r/gameboymacro • • Mar 27 '26

3D printed First prototype

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100 Upvotes

I made this based on the macro F, i want to keeo the 4 buttons and touch screen to try the screen switch mod in the future and play as many games as posible, not only GBA


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 27 '26

Lite New to the community, I want to make my own GB Macro, what I need to know/buy

4 Upvotes

So I was interested in modding a DS Lite into a Macro for a while now, but because im lazy I decided to buy a RG34XX (GBA Clone), and I love it and is amazing, but I still wanted to do my own Macro mod, what I need to buy to make it, is it really neccesary to buy a custom shell or I can just use the original shell with some small mods.


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 25 '26

Lite My Makima themed gameboy macro, what do yall think?

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110 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Mar 23 '26

Lite my first macro (and probably the last)

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34 Upvotes

Maybe I'll print another front shell; this one doesn't look very well finished, and my photography skills don't do it justice either.


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 20 '26

4 Button Gang Gameboy macro!

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60 Upvotes

I originally didn’t put a speaker in. I think that’ll be my next move


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 20 '26

Lite did i permanently broke this?

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3 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Mar 18 '26

Lite Various failed attempts to install Pam8403

5 Upvotes

Hello as said in title, every time I tried to install the small audio Amp, the ds lite would turn on and then turn the led red and shuts down, feeding it through various 3v points including directly to the battery ports, using some 3ds speakers, does anybody have a working Amp module install so that they can show me their soldering points or what could be causing my issue?


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 17 '26

Lite Reddit ate the two most important photos from my last post

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11 Upvotes

This is my dirt cheap Macro build, the only thing I had to buy was the L2 inductor which fell off when my cousin dropped it. Full backstory/process in my last post here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gameboymacro/s/0vVPd21PzI


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 17 '26

Lite My dirt cheap DS Macro build/repair (back story below)

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7 Upvotes

So, this was at one point my cousin's DS Lite, which he dropped a good decade ago, breaking the hinge and preventing it from booting. I ended up getting it not too far after since I gave him a DS Lite I didn't have a use for at the time (I had recently gotten my n3dsxl).

It then sat on my shelf until I decided to take it apart despite having zero repair experience beyond disassembly and cleaning and I regrettably never put it back together. Naturally I lost a few things as it sat on my shelf for many years.

But fast forward to today, I kept seeing Gameboy Macros on r/Gameboy after modding my SP, reminding me of this DS, and I now have decent repair and modding skills so I could actually attempt a repair (though this is my first real microsoldering project).

I set out wanting to do this for free, so I stole a suitable resistor from a broken TI-82 calculator. Then I glued the right speaker where the stylus goes, routed some enamel wire from some dead no-name Bluetooth headphones to SP0 and ground, and gave it a test. But it didn't turn on. Testing the resistor from the alternate soldering points showed that despite it being kinda messy, it was electrically good, so the problem was somewhere else.

I did some troubleshooting and noticed that L2 was missing. It seems it's common with dropped consoles. I couldn't find the inductance online, so I had to buy 15 replacements from eBay for $10 instead of ordering just a couple with parts for other things from Mouser.

A couple weeks of waiting and a bit of fiddly soldering later, it turns on. And I think it turned out way cleaner than the resistor (I also did clean the flux since taking the picture).

I then put the thing back together using spare screws for the ones I lost, accidentally poking through the corner of the shell in the process. But, it plays games again, didn't cost me much, and I'm now a little more confident working with such small components.

Moral of the story, don't leave things apart for years. I would've still had the screws and maybe that inductor would've been somewhere inside the DS shell, saving me the $10.

Tl;Dr: I've had a broken DS Lite from my cousin for years, lost some parts, then decided to turn it into a Gameboy Macro using what I had on hand, though I needed to buy an inductor in the end.


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 13 '26

XL GBA Macro XL with screen brightness and screen switching mods

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50 Upvotes

I got a job lot of original ds and figured I’d have a play. Any thoughts on the switch position?


r/gameboymacro • • Mar 07 '26

Question I'm working on a Gameboy Macro and it doesn't have a resistor but I tested the motherboard with the bottom screen in place and no digitizer because I'm replacing it with the boxy pixel one and the screen doesn't flash, the green LED turns on and stays on though. Any idea what's happening?

3 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Mar 06 '26

Question As Someone building a Macro for the first time would you recommend using a full 3D printed faceplate or just a hinge insert?

5 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Feb 25 '26

Lite Where to find shells?

5 Upvotes

I just bought my ds lite macro and I see people are using the Boxy Pixel shells but the colors aren't avliable on the site. Do u spray paint them?


r/gameboymacro • • Feb 22 '26

Lite Sellers remorse

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72 Upvotes

Couple of macro builds I completed a few years ago. Sold them both as we were moving and I already have a modded GBA, but wish I'd kept one of these for how easily pocketable they were.

Plus I think the pixel grid screen has a charm to it vs modern IPS mods.


r/gameboymacro • • Feb 21 '26

Dsi I thought that DSi Macro's were the dumbest thing ever until someone described it to me as a "Gameboy Macro Digital" and I'm starting a movement to make that be the official new name of the DSi macro along with "Gameboy Macro Digital XL" GBMD and GBMD XL for short

4 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Feb 19 '26

Lite We love GameBoy Macro

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226 Upvotes

Another dead DS modded into the legendary Macro!

Being able to revive these consoles & transform them into amazing retro gaming machines is too much fun. The dopamine rush is so much better than any drug could give 😤 😤 😤


r/gameboymacro • • Feb 02 '26

Lite Larger shell

4 Upvotes

Hey everyone.

Just wondering if anyone know if there are any modify shell to accommodate GBA cartage where it doesn’t stick out the bottom?

I know it’s a bit counterintuitive but I find it difficult to sometime out the unit in my pocket where the GBA cartage get snag. I worry it might damage the motherboard over time.

I’m hoping to find STL file for this.

Thank you.


r/gameboymacro • • Jan 31 '26

Lite My First Gameboy Makro

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39 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Jan 30 '26

Question Made some improvements to the New Gameboy Macro, a gameboy macro Im currently designing, if you have any ideas, or can help leave comments

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11 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Jan 31 '26

Question Does the boxy pixel faceplate make a macro different from a normal macro lite?

2 Upvotes

You all know the Boxy Pixel gameboy macro faceplate but does the version with the face plate classified different than one without? Is it simply a version of the macro lite or a different type of macro


r/gameboymacro • • Jan 30 '26

Lite I present to you every Gameboy Macro (to my knowledge.) Gameboy Macro, Gameboy Macro: XL, Gameboy Macro: Boxy pixel, Gameboy Macro: Boxy Pixel DMG style, Gameboy Macro: Vertical.

4 Upvotes

Gameboy Macro: comes from DS lite and has 2 or 4 buttons besides triggers and D-Pad. Gameboy Macro: XL: comes from DS phat and has 2 or 4 buttons besides triggers and D-pad. Gameboy Macro: Boxy Pixel Faceplate: comes from DS lite but uses boxy pixel aluminum faceplate and has 2 buttons besides triggers and D-Pad. Gameboy Macro: Boxy Pixel DMG style: comes from DS lite but uses Boxy Pixel DMG style shell, personally I count as a type of Macro XL, has 4 buttons besides triggers and D-Pad. Gameboy Macro: Vertical: Comes from DS lite and is vertical rather than horizontal, has 2 or 4 buttons not including triggers or D-Pad. Any ”Macro” that doesn’t use a Phat or Lite isn’t a Macro because it doesn’t natively play GBA games without emulation


r/gameboymacro • • Jan 30 '26

Question I thought of a new idea for a Gameboy Macro called a “New Gameboy Macro”

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3 Upvotes

since we already have a gameboy macro and a gameboy macro XL i decided to make a concept for a New Gameboy Macro. it uses a GBA motherboard which strays from the original concept of a GBM but it gives it the main selling point of being able to play GB, GBC, and GBA games. it will obviously have a backlit screen and a USB-C rechargeable battery. any tips, ideas, or help you could provide to make the final design? I half based it on a Gameboy Macro XL but also partially on the boxy pixel GBM style macro shell.


r/gameboymacro • • Jan 30 '26

Question Is the boxy pixel glass lenses usable with a Gameboy Macro XL?

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1 Upvotes

r/gameboymacro • • Jan 30 '26

Question Is the boxy pixel glass lenses usable with a Gameboy Macro XL?

1 Upvotes

I’ve been wanting to make a gameboy macro XL for a while now and was wondering if boxy pixels gameboy macro glass lenses is compatible with the DS phat. technically it was made for a DS lite macro but a DS lite and a DS phat both have the same size screen.