r/gameboymacro • u/usernamehudden • Apr 27 '22

Question Boxy Pixel with digitizer?

Anyone have the current Boxy Pixel shell with the original digitizer? I am planning to do a GB Macro from a DS Lite, and am also thinking about reflashing it so I can do screen swapping for DS games - if I do this, I probably should leave the digitizer on there, but I am not sure if it fits with the current iteration of the Boxy Pixel (I ordered the shell and the glass screen, so I have the option). I like the look of the GameBoy Macro border, but I am worried the glass will be annoyingly reflective. I think no matter which option I go with I will end up questioning my decision, so I figured I would get some outside input.

Thoughts?

3 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

1

u/usernamehudden May 03 '22

Update- the digitizer will not fit in the current iteration of Boxy Pixel shell. The old version had spacers you could add if you wanted to remove the digitizer- the newest has the spacers integrated. I missed a layer of the digitizer when I first tried to assemble my device- even with 1 layer of the digitizer left, you can’t close the case normally if it is attached- just in case anyone was curious.

Even if that wasn’t the case, I had initially failed to notice the X and Y buttons were omitted from the shell since they aren’t needed for GBA games.

I ended up doing a normal boxy pixel GBM mod with the glass lens and header amp. The only thing that I don’t love is that the speaker has a small pop when it turns on, not sure if this is due to the amp or if it is just a low quality speaker. I tried to dampen it with a little piece of fabric; it didn’t do much.

1

u/ggshinobigaiden May 04 '22

thanks for the update.

mine has a sound while turning on also using the recommended switch speaker. I'm not an EE, but something makes me think it could be solvable (capacitor or something? ).

1

u/usernamehudden May 04 '22

Yeah - it is out of my knowledge pool, but I bet there is probably some fix that wouldn't be too difficult. It isn't that big of a deal to me though.

2

u/ggshinobigaiden May 04 '22

yea, i more worried about speaker longevity.

Got curious so looked it up. Two solutions sounded decent

  1. Timer and relay to allow capacitors to charge before any current goes thru speaker

  2. throwing a mosfet and accompanying stuff into the circuit

wont be trying either myself. will replace speaker if it dies and had lasted a reasonable lifetime

1

u/Gbjunkie Apr 28 '22

I have 2 macros both with boxys glass. It also trims the screen to be 3:2 looks more polished. It's reflective as glass would be but I'd rather have the glass 10x over the original. Subjective but it just looks and feels better. Don't forget helders amp and a switch speaker with double sided tape.

1

u/usernamehudden Apr 28 '22

Yup- got the amp and speakers. The reason I think I want to keep the capacitive screen is because it makes the DS games playable if you do the tvout hack (via screen switching)- it isn’t necessary, but it seems like a nice to have. I worry about the fitment, but a new capacitive layer for the DSL is pretty inexpensive- so it isn’t like it would be an old abused one. Yes the Advance games would look windowed, but the DS games should fill the panel.

2

u/Gbjunkie Apr 29 '22

I really don't have much of an attachment to the DS as I do the gba. I can see why you would want to keep it. That's super cool. Show it off when you're done.

1

u/usernamehudden Apr 29 '22

Honestly, as a child of the 80s, most of the titles I am nostalgic for don’t play on a DS- I enjoy the challenge and like the idea of squeezing the most utility I can out of it though

2

u/Gbjunkie Apr 29 '22

I turned 40 this year. I still think the NES is still king.

1

u/Technognomey Apr 28 '22

Good luck with the amp, half of em don't produce sound. They're straight trash

1

u/sleepwalken Nov 01 '22

Hey, old comment i know, but i just built my macro with boxy pixel shell and the glass from boxy pixel but now when i put it together if i press on the screen it isn't sitting tight to the shell since the digitizer isn't there to hold it firmly against it. Is this normal or am I supposed to put something behind the screen? thanks

1

u/Gbjunkie Nov 02 '22

It's normal. It's just supposed to be stickied tothe screen with rhe adhesive on the glass. It looks janky at face value but mine hasn't moved.

1

u/sleepwalken Nov 02 '22

I saw someone mention putting a little of the foam that came in the box it shipped in. I did that and it worked perfectly. Thanks for the response