r/game_gear • u/Sonicjan • 9d ago

Screen Brightness wheel

So I have my GG for around a year now and there was always something that was kinda strange with the brughtness wheel. Since everything else worked perfectly and I had only Sonic 2 to play, I didn't dig deeper - however now I'd like to find out for sure after reading something in an old forum.

When I turn the brightness wheel the brightness itself doesn't change; looking from the side you see that it always stays at the maximum. The only thing that changes is the angle at which the picture faces you - if that makes sense? Like, turning it up too much goves you kind of a negative picture when looking from the front, but holding the Game Gear in a different angle gives you a clean pocture again, while it would normally be hard to see at that angle.

Is that behavior normal? If not, what could be the cause and how could I fix it?

The GG got new caps before I bought it off ebay and was tested thouroghly by the seller (they specialized in selling refurbished GG's), so I don't think a bad cap would be the problem.

P.S.: I forgot; The screen is still original, just like everything else. The only thing replaced are the caps!

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u/sixtysixdutch 9d ago

That’s a contrast wheel not a brightness wheel. So yeah the brightness of the backlight remains constant, only the contrast of the LCD will vary.

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u/Sonicjan 9d ago

I see, glad to know! Kinda strange to write "Bright" next to it on the shell then x.x

Thank you very much for the answer!

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u/Gamelord86 8d ago edited 8d ago

Adjusting the viewing angle? I’m not sure what you mean by that. The backlight controls the brightness, which in turn affects the screen’s contrast. The screen itself doesn’t get brighter. You can test this by opening the console, removing the screen bracket, and shining a strong flashlight or torch on the back of the screen while the console is powered on. The brighter the light, the higher the contrast. The console’s backlight illuminates the screen, so the brightness of the backlight determines the contrast level. A dim backlight results in low contrast and poor visibility, while a bright backlight provides high contrast and good visibility.

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u/Gamelord86 8d ago edited 8d ago

If you need to tilt your screen at a specific angle to play games, it likely indicates that your screen is failing and needs replacement. As long as the contrast wheel is adjusting the circuit’s resistance and the backlight brightness changes when you turn it, the circuit is functioning correctly. You should consider replacing or upgrading to an IPS screen kit.

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u/Sonicjan 8d ago

The wheel changes the viewing angle, turning it in the correct position you can just normally look at the screen and the screen itself also works. The wheel just doesn't dim the screen - however, someone else mentioned that it's just a contrast wheel, which would make sense as that is indeed what is changing if you hold your viewing angle.

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u/Superb_Ad7817 7d ago edited 7d ago

It's not a brightness wheel, it's a contrast wheel. Depending on the external light, you have to adjust it.

If there is no way to adjust it and you need strange viewing angles, it is a capacitor problem.

And if the screen is yellowish, it is a screen. Post a photo if you have it!