There -is- a difference not only between the boxes but also between the taps themselves.

I have carefully examined the boxes and the taps and here’s my conclusions :

The only difference on the boxes is the front panel.

The tap itself has a different mold number on the underside of the front cover… 3 for the Mosaic version, and 4 for the standard version.

The back of the tap has 1 minor variation between the two, as well. Other than that change and the mold number, they are identical.

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WOW, thanks! (you totally answer my questions from auction thread topic 😉

It’s quite interesting 🙂

Yep, the differences you noted were the same differences I observed. Those skinny little rectangles on the demo and fat squares on the retail. My demo injection molding code is also 3, and my retail is 4. 🙂

Just to throw this in the mix – I have a Japanese tap with a molding code of 2. It does not have a box, and has the wider squares. Not sure what that number means, if anything.

GEZ wrote:
Just to throw this in the mix – I have a Japanese tap with a molding code of 2. It does not have a box, and has the wider squares. Not sure what that number means, if anything.

Nice to know, I guess the only difference is the rectangles vs squares. On the bright side, any difference is better than no difference at all. 🙂

Is there any difference in the instruction sheet ?

-Eric

bigmak wrote:
Is there any difference in the instruction sheet ?

-Eric

None… Literally, the only difference between the two was the mold number, the little fat squares, and the mosaic artwork on the front of the box.

I know that this is a very old thread, still I wanted to update it with my findings even they are neither important nor exciting.
😉
But this here is the only place in the Web I guess where collectors could find some information about that topic.
Today I had some time to check out my 2 mosaic version taps and I just wanted to let you know I have the number 2 in the mold on both of them.

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Sorry to bump an old thread, but I just have a quick question. I have an Adapter Tap that has the same skinny rectangles as the ones on the Mosaic Tap. The mold number under the cover is 1. It is a USA Tap and came packed inside one of my USA Demo Units.

Has there been discoveries of USA Adapter Taps with these features?

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Let me first start off with a couple of questions:

1. To be sure, when you say “USA Demo Unit,” you are referring to a Virtual Boy system that originally came in a white box, right? It should look like the one in the following link, but it should also have “VUE S RA / Virtual Boy W/O Software / For Interactive Display / Made in Japan” written on the front and certain other sides of the box:

http://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=31069#forumpost31069

2. Also, if you take a USA Super Nintendo AC adapter, or otherwise any AC adapter that will work in a Nintendo or Super Nintendo that was commercially released in the United States, and you try to insert its end into the tap that you are referring to as a “USA Tap,” will it fit?

Benjamin Stevens wrote:

1. To be sure, when you say “USA Demo Unit,” you are referring to a Virtual Boy system that originally came in a white box, right? It should look like the one in the following link, but it should also have “VUE S RA / Virtual Boy W/O Software / For Interactive Display / Made in Japan” written on the front and certain other sides of the box:

Yes, that is correct.

Benjamin Stevens wrote:

2. Also, if you take a USA Super Nintendo AC adapter, or otherwise any AC adapter that will work in a Nintendo or Super Nintendo that was commercially released in the United States, and you try to insert its end into the tap that you are referring to as a “USA Tap,” will it fit?

I plugged in 4 official Nintendo USA ac adapters and they all fit. The ac adapters I used all say for use with Super NES and Virtual Boy. The sticker inside the Tap says (usa) next to the model number and has english text.

My Japan adapter taps all say (jpn) next to the model number and have Japanese text. So im quite positive that this is an official Nintendo USA adapter tap.

I tried plugging in a japan ac adapter into this tap and it did not fit.

This is very interesting! I just checked my 2 Nintendo employee bundles and both of the taps were US mosiac taps. These are both very low serial number units. Makes me wonder if these originally came in the white box setup. Do you by chance know the story behind your white box US system? Mine came in completely unlabeled hardshell cases and were used by Nintendo employees as “salesman samples” to try to get shop owners to order them. One of the cases has a sticker on it that reads: Property of NMI, 4820-150thAvenue N.E., Redmond, WA 98052 USA.

Ben, yes both of these US mosiac taps use the snes 002 power adapter.

HoMenace wrote:
Do you by chance know the story behind your white box US system?

The seller of this particular white box demo unit could only tell me that he got it from a Nintendo employee sometime in the 90s. I got some serious questions about these white box demo units. (I’ll make a thread about them soon)

HoMenace wrote:
One of the cases has a sticker on it that reads: Property of NMI, 4820-150thAvenue N.E., Redmond, WA 98052 USA.

Lol, I was bidding on that one last year or so, but then I got called into work on a last minute notice and lost track of the auctions ending time. Im glad to see that it went to a passionate Virtual Boy collecter.

[Benjamin Stevens]

vuefinder83 wrote:

I plugged in 4 official Nintendo USA ac adapters and they all fit. The ac adapters I used all say for use with Super NES and Virtual Boy. The sticker inside the Tap says (usa) next to the model number and has english text.

My Japan adapter taps all say (jpn) next to the model number and have Japanese text. So im quite positive that this is an official Nintendo USA adapter tap.

I tried plugging in a japan ac adapter into this tap and it did not fit.

Thanks for that. Based on the photo you provided, I certainly thought that it must be legit. Nevertheless, I just wanted to be sure. 🙂

I myself was not previously aware that a USA version of the demo tap existed. I have to assume that all of the USA retail taps have the four square-shaped depressions and, therefore, not the four rectangular depressions of the USA demo tap. Thus, I would only expect these USA demo taps with the rectangular depressions to have been included in the white system boxes along with the USA demo systems. I, like HoMenace, am also curious to know if the USA demo taps were originally packaged inside their own white boxes like the preproduction taps. This now makes me wonder if a USA version of the preproduction tap that I referenced earlier also exists. I certainly have never seen or heard of one.

Just how many AC Adapter tap variants might there be, just waiting to be added to the collections of Virtual Boy completists? 🙂

• This reply was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by Benjamin Stevens.