This Redditor Added A DeWalt Battery To A Game Boy, Now It Can Run For Weeks

Ever tried to boot up your handheld just to be greeted with the dreaded low battery warning? Or maybe your now-retro Game Boy Advance's original battery has worn out and needs replacing? One Redditor might have just the solution for you, if you aren't afraid of getting a little technical to set it up — and so long as you don't mind getting a workout in while gaming, that is.

Redditor Bangooh shared a remarkable homebrew creation in a post on r/GameBoy: a super-powered Game Boy Advance SP hooked up to a DeWalt 54-volt XR FlexVolt 9-amp-hour battery. The gigantic Game Boy isn't particularly portable anymore, thanks to its massive DeWalt power supply, which is usually intended for use with power tools instead of pocket-sized gaming consoles. But, a lack of portability might be a small price to pay to never need to worry about losing your charger again, or having your console shut down right as you find a shiny Eevee.

Given that the original Game Boy Advance SP could run for around 10 hours on a 600 milliampere-hour battery, the 162,000 megawatt-hour DeWalt battery could easily power the console for hours nonstop without a single charge. There's also no need to worry too much about what to do if or when the DeWalt FlexVolt battery stops holding a charge, either. Bangooh confirmed in a comment on Reddit that the battery is detachable, courtesy of the console's battery cover being attached directly to the battery holder. That means that if the FlexVolt gave up the ghost, it could easily be switched out for a replacement, keeping your Game Boy going for years into the future.

As you might expect, the comments of the original Reddit post were flooded with other users wondering how to make their own everlasting DeWalt-powered Game Boy. Considering that the handheld was discontinued back in 2010, it's understandable to want to know how to keep it alive for as long as possible — even if the solution is a little quirky. Bangooh clarified how the device came to be in a comment on the original Reddit thread. The Game Boy Advance SP was modified to work with the DeWalt FlexVolt by adding a DC-DC buck converter step-down power supply module and a battery adapter designed specifically for use with DeWalt products.

Using a buck converter made it possible for the DeWalt battery's voltage to fit the needs of the handheld without frying any circuitry by decreasing the overall voltage. At around $3 per component, it's an inexpensive but crucial part of the build. Despite its importance, the converter created its own issue with the build. According to one of the original poster's comments shared on the post, the buck converter has the propensity to drain the battery voltage too low. When this happens, the supply can struggle to provide the amount of power needed to the device, causing functioning issues.

Besides the battery pack itself, there's another obvious DeWalt-themed modification applied to the customized Game Boy Advance. A special black-and-yellow case was also added to the device, with the handheld's lid displaying the DeWalt logo to match the battery, to tie in with the power tool manufacturer's company branding. Similarly, the Game Boy's faceplate is completed with a slick black plastic, alongside yellow detailing on the D-pad and all buttons.