Game Boy Bivert/Biversion Mod DIY

Intro: Game Boy Bivert/Biversion Mod DIY

This modification will improve the contrast of your LCD for your original Game Boy DMG. Add a backlight to complete this mod anf illuminate your screen!

Note: Installing this mod without a backlight will invert your screen.

Materials:





• Tri-wing screwdriver
• Phillis jewelers screw driver
• Bivert Chip (get yours here)
• Optional but suggested back light (get yours here)
• Razor blade
• 28 gauge wire
• Soldering Iron (~40watts)
• Solder
• Helping Hands (if you need it)
• Hot Glue

STEP 1:

Start by orienting your bivert chip as shown in the photos. Locate and number reach contact. Prepare 6 wires of about 3 inches long. Strip and tin the tips to prepare for soldering. Tinning the wires is a must for this mod, it will make the precise soldering much easier for later.

Now cut two leads on the PCB between numbers 1 and 3, and then numbers 2 and 4. Be careful when cutting. Do not ever any other leads.

Solder the 6 wires to the PCB and prepare to solder them to the bivert chip. Match the numbers as shown in the pictures. This step can be hard to do. Stabilize the chip and use a very small amount of solder. Do not heat the chip too long as this can damage it. Use a small brushing motion as not to connect the tightly spaces pins.

STEP 2:

Once you have soldered all the wires correctly, place some hot glue on the chip to keep them for disconnecting. This provides more protection for the fragile connections.

Unscrew the PCB and wrap the wires and chip around to the back to hide it away. Now hot glue the wires connecting to the PCB so that they stay in place. Close up your DMG or continue to mod you LCD with a backlight to complete this mod!

See the back light mod here!

Comments

[tevey]

I want to make this on my backlight gb pocket is it. But i guess the connections are diffrent. Anyone know how to connect it to a gb pocket?

[switchie15]

http://handheldlegend.com/pages/instructions

[grantland]

I followed this tutorial and it ended up with the display missing shades of grey. Turns out that I had accidentally swapped pins 2 and 4. Upon fixing it worked flawlessly!

[LeeY5]

I installed the bivert chip which i get from my local store. Wow! It was so bad the image was blur and jumpy. Can't even play. Feel like a tv set with a very bad receiving. What's went wrong? Is the bivert chip sold to me was in correct?

[switchie15]

Make sure to get the right part number. Any old bivert chip isnt compatible.

[LeeY5]

Thanks. I will purchase from your store after cleaning bills.

[LeeY5]

*clearing

[LeeY5]

Can anyone help me? Where can i buy polarized film for DMG? Can iphone polarized film as a substitute?

[switchie15]

Handheldlegend.com has them

[e5frog]

Do we keep the levels of shading after this dual inversion has been added or does the increase in contrast mean all pixels are either full strength or off?

[MrCrono666]

So, I tried this and messed up the first PCB board, accidentally fused two of the board points (3/4) together. Next one I tried I successfully soldered it all together but when turned on, it seemed to be about 60% biverted and the speaker had stopped functioning, will try to upload a picture later on, also will test another chip as I'm pretty sure I might of burned the chip out (or at least damaged it).

[enovah]

Just wanted to talk about my recent experience putting a backlight into my classic gameboy.

I bought a blue backlight from http://hand-held-legend.myshopify.com/. (After reading some more forum posts I probably would have gone with the green one for better contrast.) Installed it with no issues. Polarization film had notches in the corner so it only fit one way. Screen was a little too washed out when I turned it on so I bought a bivert chip from the same website. Installed the chip with no issues. I followed instructions that said to turn the polarization film 90 degrees to correct the inversion from the chip. Screen seemed a "little" better contrast wise but I was still not pleased with the results. I double checked all my wiring to make sure everything was working correctly and it dawned on me how the polarization film affected the contrast dial. When I originally put in the polarization film with the backlight, it made it that when I scrolled the contrast wheel all the way up it inverted the screen and when I scrolled down it decreased the contrast so you could hardly see any pixels. Well, with the bivert chip installed I turned the polarization film BACK 90 degrees to how it was originally when I first installed the backlight. Now turning up on the contrast wheel made the pixels lighter and turning down would cause the screen to become inverted. But the surprising thing that happened is that contrast was dramatically boosted! I'm not really too sure how it all works, but it did.

TL;DR - If you have a backlight and bivert chip installed, try turning the polarization film 90 degrees and play around with the contrast, then turn it 90 degrees again and play around with the contrast. You may get surprising results!

[switchie15]

Blue definitely has the trickiest contrast to adjust. You will have to play around with the orientation and dial to get it just right. The other colors are much easier to tune in.

[enovah]

Agreed! And I wanted to post all this just in case someone else ran into the same problems I had.

[Elementix]

I installed the bivert mod and the backlight and my screen is still inverted...what gives??

[switchie15]

The bivert mod inverts your screen to begin with. So you need to turn your film 90 degrees to make it normal again.

[Elementix]

From what I read, the remaining pins should be tied to ground. Is this true, and just not shown??

[switchie15]

I would say yes, but iv'e never had a problem without grounding them.