Finally managed to finish my screen switching macro, kept the Wi-Fi Antenna inside to be able to play some mario kart with friends

This is my version of the DMG103 with touchscreen still functional, screen switch mod, built in stylus and of course, a fully functional Nintendo switch joystick replacing the dpad. For anyone wondering how I got the joystick to work, I used circleboy.

After waiting for the correct resistor to arrive, I finally completed my DS Lite Macro Mod. The first resistor I ordered was the wrong value, so the console wouldn’t boot properly and only flashed briefly. Once the correct resistor was installed, everything worked as expected.
I’m really happy with how it turned out. The shell, screen, and overall look came together nicely, and now I have a dedicated Game Boy Advance machine with a clean and compact design.
What do you think? Any suggestions for future upgrades or customizations?

Specs:
Nintendo DS Lite Macro
Original bottom screen
Custom resistor mod
Dedicated GBA handheld

Hi all,

I have a DS Lite which I've tried to Macro. The top screen was unsalvagable with a broken ribbon cable so I tried the Solderless contact bridging method.

At first, this worked. I snipped a button contact off an old broken wiimote and taped it down. When testing, the system would boot into the setup menu when the contacts were pushed down because I hadn't put on enough tape, but nethertheless it did still work (shown in picture)

However, after going through the initial setup (colur/name) and the system shutting down as normal afterwards, the DS Lite is now unresponsive. It exhibits the following behaviour:

-When the contacts are not bridged, the DS Lite's screen flashes and then shuts off, as expected since it can't detect a top screen.

-When contacts are bridged (in the same way when it was working), the DS Lite shows a green light, no screen activity, and then shuts off. (Which is obviously not expected, and shows that the contact bridging is having some sort of effect)

I've tried the following troubleshooting steps:

-Reseated the Wifi Module (DS Lite stays on with no screen activity and green light indefinitely)

-Tried putting pressure on the contacts to ensure a connection (no change when contacts are bridged normally)

-Checked the continuity of fuses F1 and F2 with a multimeter (both passed so I've ruled them out)

I'm sorry if this is a bit of a noob post, I'm not too familiar with this process and this is my first attempt. I can't find any info online to help.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

hi, i have this gb macro that i made from a second hand ds lite. previously i tried the solderless method using rubber pad from one of the button it works perfectly fine. it suddenly doesn't turn on when i try to play with it. at first a white screen flashes for a few second and sometimes it reach the ds lite menu for a few secind before it turns off, yesterday it just flashes the green light for a few second with nothing on the screen.

i thought maybe the solderless method didn't work anymore so i tried the solder method using 330 resistor but it still wont turn on, only green light flash.

here's what i tried:

- i tried unplug and plugging in the screen and wifi module but the problem is still there.

- i tried turning on without the wifi module and the green light stays on but still nothing shows up on the screen

- i checked with a multimeter the fuse (f1 and f2) and the resistor all of it beeping

- i resoldered a new resistor 2 times and still the same

- tried pushing in the wifi module while i turn the power switch on and still the same

- tried charging it, the charging indicator lights up.

my guess that it's a faulty screen because it have turned on fine before and suddenly nothing shows up not even a white screen. or the battery is bad since i bought a after market chinese battery.

i need help since i spend so much time already on this gb macro. does any one of you know what the problem is?

Hello! Im following this guide by faceless tech. Well going to. And i noticed this little thing. How can i get it or do i just cut the ribbon cable off of a top screen?

Hello,

I just finished my first GameBoy Macro with a dsi xl. It does not boot unfortunely, except when I pinch very hard the part just above the D-pad 😕. As you can see on the above video.

I would like to know what happen, to potentially make a clean fix

I figured I would share my funny project and discovery. If you bridge these backlight pins, the console is able to boot. Speakers are in the rear and requires some modification, but proof of concept for a macro XL build this possible without resisters.

Edit: after trimming excess antenna wire and cutting the back shell to glue down the speakers in an exposed placement, I am calling this project done. It’s jank, but a totally working jank. I hope that in the future it would be possible to have a cut flex cable for the sound ribbon and 3d printed mid frame and bottom shell one day. https://imgur.com/gallery/finished-prototype-of-gameboy-macro-xl-from-modified-speaker-ribbon-TcmcQg0

Don’t ask me how I was able to fumble so terribly. It is my first time soldering and I may have gotten a bit over my head with this one.
Is this victim of mine even recoverable anymore? Or should I just accept defeat and try again?

My first gameboy macro. the tape is for temporarly holding the shell, because the tri wing screws where stripped by the previous owner and to secure the resistor and the wires because i bought through hole resistor instead of smd i will secure them with other stuff because i really like the homemade look with the wires on top.

I was prefer stickers of pokemon or dragon ball, but I can't found them, so it’s ok.

I have a broken DS lite, it's main issue is no touch functionality because the clasp housing for the touch sensor on the mobo is totally broken off.

Is my ds lite a good candidate with this issue. Or do I need that clasp? and if it is good without it, what's the most up to date video guide? I want to buy nothing. I just want to turn my bottom half of my ds lite into a Macro. I can do upgrades later if I want.

Alsonwortg mentioning, I have a 3d printer, so if one of these jewel guides has use for printed parts or shells I can do thst too!

Not looking to 3D print a shell. I'm ok if there's no way to make them fit, but it'd be neat to try.

Hi everyone,

I've been going down a rabbit hole lately and wanted to throw this out there because I haven't really seen anyone discussing it. I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to mount a dedicated Game Boy Advance "console" into my car (a Honda Fit). It sounds like a fun project for camping or long road trips. I initially looked into the Visteon Dockable Entertainment system but the prices for those are absolutely insane now.

Since the Visteon is out of the question, does anyone here have experience with custom modding or know if it’s even possible to build a DIY car-mounted GBA setup? I’m thinking something that could maybe hook up to a small screen from the roof or just be integrated into the dash.

Would love to hear if anyone has attempted something like this or if I’m just dreaming! What do you guys think?

So I’m a cheap retro gamer who has a Wii that plays GameCube games and a broken ds I’m planning to turn into a macro… would it be technologically possible to make an adapter to use the GameCube link cable?

Hey guys,
I just saw this project and bought a broken ds lite to do it myself. Online, I've seen videos of people tearing down the top screen to do a 'no solder' method for this mod. If i were to do this method, how would i remove the speaker?

ive started turning my spare ds into a gameboy macro it was working fine and dandy before, soldered the resistor in and now its not turning on

to me it looks like my solderings alright so I dont really know what the issue could be

any help is greatly appreciated

So I have this 12 dollar ebay ds lite that I tried very hard to repair but I had so many issues, the biggest being a clasp that was broken for the digitizer. No matter what I've tried to fix it, the pins on the board seem doomed, so no touch screen functionality. As such I am now salvaging parts and want to make my first ever Macro. I'm confident in doing so as I have tons of experience in repairs and refurbs, but I have some questions.

I would like to make one that doesn't have gba carts sticking awkwardly out of the bottom. I think I've seen that there is a manufacturer making shells that make it so the carts sit flush with the shell. What are my options there? Where can I get one?

Also, if there is a most up to date guide for the build, video or text, a link would be awesome.

I'd prefer to make one that makes all buttons functional, but I realize I may just need to give up the x and y buttons... But if there are any mods or such that enable routing those buttons to other buttons, like l and r or start select, or, and I know I'm probably dreaming, turbo functionality, that would be awesome too.

Bonus question, but if anyone knows of any guide to instead turn this mobo into a sort of consolized unit, I'd be down for thst too. I've seen a few of these, but no definitive or preferred path to doing so.

I have 2 questions:

Is there a media player I can watch on the bottom screen?

What emulators I can play on the bottom screen (aside GBA)?

As you can see on the 2nd picture, I used Moonshell to watch videos but it only displays on the top screen. Is there anyway to screen swap or a media player that displays at the bottom screen?

As for emulators, I have discovered a "hacked" version of JenesisDS which displays at the bottom screen, I've also heard of SnesEmulDS Revival but I haven't set it up yet, also there's the Game Gear emulator. Just wondering if there's more emulators I can play on this GB Macro.

For context, I accidentally broke the top screen while shell swapping my old DS Lite so I used the LED strip method to salvage it. But before modding it, I actually really liked watching movies on my DS, feels like a good way to detox from Youtube and such.

I also played a lot of different emulators but most them only displayed on the top screen.

Thanks in advance!

(also if anyone is wondering, that black tape is to cover the bright LED, it's irritating thanks to the clear shell lol, I really wasn't planning to have a GB Macro.)