Power cleaner for Game Boy Advance flex ribbon PCB cable Nintendo GBA easy install capacitor mod for IPS & Lipo audio noise reduction filter | Helder Game Tech

I installed several mods on my GBA: an IPS display, upgraded speaker and amp, lithium battery, and a FlashCart. Since the GBA was never designed to power all of this hardware, I was repeatedly advised (on Reddit and various GBA modding sites) to add a Power Cleaner.

The Power Cleaner itself is a flexible PCB carrying six additional capacitors. It is designed to “piggyback” onto the original capacitors on the GBA motherboard, and the layout makes installation extremely straightforward. Just tin the pads, tin both ends of the existing capacitors, and solder the Power Cleaner to them so the pads make solid contact. The process is quick and forgiving; just be careful not to overheat the stock capacitors or you risk lifting them.

As for the results, I cannot say with certainty how dramatic the improvement is. I still notice a faint hum or buzz from the speaker at high volume. From what I have learned since installing it, this mod is not meant to eliminate the noise entirely, only reduce it. I also did not do a before and after test since I installed all my mods at once. Still, I am confident that without the Power Cleaner the noise would be more noticeable.

I originally expected total silence, so I was tempted to rate this lower, but that was before I understood the realistic limitations. Given the circumstances, and the fact that it likely is improving stability, I think it is a worthwhile addition for anyone doing similar upgrades.

And one last note: despite jokingly being called a “guinea pig,” I genuinely loved the paper packaging. Great move, ZedLabs!

Had a very buzzy GBA with new ups screen. Replaced capacitor with Tantalum caps and the power cleaner and it's now Whisper quiet

this was quite hard to install, the capacitor are tiny.. good soldering skill required!

I've done a few GBA screen mods now and ever since discovering these filters, I won't do one without it now. My first ever mod had such a terrible audio buzz through headphones until I installed one of these, greatly reduced after. Easy to install for even an amateur at soldering like myself.

Not really needed for stock GBAs, but essential if you do a screen mod AND add a LiPO battery. Fits great, but I would recommend covering with kapton tape after installing to make sure there is no risk of shorting with the rear of the screen.

Far less bulky than the equivalent audio filter produced by Retrosix (my usual go-to for handheld mods) & looks less fiddly to install. Will update if I run into any problems but pleased so far

Another great mod from helder and while it looks intimidating it's actually really easy to install helder has done a really good job to make this as simple as possible for us noobs and hobbyist.
I highly recommend using some very thin solder though as you can easily use too much since the cap your soldering too is so tiny