there’s also this one I found on ebay, it’s the cheapest one I’ve found by far, you can’t beat getting both-sized screwdrivers for three bucks 🙂

https://www.ebay.com/i/333358482683?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=333358482683&targetid=537215818288&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9006781&poi=&campaignid=6470552772&mkgroupid=81274341727&rlsatarget=aud-412677883135:pla-537215818288&abcId=1139336&merchantid=6296724&gclid=CjwKCAiAlajvBRB_EiwA4vAqiPlgxGELI-GHIXn920WzXicvoexpdHv8PjEl5mDtCSvnI9cpvm1TpxoCwVQQAvD_BwE

Very cool and impressive work! Especially like how that label looks, from the photo it looks nearly like the original. Looking forward to seeing what you do with this!

Great to hear that, the ability to reprogram from the cart itself is incredible, and I’m pretty sure most if not everyone would still say how incredible that idea was even if it was a little slower at re-flashing the cart. It’s a really unique and innovative idea, and everyone’ll be more than happy with however well the result turns out to be 🙂 (also that design looks sick, the red on black looks as fantastic as the system itself)

Could you post a good-quality picture of it? It may still be salvageable, taking off extra solder and re-aligning pins could be all it takes to fix your cable. Unfortunately unless you solder individual wires to replace the ribbon, there really isn’t an alternative out there…

That’s great! I just got one recently that I plan on fixing for a rediculously good deal, so with some patience, you can definitely find some great undervalued listings on ebay. Happy hunting!

If you’re looking to buy virtual boy games/accessories, there’s a few items not on pricecharting, but after checking current market prices every day for about half a year, I can give you a rough estimate guide on things not listed as price-charting. If you’re spending more than this for these though, you’re definitely spending too much!

Virtual boy headpiece, eye issues: 50-65$ (would need oven method or soldering, this is only for vb’s still working with eye problems only, broken ones should be 50 or less for just the head unit)
Virtual boy Headpiece, working: 70-85$
Virtual boy headpiece, solder-fixed around 100 (usually don’t come up too often, and usually come as full set, so estimate)(most recommended to buy like this, or do yourself, as the VB cable will inevitably fail over time. Here’s a link to a post I made explaining the VB ribbon cable issue in more detail:

https://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=44113#forumpost44113

buying one like this or doing it yourself is best, as sending one in to a repair shop costs around 40-50, buying with the fix already is the cheapest option.)
Controller: 20-25$
Battery pack (batteries): 20-25$
AC adaptor tap: 15-25$ (like with all older “handheld consoles” make sure you look/ask for corrosion, you don’t want a controller filled with corrosion as it will inevitably fail or have issues.)
AC wall-plug: 10-14$
Eyepiece bracket: 10$ or less
Eyeshade: 10$ or less
VB Stand: 20-30$ (note that the nintendo jewel is usually broken in the middle, which is normal. I’d highly, highly recommend buying a new one if you want one to last from hyperkin, I’ve gotten one when they were on sale for 20$ along with an eyeshade and bracket from them for 18, and they are of very high quality, which I actually prefer over the original, but both original and replacement work great)
VB Box: 20-30$
VB Manual: 15-20$
Virtual boy complete working package everything included for the console: headpiece, stand, shade and bracket, controller and battery pack) 165-185$ (soldered would be around 200$)

You can also check this website for prior ebay listings of up to 90 days, which gives a decent estimate on how much you should be spending on items as well if you wanted to track an average yourself:

http://www.watchcount.com/completed.php

If you want some more info on other accessories, like the headphones or CIB versions, I can make another list with averages for just about everything, but that should hopefully help you in getting the best deals on everything VB-related so you still have enough to buy some games! (Wario, galatic pinball, teleroboxer, mario tennis, and red alarm being the best for the most affordable prices, all being 25 and under) Good luck on your search, and hope you enjoy this spectacular console! 🙂

There’s pricecharting, which is how I base all my average prices for games. It has almost every game on the VB on a trend, but some prices might be slightly off from their actual average I’ve noticed. Keeping an eye on what you want and what it generally sells for over time on ebay will ensure you always get the most bang for your buck for these games, and it’s advised since some of these games can get pretty pricey

https://www.pricecharting.com/search-products?type=videogames&q=Virtual+boy&go=Go

Do the mirrors start oscillating when you turn the system on? Try a game that starts with noise, like galactic pinball or Mario clash if you have them, that way you can deduce the problem. If the system starts playing the startup music for the games, then you know it’s reading the games properly and playing the sound. The virtual boy must have the mirrors oscillating at 60 Hz before it boots the game, so try inserting the game while the cover is off and watch if the mirrors start moving at all, if not the mirrors oscillation system might not be getting the signal to go.

Glad to hear they finally shipped, I’m guessing it got slightly delayed from the holiday season, looking forward to see the first complete prototype when all the pieces finally come together!

[Ethan.Snyder98]

I bought a couple Virtual boy controllers with battery packs for cheap, as they had a little corrosion in them and on the board, but that’s nothing a little hydrocloric acid and solder can’t fix 🙂

• This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by Ethan.Snyder98.

Wow. very impressive that you have the schematics down for the pins so quickly, you’re really giving your all on this project, and it’s coming along so well! can’t wait to see those completed injection mold prototypes when they come in!

Thanks for the suggestions! I was guessing it’s either the main board or the servo boardwith a loose connection. I’m working on it this week, we’ll see if a little solder fixes the issue on those chip-joints.

Yep, every game I try this happens to, and the ones without startup sounds just don’t do anything. It’s not in the controller since it works perfect with my other VB, and I’m guessing it isn’t in the game since it appears to read it just fine, it just hangs up when trying to display the graphics, and won’t allow for input of commands. All the wires check out in the system, and the fuses still appear soldered down good. Maybe it’s a problem in one of the chips? On the outside this thing is in almost perfect condition too, So that makes me think it wasn’t dropped a bunch or anything, it’s just odd it doesn’t attempt to ocsilate the mirrors or display the LED’s.

Thank you for all the updates on the project Kevin, excited to see how both E-Paper color-displays look and curious to see their varying speeds. Can’t wait!

Hi! Your problem is a very common issue with Virtual Boy systems. Nintendo decided to go cheaper with the the ribbon cables that connect the LED’s to the main board, and attached them together with glue instead of being soldered, so over a long period of time, those wires eventually lift off the board and the connection becomes loose, which results in a glitchy image/no image at all. 99% of the time this is the issue, and there’s two methods to fixing it:

Method one is the oven trick. For both methods you’re going to need a long 4.5mm GameBit screwdriver, which are easy to find online. Here’s a link to the cheapest one I could find (about $3.50)

https://www.ebay.com/i/333358482683?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=333358482683&targetid=537215818288&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9006781&poi=&campaignid=6470552772&mkgroupid=81274341727&rlsatarget=aud-412677883135:pla-537215818288&abcId=1139336&merchantid=6296724&gclid=CjwKCAiAlajvBRB_EiwA4vAqiPlgxGELI-GHIXn920WzXicvoexpdHv8PjEl5mDtCSvnI9cpvm1TpxoCwVQQAvD_BwE

The oven method involves taking out the eyepiece(s) that aren’t working, and putting them in the oven (I know it sounds crazy, but it’s a good temporary fix) putting them in around 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit for around 90-120 seconds will melt the glue enough that you can take the eyes out and press onto the glue to re-seal that connection, and get your virtual boy’s lens working again. Note though that this method is temporary, and eventually over time the glue will lift again, and the eyes will need to have this method performed again to work, and this method may also take a few tries to work. Here’s a video showing it in action and showing the disassembly of the virtual boy itself.

Method two involves soldering the connection to replace the loose glue connection. All virtual boys will have the connection become loose at some point, and replacing it with solder ensures the eyes to last a very long time, and is the most recommended method by far. I bought a broken virtual boy with no picture, and after soldering both eyes, the connection is not only perfect, but has lasted me a long time. This method does require intermediate soldering skills however, as you need to re-flow solder across pins on a ribbon cable, but this was the first time I ever soldered and I got it to work first try. If you’re confident in yourself and want to try this method for yourself, you can follow this video that I did, he does a really good job of explaining everything you need to know about soldering those cables for beginners.

But if you don’t want to risk ruining your cables, you can always get them solder-fixed by NES Freak. I have heard nothing but good things about him, and although I haven’t had anything soldered by him, he has answered questions in the past, and been a great help to me, and I highly recommend his services. He has info about sending your virtual boy in and other details on the first page of this thread, and he answers all of your questions if you send him a PM about it. If he doesn’t respond to a PM, you can reach him by phone from his business “Nerdy Dave’s Computers” at (530) 903-3434)

Hopefully I answered your questions, and if not, there is another thread explaining this exact topic here.

https://www.planetvb.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=3295

Hope this helps, and you’re able to fix your system to experience the awesome console that is the virtual boy! Have a great one!

Quaze wrote:

Ooo nice, and available for the low low price of a mere $600 USD!

I know it sounds pricey, but you can make offers starting as crazy low as 420 bucks! For a digital clock, what a steal! XD

Absolutely, maybe it’s from the full screens that are inside as opposed to dim led’s, but that on top of motion sickness does it for me. I love VR, but playing virtual boy personally for me is still more enjoyable. Once the technology improves later down the road, I might change my mind and give it another go 🙂

Here’s an interesting item I’ve never seen before… (seems like a once-a-month occurance nowadays) apparently from the auctioner, this is a store manager’s clock that was given out to promote the virtual boy, and it’s still in working condition! Definitely a rare find indeed for anyone willing to cough up over 600 bucks for it.

A link to the listing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nintendo-Virtual-Boy-Store-Manager-Promo-clock-Rare/233423047873?hash=item3659190cc1:g:dScAAOSwG11d5zBT

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That’s horrible, but doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll win. With the evidence you have against him, you definitely have a case for yourself, and I’ll gladly support you in this case. Getting the law is probably the best thing you can do too, so you’ll have the same edge he does. It just sucks that you have to deal with all of this, it only takes one jerk to ruin it for everybody…

Holy crap, this is WAY more than I think anyone in the community expected, This looks absolutely incredible! I don’t think I can say anything that hasn’t already been said before, definitely one of the most uniquely creative projects to come out of the community, there was a lot of work, thought and care put into this, and I’m so happy the stretch goal got hit to make this awesome idea a reality! Can’t wait to see the different Ink screens in action! (and really can’t wait to get this thing eventually when it finally comes out!:D)