Hardware Integrated Rechargable GBA mod

[Keylitho]

Nice, thats pretty neat too.
The only thing that id be worried about is having 2 battery cells. This charge board is not the best for charging multiple cells. Eventually the 2 might go out of sync and one might get overcharged. LiIon cells are very picky, and they overheat.
You have to make sure that both have almost the same charge level when combining them.

In parallel they level each other out.. Only in series you have to worry about that... That is when balance charging comes into play.

 

[Bazahazano]

Would it be possible to to charge eneloop batteries (or similar) with that usb charge board? and have them in the battery compartment as normal.

 

[Dend]

You could if you can find the space in there. But id weigh the effort that it takes, vs the benefits.
If you would be setting up more than one battery u gotta be careful; like Keylitho mentioned, they need to be set up in parallel (otherwise you have to worry about load balancing; remember LIPo batteries BUUURN).
I have been trying lately with a 650 mAh battery as it requires virtually no cutting whatsoever, and it lasts more than enough time (with my playing habits, i charge it less than once a week).

Good luck!

 

[Bazahazano]

You could if you can find the space in there. But id weigh the effort that it takes, vs the benefits.
If you would be setting up more than one battery u gotta be careful; like Keylitho mentioned, they need to be set up in parallel (otherwise you have to worry about load balancing; remember LIPo batteries BUUURN).
I have been trying lately with a 650 mAh battery as it requires virtually no cutting whatsoever, and it lasts more than enough time (with my playing habits, i charge it less than once a week).

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply

Ok it sounds like my thought was not a good idea. Those eneloop style batteries in parallel would not have enough voltage either.

 

[Bazahazano]

I have used a SMD Schottky Diode (MBR0520 Not sure of the exact model) as it has a lower voltage drop than a regular Diode and I am assuming a lower power draw from the battery.

I measured 4.04v from the battery terminals and 3.78v from the diode giving a drop of 0.26v. This get the voltage below 3.8v which appears to be the upper limit for the AGB-001.

I have a TP4056 with battery protection circuit. I have modded the PCB by cutting the track between B+ and OUT+ this isolated B+ from the circuit allowing me to install the diode between the pads. This means that B+ and OUT+ are now swapped around and the battery will still receive the full voltage when charging. This approach means that I don't need to have a diode overhanging from the PCB and makes it a little neater.



I apologise for the mess of wires and bodging it's still a work in progress. I'm waiting for my battery packs to turn up going to use two AGS-101 battery packs in parallel as I have seen done by Keylitho. (Thanks for your great video).

 

[menehune23]

As promised i am posting the pictures of the rechargeable mod. In my opinion this is how the AGB was supposed to be to begin with, rechargeable and backlit. Makes the whole experience of using it hassle free. I am uploading the pics that i took just earlier. Sorry as they are kinda large, but its easier to see the details.

This is the port:
View attachment 82992
View attachment 82993

The following is the charging board and battery setup:
View attachment 82994
Sorry for the very large pic, but i wanted to show the detailed image. Its not very pretty but it works well. I have another AGB that i am going to do this to, maybe i will be able refine this a bit more. On a full charge it really lasts a long time, I probably have used it at least 4 or 5 hours by now and it is still running strong. The downfall is that with this charge board, I can't charge and use the AGB at the same time.

The board plugged in and charging, when it is charging a blue LED turns on and the red one turns off:
View attachment 82995

The cut that i had to do to the back of the shell. I had to remove the whole part the holds the batteries. When its put together its perfectly normal. The battery cover is also glued on so it will not come off anymore.
View attachment 82996

Here is how it looks from the outside:
View attachment 82997

And the unit running:
View attachment 82998


I hope this helps you guys,

Cheers!!

Burning question: with the diode you chose (1N4001), does the GBA’s power indicator still give you a good amount of warning time? I.e. How long from when the light turns red have you been able to go?

 

[kichi]

ngl i didnt read whole thread, but on many sites there are versions of this you can just buy and attach. if you dont feel like soldering a battery

 

[MrTrynex]

Pretty cool looking. I'll probably try to get another GBA and do this myself. I usually prefer the SPs , and I don't want to mess with my own GBA, so I'll get a new one for this purpose, I suppose. One can't have too many GBs. I have a couple charging boards lying around, probably. I bought more than one when I fixed my PS Vita with one.

Hi! You mentioned you did the battery mod with TP4056 for Vita. Can you pls tell me how it holds up over time? I have read there are many issues using not OEM batteries in Vita so I thought using TP4056 between battery and board could work. With this setup you always have to turn vita off when charging correct ?

 

[gnmmarechal]

Hi! You mentioned you did the battery mod with TP4056 for Vita. Can you pls tell me how it holds up over time? I have read there are many issues using not OEM batteries in Vita so I thought using TP4056 between battery and board could work. With this setup you always have to turn vita off when charging correct ?

Yeah, that's me! Well, it still works, yeah. You don't necessarily have to turn it off whilst charging, buut well, the Vita won't know it's charging. But yeah, still works just fine.

 

[MrTrynex]

Yeah, that's me! Well, it still works, yeah. You don't necessarily have to turn it off whilst charging, buut well, the Vita won't know it's charging. But yeah, still works just fine.

Thats great to hear! Would you mind describing how you did the mode or sending some pictures of it? How much capacity does your new battery have? Im sorry about many question I just dont want to brick my vita or something. This is how I imagine it in my mind: New battery without protection board is connected to TP4056 to battery +- pins. Then to TP4056 is as out is connected the original protection board from original battery( I have read that vita wont like if you dont use OG protection board). And then the OG protection board is connected as usual to the vita via cable. Is this correct?

 

[gnmmarechal]

Thats great to hear! Would you mind describing how you did the mode or sending some pictures of it? How much capacity does your new battery have? Im sorry about many question I just dont want to brick my vita or something. This is how I imagine it in my mind: New battery without protection board is connected to TP4056 to battery +- pins. Then to TP4056 is as out is connected the original protection board from original battery( I have read that vita wont like if you dont use OG protection board). And then the OG protection board is connected as usual to the vita via cable. Is this correct?

Oh, I haven't changed the battery. It's still the original one, connected to the TP4056. I'll see if I can find the pictures I took back then

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