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Gameboy Advance SP (GBA SP): battery and screen replacement

Gameboy Advance SP GBASP

The Gameboy Advance SP (“SP” stands for SPecial) was an upgraded version of the Gameboy Advance, with a different form factor, and most important of all: a backlit screen. The backlit screen make the GBA SP a great choice for playing Gameboy (GB), GBC and GBA games. In this post, I will briefly show how to replace the battery in the GBA SP, and focus…
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NES controller repair

NES controller

The NES controller with its characteristic D-pad, select, start and A and B button is liked by many, and is considered a standard for how a digital controller should function. As these controllers are 35+ years old at the time of writing, they need maintenance to function properly. In this post, I will write a few notes about how to perform such maintenance. The post…
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Playstation Portable (PSP): Remove faceplate

PSP

The Playstation Portable (PSP) was Sony’s first handheld console, launched in Japan late 2004 and the rest of the world 2005. It was Sony’s first attempt to compete with Nintendo on the handheld market. Nintendo released the “Nintendo DS” (NDS) a few weeks before the PSP. Although Sony could not quite compete with Nintendo, the PSP was a very capable console and many people still…
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Game Gear re-cap update

Game Gear

Previously I wrote a post about replacing the capacitors of a Game Gear (see, Game Gear re-cap). I recently bought another Game Gear that would not power on, so I made another re-cap, with a slightly revised routine for replacing the capacitors. For instructions on how to disassembly the Game Gear, and how to identify the capacitors, please see the post linked above. In this…
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Wii classic controller cable repair

Wii classic controller

The Wii classic controller was a welcome addition for Nintendo’s console since it resembles a more conventional gamepad unlike the Wii remote + nunchuck combination. I recently bought a classic controller with a broken cable on Swedish eBay, and in this post I write a few notes about the repair. To disassembly the connector, you need a special “triwing” screwdriver, also used to disassembly a…
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SEGA Master System controller repair

SEGA Master System Controller

Like any other old controller, the SEGA Master System gamepad can be worn over time, which causes faults such as non-responsive buttons, or directions on the d-pad to stop working. One of my controllers would not react when I pressed up on the d-pad, and in this post I will describe how I repaired it. Disassembly the SEGA Master System controller To disassembly the controller,…
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