{
"type": "entry",
"published": "2025-03-16T00:03:13-0400",
"url": "https://martymcgui.re/2025/03/16/refurbished-a-game-boy/",
"category": [
"making",
"workshop",
"games"
],
"name": "Refurbished a Game Boy",
"content": {
"text": "I'm trying to do things that get me out of the house and reduce the amount of time I look at torture rectangles (aka screens with internet). This Refurbish a Game Boy workshop from Craftsman Ave. felt like a perfect opportunity. Not only would I get some quality time in a (quality!) makerspace and get my hands dirty doing some tinkering (with expert guidance and few opportunities to truly mess up), but I'd also get to bring home a joy rectangle to improve the joy-to-despair ratio of rectangles in my life.\nSelfie at the workshop. I'm wearing an Eternal Caturday t-shirt and masked up in an N95. Behind me in a gray button-up is my buddy Hunter, seated and not looking at the camera because I did not tell him I was taking this photo!There were a lot of things to like about the workshop. The Craftsman Ave space itself combines super functional with \u2728aesthetic\u2728. Or, to paraphrase how they put it, \"we foster the illusion that beautiful things are made in beautiful places, when we know better.\" Workshop instructor Zach was super prepared, knowledgeable, and patient. Helping out was Chris who was so nice and humble, but did so much so smoothly behind the scenes, it felt like we were all his guests.\nDid I mention prepared? Here come a bunch of photos about how prepared!\nMachined plywood stations with milled-out tray areas for tools and for individual parts of the disassembled Game Boy units.Soldering stations for transferring the speakers from the old units to their new media controller boards.A Fender amp was perhaps overkill for testing Game Boy headphone output, but then again we were Very Sure when things worked.The workshop accommodates up to 6 units being refurbished, either on your own or with a partner. We drew lots to determine the picking order from the set of available Game Boy units. (I keep writing \"Game Boys\", disliking it as a term, and replacing it with \"Game Boy units\". What is language?)\nAnyway, here were the pickings for the evening!\nA wooden table with 7 Game Boy units in various states of wear, tear, and aging. In the background are 5 clean shells, for any participants who want to skip the scrubbing steps.I chose this sad boy which had very little sign of aging plastic but a lot of signs that it had probably been through a flood, with grit on the surfaces and in the holes, major signs of water damage on the screen, and all that was obvious before looking inside.\nFront of pre-restoration Game Boy. Signs of grit and water damage.Rear of the unit. Original stickers are quite worn, and there are more signs of grit.Looking inside gave me some bad feelings...\nRear of the unit with battery door cover removed. Green corrosion covers the battery terminals.Exposed motherboard of the unit after removing the back. Blue corrosion covers the copper heat sink.Zach had us examine the media daughter boards of our units, which indicate when it was manufactured.\nThe exposed media board. This one is from 1989, indicating it is a first-revision.We used tri-wing and Phillips screwdrivers to separate all the electronic parts from all the plastic parts, then put our initials on the plastic bits in Sharpie before giving them a soap bath and scrub-down to remove grit and grime.\nDisassembled unit, with various screws and internal parts in their trays.Cleaned case parts after soaking in soapy water and scrubbing with a toothbrush. Also pictured: the new media board soldered to the original speaker.With the electronics disassembled, we took turns using the Fender amp to test whether our Game Boy motherboard worked, using a 6-volt power supply and alligator clips to the power terminals. Mine, unfortunately (but not unexpectedly) did not produce the signature \"bling!\" sound indicating a successful boot. So, it was taken away (for recycling or a viking funeral, I don't know) and I received a known-good working one.\nAfter motherboard testing, we took turns at the soldering stations, removing the little mono speakers from the original media boards and attaching them to the new boards. Comparing the new sleek black PCB to the old crusty speaker had me pretty convinced the speaker wouldn't work.\nThere were even more things happening in parallel. Our new media boards were part of a full screen replacement, upgrading these units to crisp, backlit IPS displays, with brightness controls and many more features. Critically, the new screens are bigger than the originals, requiring some alterations to the case.\nThis is where Craftsman Ave's X-Carve machine comes into play. A custom jig holds the front of the Game Boy case in place, while a router bit removes two screw support posts, some space on the side for the new LCD's control toggle, and carves back the edges of the screen.\nA short loop of the X-Carve machine removing a plastic post from the Game Boy case.At some point, Zach gave us a little demo of removing corrosion from the battery terminals using vinegar. The acid eats away at the corroded bits in a bubbly reaction. These parts were too far gone to use, but Zach had plenty of spares.\nA bubbly solution of corrosion and vinegar with a bluish tint.Some time later, the solution has taken on a darker blue color.I didn't take many photos of the actual process. Re-assembly went pretty quickly, with a few key pointers from Zach about tricky placements and order-of-operations. I appreciate the care taken to make sure our new front \"glass\" and screens were installed free of dust and fingerprints!\nFinally, it was time to put in the batteries and put in a test game. While Zach had a lovely collection, I had made sure to bring my own.\nFront view of the restored unit. A crisp black and white display shows a screen from The Legend of Zelda: Link's AwakeningRear view of the restored unit. The original stickers are long gone, but so is the grime! Shiny and off-white.There's definitely more I could say about the workshop, the people, the space. All were excellent! But for now, I'll leave you with an abrupt:\nFinished Game Boy held in a hand. The screen shows in all caps \"THE END\".",
"html": "<p>I'm trying to do things that get me out of the house and reduce the amount of time I look at torture rectangles (aka screens with internet). This <a href=\"https://craftsmanave.com/refurbish-and-upcycle-a-classic-game-boy/\">Refurbish a Game Boy workshop from Craftsman Ave.</a> felt like a perfect opportunity. Not only would I get some quality time in a (quality!) makerspace and get my hands dirty doing some tinkering (with expert guidance and few opportunities to truly mess up), but I'd also get to bring home a <i>joy</i> rectangle to improve the joy-to-despair ratio of rectangles in my life.</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/d2/4e/e6/c1/b412e831a4f0ec978848ae3bcdad6aee2a843e7f4e702be1316a8947.\" alt=\"\" />Selfie at the workshop. I'm wearing an Eternal Caturday t-shirt and masked up in an N95. Behind me in a gray button-up is my buddy Hunter, seated and not looking at the camera because I did not tell him I was taking this photo!<p>There were a lot of things to like about the workshop. The Craftsman Ave space itself combines super functional with \u2728aesthetic\u2728. Or, to paraphrase how they put it, \"we foster the illusion that beautiful things are made in beautiful places, when we know better.\" Workshop instructor Zach was super prepared, knowledgeable, and patient. Helping out was Chris who was so nice and humble, but did so much so smoothly behind the scenes, it felt like we were all his guests.</p>\n<p>Did I mention prepared? Here come a bunch of photos about how prepared!</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/21/4e/b3/c6/ecd6b2deeaa6af37d44b87cf358758806b25bfdcb4d0bf6b12afa2a7.\" alt=\"\" />Machined plywood stations with milled-out tray areas for tools and for individual parts of the disassembled Game Boy units.<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/a6/4f/cc/4b/2e4c74c764360d229cd8cd3336acc7f0030d47fccca9edb0cc09e973.\" alt=\"\" />Soldering stations for transferring the speakers from the old units to their new media controller boards.<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/52/0f/62/2e/98bec6c872fe2754aa0b7f5d4cf059da5a8a9d839b18a08aa3913d4b.\" alt=\"\" />A Fender amp was perhaps overkill for testing Game Boy headphone output, but then again we were Very Sure when things worked.<p>The workshop accommodates up to 6 units being refurbished, either on your own or with a partner. We drew lots to determine the picking order from the set of available Game Boy units. (I keep writing \"Game Boys\", disliking it as a term, and replacing it with \"Game Boy units\". What is language?)</p>\n<p>Anyway, here were the pickings for the evening!</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/d4/3d/47/5e/002ba0d120b8d47e276837340629861a3b5232bcbc494483307eec71.\" alt=\"\" />A wooden table with 7 Game Boy units in various states of wear, tear, and aging. In the background are 5 clean shells, for any participants who want to skip the scrubbing steps.<p>I chose this sad boy which had very little sign of aging plastic but a lot of signs that it had probably been through a flood, with grit on the surfaces and in the holes, major signs of water damage on the screen, and all that was obvious before looking inside.</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/11/37/bb/c0/f3bc70acb7df80e68e51219bec210f22051ec083e39158e0cc504e9a.\" alt=\"\" />Front of pre-restoration Game Boy. Signs of grit and water damage.<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/4a/39/56/2d/28c8f9dc392e0bee629187ed84c09df0c177d4034d587151e0326e3e.\" alt=\"\" />Rear of the unit. Original stickers are quite worn, and there are more signs of grit.<p>Looking inside gave me some bad feelings...</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/de/cc/60/7a/64147e917acd3cd3fd2e5336dab79452edfc5ec213d4fd160814e8fa.\" alt=\"\" />Rear of the unit with battery door cover removed. Green corrosion covers the battery terminals.<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/d4/34/25/3e/141819f9bb69181ad2b1c8abf9e7649795ab90a6981adc9c690f899c.\" alt=\"\" />Exposed motherboard of the unit after removing the back. Blue corrosion covers the copper heat sink.<p>Zach had us examine the media daughter boards of our units, which indicate when it was manufactured.</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/df/ba/f2/76/36465eb630f31f897af232fa9eab9f352af3db1d5be76ac748b0a6b7.\" alt=\"\" />The exposed media board. This one is from 1989, indicating it is a first-revision.<p>We used tri-wing and Phillips screwdrivers to separate all the electronic parts from all the plastic parts, then put our initials on the plastic bits in Sharpie before giving them a soap bath and scrub-down to remove grit and grime.</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/66/d9/2d/2a/bb8f7c0890df10eedeed76b591e21d1c880f67a0fbc9828a79627d64.\" alt=\"\" />Disassembled unit, with various screws and internal parts in their trays.<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/ed/bc/53/af/62e7bef180d66c00257a752bd54b5038caf3c7de51b3d409a63210f7.\" alt=\"\" />Cleaned case parts after soaking in soapy water and scrubbing with a toothbrush. Also pictured: the new media board soldered to the original speaker.<p>With the electronics disassembled, we took turns using the Fender amp to test whether our Game Boy motherboard worked, using a 6-volt power supply and alligator clips to the power terminals. Mine, unfortunately (but not unexpectedly) did not produce the signature \"bling!\" sound indicating a successful boot. So, it was taken away (for recycling or a viking funeral, I don't know) and I received a known-good working one.</p>\n<p>After motherboard testing, we took turns at the soldering stations, removing the little mono speakers from the original media boards and attaching them to the new boards. Comparing the new sleek black PCB to the old crusty speaker had me pretty convinced the speaker wouldn't work.</p>\n<p>There were even more things happening in parallel. Our new media boards were part of a full screen replacement, upgrading these units to crisp, backlit IPS displays, with brightness controls and many more features. Critically, the new screens are bigger than the originals, requiring some <i>alterations</i> to the case.</p>\n<p>This is where Craftsman Ave's X-Carve machine comes into play. A custom jig holds the front of the Game Boy case in place, while a router bit removes two screw support posts, some space on the side for the new LCD's control toggle, and carves back the edges of the screen.</p>\nA short loop of the X-Carve machine removing a plastic post from the Game Boy case.<p>At some point, Zach gave us a little demo of removing corrosion from the battery terminals using vinegar. The acid eats away at the corroded bits in a bubbly reaction. These parts were too far gone to use, but Zach had plenty of spares.</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/e1/b1/9f/58/54fd62414bd8e54361dafdb1f3b1aaff8d400a25e9ad9eeea0c4a091.\" alt=\"\" />A bubbly solution of corrosion and vinegar with a bluish tint.<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/ae/94/97/8a/e0025b6d34883920c7a503a9a99ac73e2e2bc0f4bc5229f41e49f5df.\" alt=\"\" />Some time later, the solution has taken on a darker blue color.<p>I didn't take many photos of the actual process. Re-assembly went pretty quickly, with a few key pointers from Zach about tricky placements and order-of-operations. I appreciate the care taken to make sure our new front \"glass\" and screens were installed free of dust and fingerprints!</p>\n<p>Finally, it was time to put in the batteries and put in a test game. While Zach had a lovely collection, I had made sure to bring my own.</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/ae/a0/f4/4e/3590da01f5767a61dc9eabd357a791516a84bea6e070110046cea033.\" alt=\"\" />Front view of the restored unit. A crisp black and white display shows a screen from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/29/4c/20/03/15c8a5140a082039e4e88655cea4cff6c379c256d9967f0713ced1a4.\" alt=\"\" />Rear view of the restored unit. The original stickers are long gone, but so is the grime! Shiny and off-white.<p>There's definitely more I could say about the workshop, the people, the space. All were excellent! But for now, I'll leave you with an abrupt:</p>\n<img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/0e/e8/04/c7/e245dd87028255c5f236a99f360eb14cf188fd377eb6a2901375164f.\" alt=\"\" />Finished Game Boy held in a hand. The screen shows in all caps \"THE END\"."
},
"author": {
"type": "card",
"name": "Marty McGuire",
"url": "https://martymcgui.re/",
"photo": "https://martymcgui.re/images/logo.jpg"
},
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "44215177",
"_source": "175"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Jared White",
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/links/20250315/medieval-sketchbook",
"published": "2025-03-15T21:40:11-07:00",
"content": {
"html": "<blockquote>\n <h2><a href=\"https://www.medievalists.net/2024/12/sketchbook-villard-honnecourt/\"></a></h2>\n\n <p>Rediscovered in the 19th century, the sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt quickly captivated historians and art enthusiasts as one of the most fascinating works of the Middle Ages.</p>\n\n<p>Villard\u2019s artistic talent and keen observational skills are evident throughout the collection. Each page reveals something unique about medieval art, design, and imagination. Let\u2019s explore some of the most intriguing pages from this remarkable work.</p>\n\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Oh I simply eat this stuff up. Back in the 2000s my web design work was heavily influenced by old Celtic art (<a href=\"https://web.archive.org/web/20040604022451/http://www.gaeldesign.com/gallery.html\">as you can see here courtesy of The Internet Archive</a>), and I\u2019ve always had a fascination for medieval manuscripts as well as later movements which were inspired by that era such as the Pre-Raphaelites and to various degrees Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau.<br /><a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/obscureartists\">#obscureartists</a></p>",
"text": "Rediscovered in the 19th century, the sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt quickly captivated historians and art enthusiasts as one of the most fascinating works of the Middle Ages.\n\nVillard\u2019s artistic talent and keen observational skills are evident throughout the collection. Each page reveals something unique about medieval art, design, and imagination. Let\u2019s explore some of the most intriguing pages from this remarkable work.\n\n\n\nOh I simply eat this stuff up. Back in the 2000s my web design work was heavily influenced by old Celtic art (as you can see here courtesy of The Internet Archive), and I\u2019ve always had a fascination for medieval manuscripts as well as later movements which were inspired by that era such as the Pre-Raphaelites and to various degrees Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau.\n#obscureartists"
},
"name": "Link: The Medieval Sketchbook of Villard de Honnecourt",
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "44213646",
"_source": "2783"
}
{
"type": "entry",
"author": {
"name": "Jared White",
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
"photo": null
},
"url": "https://jaredwhite.com/links/20250314/brilliant-satire-of-owning-libs",
"published": "2025-03-14T19:24:52-07:00",
"content": {
"html": "<blockquote>\n <h2><a href=\"https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/dont-let-the-fact-that-i-only-criticize-democrats-and-always-defend-trump-confuse-you-im-an-independent-centrist\"></a></h2>\n\n <p>But remember, I\u2019m not actually committed to anything I say or do that provokes them into wokesplaining conniptions. I\u2019m just asking questions. Or playing devil\u2019s advocate. Or trolling for the lolz.</p>\n\n<p>Life would be much easier for the woke if they remembered that, at the end of the day, virtually no contentious pieces of legislation or civil rights issues ever affect me personally. Politics, government, and public policy are just games for me, and I play to win. So, when I throw out a whataboutism here and a \u201cboth sides\u201d there, I\u2019m just tossing curve balls to strike out the libs who get so mad they start yelling. When they quit the debate and block me online, I win.</p>\n\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>Everything about this satirical essay by Dash MacIntyre is <strong>genius</strong>\u2014and what makes it scarily good is <em>just how close it is</em> to literal reality. Some days I still find it hard to believe that this is the state of <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/politics\">#politics</a> in America today, but the sad fact of the matter is that <strong>trolls are routinely rewarded</strong> in the digital media landscape we find ourselves in. Until that somehow changes, expect more of the same.</p>",
"text": "But remember, I\u2019m not actually committed to anything I say or do that provokes them into wokesplaining conniptions. I\u2019m just asking questions. Or playing devil\u2019s advocate. Or trolling for the lolz.\n\nLife would be much easier for the woke if they remembered that, at the end of the day, virtually no contentious pieces of legislation or civil rights issues ever affect me personally. Politics, government, and public policy are just games for me, and I play to win. So, when I throw out a whataboutism here and a \u201cboth sides\u201d there, I\u2019m just tossing curve balls to strike out the libs who get so mad they start yelling. When they quit the debate and block me online, I win.\n\n\n\nEverything about this satirical essay by Dash MacIntyre is genius\u2014and what makes it scarily good is just how close it is to literal reality. Some days I still find it hard to believe that this is the state of #politics in America today, but the sad fact of the matter is that trolls are routinely rewarded in the digital media landscape we find ourselves in. Until that somehow changes, expect more of the same."
},
"name": "Link: \u201cGovernment and public policy are just games for me, and I play to win\u201d (satire)",
"post-type": "article",
"_id": "44204752",
"_source": "2783"
}
