What is it

Adapter board to allow for the use of DS Lite style GB cartridge connector adapters with the GBC. Replacement GBC cartridge connectors are not readily available, so this is a workable alternative.

Notes

Needs to be ordered as a 0.8mm PCB for proper fit.

Parts required

• Adapter PCB
• DS Lite style 32 pin GB cartridge connector. Example: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000290191316.html
• 32 x 2.0mm pitch male header pins. Example: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001187613681.html

Instructions

The following are provided as guidelines. Installation can be tricky, and is not recommended for beginners, so proceed at your own risk.

1. Remove broken cartridge connector from GBC motherboard
2. Cut header pins into 15x 2-pin pieces and 2x 1-pin pieces
3. Trim long ends of header pins down to < 0.8mm(PCB thickness). This end goes into the adapter PCB, while the other end goes into the GBC motherboard.
4. Place header pin sections into cartridge connector holes on GBC motherboard, on connector side of board, with 2-pin pieces going diagonally. There will be two 1-pin pieces at either end for VCC and GND pins. Header pins are used as risers to bring the connector to the correct height
5. Place adapter PCB over header pins, making sure the shortened ends are correctly inside the through-holes. Surface mount pads for new connector should be facing out
6. Carefully solder header pins to the adapter by flooding solder into the through holes. I recommend using as little heat as you can get away with to avoid melting the plastic on the header pins. Use as little solder as possible to ensure that the solder is as flat as possible. 7(optional, but advised). Using the test pads on the opposite side of the adapter PCB, check continuity with the corresponding pins using a multimeter to verify that each pin has been soldered successfully
7. Solder adapter PCB to GBC motherboard
8. The new cartridge connector will have two plastic nubs on the PCB side. Remove these to make the bottom as flat as possible. Also remove the two flat anchor pads on the cartridge side(they pull right out), as these will get in the way of the GBC shell.
9. Place new connector on pads of adapter PCB, with the ends of the pins about 1mm from the PCB edge.
10. Solder connector pins to adapter PCB. I highly recommend soldering one pin on each side first, and checking level. It’s CRITICAL that the connector is at least level – parallel – with the PCB, if not completely flush. If one side is higher than the other, you risk putting too much pressure on the low side when a game is inserted and breaking a solder joint.
11. Close everything up and test!