Oops! All PSP Screens! — The Rat's Nest

At some point, you may have heard of the Evercade. It’s a handheld “retro” console designed by Blaze Entertainment and release in May of 2020. While the console has only been around for a bit, the library has become impressive, with many cartridges from famous developers, as well as indie titles. Some of the collections include Atari Lynx, Namco, Irem, Gaelco, and Taoplan.

The Evercade is nice system, featuring a big screen in a PSP-like arrangement.

That’s because it’s literally a PSP screen. You can swap it with one for better picture clarity.

Your first step is going to be to find a new screen. I got mine from AliExpress, but they’re all over. The key is that you’ll want to get a screen compatible with the PSP 1000 model. The one I purchased got here from China in a few short weeks, then it sat because I had to prepare for moving.

Fast forward a couple of months, and I found myself tearing this thing apart.

First, peel off the front of the console. This is difficult because the entire front plate is held down with an adhesive. I strongly recommend that you either use iFixit’s iOpener tool, or a very fine spudger to get under the edge of the screen and slowly, carefully, work your way around. Don’t be too greedy with movements. The plastic is very soft, and can be damaged easily (as you’ll see).

Evercade without the front plate. — So yeah…there’s a lot of adhesive.

Get that done? Great. Now, you’ll have to remove the six Phillips screws all around the edges of the console. Set them aside for now and flip The Evercade over on a soft cloth. Carefully pulling the red sub-face of the console from the white back will reveal the guts of the thing, all attached with more screws. Disconnect your battery in the lower-left hand corner, just to be safe, and set the “cursed spicy pillow” aside. Note the voltage, as well as the form factor for a new battery later in the life of your Evercade.

Picture of a battery 3.7v 2000mah. — A 1S 2000mAh 3.7v battery? Those are like rocks, man. You can find them anywhere.

You may wish to try to remove the adhesive for later, when you’re reassembling everything. I recommend Goof-Off, but be sure to test a little bit on an inconspicuous place of any console before moving forward. Also, make sure the Goof-Off is completely and totally removed before reassembly, or else the finish of the faceplate could be damaged or the adhesive could fail, leaving you with an, erm…floppy faceplate?

Evercade internals with battery. — The guts of the Evercade, exposed.

Carefully remove all of the Phillips screws holding in the logic board, the LCD board, and the button board. Set them aside. Be very, very careful with the LCD and control board ribbons. They are fragile and can tear easily. Gently lift the tabs and free the ribbons with the edge of a spudger or an X-acto knife. The screen is now free and can be lifted out of the console.

Evercade internals, spread out on table.

So now it’s time for your new screen. But first, remove the speakers and buttons, and remove all of the old adhesive from the red plastic subframe assembly’s front right now. It’s the best time for this step, as from this point forward, the screen and buttons will get in the way. If you have to get a little aggressive with the Goof-Off or Goo-Gone or WD-40, then your new LCD won’t be damaged.

Done with the adhesive? Great! peel off your protective covering on the LCD (if you have one. Don’t pull off the polarized lens. Oof.) Place it in the console, and make sure that the small spacers in each corner of the old LCD are put back in place. If the adhesive won’t allow them to stick to their proper place, you can either use some double-sided tape to secure them. It’s vital to not forget these, because without them, the LCD board could short against the backplate of the LCD, or the LCD could rattle around inside of the console. You don’t want that!

You may want to reassemble the unit, at least partially, to test-fire the new LCD before using adhesive to seal things up.

Evercade, partially assembled for testing. — The thing in the center of the screen is from a game. Screen works great! Note the gunked-up adhesive on the plastic around the LCD. This is why you’ll want to clean it before screwing things completely back together. Also, feel your buttons. Do they respond correctly? Does the D-Pad work all right?

If your new screen looks good and your controls are okay, then you can proceed. If you do not have a picture, but have audio, check your ribbon cable and make sure that it isn’t torn, bent sharply, or that it is securely connected to the Evercade’s logic board. If you have no picture still, try your old screen again to ensure the new one isn’t damaged or that your logic board isn’t fried.

This is the part where you do everything in reverse, and hopefully, you end up at the stage where you can now reattach the front faceplate.

Evercade without front plate. Adhesive visible. — I ended up using a combination of elbow-grease and Goof-Off, along with rubbing my thumb over the adhesive to “roll” it along. Your mileage may vary.

You should have an Evercade with a new screen that is brighter, has better picture quality, and none of the “ghosting” of the original. Compare these before and after images:

As you can see, the colors are much, much more vibrant, and the display angles are way better on this screen. Besides color accuracy, I think this screen also has the potential to offer less eyestrain as time goes on while playing with the Evercade.

With the announcement of the Evercade EXP, one might wonder why this upgrade is something worthwhile. I can understand that, but I still plan on keeping my original Evercade around as a backup, but also because I’ve become attached to it. The red and white colorways have grown on me, and although the new console looks very sleek, nothing will be quite like the original. I am very happy to see how easy screen and battery replacements are on these, and I highly recommend that you check out the Evercade ecosystem if you haven’t yet!