V4 Stealth Dimmer Chip

Anyone who has either installed or talked to someone who has installed the Afterburner backlighting system knows of the panic felt when they find out that they have to cut the case on their beloved GBA in order to put in the dimmer. Surely there must be a better way. Lucky for us, the brain trust at Division-6 feels that way too, and has actually done something about it with the invention of the V4 Stealth Dimmer Chip for the GameBoy Advance.

The V4 is a chip about the size of a bacon-bit that you can either install at the same time you put in the Afterburner or afterward. Along with using the A and B buttons to control the brightness of the Afterburner, it also boasts an auto sleep function to conserve power when not in use, an auto memory so that the light setting never changes even when the batteries are removed and replaced, and a self diagnostic mode so that you can troubleshoot any problems that occur during installation.

Couldn't be Simpler to Use

But does it work? Every bit as well as it claims. By holding "select" and pressing either A or B, you can seamlessly scroll through the brightness levels from full on bright to off. Or, if you're the impatient type, you can jump directly to full on or full off by holding A (on) or B (off) and hitting select. When you find the setting that you want, simply hold select for a few seconds and a flash will tell you that that setting is locked in. The setting won't change if you shut off the power or even remove the batteries. When it's time to change brightness, just hold select for a few seconds again and a double flash lets you know that the lock is off.

As an added bonus, the V4's auto sleep feature will automatically shut the Afterburner down if the A, B, or select buttons aren't used for five minutes; using either of them will reactivate the light. The auto sleep can be can be disabled by holding down select, A and B for 4 seconds.

Installation isn't a big deal if you are fairly confident with soldering small components. The directions are clear and the diagram leaves nothing to chance. The V4 is actually a little more complicated to install than the Afterburner; there are more soldering points and, as I said, they are much smaller. Luckily the V4 helps with troubleshooting by blinking error-codes on the Afterburner whenever a connection problem is detected… quite handy if your work tends to be on the sloppy side.

All in all, the V4 Stealth Dimmer Chip is an excellent idea for Afterburner owners who'd like to keep their GBA cases in tact. Fairly easy to install and brain-dead simple to use, it really is the only way to go if you are committed to installing the Afterburner. At Division-6.com you can get just the chip for $7, for $8 you can get the chip and a wiring kit, or for $10 you can get the chip with the wires pre-soldered and a shot of double sided tape to hold it in place (really the only way to go). Get one and dim in style.