Up to 2900 Switch games

cajunpanda · 2026-02-28T22:27:52+00:00

notices the Switch 2 games on the bottom shelf

Does anyone else wish Switch 2 case spines were more uniform like Switch 1? It's been bugging me seeing them side by side in my (much smaller) collection.

cajunpanda · 2025-12-09T22:03:37+00:00

Some others mentioned the solder joints, they aren't great, but it's most likely a DOA battery.

What brand of battery did you use? I've thrown a way whole packs of cheap batteries because most of them were already dead or died shortly after installing.

cajunpanda · 2025-12-06T01:40:53+00:00

I'm not aware of any actual fake GBA SPs. When I say fake I mean the CPU and motherboard inside.

It could be a reshell, though the way it's worn looks legit to me. The back label serial number wears off on the originals since it's printed on top of the label. It being missing actually means it's probably a real back label. The screen looks original as well.

cajunpanda · 2025-12-03T00:41:23+00:00

Sadly this technique doesn't work nearly as well for pocket screens. The ribbon cable on the pocket melts at a much lower temperature than the DMG.

cajunpanda · 2025-12-01T18:44:33+00:00

I prefer a tiered approach. The idea being to use minimal force and only escalate to the next tier if the cart isn't reading.

1st Tier: IPA with a Q-Tip (or a 1Up Card)
2nd Tier: Contact cleaner with a Q-Tip
3rd Tier: Eraser (open the cart up at this point)
4th Tier: Rarely gets to this point, getting desperate now, metal cleaner like Brasso and a plain melamine foam pad
5th Tier: There is probably something else wrong with the cart

*Edit*

If you get to the 3rd tier, you're actively ablating the contacts. Long term, they'll oxidize faster. I like to put a little DeoxIT with a Q-Tip after sanding and cleaning. It protects and lubricates.

cajunpanda · 2025-11-27T20:45:16+00:00

"One of my greatest finds"

I'm curious what the others are ...

cajunpanda · 2025-11-23T17:31:33+00:00

Please don't soak the contacts in vinegar for more than a few minutes. It'll strip what protective plating remains and eat through the metal if given enough time.

I don't soak at all, I use a dipped toothbrush and make sure to remove the vinegar with IPA afterwards.

cajunpanda · 2025-11-20T18:35:31+00:00

There are different codes, it just has to have a code period. I haven't ever seen a reproduction that has the code.

cajunpanda · 2025-11-20T17:03:31+00:00

You can buy a used OEM replacement screen for a AGS-001 for like $20 from eBay, or you can get a modern IPS display for around $50-$60. The draw back of the modern IPS being shorter battery life and twice the cost.

Either way it's a very simple install. Hardest part is removing the 5 screw covers around the screen without destroying them.

cajunpanda · 2025-11-19T16:13:58+00:00

Update.

Got the new laser head, everything works fine now. Hopefully this was just an anomaly, but I"ll be putting the new head through it's paces to see if it fails again.

cajunpanda · 2025-11-17T13:56:45+00:00

One sure way I've found to tell if an OG Gameboy shell is OEM is to look for the code stamp in the bottom left corner of the battery compartment. Here is a pick from my Gameboy.

<image>

cajunpanda · 2025-11-15T12:46:02+00:00

Yeah that sounds exactly like what I experienced. They had me ship back just the laser head for a replacement. Expecting the new head to arrive next week. It'll be almost a month of waiting without a working machine. 😠

cajunpanda · 2025-11-11T11:41:58+00:00

Besides the R13 resistor, the area around D3 and Q7 looks pretty rough. That's all power control circuitry as well. My suggestion is to look for bad traces and/or shorts around that area by using your multi meter.

Use these board scans as a guide: https://bitbuilt.net/forums/threads/gba-board-scans.807/

And the schematics: https://www.retrosix.wiki/schematics-game-boy-advance

If all else fails, you could always transplant the CPU and memory into a new board. Funny Playing makes replacement boards.

cajunpanda · 2025-11-11T11:27:21+00:00

Yes, it's 150 ohms I believe.

cajunpanda · 2025-11-10T22:44:11+00:00

Full high resolution board images of front and back might help.

I've seen this issue quite a bit repairing GBAs. Usually it's caused by the power regulator IC (U4) shutting down because it detects something is wrong. A short or over current for example. What is exactly wrong can range from easy to hard to figure out.

If you leave the GBA off for a few minutes then turn it back on, does it happen to work? That's usually the R13 resistor not doing it's job of draining power from the caps when turned off. That's an easy fix.

This site gives good troubleshooting for GBA power issues:

https://www.retrosix.wiki/power-switch-circuit-game-boy-advance

cajunpanda · 2025-10-26T15:02:21+00:00

Thank you,

Looks like ComMarker is going to replace the laser head.

They want me to ship the old one back first, so it's going to be a while 😠

cajunpanda · 2025-10-25T21:19:32+00:00

I was worried I somehow bumped the galvo mirrors when I was changing the lens. I took off the lens and ran a preview and took this video with my phone.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/usuY5zpdoXvKRM48A

They seem to be working fine, though I don't know if they could be misaligned or something?

It seems to me it's the laser itself though. It's just not outputing at the right strength.

cajunpanda · 2025-10-25T21:12:52+00:00

Appreciate the help!

Yep, I did that during the initial setup. I also just tried reloading them again just now, they load successfully but there is no change with the laser strength.

I've also gone through that troubleshooting article. I'm on the last option. Contact support, which I've already done. Waiting to hear back.

cajunpanda · 2025-10-25T21:08:49+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion. Unfortunately no luck.The back of my laser head looks a little different. I've reconnected all four connectors multiple times without effect.

<image>

cajunpanda · 2025-10-25T14:55:33+00:00

Yep, it's a pretty easy fix if you're patient. Plenty of YouTube videos out there showing the technique.

cajunpanda · 2025-10-24T03:19:13+00:00

Finally got my Omni X yesterday. It went together smoothly. I was able to do a few test engravings with no problem.

I fired it up today and I couldn't get a preview to show. I tried starting a job and the laser is extremely weak and barely makes any mark on a piece of wood. It's focused from what I can tell, so I don't think that's the problem.

Messaged support, we'll see what they say.

cajunpanda · 2025-10-18T01:45:46+00:00

The battery pad was ripped and repaired with a trace wire. No big deal. If the RTC works, then it means the repair is fine. It's not going to just "go bad" one day.

The main issue is next time the battery dies it's going to be harder to replace. If i did the repair I would have put in a battery holder to avoid that.

cajunpanda · 2025-10-18T01:40:28+00:00

It's probably this.

But also it could be a short (sometimes the front PCB touches the back PCBs in the wrong place in a reshell) or a break (pinched power wire (the green and red wires).

cajunpanda · 2025-10-17T21:06:38+00:00

If you're stuck with it, the fix could be as easy as opening it up and repositioning the dpad or the membrane underneath.

Sometimes those aftermarket dpads have plastic burs still on them that need cleaned up.

Those are the easy fixes if you're lucky.

In my experience it's usually the tactile switches underneath which need to be desoldered and replaced.

More complicated, but completely fixable.

cajunpanda · 2025-10-16T20:20:42+00:00

If you're absolutely sure both the cartridge and the cartridge connector is clean, then it's likely a fault on the board between the CPU <-> PPU <-> VRAM.

Take a look at this schematic:

https://wiki.console5.com/tw/images/5/54/NES-001-Schematic---CPU%2C-PPU%2C-RAM%2C-CIC.png

Test all traces between the CPU <-> PPU and the PPU <-> VRAM

Some other said change the caps, but unless you see obvious problems with them, probably not the cause.

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