NGPC IPS Screen Issues

daskrabs

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Has anyone else had these issues using the latest IPS screen mod for NGPC?

-When AA's are somewhere around half charge, seems like a 50% chance of getting a black screen at boot. Especially noticeable when switching games. Putting the unit down for a bit seems to help. Using an AC adapter fixes the issue. I'm using Duracell Procell AA's.
-I was using H2H link mode a few times recently, and my system stability (maybe just screen) dropped drastically, went in and out, or black screened.
-The unit is very sensitive to being bumped during play. It has reset a few times on me for minor bumps. This is my first NGPC, so not sure if they all do this.
-I find myself accidentally bumping the touch pads often enough that I'm gonna remove them and just use the OSD. Not a bug but a feature I guess.

This all makes me wonder about the power draw of the new screen. Are the 2 AA cells insufficient, especially in linked mode? Are there any alternatives that provide higher current draw? IPS is still an essential mod, I just have these few annoyances.
 

ggallegos1

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I've had this issue before, definitely kills batteries pretty quickly due to the additional power draw.

Wondering if there is a rechargable battery pack out there similar to the GBA cleanjuice
 

pixeljunkie

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the power going off from bumping sounds like a bad soldering job. Might be something getting shorted out. The batteries are a common prob. Be sure to get some good batteries with 1.5v constant.
 

Vectorman0

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-The unit is very sensitive to being bumped during play. It has reset a few times on me for minor bumps. This is my first NGPC, so not sure if they all do this.
This is a fairly common issue on unmodded units due to loose springs/corrosion, etc. Maybe you could try running using an AC adapter to see if it still resets.
 

max 330 mega

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As vectorman said, its probably not a modding issue. Check your springs out, and then order some batteries like these:
 

daskrabs

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Thanks for the tips guys. I'll try those batteries.
 

SignOfGoob

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Has anyone else had these issues using the latest IPS screen mod for NGPC?

-When AA's are somewhere around half charge, seems like a 50% chance of getting a black screen at boot. Especially noticeable when switching games. Putting the unit down for a bit seems to help. Using an AC adapter fixes the issue. I'm using Duracell Procell AA's.

The IPS screen draws more juice by far than the rest of the NGP consumes. Expect rechargeable to last nowhere near the 40-50 hours you’d get from a stock unit.

-I was using H2H link mode a few times recently, and my system stability (maybe just screen) dropped drastically, went in and out, or black screened.
-The unit is very sensitive to being bumped during play. It has reset a few times on me for minor bumps. This is my first NGPC, so not sure if they all do this.

Are you kidding? No, they don’t normally do this. The NGP is a portable gaming system from the 90s. You should be able to drop it down stairs without it turning off.

-I find myself accidentally bumping the touch pads often enough that I'm gonna remove them and just use the OSD. Not a bug but a feature I guess.

This all makes me wonder about the power draw of the new screen. Are the 2 AA cells insufficient, especially in linked mode? Are there any alternatives that provide higher current draw? IPS is still an essential mod, I just have these few annoyances.

Rechargeable AAs are pretty unreliable in general. They have way less balls than alkaline when new. They can start to not hold the same level of charge after a surprisingly short time (1000 charges my ASS, Duracell). I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all of your issue...well, that and the screen that at least doubles, if not quadruples, the power draw...and flash carts also lower efficiency. You could get Enerloops or some other rechargeables, something made for Mini4WD cars. If this is a shelf queen though, just get normal Duracell AAs. You’ll likely be bored with the system before you burn though a four pack.
 
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SignOfGoob

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This is a fairly common issue on unmodded units due to loose springs/corrosion, etc. Maybe you could try running using an AC adapter to see if it still resets.

I’ve been an NGP user since the US launch. I have carts with 200+ hours on them, multiple systems, I’ve never had this “common” issue.
 

Vectorman0

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I’ve been an NGP user since the US launch. I have carts with 200+ hours on them, multiple systems, I’ve never had this “common” issue.
To be more clear, unmodded NGPC's randomly resetting is the most commonly seen issues with NGPC's. A search of this forum going back 10+ years will attest to this. They are pretty bullet proof and this is the only issue I have ever seen reported more than once. Just because your sample of systems hasn't encountered this problem doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I wasn't even saying this was his problem, but that he should rule it out before hunting for a bad solder connection. The simplest answer for random resets is battery connection dropping, which means a loose connection, or corrosion on the contacts and/or batteries. People have also reported cleaning cart contacts fixing the issue or replacing the 2032 (which doesn't make any sense to me, but I've seen at least one person report this helped).
 

SignOfGoob

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Cart contacts can be a serious issue. If the cart drops out the system will quit, yeah. This is true for every system though.
 

fenikso

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To be more clear, unmodded NGPC's randomly resetting is the most commonly seen issues with NGPC's. A search of this forum going back 10+ years will attest to this. They are pretty bullet proof and this is the only issue I have ever seen reported more than once. Just because your sample of systems hasn't encountered this problem doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I wasn't even saying this was his problem, but that he should rule it out before hunting for a bad solder connection. The simplest answer for random resets is battery connection dropping, which means a loose connection, or corrosion on the contacts and/or batteries. People have also reported cleaning cart contacts fixing the issue or replacing the 2032 (which doesn't make any sense to me, but I've seen at least one person report this helped).
I have seen low voltage/dying cr2032s do weird things to a NGPC, so if you're not sure how old your battery is, check it out or change it. After I modded my NGPC I had problems with the screen blacking out. I tried using the official power supply and also a replacement PSU, and the problem persisted. I ended up buying Eneloop Pro batteries and a charger and they've been working like a champ.

I'm not sure if a higher amp PSU would have fixed it, but obviously being tethered to the wall isn't ideal for a portable unit anyway. Don't know how much that will help the OP, but that's what worked for me.

Edit: PS - The touch pads are definitely more annoying than useful, and the next time I open up the system for any reason, they are getting the boot.
 

Xian Xi

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When I tested a freshly modded NGPC with ~60% batteries, it would just keep resetting acting like I was pressing buttons and everything. Swapped in new batteries and it was fine.
 

Shuri

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unfortunately, the ips screens are pretty violent on the battery life.
 

daskrabs

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Update: pixeljunkie/max330's idea seems to be the fix, at least so far. Using 1.5v constant lithium batteries makes the unit stable. No issues at all. AFA the resetting, I figured out that shaking the unit up and down and side to side has no effect, but if ones shakes the unit back and forth, as in towards and away from the screen, the coin cell loses contact with the battery lead, at least temporarily, and the unit resets, requiring new BIOS settings. I duplicated this a few times with different new and used coin cells. I guess the moral is: don't do that. Maybe my coin cell lead is bent out of shape or something?
 

max 330 mega

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Glad to hear youre making progress in diagnosing the problem!
And yeah, sounds like some gentle readjusting of the coin cell contact might be the solution for the rest of the issue.
 

daskrabs

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Glad to hear youre making progress in diagnosing the problem!
And yeah, sounds like some gentle readjusting of the coin cell contact might be the solution for the rest of the issue.

Thanks, man.
 
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Update: pixeljunkie/max330's idea seems to be the fix, at least so far. Using 1.5v constant lithium batteries makes the unit stable. No issues at all. AFA the resetting, I figured out that shaking the unit up and down and side to side has no effect, but if ones shakes the unit back and forth, as in towards and away from the screen, the coin cell loses contact with the battery lead, at least temporarily, and the unit resets, requiring new BIOS settings. I duplicated this a few times with different new and used coin cells. I guess the moral is: don't do that. Maybe my coin cell lead is bent out of shape or something?
I can recommend eneloop pro batteries too. I've been using them for years and they're one of the best rechargeable batteries out there.
 
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