WonderSwan - The way it was intended

[random_dave]

Hey all, I finished this off this week, and i thought you'd all find it pretty interesting.

And hopefully you'll agree that it comes under the category of 'tasteful mod' as i feel it adds functionality that should have been there the whole time, but alas the technology was still a couple of years away from being cheap enough to fit Gunpey's vision.

Anyway, on with the show, here is one of my WonderSwans, a mono version that was a pretty cheap pickup


and now, with the lights off...


Yes! I can now play it in bed!

I used my cheap mono console as a test, but now i shall look at doing the real intention, which is a Color model
I thought about frontlighting my SwanCrystal, as the lcd is arguably better, but I've been frontlighting a few things and it's nowhere near as nice as a good backlight (if the LCD tech permits)

If anyone would like to know how it's done, the brief summary is:-
Remove reflector and polariser from WonderSwan LCD screen
Remove diffusion materials from DSLite backlight
Remove and clean polarising layer from DSLite screen
Remove Frontlight assembly from GBA SP
Marry the DS diffuser with the GBA light bar
Mount new light and polariser to the LCD
Wire the unit to the GND and 3V solder points labelled on the WonderSwan DC-DC board
Put it all back together, sweet!

Now i just need to make my own headphone adapter

[SubaruBrat]

Tasteful and vastly improving of functionality one might say.

[Duke.Togo]

Very nice! I'll look forward to your color mod. Ever think about doing this for a Neo-Geo Pocket Color?

[indieseoul]

This is awesome. Do you know how to do an original gameboy light mod? I've googled it but couldn't find any useful information.

[wongojack]

cool

[random_dave]

This is awesome. Do you know how to do an original gameboy light mod? I've googled it but couldn't find any useful information.

how about this http://mikejmoffitt.com/tut/tut_mgb_backlight1.html it uses a kit from nonelectronics but you can just as easily use the DSlite backllight method (although might need to check voltages)

Very nice! I'll look forward to your color mod. Ever think about doing this for a Neo-Geo Pocket Color?

Well i cracked open the WonderSwan color at the weekend and they seem to have fused an actual mirror to the back of the screen rather than an adesive silver foil layer, so until i figure out if i can seperate them, it's not going anywhere.

I've got a NGPC in my drawer to do, but that has to be frontlit like the GBA and WonderSwan Crystal and I find that type of lighting to be much worse, so i keep putting it to the back of the mod pile for now

[TimeWarpGamer]

Very cool thread. My limited understanding of WonderSwan suggests that it's probably the greatest handheld that never saw market success. I'm still holding out for a CystalSwan on eBay--damn those things are rare!

[random_dave]

over the last year all wonderswans seem to have become rarer and more expensive, luckily every few months someone from work will be in japan so they end up with Super Potato shopping lists from us all.

I've just picked up another swan mono, and i'm going to get a noninfinite DMG backlight and see how well that works in it, as it's a lot cheaper than buying a GBA SP to cannibalise and a DSlite replacement screen

I've got a swancrystal that i can't decide whether to frontlight or not. with the price of them and frontlights being poop I'm inclined not to bother, but since I've found that the WonderSwan Color screens have a mirror bonded to the back of the screen , thus stopping me from backlighting the frontlit crystal may be the best option for color games

[teknohed]

I remember when they were selling wonder swan crystals at Fry's in a blister pack with 3 games for like 25 bucks. I ALWAYS kick myself for not picking one up. Turns out that this thing had some great games, especially if you are a capcom or SNK fan. Now I'm stuck watching Let's Plays unless one of these shows up at a thrift store or swap meet.

[SepticLemon]

Out of interest, how long does the battery life last with the lights on?

From what I understand the WonderSwan had something crazy like a 40 hour life on one AAA battery. How does it compare with the added backlight?