It turns out there's a lot of untapped potential in that boring, green Game Boy screen. Let's take a look at a pair of mods from Hand Held Legend that will unlock it!
Backlight module: handheldlegend.com/collections/frontpage/products/game-boy-backlight-dmg-and-pocket
Bivert module: handheldlegend.com/collections/frontpage/products/game-boy-bivert-biversion-module
Glass DMG replacement screen cover: handheldlegend.com/collections/frontpage/products/game-boy-glass-screen
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This Does Not Compute
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I'm told that newer versions of the Hand Held Legend backlight kit have been revised so that the resistor is built into the backlight itself. If you pick up one of these kits, it won't include a separate resistor, so the step in the video that shows installing one can be skipped.
Very true! Did that to my red Play It Loud. I very much appreciate that new convenience although being no stranger to soldering... meh. On a side note I'm new to this channel and can't help, but notice how bright your head is! Are you sitting by a window in these video runthroughs?
Whats the reason for the Resistor? What is the benefit?
+AddyC limits power draw. Not sure about this one specifically, but LEDs can burn out if they draw too much power
Thanks - exactly what I wanted to know.
resistor is built into the backlight in current HHL backlight kits
I watched your KZhead channel about backlight and bivret your DMG. Like 20 times to get the confidence to do it myself. And I did its amazing. My very first soldering job was a success. Thank you for making it look so easy.
Colin, I started watching your videos and your channel is one of my favorites now. Performed my mod and looks amazing! Thank you!
just finished mine. I can see so much more detail. I did the backlight and front screen mods. Very happy. this tutorial was extremely helpful.
Collin, I just wanted to say, YOUR CHANNEL FRICKING ROCKS! You showed me how to backlight some consoles, and all your other stuff. I found you a couple weeks ago and I already love it, keep on making more videos!
+Blaise Vought Thank you!
This Does Not Compute hello sir I followed this but my gameboy screen looks inverted and there is no detail in the picture, any idea where I could have gone wrong?
+twolve t you may have put the bivert chip in incorrectly.
+twolve t did you check to make sure you got all of the film off of the back of the screen? there is a few layers.
This Does Not Compute how long do these mods take?
I performed this mod to my Play it Loud Clear Gameboy DMG tonight, worked flawlessly. Thank you for taking the time to make easy to follow tutorials like this!
Thank you Collin! I just got done doing a backlight and bivert mod on my DMG. It turned out great. Couldn't have done it without this awesome, simple, and detailed video. You rock!
I've been working on modding my old Gameboy Color (had it for about 20 years, wow), adding a backlit screen and a rechargeable battery pack to it (among other things). When I showed it to my mom, she remembered that she still had her own Gameboy put away in a random dresser drawer (funny enough, it's the same as the one in the video!), and asked me if I could mod it as well. Your video will definitely be helpful once I start working on it, so thank you for making it!
I just ordered a kit to mod my clear DMG Play It Loud Gameboy. I wouldn't have the confidence taking apart my systems and modding them if it weren't for this channel. Collin, you rock!
Just coming back to say thanks Colin, I'd be nowhere without your videos, awesome work mate.
I just wanted to thank you profusely for making this vid and keeping it up. I just modded my original DMG and your tutorial helped immensely! I watched all the other backlight vids and read through a bunch of website tutorials, but yours is the best. I did the backlight and bivert, full recap kit, actual glass screen cover with dark gray bezel, changed out the red power LED for a blue one, and switched the red/maroon buttons for dark grey. Per Retro Modding dot com, I also added a 5V regulator for the backlight so that it doesn't overload the CPU regulator. The only soldering I'd done before this was reconnecting wires that had come loose in a few things. My Gameboy is so cool now! Thanks again!
It's me again. I found your channel a few weeks ago, and I'm addicted to those modding videos. Seems like your videos got me into modding my handheld devices. I had no idea how fun it is to take the soldering iron and make those handhelds better. I just ordered some more Hand Held Legend Kits to apply them with the help of your videos. Again, thank you for making these videos. Best wishes from Germany
Thank you! Just finished the backlight and bivert mod. This tutorial video was a big help. Enjoying your channel a lot. Good job there!
Hey, wanted to say thanks for making these tutorials. Just finished successfully installing a backlight in a DMG for the first time using this.
It's a crime that your videos don't have more views, considering their amazing quality. Thank you for your hard work!
Thanks for making this video. I received my parts from handheld legend today and had the bivert mod installed by the time the video was over. I backlit my DMG a year or two ago, but soldering the bivert chip was too hard for me.....not anymore thanks to that little PCB assembly :)
Thanks for the details buddy. Its amazing how crisp the screen is now with the bivert/back light... amazing .
Brightly colored screen show it off even more. I have one with a red backlight and it's amazing. Naturally I play Pokemon Red on it lol.
This was my go to video and thanks for your detail and explanation on everything. I was able to do all these mods myself and now my Gameboy is ready to be passed on to my children as a kind of 90s heirloom.
Just found your channel and love the content, really well produced and informative. Especially this mod! I just ordered a bunch of bivert chips to put into my already modded systems. I used to use ASM Retro backlights, but they have shut down. I will try some of the Handheld Legend ones in the future as they look the same.
Just used this guide to install a beautiful orange backlight from HHL into my DMG. Thanks loads for making this tutorial (not to mention making it so easy to follow), and setting me down the path to an awesome new hobby!
Awesome, glad to hear it turned out well!
Thank you for the tutorial, mate. It's the best one I could find on youtube and it has helped me backlight and bivert my first DMG!
Thank you so much for making this video. Actually all your videos. You gave me the confidence to get into moding and fixing game devices. I got the stuff from hand held legend. Now I just need to find the time. Cheers.
Thanks for the great video Collin, I just biverted my Game Boy and it works like a charm!
Hey Colin thanks so much for this video. I've been a touring musician for over a decade and have been working on guitars (mainly pickups and electronic changes) so I have a fair bit of soldering experience, but haven't done much on logic boards aside from guitar pedal mods. Your instructions were awesome and clear. I had a great time doing the mods and I'm excited to see more videos from your channel!
did you know there are mods to plug your guitar to the Gameboy and use it as a sound modifier, tuner, etc.
Kro DaJuggalo I knew about midi controllers but I'll have to look into guitar stuff. Thanks so much!!
+Jack Stolz no problem, im not really sure how an electric tuner works but im sure you could convert the DMG Gameboy to do that as well.
Thanks for sharing , I just purchased an old Game boy and cant wait to modify it.
It's been fun, watching these videos. I learned a lot about the works of modding your handhelds. As is I modded my GBC and GBA with their Frontlight LOCA procedure and an AGS 101 Backlight. Unfortunately when I was working on this one, I gooched up two DMG models when attempting to install the Bivert chip. I made an order for another DMG model but I'm only going to stick with just the backlight on that one.
I just finished up. Thanks for the walkthrough. I did run into an issue, though. The pad for the ground wire came off the chip, but luckily I was able to get around it.
i would love to do this for a project at school, love your channel!!!
Short and to the point. I've seen a lot of videos but will refer to this one on my next project
you make peeling off the sliver backing look easy ...... Great video. Bought tools and back light just from watching this video.
Great video! Detailed instructions with super video quality. It really shows how good this mod is.
This video gave me the push I needed to actually backlight my DMG. It was a ton of fun doing it, actually! Thanks so much!
+Coreydangdoe Awesome, glad it worked out!
+Coreydangdoe how did it turn out? great i hope.
It turned out great! It's a Yellow Play it Loud model with a green backlight. :D
+Coreydangdoe nice choice of colors. I decided to mod mine and leave it the color blue, like the video, the vibert chip made all the difference in quality.
Amazing, man. Your channel is awesome. I am a collector and modder and I can't thank you enough for your videos.
I've done two of these mods and the quality is absolutely flawless. Looking to do a third one soon
Anthony Terry just curious, what makes you want to do it to the DMG as opposed to the pocket? I have both but just got a backlight and have been having trouble with it, after messing up the polarizer on one I had to get another, and now loud lines appear on the screen, I was considering just moving the backlight mod to the DMG but didn’t know what the pro’s were, I knew the cons would be a screen that’s not as nice and more batteries lol
Thanks for explaining what the bivert module does!
Gameboy = No light Pocket = No light Pocket Light = Finally we have light Colour = NO LIGHT?!?! WTF NINTENDO!
Gameboy Advance = No light Gameboy Advance SP = ligth
Gameboy advance= no light Gameboy advance sp ags001=ugly frontlight Gameboy advance sp ags101= great light.
@@vincenzogiannella Ebay sellers: *evil laugh*
Micro: bright light! But no backwards compatibility?!
The biggest fuck up was gameboy advance having no backlight
Thank you for the tutorial, I’ll be watching this later as I try to mod my first DMG 😁
Great video! I look forward to trying this mod out myself.
Thanks Collin! This really helped a lot I managed to back light and bi-vert my Game Boy with little to no problems, it looks amazing!
Awesome!
Bro, I didn't even know desoldering braid was a thing. Thanks for this video. Not only could I not have done it without you, but you leveled up my weak solder game in general.
Just finished mine. Thanks for the clear walkthrough.
Came back to re-visit this video. This is how i learned...about 150 mods later thanks to this vid!
Thanks for this video. The blue LED looks pretty cool with your black GB. I saw on the website, they have a nice yellow green LED that really captures the original GB style, I think I’ll try that one.
Update:: installed the yellow LED, it has all the feel of the original, but you can play anywhere. It’s great.
I have only watched 2 minutes into this video and I can say it is the best tutorial for the back light mod. Thank you!!
Followed your tutorial step by step, struggled with getting some of the adhesive off the backside of the lcd, otherwise this video was perfect for someone like myself, who has very average soldering skills. That desoldering ribbon was a must! Anyway, thank you.
Thank you so much! After months of carefully studying this video and other videos I finally did it!
Do mine I pay you bro
This was a great tutorial that made this whole process really easy! I look forward to future videos!
I’m gonna get this done to my gameboy. It’ll be great to be able to use my original gameboy again. Great vid.
Done cheers man, only addition i made was a 100 ohm resistor to the screen wire for backlight only mod
I have almost no experience in this sort of thing but the mod looked really awesome. Watched your video a few times, bought the parts from handheld legend and then went for it myself. The only issue I ran into was that the pins from the ribbon cable could not reach the pins on the bivert chip for me, so I used some 28 guard wire to bridge the gap. I used the V1 chip (which they have since come out with the V2 that has been extended by 2mm which I think would have fixed that problem for me) but I got it running none the less. Thanks for the video!
I got my bivert v1 while there was no v2. I think it is causing problems now.
Thanks for the tutorial, it helped me a lot! The problem is with the backlight module installed the display is higher compared w/o backlight module. It's quite some pressure on the metal plate with the screen on it if put all the screws in...but it works fine!
Really cool! I'll be using your video to complete my own mod. Thanks a lot!!!
Tnx for this great Video :) my GameBoy is happy when the Kit will be installed soon
This is AWESOME, Collin! Now, PRO-SOUND that beauty!
Thanks for the video! A word of warning though when it comes to peeling off the layers. If your screen looks green, there's still another layer. I thought I had both layers but I didn't and it cost me a front section board! Someone gave me a useful tip as well for peeling off the layers. Use a pair of pliers and roll the layers. It's tricky but it worked really well. I couldn't do it all in one "roll" but it really helped me.
hey thanks for the video. I just bought an orange backlight and a biverter mod from handheld legend
i finally did it. installing the bivert mod using just the chip was an unholy nightmare. but i did it. i also went ahead & installed the internal pro sound mod. now the visuals & sound are amazing
Nice video. I have a few Game Boys laying around I need to give something like this a try.
Thank you so much for this video tutorial!!Very helpful!!
awesome video ,I just order mine from hand held legend , keep the good work mister!!!!
Wow! That bivert module is super easy to install compared even to other easy modules I've used. I'm on the lookout for a DMG with a fully working display so I can do this. Unfortunately due to health problems my girlfriend has to do the soldering as my hands shake and red hot soldering iron + shaky hands = "what smells like barbecued pork? Oh, it's my fingertips." :/ Great video Collin, thanks. You always keep these things concise & straightforward. :)
Love my Blue DMG! I was scrubbing at the glue for an hour and a half before I gave up and looked online to see how other people did it in 2-3 minutes. Turns out I forgot to remove the Polarization film! I would also recommend using the resistor, my first screen was pink, it worked for a couple hours, then it wouldn't turn on.
thank you i successfully modded my gb, your channel is great!!!
Awesome video! Now I have this mod, thaks to your instructions (just a note, the pixels aren't blue, blue is the color the polarizer filters in that 90º angle)
I like the look of the guy when he speaks: it has something urgent. Might as well be from Star Trek... just with other text :D Greetings from Germany
He reminds me of those UFO enthusiasts in History channel!
Just did a mod with the bivert chip and handheld legend backlight. I think the handheld legend backlights are slightly better on their own than the previous asm retro ones I was using. Also wow what a world of difference with the bivert chip! I am going to have to go back and retrofit my other 6 systems that already have backlights with these chips
the fact that you peeled that thing off in one piece blows my mind. It took almost an hour for me to get all mine off
That Black on Black looks really awesome!
It looks so beautiful!
very nice mod man, keep up the good work.
Your videos are always wonderful. Thanks, thank you very very much.
Thank you for a great video, I subscribed. Finally modded my Gameboy.
Great video. I just did it and it works amazing.
+1 to trimming the plastic on the screen bracket. I didn't at first, and it was causing too much pressure on the ribbon cable, resulting in a purplish discoloration in the upper right corner of my screen. Also had to back out those two top screws at the top of the bracket just a little.
This video saved my life, thanks so much. great totorial.
really cool video! keep the good work up!!
Colin, bro. What a sick video, I mean really good stuff. I just released my bivert/backlight video the day after you! Was hoping to get a good soldering video of the bivert chip to the board but I can't compete with a champ like you :D man, that's so good. I'm going to use your tips and focus on improving my biverts to the custom Gameboys I make. If you shoot me a message I'd like to discuss some things with you, thanks again for such an awesome video! PS I would private message you but you don't have that option in your channel, and I don't have a twitter! xD
+MrCrono666 Thanks for the kind words! You can send a PM by clicking on the About tab of my channel page, then the Send Message button. (I don't know why KZhead hides it like that.)
This is one of the best diy electronics videos I've seen, period. I wish you had some Atari 2600 mod videos! Thanks!
Thanks this was super helpful
fantastic!! can you please make a variable clock mod tutorial for the DMG as well?? You're very good at these!
Thanks for the video, I really appreciate it.
Great video as always !
Now I'm very tempted to buy all this mod stuff and risk my perfect GB DMG!
The back-light is SO nice. Not even my GBA SP is the back lit model, and I do have a front lit GBC (with loca) but it really is a shame that the older DMGs can be back lit, but not the "newer" GBCs! :/
GBCs screens were manufactured by a different company, which soldered the reflective layer with some kind of very strong glass-like resin directly onto the glass. It might be possible to dissolve the resin with some strong acid but in the end it's an effort beyond what modders can do at home, you would most likely destroy the display.
Good news for you, there is now an even better option available for the GBC, the IPS backlight mod which is easy to install as well as affordable.
@@trenzinhodaalegria8012 Not really Both displays where made by Sharp
that silver coating was literally sealed to the screen making it so it would not come up without flaking into tiny tears and just never coming off unless i straight razor the whole thing LOL.
This is a very well made tutorial. I managed to mod my Gameboy DMG without much trouble. However, I struggled to get the polarizing and reflective layers off the back of the LCD. Once I got it all done and put back together. I realized that a couple horizontal lines were dead. Upon reopening it and inspecting the ribbon cable for the LCD rows, I noticed I nicked a couple of the lines. :/ So the options I have left: attempt a VERY difficult repair, transplant an LCD from a dead Gameboy DMG, or transplant an LCD from a Gameboy Pocket.
Many thanks for video you've done!
wow that looks really cool
Im doing it with your help,,thank you,,Philippines 👋
awesome as always!!
nice dude, really nice. You are my youtube hero1
I was installing the bivert mod and I thought I shorted somthing because the screen was all black (sound and every worked though). so after a few minutes of panicking I figured out that the 3 circular solder contacts were not making good connection and after doing those over it works now!
Again nice video man!
I would cut the red, blue, and black wires to length, then solder them in place. Makes it look a lot cleaner and there's less junk inside to get in the way.
Pretty slick! & all for less than 20 bucks in mods.
Colton Blumhagen yikes... my game boys were less than $10..
Great video. I installed, but my hand slipped and I hit cable and now have some lines.. I have another DMG I am going to order a new backlight and will try and be patient, learned a lot from first attempt.
Currently bidding on 5 of those that could use some cleaning, new screen covers (1 is missing off of it), new cases or retr0briting, inspections, and a quick test to see if they still work. I'll be doing the backlight mod for them (different colors for the case colors) with the biverting board as well. This will be a fun project to do with the units. The GameBoy Advanced will be slightly harder to do a backlight mod as I need to find a backlit GBA SP, and check to see which ribbon cable adapter is the right one for the GameBoy Advanced. I did the frontlight mod on my GameBoy Color and it's better than playing it in the dark, however, my plan is to get a backlit screen from mid-west electronics, if they weren't sold out for the July batch.
Brilliant video 👍🏻🙏🏻
I remember peeling off the film and leaving loads of dried adhesive on the glass. It took me literally 10 hours to rub it away with isopropyl and a swab.
I couldn't get it all out as I would have damaged the horizontal pixels (which cant be fixed easily). I still have a bit of adhesive at the right of my screen.
It comes off much easier with a mr. clean magic eraser and goo gone.
Well, I have to say, I'm convinced. I tried backlighting once, failed and gave up after destroying 3 LCDs in subsequent attempts, but showing off the biversion side-by-side with a normal backlight (I'm not sure anyone's ever actually done that) has gotten my interest in doing it again.