GameBoy DX

Completed: 1/21/2011, Build Time: A few days.

There’s nothing quite like the original GameBoy. A huge (and very enjoyable) software library, comfortable controls, great battery life, and a screen made of cabbage. Nintendo tried to improve upon this great machine with later handhelds, but it seems like the only way to fix the screen visibility was to sacrifice everything else. Thus, the GameBoy DX was born, featuring the comfort (and nostalgia) of that old grey brick along with a screen you can actually see and a rechargeable lithium battery.
On the technical side… yes, it’s essentially a GameBoy Color in a FatBoy shell with some battery charging circuitry. The D-Pad/Button controller board was reused from the old GameBoy along with the headphone jack, cartridge port, link port, and volume knob. So aside from the new screen, everything “feels” as much like the old GameBoy as possible. The rechargeable battery is just a generic single cell lithium battery yanked from an old cellphone controlled by a MAX1811. The battery can be easily disconnected and swapped out with another (if, for some reason you need more than the already ridiculous battery life). Playing & charging simultaneously is fine, and there’s a little indicator LED to let you know when the battery is topped off. Charging just requires a 5V DC adapter. Super Mario Land 2 never looked less green.


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