lynx 1 and 2 differences?

[liquid_sky]

sorry if this question seemsa too basic but i was one of the people who always wanted a lynx but ended up with the game boy *cringes*. im wondereing, aside from the cosmetic differences, are there any changes in processors/video/sound/battery life/ect between the lynx 1 and 2 or is it like the vcs to 2600 thing? this is the only atari system ive never really gotten into so im pretty stupid as to its workings

[Wntermute]

I think they may have used a different backlight in the Lynx 2. I had a Lynx 1 and used the bulk AA's you could get at Price Club/Costco, and the backlight would overheat the batteries to the point where they'd leak. I switched over to using just an AC adapter after that happened.

[liquid_sky]

i dont blame you for switching to an ac adapter after that..i sure would have, but you musta been doing some intence gaming to make a battery leak (or the light musta been reallllll hot) i wonder this is why the GBA wont have a backlight?

[Albert]

quote

i dont blame you for switching to an ac adapter after that..i sure would have, but you musta been doing some intence gaming to make a battery leak (or the light musta been reallllll hot) i wonder this is why the GBA wont have a backlight?

 

The Gameboy Advance doesn't have backlighting for two reasons:

 

1) A backlit LCD screen consumes quite a bit more power than the reflective LCD screen the GBA uses. In order to get a reasonable battery life from the GBA, Nintendo sacrificed the backlight.

 

2) A backlit LCD screen costs more money to produce and probably would have pushed the GBA above $100. Or maybe not, but it certainly would have cut into Nintendo's profits.

 

I'm hoping that Nintendo comes out with a GBAA (Gameboy Advance Advance) in the future that sports a Backlight TFT LCD along with a Lithium Ion battery and a charger (preferably a standalone charger so I could charge a second battery while draining the one in my GBAA).

 

..Al

[Gunstar]

That's strange that the batteries leaked on you like that. Are you sure it was because of the backlight? I have a Lynx I, the ac plug broke, so I've been using batteries only for about a year, usually rechargable, but I've even recharged disposable batteries and used them in my Lynx I and have never had any problems with overheating or leakage.

As far as I know, the differences between the two are that, yes, the linx II has a longer battery life, the screen can be shut off(to further save battery life if you pause the game or something), it's smaller and easier to insert the game cards, and it has a STEREO headpone jack instead of a mono one like the Lynx I. But they both have equal processing power and are identical in screen resolution, speed, etc. Totally compatible.

[Wntermute]

Yes, I'm sure it was the backlight.. after about 10-30 minutes of use, it got warm to the touch.

 

And the other reason the GBA doesn't have a backlight is simple: It gives those 3rd party add-on people another gizmo to repackage and sell as new.

[jawa]

it was not the backlight that did it, it is the intense drain the both lynx I and II have. anything that will drain 6 AA's in 2-4 hours can do that to any battery. you need to give the batteries a break after an hour. 90% of the batteries are fine, it's that 10% of them that it can happen to. i had an old game boy I do that, i was plying for like 2.5 hours, and "POP" it scared the hell out of me. i pulled out the batteries, and one was sizzling. but it happened only once,and it did not hurt the G.B. i've never had it happen in either of my lynxs.

 

don't let that change your view of the lynxI i like it better, i have both of them, and i like the lynxI better, i think it looks cooler, it's about an inch longer, but thinner than the lynxII so to me it is more comfortable to hold. and the volume can but turned up higher too.

[hurt]

back the your orig question man i don't know if anything was changed but i can bost the specs for the lynx and hope that someone can post them for the lynx II.

 

lynx specs

processor: 65c02

processor speed: 4 MHz

Resolution: 160 x 102

Colors Avail: 4,096

Colors on screen: 16

Max Sprites: 128

Sprite Size: Programmable

[Albert]

Okay, I just copied the following section from the Atari LYNX FAQ (which is hiding on AtariAge here if you want to view the whole thing):

 

quote:

---

Q. What were the differences between the original Lynx ("Lynx Classic") and

the later-model Lynx ("Lynx II")?

 

A. The Lynx II is a bit smaller and lighter than the original Lynx. It had a

slightly longer battery life, and can also just turn the screen off during

a game pause to save batteries. (The original Lynx had a five minute

auto-power shut-off that would have prevented this from being useful. It

was removed in the Lynx II). A power LED was added (which also blinks

when battery power is low), and cartridges are easier to insert.

 

The only differences in a technical sense is that the Lynx II has a more

efficient internal design, and the headphone jack supports stereo sound.

The speaker in the Lynx II is also not as loud as the original Lynx,

though it's more than adequate for all but the noisiest situations.

 

Also, the Lynx II can experience what is called "blinking pixel syndrome".

With certain game cards, one pixel on the screen (usually stationary)

cycles through all the colors very quickly. It does not affect game play,

and isn't always noticed unless it's looked for. It seems to be fixed in

later Lynxes, making it even less of a factor.

 

The power consumption in the Lynx II is about fifteen percent less than

that of the original Lynx. Harry Dodgson (hdodgson@ford.com) shows

Classic using 343 mA, versus 296 mA for the Lynx II. Also, about

two-thirds of the Lynx power use is for the backlight screen alone, as

using the Lynx II with the backlight off used only 97 mA. He concludes,

"the 'battery life of five hours' claim by Atari is realistic."

---

 

Hope that helps.

 

..Al

[bomly]

>Harry Dodgson (hdodgson@ford.com) shows

>Classic using 343 mA, versus 296 mA for the

>Lynx II. Also, about two-thirds of the Lynx

>power use is for the backlight screen

>alone, as using the Lynx II with the

>backlight off used only 97 mA.

 

I read on a web-site (I think the IGN boards) that someone hooked up his multimeter to a GBA and found it drew about 80 mA. He wanted to see if the speaker increased power consumption - and he found that the power draw didn't vary much no matter what the volume setting.

 

It sounds like the GBA with no backlighting isn't much less than a Lynx with no backlighting.

[Ze_ro]

quote:

---

Originally posted by :

It sounds like the GBA with no backlighting isn't much less than a Lynx with no backlighting.

---

 

Doesn't the Lynx use a higher voltage though? The GBA only uses 2 AA batteries (3 volts). I still think it's pretty impressive that it gets 15 hours of life off only 2 batteries (though I haven't a GBA to test this)

 

--Zero

[Genki]

GBA runs on less power because it's entirely made on CMOS technology (usually flexible from 1.5v to 15v DC) while conventional technology typically requires 5v DC to run.

 

Here's something that might be possible to really cut the battery drain rate from Lynx: replace the inverter and backlight tube with white LEDs. Back then white LEDs didn't come by easy and nowday you could pick up some for about $2-$3 each. And they can be as bright as a CCFT but uses only 20mA each.

 

Take the tube out. Drill a few holes in the back reflector piece (since LED are not omnidirectional as CCFT, you got to aim it forward) A good way would be to arrainge it so each would aim generally near one of each corner so you'd have the best light coverage as possible.

 

I'd love to do this but I only have 1 Lynx and I don't want to experience Lynx withdrawal should my attempt blow up. And I don't have $30 to spare right now either so eBay's out of question.

[ataribob]

My view on Lynx Mod 1 and 2

Lynx 1 had a slightly bigger screen

Was built like a tank.

Sounded like a Boom Box

Was not in stereo but only a few lynx games were made with the stereo sound

 

Lynx mod 2 Cheaper Plastic

Sound was the best feature.

Stereo was great if you had most games that used it