[Tutorial] Solar Powered Gameboy Pocket

Tommo · **Joined:** Sun Aug 16, 2009 11:14 am **Posts:** 3

Kinda gonna jump right into this with my first post

Truth is i have been into modding and generally messing about with electronics for ages now, this forum seems like the best place for me to share stuff and learn then

Anyway, i made a solar powered Gameboy Pocket! Been using it for weeks now and it works just great! Anyway, here is a lovley picture:

It was really cheap and easy to make, so i am happy to share the tutorial for anybody who wants to try it out, it is really perfect for beginners.
I will refrain from repeating details here that are already available in the tutorial. :lol:

http://www.GameboyRetro.co.uk/?page=tutorial&sub=solar

64M320N3 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2009 12:36 pm

That. Is. AMAZING!
Harnessing free power for games = WIN. (Batteries are pretty expensive these days).
It looks really clean. Not too much hot glue. :lol:

Good job.

Skyone · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2009 2:42 pm

Beautiful! Very nice tutorial, I might have to try it. Moved to News forums, as this is a completed project.

thewizdawg · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2009 4:04 pm

Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

Zeturi · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:52 pm

Reminds me of that gameboy game that charges your character with the sun. Boktai...? Awesome system, btw. ETERNAL POKEMONZ!

limpport · **Posted:** Sun Aug 16, 2009 11:20 pm

I just discovered a few of those walkway lights while cleaning out the basement. Only two of the boards are still good out of the four, so now I have a new project! Looks really great, nice job!

Tibia · **Posted:** Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:20 am

Very clean work! There is something I'm wondering, though.

GameBoy Retro wrote:

it takes 3-4 days of full bright sun to fully charge the batteries for 13 hours of Gameplay.

What kind of play time do you get on three or four hours of sunlight?

gumbyx84 · **Joined:** Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:10 am **Posts:** 64

O_O

I am very tempted to try this even with my limited modding skills. So little to solder to reap a large reward.

Thanks for posting this! I may have finally found an easy mod for me to do (baring I find another GBP; I lost a button and damaged the plastic screen cover while trying to paint one this weekend, so the other one has become a donor system).

schmellyfart · **Posted:** Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:50 pm

Is it able to charge as you play?

Very nice, add a backlight and that gameboy will be even more awesome!

Tommo · **Joined:** Sun Aug 16, 2009 11:14 am **Posts:** 3

Thanks for the comments everyone!

schmellyfart wrote:

Is it able to charge as you play?

I can't see why not hah, it is feeding power to the batteries only when the solar panels are giving over a certain voltage thoughMy knowledge of electronics isn't good enougth to give a proper answer though :roll:

Tibia wrote:

What kind of play time do you get on three or four hours of sunlight?

I don't know for certain, i just leave mine by my window all the time and it works for however long i am playing it when i decide to pick it up, i am from the UK however so seeing that it is cloudy pretty much all the time here that is saying something :mrgreen:

gumbyx84 · **Joined:** Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:10 am **Posts:** 64

schmellyfart wrote:

Is it able to charge as you play?

One thing I just thought of: While playing, wouldn't your hands be covering the solar panels? So while it might be possible, it wouldn't be practical.

schmellyfart · **Posted:** Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:10 pm

gumbyx84 wrote:

schmellyfart wrote:

Is it able to charge as you play?

One thing I just thought of: While playing, wouldn't your hands be covering the solar panels? So while it might be possible, it wouldn't be practical.

True. I was just curious though

eagle5953 · **Joined:** Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:06 pm **Posts:** 1843

Tommo wrote:

i am from the UK however so seeing that it is cloudy pretty much all the time here that is saying something :mrgreen:

Darn it - you messed up my opportunity to make a quip about your lousy weather! I was going to quote Shanghi Knights...

Edit:

Shanhi Knights wrote:

Throw whatever you want at me! Your terrible weather! Your perverted killers! Your Spotted D***!

bacteria · **Posted:** Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:19 pm

Excellent guide. 3 days to recharge is quite a time, but free power! Nice!

SonyPortableizer · **Joined:** Sun Jun 01, 2008 6:49 pm **Posts:** 1323

Awesome, want that on a deserted island, or if the zombie apocalypse would happpen

[Tutorial] Solar Powered Gameboy Pocket

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