Building a Gameboy Macro in 2021
Introduction: Building a Gameboy Macro in 2021
A continuation from my first Gameboy build I've extended the hobby into making more GBA's with beefier components, and after covering my basis with GBA's, I wanted to move on to something truly custom...
You may be thinking: The heck's a Gameboy Macro? Simply put, a Nintendo DS (phat, lite, or even 3DS's) with one screen, resembling the Gameboy Micro, but bigger... There's more than one kind of Macro but the most common (and for this build) is a DS Lite.
When done correctly, the Macro mod is among the cheapest of custom gameboy's: all you need is a donor DS Lite and a resistor, both of which are readily available, and to boot it's backlit and rechargable right out of the box. The rest is purely aesthetics with multiple options to suit your budget and function, how far you go is up to you...
Supplies
* Donor DS
* Triwing + Philips Screwdriver
* Micro Cutters (for plastic & metal)
* Sandpaper (400, 600 grit)
* Woodworking/Metal f
* Spudger
* Soldering Iron
* Solder Sucker
* Rosin Core Solder
* Kapton Tape
* 330 Ohm SMT 0805 resistor
* Thin Electrical Wire
* Tweezers
* Spray Paint
* Epoxy Clay (Milliput)
* Superglue
* USB-C Port [Optional]
* Nintendo Switch Speaker [Optional]
Step 1: Choosing Your DS
Stated in the intro, you can choose from multiple DS's, each have their own methods of construction with pros and cons. Mine is a fully functioning red DS Lite with a dodgy hinge (complete with <PERSON> sticker) and cost me a mere £10 with shipping.
Before you jump in you should consider the colour palette of your DS. In my experience, it's preferable to obtain a fully functioning DS with a broken hinge in a body colour you already want (in this case red) so you don't have to paint it. These are readily available on eBay with a quick search i.e. 98
'broken ds lite'
If you want different colour buttons and screen bezels I recommend buying another DS with colour buttons you want, one that's completely busted and only worth salvaging for parts; this is cheaper than buying 3rd party buttons and of higher quality as aftermarket DS parts tend to be poor quality.
Step 2: Disassembly
With your DS ready lets tear it down. This has lots of steps but done slowly and methodically can be done with relative ease. I've included 2 links showing the same procedure in case a step is unclear. Check the annotations on each image for extra info and keep your parts organised...
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+DS+Lite+Moth...
https://gameboymacro.com/macro-tutorial-ds-lite/
-Flip it on its back and loosen the battery tray, taking the battery with it.
-Locate the 8 screws (2 behind the rubber bumpers circled orange) and unscrew.
-Separate the front and back halves, remove the power switch, the volume switch and shoulder buttons carefully [the shoulder buttons are spring loaded; don't lose these!]
-Pop off the BIOS chip [shown in the orange square] and the black wire; the BIOS chip can be wiggled off by pinching the left side and tilting back and forth. Pull the black cable out from the side underneath the cartridge reader; the head of the black cable can be cut off if needed as this part will be discarded.
-Unscrew the screw marked in pink that holds the board to the faceplate.
-Unlatch the digitizer ribbon tab with tweezers by sliding it in and lifting it up, then pop the white cable off.
-Unfold the motherboard from the faceplate; the only thing connected will be the top screen ribbon cable.
-Unlatch the top screen ribbon cable [marked in purple] by sliding in tweezers and lifting the black latch up, similar to the digitizer cable latch.
-Unlatch the bottom ribbon cable [marked green] the same way the top screen was separated.
-Pull the barrel out of the left side of the DS faceplate to separate it from the top screen housing.
From this point you have done every step needed to start the macro conversion. To state here, the black and white cable and the barrel can be discarded and will never need to be reassembled but the BIOS chip is required, so keep hold of that!
Step 3: Disassembly Pt. 996