Original Game Boy with constant high pitch noise from speaker

[thadsilverfox]

I just picked up an original Nintendo Game Boy from a thrift store that has a constant high pitch noise coming from the speaker. It has the same sound as ringing in the ear(s). It doesn't matter if the volume is high or completely all the way turned down, it remains the exact same frequency either way. You can hear the games just fine along with the very annoying high pitch sound. When I plug headphones into the jack the noise does not occur from the speaker or the headphones. I opened up the GB and didn't see any dry solder points or anything out of the ordinary. Is this just a bad speaker or could it be some other audio related component?

Edited September 16, 2015 by thadsilverfox

[0078265317]

Buy a broken gameboy off ebay with bad motherboard for cheap but possibly good screen and speaker. And mesh it half and half.

[CatPix]

"When I plug headphones into the jack the noise does not occur from the speaker or the headphones"

 

It sounds like there is an isue in the speaker line; the sound line itself is fine. IMO you should look into the part between the speaker and the amp (since the sound doesn't change with the volume).

I would bet it's a grounding issue, maybe on the speaker itself, maybe anywhere else. I remember the DMG Game Boy had poor grounding in that regard - plugging earphones during the boot allowed you to hear a fait hissing sound that changed in tone with the display, proving poor/insuffisant grounding.

[Osgeld]

Rotten caps will cause sound issues as well

[CatPix]

And line grounding is made with caps - make sense

[thadsilverfox]

Thanks for the help.

[0078265317]

Or plug a small tiny speaker into headphones.

[thadsilverfox]

I may just leave it well alone and use it as a game tester for thrift store and yard sale finds that way I don't wear out my good original GB.