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Oct 08, 2017 • 10:43 Profile Photo wmi

I recently got a Virtual Boy for the first time. It was sold as broken with only one working screen.
So the first thing I did was to solder the ribbon cable to both LED-modules.
The image is as it should be on both screens now. However, both screen flash to black every couple of seconds (alwys at the same time). In addition to that, the image of the left screen constantly expands and shrinks horizontally.
The image of the right screen does not move.

A while back somebody posted this video and it is the exact problem that I have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w32HC_IRjA

If I swap the LED-modules (or disconnect one) the issue stays the same, it’s always the left image that moves. So I’m very certain that both LED-modules work fine.

I don’t have a battery pack or official AC adapter yet, so for testing I’m using a 9V DC Switching PSU.
(also tried a 9V Transformer-style PSU with identical results)

Unfortunately I don’t have a second Virtual Boy to swap parts with (which would help a lot to narrow down the issue).

Hopefully someone has seen this before 🙂

3 Replies
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Oct 08, 2017 • 14:18 Profile Photo RunnerPack

It is a known problem, but (assuming your solder joints are good) it has nothing to do with the LED modules. It’s a problem with the mirror synchronization, likely due to dirty sensors.

First, check this post and clean out the sensors. If that doesn’t fix it (or only partially), let us know, but without being able to swap parts, it’s going to be hard to diagnose.

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Oct 08, 2017 • 17:36 Profile Photo wmi

Yes, that’s 100% the problem I’m having! I spent a good while searching for similar issues but I didn’t come across that thread. It’s hard to find any troubleshooting information for the Virtual Boy besides the flex ribbon glue issue.

The right mirror oscillates at a fixed position, while the left one slowly moves in a circular motion as well.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I will report back how it goes.

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Oct 09, 2017 • 16:25 Profile Photo wmi

I tried compressed air first, but that didn’t help.
Then I disassembled the module until I had good access to the sensor. The connections of the sensor the the servo PCB were fine, so I just gave it a good clean with isopropyl alcohol and a Q-tip.
There’s also quite a bit of play on the way the sensor PCB is mounted in relation to the moving part. I’ve tried mounting it as similar to the working side as possbile, close to the center. (It’s visible in the attached picture, the position of the sensor depends on where you put the screws in.)

And the Virtual Boy is working perfect again. Really glad is was an easy fix after all. Thanks RunnerPack!

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  1. vb-14.jpg

 

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