Old Game Boy Restored from Acid Damage

The original Game Boy was not only the greatest selling handheld video game system of all time but also holds the second position to its successor. There were many classic games that are still fan favorites that were released on the game boy. Although the handheld was extremely popular, it is very difficult to find one in good condition today. Most of the original GameBoys either have a busted screen or damage from the AA battery acid.

When Taylor received a Game Boy that was damaged because of the batteries leaking all over the PCB, he decided to fix it. The acid ended up damaging the traces and destroying vias in the Game Boy. One of the main problems with the handheld was that the acid corroded the PCB. He decided to remove all the components near the corrosion using his soldering iron. Taylor then took off the solder mask using sandpaper. Once the mask was removed, he repaired the damaged traces with 30 gauge wire. After repairing all the traces, he then tested it using an external power supply and found that the PCB around the battery area was fixed.

The next problem Taylor learned about was that the power LED was not working. To fix this he checked the port and volume wheel to see if there is any corrosion damage under them. He then fixed some damaged vias near the led connections and it finally started working. His next challenge was to fix the button contacts that were completely unusable. He called for custom replacement button PCBs from his friend at Froggocustoms. The soldering of the custom button PCBs was done by placing them right over the holes to line them up and later soldering them into place using the ground tabs. Taylor finally soldered the pads on the PCB, then to the Gameboy and restored the broken button connection.

Taylor then decided to fix the battery tabs back on. He secured the tabs using a plastic tube and some epoxy to keep them in place. After this, he connected the buttons to the main PCB and decided to change the display. By adding a new screen cover to the display he made sure that the Gameboy looks as good as new.

Upon connecting everything, he noticed that there was no volume coming from the Gameboy. He concluded that this issue is due to another broken trace as the speaker and volume wheen are brand new. This was the final touch he needed to give the Gameboy before he tested it using a Pokemon Game and showing how everything works.

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