Pokemon Emerald Gameboy Advance Cart Repair

I've replaced some batteries and smd ram/rom chips of gb/gba carts and haven't every had any issues with lifting traces etc. just keep the iron at a lowish temp say 380 degrees and the your time, smd components like 0603 resistors etc are small but they can be soldered with ease using a 2mm chisel tip if you are careful and again take you time.

as for voltage you're probably dealing with 3.3v or 5v logic (its been a very long time so i can't remember exactly) so anything rated for 5-16v should be fine and work in the same footprint

I started looking at the filters on some components sites and I see that 0603 appears under package/case, and that's the exact sort of info I'm looking for.

I've never had to buy replacement parts like this before so I just want to make sure I get it right.

I don't have any precise tools to figure out dimensions of the components, so I was wondering if 0603 refers to the metric standard or not? I usually use metric, but I see that there are two package options that contain 0603, with one being metric.

Would the capacitor be the same package? Here's a picture of RSE PCB for reference. C1 is to the "upper left" of the battery, and R9 is just above the left solder pad for the battery, with the 9 obscured. It looks like the capacitor might be a slightly larger, but maybe it's just my eyes.

Hi Brendan,

It doesn't look like those parts have been damaged. It is very common for circuit boards to have some parts not populated for various reasons.

Those pads look like they were like that from the factory, and the battery looks factory-installed too, no obvious signs of rework. The flux residue around the battery terminals is normal, it is often like that.

Anyway, if you wish to still go ahead and add parts to it, then a popular size is 0603 which means 0.06 inch long, 0.03 inch wide (also sometimes labelled as 1608 metric, it is 1.6mm long, 0.8mm wide).

To reiterate, that was a reference PCB (meaning, a non-damaged game using the same components, referenced from the Internet).

As you can see, C1 and R9 are clearly not missing on that board , but they are on my damaged one (my phone was dead so I couldn't provide a picture, left my charger at work).

Thanks for helping clarify info on sizing!

I suppose the last thing I'm wondering about is the best way I can figure out what the actual capacitance of C1 is.

How inaccurate could I expect a capacitance reading on C1 to be when it's on a circuit already? Especially if it has no battery and hasn't been run in a system for a while. the various carts I've been testing on have varied, as I said, from 1.8uF to 2uF.

I recall very little from my college Physics courses and am mostly just getting into this hobby, but I like to be super thorough so I have a better understanding.

1.8-2uF seems too high, but it could be correct. The part could be unsoldered and lifted out of the circuit to test, and soldered back in. I can't say what error there will be in-circuit, because it will highly depend on the surrounding circuit. As an example, if it is a decoupling capacitor then you'll measure the sum of every decoupling capacitor with your test tool unless it is removed from the circuit first.

The problem is, at that case size (0603) and type of circuit, the part could have a value as low as perhaps 10nF all the way up to 100 times as high, at 1uF. It is likely a 10nF, or 100nF, or if your measurement is in the right ballpark then a 1uF capacitor. If it really has been accidentally removed by the last person, and if you have no way of knowing what the actual value is, then I'd try 100nF. It won't destroy anything if the value is wrong for the capacitor.

1.8-2uF seems too high, but it could be correct. The part could be unsoldered and lifted out of the circuit to test, and soldered back in. I can't say what error there will be in-circuit, because it will highly depend on the surrounding circuit. As an example, if it is a decoupling capacitor then you'll measure the sum of every decoupling capacitor with your test tool unless it is removed from the circuit first.

The problem is, at that case size (0603) and type of circuit, the part could have a value as low as perhaps 10nF all the way up to 100 times as high, at 1uF. It is likely a 10nF, or 100nF, or if your measurement is in the right ballpark then a 1uF capacitor. If it really has been accidentally removed by the last person, and if you have no way of knowing what the actual value is, then I'd try 100nF. It won't destroy anything if the value is wrong for the capacitor.