Not sure if this is old for you guys but here goes:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/nintendo_ds/79607.html
Nintendo DS successfully modded to play Gameboy & Gameboy Color games!
As far as I know this is the first time this has been posted anywhere on the internet- I made a major breakthrough this morning in modding my DS and visually mapping the schematics of the differences between the Gameboy Advance SP, which has the ability to play legacy Gameboy games, and the DS which does not. I have a fairly detailed history in console modding and electronic engineering, my first mod was with the help of my uncle (who builds communication satellites) to add a speed hack to my Sega Master System.
Anyway, enough about me. Modding a DS to play legacy Gameboy games is so easy, anyone with a soldering iron, solder, a few lengths of insulated wire, a small file, and about a half hour of spare time can do it. I need to borrow a digital camera to better document the entire process, but in a nutshell here is what you do:
ATTEMPT THIS MOD AT YOUR OWN RISK, MODIFYING ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICE CAN BE DANGEROUS AND MAY RESULT IN ELECTRICAL SHOCK OR BREAKING YOUR DS!!!
1. Disassemble your Nintendo DS. This step is fairly self explanatory, if you can't figure out how to take your DS apart, you should stop here.
2. Take the DS back plate and file down the two notches on each side of the legacy cartridge slot. My guess is that Nintendo is aware of how easy this mod is, so they resorted to a physical lock on the hardware. Luckily, removing these notches doesn't take much effort.
3. Disconnect the ribbon cables from the main DS circuit board that goes to each of the two screens, and place it on a non-conductive surface for soldering.
4. Cut 3 lengths of insulated wire and strip the ends. For precise soldering like this, I recommend coating the ends of the wires with flux. This will aid the solder in sticking to the wires allowing you to make more precise connections with less solder. You should be able to pick up a canister of flux at any electronics store for a couple dollars.
5. Next to the DS processor is two points marked -CP4-. Connect these two points together to allow the DS processor to switch in to Gameboy emulation mode.
6. Point 32 on the legacy cartridge slot needs to be grounded, solder it to the nearby screw hole. This is not necessary, but I found that some Gameboy games won't boot, specifically, newer Gameboy color games with real-time clock functions like Pokemon Blue unless this point is grounded.
7. OPTIONAL: While you've got the DS open, how would you like to increase the range of the wireless multiplay abilities? Simply solder a wire from the antenna port to the nearby anchor solder for the DS cartidge slot. Your DS will then use both the internal antenna as well as all of the internal grounded shielding inside of the DS to send and receive multiplay signals! This effectively DOUBLED the range of my DS's wireless.
8. Reassemble your DS. I find it is helpful if you make a little diagram on paper of the DS and what screws went where.
9. Insert your favorite Gameboy or Gameboy Color game and go to town! Select the bottom-most option in the DS menu just as if you were playing a GBA game!
There you have it, the world's first DS mod allowing you to play Gameboy and Gameboy color games, with two simple soldered wires. I plan on setting up an online store in the near future selling more detailed installation instructions, as well as a kit with pre-cut and stripped wires, and a few dabs of flux. I encourage anyone interested in this mod to wait a couple weeks until then, unless you feel confident enough with electronics to attempt this yourself.
I've modded my own DS, as well as 3 of my friends flawlessly. I believe this is so easy because Nintendo originally planned on releasing the DS with the capability to play Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, but knew it would be financial suicide with the upcoming holiday season and millions of Gameboy Advance SP's sitting on store shelves world wide. The SP needed something to make it worth buying over the DS besides a smaller price tag- Viola, Gameboy and Gameboy Color backwards compatibility
http://www.livejournal.com/community/nintendo_ds/79607.html
Nintendo DS successfully modded to play Gameboy & Gameboy Color games!
As far as I know this is the first time this has been posted anywhere on the internet- I made a major breakthrough this morning in modding my DS and visually mapping the schematics of the differences between the Gameboy Advance SP, which has the ability to play legacy Gameboy games, and the DS which does not. I have a fairly detailed history in console modding and electronic engineering, my first mod was with the help of my uncle (who builds communication satellites) to add a speed hack to my Sega Master System.
Anyway, enough about me. Modding a DS to play legacy Gameboy games is so easy, anyone with a soldering iron, solder, a few lengths of insulated wire, a small file, and about a half hour of spare time can do it. I need to borrow a digital camera to better document the entire process, but in a nutshell here is what you do:
ATTEMPT THIS MOD AT YOUR OWN RISK, MODIFYING ANY ELECTRONIC DEVICE CAN BE DANGEROUS AND MAY RESULT IN ELECTRICAL SHOCK OR BREAKING YOUR DS!!!
1. Disassemble your Nintendo DS. This step is fairly self explanatory, if you can't figure out how to take your DS apart, you should stop here.
2. Take the DS back plate and file down the two notches on each side of the legacy cartridge slot. My guess is that Nintendo is aware of how easy this mod is, so they resorted to a physical lock on the hardware. Luckily, removing these notches doesn't take much effort.
3. Disconnect the ribbon cables from the main DS circuit board that goes to each of the two screens, and place it on a non-conductive surface for soldering.
4. Cut 3 lengths of insulated wire and strip the ends. For precise soldering like this, I recommend coating the ends of the wires with flux. This will aid the solder in sticking to the wires allowing you to make more precise connections with less solder. You should be able to pick up a canister of flux at any electronics store for a couple dollars.
5. Next to the DS processor is two points marked -CP4-. Connect these two points together to allow the DS processor to switch in to Gameboy emulation mode.
6. Point 32 on the legacy cartridge slot needs to be grounded, solder it to the nearby screw hole. This is not necessary, but I found that some Gameboy games won't boot, specifically, newer Gameboy color games with real-time clock functions like Pokemon Blue unless this point is grounded.
7. OPTIONAL: While you've got the DS open, how would you like to increase the range of the wireless multiplay abilities? Simply solder a wire from the antenna port to the nearby anchor solder for the DS cartidge slot. Your DS will then use both the internal antenna as well as all of the internal grounded shielding inside of the DS to send and receive multiplay signals! This effectively DOUBLED the range of my DS's wireless.
8. Reassemble your DS. I find it is helpful if you make a little diagram on paper of the DS and what screws went where.
9. Insert your favorite Gameboy or Gameboy Color game and go to town! Select the bottom-most option in the DS menu just as if you were playing a GBA game!
There you have it, the world's first DS mod allowing you to play Gameboy and Gameboy color games, with two simple soldered wires. I plan on setting up an online store in the near future selling more detailed installation instructions, as well as a kit with pre-cut and stripped wires, and a few dabs of flux. I encourage anyone interested in this mod to wait a couple weeks until then, unless you feel confident enough with electronics to attempt this yourself.
I've modded my own DS, as well as 3 of my friends flawlessly. I believe this is so easy because Nintendo originally planned on releasing the DS with the capability to play Gameboy and Gameboy Color games, but knew it would be financial suicide with the upcoming holiday season and millions of Gameboy Advance SP's sitting on store shelves world wide. The SP needed something to make it worth buying over the DS besides a smaller price tag- Viola, Gameboy and Gameboy Color backwards compatibility
