Game Boy Advance SP: USB-C Mod (Centered)

Description

The newly renovated design of the Game Boy Advance SP board has been improved by adding features that make installation much easier.

As before, this board allows you to charge the battery via a USB-C cable or connect headphones with a USB-C or jack adapter to USB-C in your Game Boy Advance SP (Also compatible with Nintendo DS).

However, this new model has three important changes:

• First, the thickness has been increased to 2.4 mm from 1.2 mm, which helps keep the connector as centered in the hole as possible.
• Second, the pads are now castellated holes, making soldering much easier. (Check the video below)
• Finally, the new plastic cover is now made with resin 3D printing, which, with its high resolution, provides more details and an improved finish fitted to the shell.

This board is compatible with the following models:

• Game Boy Advance SP (AGS-001)
• Game Boy Advance SP Backlight (AGS-101)
• Nintendo DS (NTR-001)

FEATURES

• New castellated holes (pads): Soldering has never been easier.
• New redesigned plastic cap made with a resin 3D printer. It fits the hole like a glove with the original GBA SP case. ⁽¹⁾
• Charge your Game Boy Advance SP via USB-C, compatible with:
  • • USB power banks
    • USB-A chargers
    • USB-C chargers ⁽²⁾
    • USB-C PD chargers (normal speed, not fast) ⁽²⁾
    • USB-A to USB-C cables
    • USB-C to USB-C cables ⁽²⁾
• Play sound using USB-C headphones or a USB-C to 3.5mm Jack adapter.

(1) The plastic cap is designed for the original GBA SP shell. It may be compatible with other shells, but compatibility will depend on how similar they are to the original.

(2) This feature has been recently added but has a limitation. Previously, USB-C to USB-C cables were not compatible and did not charge the GBA SP. They can now be used, but they work only when connected in one orientation. This means when you connect the USB-C cable face up, it will charge the battery correctly, and the orange LED will turn on. However, when connected face down, it will not function.

(Supporting double-sided connection disables the speaker audio. Therefore, this is the best option to keep the audio functional while making USB-C to USB-C cables/chargers compatible. You can see a video in the “Additional content (videos)” tab.)

Installation detail of the v1.6 (current version):

INCLUDED

• 1 board (2.4 mm thickness)
• 1 plastic cap to cover the hole

REQUIRED (NOT INCLUDED)

• Tri-wing and Phillips screwdriver
• Cutting plier (optional)
• Kapton tape
• Soldering iron
• Tin
• Flux
• Desoldering pump
• Desoldering mesh
• Isopropyl alcohol

NOTES

Due to the difference between different monitors, the picture may not reflect the actual color of the plastic cap.

The USB-C earphone or USB-C adapter to Jack 3.5mm must be without any DAC inside, just analog device, otherwise it won’t work. For example these ones work perfect:

• One+ adapter, link2
• Huawei adapter
  
• USB-C Splitter: model 1, model 2 (Audio and charging at the same time)

DOCUMENTATION

• Installation guide PDF
• Video installation (v1.2)
• GitHub repository