinced that simply swapping the components for new ones does any good though, since any component can fail at any time regardless of how new it is. They don't necessarly wear out with age or use like capacitors. That's just my opinion though.

Ok well let's rephrase that to 'not widely available'.

I've only used the McWills and I'm happy with them - the Ben Venn screens are supposedly better for battery life. The biggest thing at the moment is that the Ben Venn screens have been out of stock for a while.

You will need to test with a multimeter to find a 5v source, there should be a few places you can use. I had a quick scan of the schematic and TP15 is marked as a +5v so that would work but I don't know how accessible that is. For ground you could do what the other guide says and use the negative speaker terminal, or just pick a component on the schematic that goes to ground and wire to the negative terminal (you will need to confirm with a multimeter).

Here's a good pic of what it looks like behind the screen: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atari-Lynx-Motherboard-Top-Angle-Exposed.jpg If I remember rightly, there are two of those white diffusers stacked on top of each other, you just need to remove them and put the backlight in there. Perhaps you could just remove one and use the other to clamp it in. The whole assembly is held with those rubber pins. I think it will be pretty straightforward.

They are somewhat different as the Lynx II screen is contained inside a removable unit with the backlight, whereas the Lynx I has it all attached directly to the mainboard. It's more similar to the Game Gear.