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Modded Pelican Light Shield Vs.
The Interact Glowguard
I've finally been able to track down the elusive Interact Glowguard for testing and comparison purposes. I found it at Best Buy for a price of $9.99.
Physical properties
First let me say that the Glowguard is definitely inferior to the Pelican LS in the area of physical construction. The Glowguard shield has 3 positions that the shield can be positioned in: vertical, angled over the screen at roughly a 55 degree angle, and closed. In every position it is quite "wobbly" and in the closed position it makes the GBA seem very bulky. By far, the Pelican LS is the winner hands down in all physical and construction aspects. It's like comparing a skateboard to a 2x4 with wheels nailed onto it(well, maybe not that extreme :) See pics below:
Lighting properties
But we all knew about the physical drawbacks of the Glowguard. The real issue at hand is how well the LED used in the Glowguard stacks up the the radioshack 276-320 LED.
When I first powered the Glowguard on, I instantly saw a problem, there was a bright spot in the center of the screen -Not the reflection of the LED, but a bright spot of light. Take into consideration that the LED in both the Modded Pelican LS and the Glowguard are in nearly the exact same position(height-wise) when both shields are in their full vertical positions(this is evident in the first hardware shot of both shields next to eachother). So why does this matter and what does it mean? What this means is that the LED used in the Glowguard almost certainly has a more narrow viewing angle degree, so it shines more of a "spot" of light rather than diffusing and spreading out as well as the 276-320 radioshack LED. The Glowguard's LED definitely seems to be brighter, but since it is not diffused as well, the result is more of a "spotlight" effect in the center of the screen which is especially evident while playing a game where the background is black or a dark color.
All pictures were shot with brand new batteries in the GBA and under the exact same controlled conditions, Please have a look:
Conclusion
So which LED wins out? in my opinion it is the radioshack 276-320 LED. The reason I will still recommend the radioshack LED is because it's viewing angle seems to have a considerably higher degree rating. I would much rather play on a more evenly lit screen opposed to playing on a brighter screen that isn't quite as uniformly lit. Also, not to mention having to deal with even more of a glare since the LED does seem to be a bit brighter.
My advice: If you cannot find the radioshack LED, buy a glowguard and use the LED from the glowguard in place of the 276-320. If you can find the radioshack 276-320 LED, use it for the mod and don't worry about the Glowguard's marginally brighter LED since you will have more of a glare to contend with and less of an evenly lit screen.
Note: I also feel that putting the Glowguard's LED in the Light Shield would not produce any better results since the Glowguard's LED is the source of the bright blue "spotlight" effect(see castlevania picture). In order to make the brighter LED perform better we would need a lens(possibly the ones that Huw is sending me?)or another sort of way to diffuse the light to eliminate the "spotlight" effect, thus allowing the light to spread more evenly across the entire screen.
Please note that I have nothing to gain from recommending any of the products that I have tested over one another. I feel that my testing is completely unbiased and I am conducting these tests in order to help everyone find the most efficient way to play the GBA in low-light to dark conditions. Hope this info helps everyone out!
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