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How to add a battery to a cartridge from AliExpress?
If you want to rewrite a Game Boy Advance cartridge from AliExpress, you will encounter one problem - if the cartridge has volatile SRAM memory, there is no battery installed.
The Chinese have long been using BatteryLess technology, which allows saving directly to the memory chip where the game itself is stored. This also reduces production costs, as there is no need to solder additional components and the battery onto the board.
However, it is unknown how they patch the game. MetroidManiac has released a program on GitHub that makes such patches. But it has its own issues, such as the game freezing during saving. And considering that saves are made automatically (without player involvement), you may encounter freezes during gameplay.
In this article, we will talk about how to solder a battery to a cartridge from AliExpress. Thanks to Stanislav Slow, who explained and showed me everything in detail!
Unfortunately, simply soldering a battery is not enough for saves to work.
We will need suitable cartridges, diodes, resistors, capacitors, and batteries.
Where to Buy?
The first thing we need is the cartridges themselves. I ordered different cartridges, but the best ones (and easiest to install a battery) were bought on AliExpress:
We also need batteries. I tested many batteries:
The best ones were the CMOS CR1616 (on the right in the photo (with wires). It's important to understand that the numbers 1616 refer to the size. The first 16 is the width (16 mm), and the second 16 is the thickness (1.6 mm). You can also use batteries labeled 2016 (they are wider and the same thickness).
You can buy them on AliExpress:
You also need to buy:
Now that you've bought everything, you can start soldering.
Types of Cartridges
The main problem is that even when buying cartridges from the same seller, you can get completely different boards. For example, boards 2 and 3 (in the photo below) were bought at the same time from the same product page from the same seller.
If your cartridge is slightly different from those above, you can still install a battery using the same components. You just need to compare the markings on the board and find the same ones on yours.
Board 1
Let's start with board 1. This is what it looks like before soldering:
Let's go step by step.
In the place marked with the number 1 (see photo above), you need to desolder the jumper labeled 0.
Then you need to solder two diodes. Note that the diode has an SJ marking and a white stripe.
The position of the diode matters, and this stripe should be on top.
In the place marked with the number 2, you need to solder a capacitor.
In the place marked with the number 3, you need to solder a resistor.
In the place marked with the number 4, you need to connect two contacts.
And in the place marked with the number 5, you need to solder the battery. The black wire (negative) to the contact labeled GND (the lower one), the red wire to the upper contact.
You should end up with this:
That's it, after this, saves should work.
Board 2
If you have this board, things are a bit easier because the capacitor is already installed.
In the place marked with the number 1, you need to solder a resistor.
From the place marked with the number 3, you need to desolder the jumper labeled 0 and solder it to the place marked with the number 2.
Then, you need to solder two diodes in the places marked 3 and 4. As with the previous cartridge, solder them with the stripe facing up.
And in the place marked with the number 5, you need to solder the battery. The black wire (negative) to the contact labeled GND (the lower one), the red wire to the upper contact.
In the end, it should look like this:
After this, saves should work.
Board 3
Let's move on to the last board. It also already has a capacitor installed, so the installation will be a bit easier.
In the place marked with the number 1 (see photo above), you need to desolder the jumper labeled 0.
In the place marked with the number 2, you need to solder a resistor.
Then you need to solder two diodes in the places marked 1 and 3. With the stripes facing each other.
In the place marked with the number 4, you need to connect two contacts.
And in the place marked with the number 5, you need to solder the battery. The black wire (negative) to the contact labeled GND (the lower one), the red wire to the upper contact.
Final result:
That's it, after this, saves should work.
Epilogue
Of course, soldering components and batteries is much more complicated than patching a game. But since BatteryLess patching doesn't work perfectly yet, there aren't many options.
