14 replies to this topic

[mmbe]

Has anyone here used the Halo Light for the GBA? If so, what are your opinions on it? They're available for about $25 on Ebay and I'm curious whether or not they are worth the price.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[madmax2069]

They do work but they are just like the first rev of GBA SP. They are a front light that shines light through the front of the screen they are not a back light.

this leads to a few issues, light glare, washed out colors. i mean its great to get the light on a screen if you do not have a light source $25 is a bit steep for that (it use to be around $10-$15). i have a first gen SP and its actually around the same when it comes to brightness and such.

I do like the original GBA design more then the SP. i ow both the first model of SP and the original GBA.

Edited by madmax2069, Wed Dec 8, 2010 12:03 PM.

[madmax2069]

For a bit more you could just buy the GBA clone from Deal extreme http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.24381

it has a much better screen, built in flash and able to take game carts as well. but it does lack a few things such as the ability to link.

[Video]

$25 for the halo ligth? I'd say pass. I mean, you should be able to get a rev1 SP for that or less anyways. And if you luck onto a rev2 SP with a true backlight, that would be much better.

Of course, I too prefer the form factor of the original GBA to the SP clamshel.

As for quality, the Halo is similar to the afterburner, or the rev1 SP, with one exception, the 'light' is not in contact with the screen, so you don't get near the benefit of the other two devices. This means even more glare and less lighting of the screen over all. Personally, while the afterburneer and SP1 weren't the best options out there, they are both better IMO than the halo for this. Second problem with the Halo, it's a bulky thick piece that goes where the screen protector went. As a result it actually lowers the amount of ambient light that can get to your screen normally. Yeah, that means compared to the other options, this will make your GBA harder to see in a well lit area. It's not to bad, but something to consider. But...the worst part of the Halo light, is the big ass adapter that sticks out of the top of your GBA to hook the light up to the link port. Mine is stuck in pretty well, but after I put it in, I never removed it since then, most devices that clip into the sockets on top of the GBA don't last to well, and I see this being a problem with the Halo lights controller too.

Anyhow, if you just want the GBA form factor, I'd pick it up if I could find it for less (paid $10 shipped for mine) but for $25, unless you just have to have it, I would say get an SP or something.

Oh...pelican light shields modded with low current LED's are pretty good too.

[thegamezmaster]

Too bad can't get Afterburner Kits anymore. They're awesome.

[mmbe]

Thanks for the feedback. The $25 Halo light on Ebay includes the shipping. There's another one on Ebay for $19 including shipping.

I guess my question is - excluding the cost - is the Halo light a good product?

[Video]

It's an OK product, it's certainly better than those "worm" lights you could get, as it lights the whole screen, rather than just one bright spot.

[raskar42]

 madmax2069, on Wed Dec 8, 2010 1:25 PM, said:

For a bit more you could just buy the GBA clone from Deal extreme http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.24381

it has a much better screen, built in flash and able to take game carts as well. but it does lack a few things such as the ability to link.

wait a minute.. those fake gba on dx can play regular gba carts am i hearing this right? how about gb backwards compatibility?

[madmax2069]

 raskar42, on Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:25 PM, said:

 madmax2069, on Wed Dec 8, 2010 1:25 PM, said:

For a bit more you could just buy the GBA clone from Deal extreme http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.24381

it has a much better screen, built in flash and able to take game carts as well. but it does lack a few things such as the ability to link.

wait a minute.. those fake gba on dx can play regular gba carts am i hearing this right? how about gb backwards compatibility?

Yeah it plays the original GBA carts, i don't really know about GB backwards compatibility, but from what people say is that it wont (but i guess since there is storage space you can get a GBC emulator and try the roms). but you do have 2gb storage as well, but the down side is that you loose the link capability. but it does have a killer screen. but like with all clones there could be some gba games that dont run 100%.

[thegamezmaster]

 madmax2069, on Thu Dec 16, 2010 12:34 AM, said:

 raskar42, on Wed Dec 15, 2010 5:25 PM, said:

 madmax2069, on Wed Dec 8, 2010 1:25 PM, said:

For a bit more you could just buy the GBA clone from Deal extreme http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.24381

it has a much better screen, built in flash and able to take game carts as well. but it does lack a few things such as the ability to link.

wait a minute.. those fake gba on dx can play regular gba carts am i hearing this right? how about gb backwards compatibility?

Yeah it plays the original GBA carts, i don't really know about GB backwards compatibility, but from what people say is that it wont (but i guess since there is storage space you can get a GBC emulator and try the roms). but you do have 2gb storage as well, but the down side is that you loose the link capability. but it does have a killer screen. but like with all clones there could be some gba games that dont run 100%.

From what I found out is they play gba carts but not original gameboy carts.

[johj1987]

 madmax2069, on Wed Dec 8, 2010 1:25 PM, said:

For a bit more you could just buy the GBA clone from Deal extreme http://www.dealextre...ls.dx/sku.24381

it has a much better screen, built in flash and able to take game carts as well. but it does lack a few things such as the ability to link.

Those Gba clone are illegal

Edited by johj1987, Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:01 PM.

[Koopa64]

The GBA SP2 was released in only three colors. Graphite, Blue and Pink. It should be easy to find one if you know what colors they are.

[Karyyk]

 johj1987, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:00 PM, said:

Those Gba clone are illegal

Are they? Emulators aren't illegal, having the ROM's without owning the games is. Sure there could be some copyright infringement going on, but even if there is, I don't see anyone getting arrested for buying one of the numerous clones on DealExtreme.

Edited by Karyyk, Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:50 PM.

[monzamess]

 madmax2069, on Wed Dec 8, 2010 12:01 PM, said:

They do work but they are just like the first rev of GBA SP. They are a front light that shines light through the front of the screen they are not a back light.

this leads to a few issues, light glare, washed out colors. i mean its great to get the light on a screen if you do not have a light source $25 is a bit steep for that (it use to be around $10-$15). i have a first gen SP and its actually around the same when it comes to brightness and such.

I do like the original GBA design more then the SP. i ow both the first model of SP and the original GBA.

I know this is a sort-of old thread, but I'll pile on.

The first-gen SP looks much better than the GBA with a Halo light, at least in my experience. The Halo light gave an incredibly washed-out screen to the point that I could barely discern the different colors on the screen. I adjusted whatever I could adjust and it still just sucked. One of those clip-on or worm lights works at least as well, except for the glare.

Since it's mid-2011, you can get a second-gen SP (truly backlit, AGS-101, looks wonderful) for around $25. Once you see a backlit SP you'll think the first-gen SP is horrible and the original GBA is poop.

[chris_lynx1989]

The Flood Light is nice followed by the Worm Light as a decent 2nd option for GBA.