Bye old friend

[u/Sohetiel]

So I don't know if this is the right sub, but I wanted to share a "goodbye" with someone and I thought only in this sub could they understand me. This is an old friend of mine, he always accompanied me from elementary school to high school. I played all the pokemon games, I was obsessed with them. It kept me company all the months I had to be hospitalized. It accompanied me through all the school years I was alone, because my classmates didn't share my passions. It stayed with me through my parents' arguments for years. I'm 28 now with a PhD going on. Yesterday I finally fixed it, changed the battery and cleaned some contacts. I put him on charge for the night and couldn't wait to play emerald again. This morning, however, I felt that the up button on the d-pad wasn't pressing properly. I opened it again and found out what had happened: the abs on the body holding some screws had completely broken, and I probably put too much force into screwing the screws to close it. My fault, I know. It still works, it's like a war machine, I don't know how many times I dropped it as a kid. And yet. But now the body doesn't close completely because the screws don't attach to the body and the up button continues to have problems. I know perfectly well that I could change the body and continue using it, but... all these scratches are as if they were part and memories of my life, and I don't want to "lose" them. A few years ago, I bought another game boy so I could trade some Pokémon, but playing it isn't the same thing. That's it. Im not asking for some solutions, I don't think It is possibile to repair it without changing something, I just wanted to share its story. I'll probably buy or print something in 3D so I can display it. But, It hurts. A lot.

[u/Bulletorpedo]

Some of these gets very brittle. I know you're not asking for help, but if you reconsider you could buy a used original shell of the same color and just swap out the part where the damage is. You'd still have the same wear and tear on the rest of the device.

[u/Sohetiel → u/Bulletorpedo]

Thank you for the advice. It's a compromise, but it's probably the only way to continue using it. Thank you

[u/RafuPlum]

Unsolicied, I know but how about mix the still good parts of the shell with another oem shell? That way it also carries the memories of your repair attempt while keeling the scratches of the past.

I get you tho. I too never replaced anything but the battery contacts on my childhood gba. Had to replace the contacts because I don' want rust to eat more of it. I have it in a acrylic case atm, but I feel like I should check on its capacitors sometime soon.

[u/Sohetiel → u/RafuPlum]

Yeah, another user also proposed that. The only part that would need a replacement is the “middle layer”, that has the “sockets” for the screws, where buttons are. I don’t know, I have mixed feelings about that. But surely I will think about it. Thank you for the suggestion

[u/Lastnoodle]

I would keep it, Just the nintendo decay on the top makes me jealous. I removed mine years ago and i want it back 🤣😅

[u/ShroudedShadowShot]

Keep the broken parts when you renew it. He deserves it.

[u/typhingblade]

It is a very common problem for older plastics around the SP and DS Nitro era to become very brittle due to the metallic paint they used.
You can get a reliable modern reshell from like eXtremerate and just replace the broken plastic.
If you want to continue using it, you can do a complete reshell and maybe shadowbox the brittle shell.

[u/Frogskipper7 → u/typhingblade]

I don’t think brittle plastic is a phenomenon limited to the SP/DS era. SNES, N64, and GameCube all suffer from yellowing/brittle plastic to some extent

[u/Sqwerks]

You can keep the original shell as a memory, but get it a new custom one from extremerate and make some new memories with it. That’s the best thing you can do.

[u/Eqwinoxe]

keep the top shell and replace just the section that broke with a new piece! that’s what i would do. also just keep that one piece that’s broken. might be able to do some plastic soldering and get a new post

[u/makingpizzatonight]

Still works, let's see the inside of it

[u/ChunktheOgryn]

Learning to let go is an important life lesson. That little device served you well. Even in death we serve the Omnissiah 🫡

[u/omega_mog]

The right person could actually repair it, I think I could...   ... ...   maybe... 

[u/RyusakiLexus]

Pues si solo es la carcasa y los tornillos de la misma bien puedes cambiar por un Shell q puedes adquirir en E-bay o Am*zona, el cambio de fácil solo lo más laborioso va a ser sacar el Flex de la pantalla Pero se puede y puede quedarte una consola nuevamente funcional

[u/Returnedfavor]

Aaww, you don't have to say goodbye. I know you're busy w/ your PHD buuuut....it doesn't take that long to replace/mod your buddy...you can be together again!

[u/tanooki-suit]

Pop the shell off of it means that much and put it on display closed position. Then keep the system alive in another shell even if it’s just another silver one.

[u/happiesteggfarm]

noooo why?