Retro Game Game Boy Color USB-C Charging Kit Instructions
- October 30, 2023
- Retro Game
Table of Contents
Retro Game Game Boy Color USB-C Charging Kit
USB-C Charging Kit for Game Boy Color
The Game Boy Color USB-C Charging Kit is a circuit that allows you to charge a Nintendo Game Boy Color by USB-C and use a Li-ion battery instead of AA batteries. This circuit includes the famous TP4056 and DW01A. The first one is the device in charge of charging the battery, and the second one is protecting the lifetime of the battery from over-discharge.
Features
- Full battery (green) indicator (optional installation)
- Integrated LED indicators
- Exact shape for Game Boy Color.
- Li-Ion battery charger by USB-C with protection for charging level and over discharge.
- Integrated LED indicators on the main board, next to the USB-C, for charging battery (red) and full battery (green).
- External LED indicators board for playing (white), charging battery (red) and full battery (green). The installation is optional.
Recommended/Required (not included) : Li-ion battery and USB-C cable.
Installation Steps
Pre-installation Steps
Before the installation, your GBC may need some extra steps to have it ready for the kit.
- Disassembly the Game Boy Color: Use a tri-wing screwdriver to open the shell and remove the 6 tri-wing screws. Carefully disconnect the display cable from the mainboard. Then, remove the 3 Phillips screws with a Phillips screwdriver.
- Cleaning the mainboard: Use isopropyl alcohol to clean the board. Since the board was made in 1998, the board may be full of dust or with the flux from the factory (yellow spots). All this dirt can be cleaned with alcohol.
- Cleaning the power switch: Once the metallic veneer is removed, clean the switch with alcohol and close and solder it as before.
Installation Steps
- Protect the button pads: Because many pads need to be soldered and they are next to the button pads, protect them with kapton tape until the installation is completed.
- Test the board: Before starting the installation, test the board. If it doesn’t work, contact the manufacturer for a replacement. Cut the bridges (1) and separate the board from the frame. Then test the board with USB-C and battery. If the battery is not connected, the green light will turn on and the red may blink. When the battery is connected, the red light will turn on (or maybe the green light if your battery is already full).
- Install the board: Solder the pads on the charging board to join it to the GBC mainboard. There are positive pads for joining the light and main boards, charging pads for joining the light and main boards, and done pads for joining the light and main boards. Once installed, cut bridge (2).
Note: If you are not comfortable with soldering or performing any step in this guide, do not perform the install yourself. Find someone who is comfortable to do it for you.
PRODUCT
HTTPS://SHOP.GILTESA.COM/PRODUCT/GAME-BOY-COLOR-USB-C-CHARGING-
KIT
PLEASE READ THROUGH THESE INSTRUCTIONS ENTIRELY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO INSTALL.
WARNING: IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH SOLDERING, OR PERFORMING ANY STEP IN
THIS GUIDE, DO NOT PERFORM THE INSTALL YOURSELF. FIND SOMEONE WHO IS
COMFORTABLE TO DO IT FOR YOU.
Description
The Game Boy Color USB-C Charging Kit is a circuit that allows to charge a
Nintendo Game Boy Color by USB-C and use a Li-ion battery instead of AA
batteries.
This circuit includes the famous TP4056 and DW01A. The first one is the device
in charge of charging the battery, and the second one is protecting the
lifetime of the battery of the over-discharge.
INCLUDED
- 1 frame panel which includes the two boards:
- Main board.
- Light board.
- 1 Light diffuser pipe.
- 1 Battery cable.
- 1 Cable of 3 wires for connecting the light board.
Recommended / REQUIRED (NOT INCLUDED)
- 3.7V li-ion battery (for example 102050 or 123048)
- Tri-wing and phillips screwdriver
- Tweezers
- Cutter
- Cutting plier
- Soldering iron
- Tin
- Flux
- Desoldering pump
- Desoldering mesh
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Instant glue (Loctite, Super Glue)
Board details
There are many pads on the charging board that need to be soldered to join it to the GBC mainboard. The following explains what each pad is for.
- BATIN: Input connector of the li-ion battery.
- BATOUT: The energy output from battery to the GBC power switch.
- GND: The ground pad
- +: Positive pads for joining the light and main boards.
- C: Charging pads for joining the light and main boards.
- D: Done pads for joining the light and main boards.
- SJ1: Solder jumper. If you wish, it can be removed to disable the integrated LED indicators.
- ((?)) These two pads allow you to solder a 5V Qi wireless receiver.
However, in next versions they may be removed.
Test the board
Before starting the installation, you should test the board. If it doesn’t
work contact me for a replacement (all boards are fully tested, but they may
damage during the shipping, we try to package them as better as possible), if
this work, go ahead with the installation.
First cut the bridges (1) and separate the board from the frame.
Then test the board with USB-C and battery. If the battery is not connected,
the green light will turn on and the red may blink. When the battery is
connected the red light will turn on (or maybe the green light if your battery
is already full) 
Second, If the board works as expected you can cut (2) and continue with the guide.
INSTALLATION STEPS
Please, carefully read the following steps for a successful installation.
Pre installation Steps
Before the installation, your GBC may need some extra steps to have it ready for the kit.
1. Disassembly the Game Boy Color
Nintendo products in general use two kind of screws. The first one called tri-
wing to close the shell, and the second one called phillips to hold the main
board to the shell.
Use the tri-wing screwdriver to open the shell and remove the 6 tri-wing
screws.
Carefully disconnect the display cable from the mainboard.
Then, remove the 3 phillips screws with a phillips screwdriver.
2. Cleaning the mainboard
Use isopropyl alcohol to clean the board. Since the board was made in 1998,
the board may be full of dust or with the flux from the factory (yellow
spots). All this dirt can be cleaned with alcohol.
3. Cleaning the power switch
Depending on how the GBC has been stored, the switch can be also full of dust
inside and prevent a good electrical connection. If you see when your turn on
the GBC, sometimes it doesn’t turn on well at the first time, this may be the
cause.
However, cleaning the power switch is a bit difficult to do. You must be
extremely careful about cleaning it or you may damage it.
First, protect the nearby parts with kapton tape to avoid burning them with
the soldering iron.
Then, heat the pads, first one and with a tweezer or flat screwdriver pry the
veneer apart first on one side, then repeat this on the other side.
You can see it in the following video: https://youtu.be/P-4KlOvaQ2M
Once the metallic veneer is removed. The switch can be cleaned with alcohol and close and solder it as before.
This is a GB Pocket, but it’s the same for GB Color
installation Steps
-
Protect the button pads
Because many pads need to be soldered and they are next to the button pads. This can cause the buttons pads get dirty with tin and interfere with proper operation. To avoid that, protect them with kapton tape until the installation is completed.
-
Remove unnecessary components
There are some components that the kit doesn’t need, and they are in the middle where the kit needs to be installed.
Remove the components one by one. You can follow this list from the easier one to the harder one to remove:- Diodes: D2
- Capacitors: C30
- Coil filter: EM8, EM7, EM6
- Fuses: F2
- Coil filter: EM10
- Red light (optional, only if you want to install the light board of the kit)
- Power plates BT+ and BT- for the AAA batteries.
- DC Jack
The speaker doesn’t need to be removed from the mainboard; however, it can help during the installation since it is very annoying. It can be soldered again at the end or better, be replaced for a new one.
-
Clean the excess of tin
All the pads where the components were before need to be clean and free of tin. Otherwise, the kit will not be flat over the GBC mainboard.
Use a desoldering pump or/and flux and desoldering mesh for removing the tin. -
Clean the board
After the components are removed, it may be dirty, clean it again with isopropyl alcohol. -
Installation of the main board
There are some pads on the board that the kit doesn’t need, and they may interfere with the correct operation of it. In the worst case, they can cause short circuit and burn the kit or the GBC.
Please, protect these pads with kapton tape following the next picture :
Then, put the board over the main
board and solder these 2 pads: 
-
Installation of the light board (optional)
First you need to remove it. Heat both legs at the same time and then remove it from the mainboard.
This is a GB Pocket, but it’s the
same for GB Color Now, remove the excess of tin and clean it: 
The best way to solder the light board is presolder the two
pads that the board has: 
Then, put it on the mainboard and
heat the holes from the opposite side, the light board will be soldered.
If you wish, you can test the white light with a multimeter in diode mode here:
Once the light board is installed
on the GBC mainboard is time to solder the cable for the battery charging
status light.
This cable has 3 wires, which color may change but it is not a big deal. The point is joining both boards correctly. Both boards have 3 pads called: +, C and D.
Fist start soldering the light board:
When you have it,
my recommendation is you glue the cable to the side of the main board, it will
hold the cable and be almost “invisible” in transparent shells. 
When the cable is near to the mainboard, cut the excess of
cable (the cable is always longer than you need to), and solder it: 
Once at this point, you can assembly everything except the
bottom shell than need to be trimmed in the next step.
So, install the screen, light diffuser included with the kit, bottoms, and mainboard. You can also test the board with USB-C cable and the battery, check the lights works well.
-
Cutting the plastic shell
The GBC board has been designed to try to cut into the shell as less as possible. However, there are some parts that need to be cut/trim.
Inside the shell
This part touches the main circuit, trim it:
The usb-C
hole
This is the part you must do as carefully as possible since this is visible from outside. Use the GBC cutting tool if you have it, or you can print it yourself.
Battery compartment
Depending on the shell you have, you may need to trim or not the shell. These two pictures show you the original case and the special case with a special battery compartment from the factory.
The first one
requires to remove the plastic in the centre as much as possible: 
The second one doesn’t need any cut 🙂 -
Finishing the installation
Once the shell is ready, you can install it back.
But, if your IPS screen requires to solder a power cable, please don’t forget it!
-
Light status
The board has 3 lights, white when the GBC is turn on (if you have installed the light board), red when is charging, and green when the battery is full.
-
Battery cable
If your battery includes the appropriate battery connector, you just need to connect it to the GBC, otherwise you will need to replace the battery cable for the provided one with the kit.
-
Done!
Here we are, it’s time to enjoy it!
References
- Game Boy Color: USB-C Charging Kit - The giltesa's shop
- Game Boy Color: USB-C Cutting tool - The giltesa's shop
- Refund and returns policy - The giltesa's shop