Hacking EZ-Flash Reform Fix for high insertion force

[Localhorst86]

So, a few days ago I received my EZ-Flash Reform and it's working fine. However, when I first inserted it into my GBA i was worried about the ammount of force I had to put in to get it inserted.
The same happened with the DS-Lite shell that it came with. The card also felt as if it was catching up somewhere in the GBA when I pulled it out.

So I took a closer look at the card and to me it seems as if the angle the PCB is placed in the case is simply too high which causes this issue. Inside the cases "front" side you'll see this little standoff.

As you can see it consists of two "levels" of thickness with the smaller diameter fitting through the hole on the EZ-Flash Reform PCB. I decided to take a cutter knife to cut down the part with the wider diameter, where the PCB rests on.

By reducing this height about half a milimeter (1/280th of a banana) I got a considerably better result when inserting or removing the cartrdige from a GBA or a DS-Lite. So if you suffer from the same issue, you might want to try this fix as well. It's too bad that the EZ-Flash Team was not able to create a shell that fits properly, but we are not helpless little children, are we?

Note that you still should remove the card carefully, particulalry on a GBA it feels to me that the cutout for the micro SD can get caught up on the triangular "cartridge rails" inside the GBA slot.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[migles]

there was just a thread like an hour ago about a dude having issues with his new ez flash reform..
great timing
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ez-flash-reform-not-working.495149/

 

[element6]

You are the man. Thanks for taking the time to share!

 

[Bazahazano]

I did this:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/easy-flash-iv-reform-re-shell.495827


I did it quickly and with inappropriate tools!! It does the job perfectly and looks like a real cartridge when inserted.

 

[Localhorst86]

I did this:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/easy-flash-iv-reform-re-shell.495827


I did it quickly and with inappropriate tools!! It does the job perfectly and looks like a real cartridge when inserted.

Yes, I have seen this - I just didn't like to do this for various reasons:

a) I do not have a spare, crap game that people won't miss. I only gots the quality shit!
b) I didn't like the unclean look, particular the chips being exposed to touches on the back.

but as the internet says: "If it looks stupid, but works, it ain't stupid"
Yours probably is even better in terms of fit, I would guess.

btw, how do you keep the PCB from sliding "up" into the cartridge?

 

[Bazahazano]

Yes, I have seen this - I just didn't like to do this for various reasons:

a) I do not have a spare, crap game that people won't miss. I only gots the quality shit!
b) I didn't like the unclean look, particular the chips being exposed to touches on the back.

but as the internet says: "If it looks stupid, but works, it ain't stupid"
Yours probably is even better in terms of fit, I would guess.

btw, how do you keep the PCB from sliding "up" into the cartridge?

I don't like the unclean look either! It is very much a bodge job I only used a pair of wire cutters.

I just did it quick see if it could fit. It does the job perfectly well enough and the fit is like a regular cartridge so I can't be bothered to try and do it properly. (lazy)

The Pcb just sits wedged in. I have taken a few more pics so you can see.




A thin sheet of plastic could be put over the exposed chips. If somebody used the correct tools they will be able to achieve a lot better look.

 

[Meeg85]

So, a few days ago I received my EZ-Flash Reform and it's working fine. However, when I first inserted it into my GBA i was worried about the ammount of force I had to put in to get it inserted.
The same happened with the DS-Lite shell that it came with. The card also felt as if it was catching up somewhere in the GBA when I pulled it out.

So I took a closer look at the card and to me it seems as if the angle the PCB is placed in the case is simply too high which causes this issue. Inside the cases "front" side you'll see this little standoff.
View attachment 114818
As you can see it consists of two "levels" of thickness with the smaller diameter fitting through the hole on the EZ-Flash Reform PCB. I decided to take a cutter knife to cut down the part with the wider diameter, where the PCB rests at.
View attachment 114817
By reducing this height about half a milimeter (1/280th of a banana) I got a considerably better result when inserting or removing the cartrdige from a GBA or a DS-Lite. So if you suffer from the same issue, you might want to try this fix as well. It's too bad that the EZ-Flash Team was not able to create a shell that fits properly, but we are not helpless little children, are we?

Note that you still should remove the card carefully, particulalry on a GBA it feels to me that the cutout for the micro SD can get caught up on the triangular "cartridge rails" inside the GBA slot.

Your mileage may vary.

Do u think this mod might help the Reform fit into an SP? the squeeze is tight and it gets caught on the jagged edges of the cartridge slot.

 

[Localhorst86]

Do u think this mod might help the Reform fit into an SP? the squeeze is tight and it gets caught on the jagged edges of the cartridge slot.

that's the purpose of this mod. The high insertion (and consequently removing) force seems to come from the PBC being angled to steep in the cartridge shell. By removing some of the plastic on the standoff we can get the PCB to sit inside the shell at a shallower angle, thus reducing the force that is needed to insert or remove the cartridge. This allows us to also more carefully remove the cartridge from the slot, trying not to get the SD cutout to be caught on the triangular "rails" inside the slot.

 

[Meeg85]

that's the purpose of this mod. The high insertion (and consequently removing) force seems to come from the PBC being angled to steep in the cartridge shell. By removing some of the plastic on the standoff we can get the PCB to sit inside the shell at a shallower angle, thus reducing the force that is needed to insert or remove the cartridge. This allows us to also more carefully remove the cartridge from the slot, trying not to get the SD cutout to be caught on the triangular "rails" inside the slot.

So essentially this decreases with "thickness" of the cartridge making it easier to pull out and insert?