Game Gear LCD Screen Mod (McWill)

Well I finally got finished with the LCD mod. I would rate this as a tough one. Many tricky steps in the mod. From de-soldering tiny surface mount components to soldering the connections to the old LCD ribbon cable pads.No doubt this one was hard.

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I had some trouble tinning the ground solder point on the LCD mod. After scraping the solder pad with my sharpest tweezers, cleaning & adding some flux I was finally able to get the solder to take. It didn't help that a component ( don't know what one) was drawing the heat away. With allot of patience and more then a few tries I got it done.

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I used AWG 26 wire for all the data lines. I used AWG 22 for VCC 5V and AWG 26for GND. I highly recommend using AWG 26 – 28 for this mod. It's just not going to happen with larger wire gauges.

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Double check all your solder joints when your done. Looking for shorts or cold  joints. Clean the entire board with IPA as you go along. The last thing you need is a small bit of shrapnel or dust from your soldering work causing a short. I had one on the old ribbon connection. After rewiring the data lines to the screen twice, I noticed a very tiny bridge from some shrapnel and dry flux across two pads. I was barley able to see it at first and had been freaking out that I had broken the new screen.

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After all desoldering & a cleanup with IPA
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On the last attempt at soldering the LCD ribbon points, I discovered a neat way of soldering the data lines. I never bin the ends of leads from new caps or resistors. I always put the small bits I trim off into a little plastic container. If you rap your wire around an old lead making a T and solder the junction, then cut off one side of the T, you'll have L shaped end that's a perfect fit for these tiny solder points. You can hook them around the board and solder them on . It's still tricky but not as tricky as with just wire. This trick was a life saver but I still had to strain my eyes and take my time making sure I was soldering to the right pad. ( think I might have seen Ben Heck doing this in one of his videos).

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Old ribbon solder pads trick.
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 finished wiring (front)
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finished wiring (back)
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2mm  Neoprene Seal strip for the LCD Screen

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Reassembled GG
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The difference between the old screen and the new one is like night and day. McWill's LCD Mod is a great bit of Kit. I''ll be holding on to both the modified and the original Game Gear consoles. In the end I didn't do the VGA out. If I want to play on a bigger screen then I'll just use an emulator. I have enough spare parts left however, to fix up a few more Game Gears. These fixed consoles I'll sell to help cover the cost of my next project and perhaps get an Everdrive GG. So I'll be keeping an eye open for some old Game Gears that need a bit of TLC and new home. 

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 Old ( VA1 1xASIC )
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New ( VA0 2xASIC )
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This was by far the most difficult project I've taken on to date. I learnt allot from it and feel more confident with my soldering. I'm already hatching plans for my next electronics project around Christmas. For now It's time to get back to work. Alas, my short holiday is over. I sort of feel like I'm becoming a shelter for old and abused consoles & computers. If your into retro console and computers, then it helps if your able to use a soldering iron and a multimeter. Curating these awesome devices and trouble shooting the problems that develop with old age, gives you a new found admiration for them. Ensuring that they continue to work and play games for years to come. Till next time.

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A big thanks to the following youtubers for their great videos on the Game Gear and the McWill GG LCD mod. Great help in doing the mod.

StigsWorld has some great videos on repairing the Game Gear


GadgetUK164 has a great videos on the McWill LCD Mod


Terence Chan also has a great video covering McWill LCD Mod +VGA

SMSPOWER.ORG had loads of great info on their forums.

Thanks to everyone for their help!!!

I purchased my McWill LCD MOD from DragonBox. I have no trouble in recommending them, fast dispatch and a fair price. I also picked up a capacitor kit and GG screen cover/glass. They also offer mod installation and repair  services, so if your not comfortable with the soldering work I'm sure they'll help you out.