New GP32 Owner:

[Ozbiker]

Hi guys/gals. I recently became a new gp32 owner, and new member to this board! Hi to everyone
OK well I thought i'd post a little about my gp32 experience so far, most good but some bad. Heres my story in brief.

I got a FLU gp32 through Play-asia.com. They were great! Nice and fast! I would recommend them to anyone who might be after a FLU gp32. I registered my GP32, installed freeloader, pc link, and moved some emus across to the system.
So far, even with many emus in Beta stage this thing is a lot of fun! And the pc ports like doom running are awesome! I really fell in love with that sensitive, clicky D-pad. Its very sweet imo, and so good for FPS, but still very good for fighters or platform games.
Mp3 play back is great too! Stereo sound from the speakers is impressive.
Now to Battery life----- with FLU on it is quite poor. I can only maintain a few hours at best ( maybe a little more with less gaming) before things like emus just lose their light altogether and the system resets. With the FLU off, sitting under a good light is an acceptable alternative, offering more battery life, and still much better than the GBA screen as a comparison. OK, so overall the system is a lot of fun, even with its battery consumption. Ok well heres where my story gets a little negative....

I had read in detail about dust particles being an issue in gp32s, and at first I didn't take too much notice of these stories...that was until a day or so after I had got my Gp32. The protective magnetic plastic layer on my screen already had large bubbles in it up the top, which were slightly annoying , but dust was getting in there and became quite visable with the FLU turned on. So I peeled the layer back to blow some of it out, only to find it just made it worse when trying to stick the plastic back on. So I ripped it off and gave it a small wipe with a soft lens cloth. I had managed to get a couple of finger prints on it ( hey its handheld after all) but I noticed the lens cloth wasn't removing finger prints well so I used a tissue -- it got rid of the finger prints and didn't leave any noticeable streaks, but now a little more dust was getting into the edges of the screen, and under the first glass plate....

The FLU made these particles stand out and they started to piss me off..... I bought some compressed air in a can as suggested in other posts on this forum and looked around online for a guide to open the GP32 up. I opened it up from behind and realised that it was near impossible to get air into the screen. So I used another method seen on GBAX.com for replacement screens. From the front with a tiny flat screwdriver, I slowley picked the edgess of the frame around the screen of the gp32 (yes strangely enough the frame is just attached on with glue?!!how crappy is this!), which caused only very minor marks on its edges ( I'd prefer these to dust in the screen!) and discovered a few things. Firstly, I'd like to say the even tho the FLU kit is factory installed, it is still a very cheap, rushed job. There are 2 thin glass plates installed over the LCD screen, the first screen distributes light across the LCD underneath from the FLU just off screen at the bottom, but the second one is totally useless and is actually NOT installed flat against the first, infact the bottom of it sits on the edge of the FLU light(which in my opinion is why there is such a dust problem with the FLU gp32).....I managed to use compressed air in this area and clean out a lot of what had gathered, and decided to install the screens back in. The first , as I have said, slips neatly into its position and distributes the light, while the second I had to simply give up on -- it litterally has 2 bits of double sided tape holding it under the front frame, and seems to have no logical reason for being installed -- perhaps its actually the original screen before the factory FLU upgrade and they just sandwhich it in there.
I took a closer look at how it all fit together and the frame fit better around the screen, leaving the second layer out alltogether and now its actually flush with the case!!?!! And I am finding a LOT less dust already, so I guess it was worth all the dicking about.

Well.....so what is the point of all this FLU ranting? I guess I'd like to make it clear to potential buyers that gamepark really is doing these FLU's the cheap way out, and that the screen is truly a pain in the ass. If you are a perfectionist when it comes dust in screens, this machine really isn't for you! You have been warned!

I myself can live with these issues presented by the FLU screen, and want to get down to playing more roms on it, but I thought I'd share my thoughts with you all.

Thanks for listening!

 

[Swiss_Cheeseman]

People have the same problems with the GBASP, only the GBASP is a hell of a lot harder to get into.

 

[thebluenewt]

I'm pretty certain the plastic layer is supposed to come off, some people leave it on to protect the screen but it looks better without it.

 

[Ozbiker]

I removed the plastic layer --- I am actually talking about a glass layer. The FLU Unit first comes shipped with some plastic magnetically "stuck" onto the screen which as you say, some people leave on, or some people take off.

The FLU Unit inside is as follows :
Theres the actual lcd display...then the FLU light source sits at the bottom, just off screen and above the lcd layer. This is where the first screen slots into it to provide illumination to the LCD. Then theres another plain glass layer which is supposed to provide some extra protection from scratches I suppose ( and is probably the original screen before the FLU upgrade added its illumination layer). My GP32 seems no more prone to scratches, as the LCD still has a layer over it, so I'm going to leave my mod in place, like I say, its less prone to collecting dust, and the frame around the screen looks flush. Imo, the 2 screens sandwhiched together over the LCD is ridiculous. I hope that Gamepark realise the design flaw in the current FLU version, and work out a better way doing it in the future. I'd happily buy a redesigned version Although I am very satisfied with this version....its already one of my fav consoles, despite some of the drawbacks to the screen.

 

[rcx21000]

How hard is it to remove the 2nd screen? Do you think anyone could do it?

 

[Ozbiker]

Well the only thing you need to do is this :

http://www.gbax.com/screenhowto.html

Basically the screen layer that GBAX.com is selling is the layer I actually removed from my gp32.

The frame may take a tiny bit of scratching, but its pretty minor if you are VERY slow as GBAX.com says....I dunno.... I can live with that because its off my screen and not my face like glowing dust when I'm trying to play a game

I wouldn't want to be responsible for breaking anyone's GP by suggesting this is a GOOD Idea. Its only a good idea if you are prepare to risk opening the front up, but I guess you take the pros with the cons. I feel it would be best to leave the screen on and don't risk the extra scratches. I've decided to open my gp32 up, and in some ways, I'm sorry I didn't just leave the plastic layer on and not touch it! Up to you!

 

[aharding]

I think they must have installed the dust at the factory on mine because the first time I turned it on there was this horrible annoying white dot in the middle of the screen. It is still there and becomes extremely visible and annoying when I turn my FLU on.

I'm too chicken to un-stick my screen (I can't believe they use glue, now we know why the GP32 is such a "bargain" - they cut corners when it comes to manufacturing). As for the battery consumption - I got two duracells from the pound store, they've lasted an amazing 2 days so far!!!

 

[mallrat37]

(I can't believe they use glue, now we know why the GP32 is such a "bargain" - they cut corners when it comes to manufacturing)

What else are they supposed to use to stick somthing down ???

 

[divadsci]

(I can't believe they use glue, now we know why the GP32 is such a "bargain" - they cut corners when it comes to manufacturing)

What else are they supposed to use to stick somthing down ???

they could have used nails. much better that is.

 

[Rico]

You could hold it in place with metal or plastic...

I did think the GP32 looked a little 'cheap' compared to the sleek GBASP...but the price is worth it.

 

[rcx21000]

The best and easiest (to open and make I think) would just be snap-on. I think I'm going to dye my GP32, so I might replace the screen and take away the bad glass part, too

 

[mafen]

If I remember correctly, the original gba had it's screen glued on as well. If you're gonna say that gamepark was cheap by using glue, you gotta say the same thing about nintendo. True, the gbasp is a little better, but look at the extra hard work one would have to go through in order to get dust out of the screen. IMO gamepark basically did what nintendo did initially regarding the front screen and used glue.

 

[Nutzo]

Mafen is right, the GBA was the same way. My AB GBA was a good install and it has TONS of dust now. The GP32 FLU is better IMO. The only fair comparison would be if Game Park makes a "GP32 SP" redesigned with lighting as part of the spec. Keep in mind the FLU is just as much as a hack as the Afterburner - it can't be much better than it already is.

FLU is very good, not perfect, but even mega-company Nintendo is having dust problems with GBA SP - visit the GameFAQs GBA board and you'll see people complaining all the time about SP's with dust straight from the factory.

BTW - you can buy replacement FLU's! Read the GP32 FLU review at www.retrogames.com, it has information about it in the review. $30 for the kit or they'll replace it for $50.