i snagged mine for $150 (including shipping) and it came with the AC adapter, the original box, all instruction manuals, and 3 games. the hard-shell case is nice, i won’t deny that. i’m trying to build my own but i can’t find anyone locally who has that type of foam for sale.
make sure you ask the important questions.
1) any scratches on the red plastic lenses, even hair line scratches
2) any problems with the ac adapter
3) is the d-pad responsive, do the diagonals respond without problems
4) is the center plastic part of the stand cracked, even a hair line crack (as these tend to crack)
5) is the black visor stained or ripped?
6) after powering the unit on, ask them to adjust the IPD (grey circular knob) to the right and left a few times. this is a way to test if the ribbon cable glue is starting to fail and if it is the graphics may be glitchy, the back light could seem faded, etc. keep in mind that this is something that can be fixed later, so if the rest of the unit is mint it might be worth picking it up.
7) ask them to also test the focus slider to make sure it is working.
i would suggest a mirror alignment test as well but from what i recall you need a game inserted to do that (?).
you should do some research, find out what important questions you want answered, and then ask every seller of every vb you like. once you find the one you want you will be happy that you waited. also set yourself a price that you will not go past and stick to it. i’ve seen complete vb kits sell for under $50 and over $250 (with and without games). have patience and i’m sure you will be happy in the end.
@Protoman85: i am sorry, i did not intend to scare you. my point was just that flash memory doesn’t last forever. i wasn’t trying to make a point that the FB/FB+ would stop working after a few hundred writes. i can see how my comment can be read that way, again i am sorry.
MineStorm wrote:
What? So, the flashboy(original, not plus for me) will stop working after I’ve changed games once too much?? Thats…. really scary.
The specs for the flash memory say at least 1 million writes / erases.
i do hope you finish this project, it would be a real shame to see it end now. i would be happy to write a review for gbatemp.net if you feel that would help. my reviews average 5,000 hits in the first week.
could be something to consider towards the end when it seems like all of your hard work will not be discovered by people outside of this site.
Hi Vaughanabe13,
I love my FB+, but you can only flash 1 ROM at a time and there is no way to back up the save data for that file. Also, as we all know, the internal flash has a limited number of writes. I would love to see a microSD solution that could hold the entire library and homebrew, allow me to back up saves, and in the future I could just pop in one of my msd cards if I ever had problems.
I hope you don’t give up. I was looking forward to your kit and hoped that I would be able to buy one soon.
As for the question at hand, I also picked up the Japanese tap for my US virtual boy. Here is some of the responses I got which may help you.
There is another thread on this if you search, I can’t seem to search right now my ISP is having issues tonight.
vboy, if you want a FB+ contact richard directly, he posted above under the username minestorm. he is really kind and got my kit out to me in about 2 weeks (including shipping). its worth eveyr penny. if you want the full experience you can also order a box from kr155e.
I’d love a flashboy for this. There was one on eBay a few days ago but I missed out on it 🙁
I make those carts, and will be doing continuously while there’s demand.
And with the success of the FBoy+ and the tons of hours I still need to put into the VBSD project, it’s looking more and more like it’s not worth it to keep working on the project. 🙁
MineStorm wrote:
I’m pretty sure I’ve discovered the problem. …a residue on the top (+) side of the battery, which seems to be enough to intermittently disconnect the power…
the battery i took out has no residue on it at all, its clean as a whistle. the replacement was from radioshack in a 1 battery per pack display. it was stored in plastic, the outside of the plastic was glued to the cardboard display pack, and also does not have any residue on it at all.
in my case, this is not the explanation as to why the first battery stopped holding the save. i noticed with the first battery that the save was gone after different lengths of time. when i got the FB+ Richard had flashed a game and left a save on there. i tested but the save was not there, so that was a little more than a week of storage time. i flashed some stuff to it, had a save, and that save was there for at least a day. the next time i made a save it was gone in hours. the next time it didn’t store the save. it looks like it was the battery, but i’m not 100% sure. i do not own a meter to test the battery but what i did do was connect a 3volt LED to the battery and it lights up bright as day. i’m pretty sure the LED could be pulling off the last of the charge, so that test really isn’t conclusive.
when i first replaced the battery i had mario crash flashed there. after playing the save was still not saving. i then reseated the battery and flashed a new rom, that rom has had its save stored. so this problem could be a seating issue or the copper pad as dogp suggested.
the last game i flashed was wario on 4/3/11 and is still holding the save. i am not playing that much but i am checking every couple of days to see if it is still there.
i did buy that bit and a screwdriver for it. it cost me about $16 with shipping. i got it in less than a week. the bit is made of a cheaper metal, its not a sears craftsman quality but it does the job. i recommend the screwdriver as it took some minor torque to get the screw off.
replacing the battery was really simple, i just popped out the old one with a mini flat head screwdriver and then slide in the new one.
at first the rom flashed to the cart was still not saving. i reseated the battery and flashed a new rom, that one has been fine so far. i’m not yet 100% sure the problem was the original battery. the battery cage seems really tight so i don’t think it was the seating of the original battery. only time will tell if it is something else, like a bad connection. the old battery was about two weeks old by the time i received the FB+, but it could have been sitting around. if the new one is holding a save 2 months from now i’ll assume it was battery related.
I got my FB+ box in the mail. It was extremely well packaged, carefully wrapped in newspaper and secured inside of a box. The FB+ box is professionally designed and built from quality materials. If you were to buy a FB+ from a store this is the box you would expect to get with it. The box is complete with information, a UPC code, images, bright glossy colors, and a tray to hold the donor cart. Anyone who get a FB+ and wants the full experience should order the box.
I paid KR155E directly using Paypal and he shipped out the box a few days later. He is 100% trustworthy (though most of you probably know that), and you should have no worries about paying using Paypal.
i was born in the 70s, played a vb at toys r us in the 90s and didn’t think much of it. now that i’m older i’m hunting down stuff that i shouldn’t have passed on. i think there are a lot of people doing the same thing, buying up “retro” stuff they passed on and now want to experience.
i’ve been watching auctions on ebay like a hawk the past 2 months. the vb with all you need to play (missing the box) seem to sell for around $59-100 and with the box, a few games, or the ac adapter they sell for $125-150. in the box and unused they seem to go for $150-$250. the few i saw go for more had a nice selection of games and the ac adpater.
you can still find deals if you shop around but i don’t expect to find a VB at a thrift shop anytime soon.
although i did recently pick up a bandai lcd galaxian handheld at a thrift shop for 2.99 in a very fine condition. =)
As I have never built anything like this I wanted to ask that I would need this circuit, a usb wire, and a VB controller? Solder the VB controller to the board and the usb wire to the board?
This looks like a fun project and I am interested in it.
NOTE: As of this posting the wiring diagrams are not yet up, but rest assured they are coming and should be ready with more than enough time to spare if you decide to place an order.
i think a lot of the VB games were released before people really knew what they could do with the system. the ‘3D’ effect on most games isn’t really 3d but graphics designed on a visual plane that make them seem to go “into the background” or something like that. i really notice the depth of the 3d on the title screen for wario land and on mario’s face when you die. i also see it on the intro for panic bomber. you can see it in a lot of the games but its subtle and not nearly as good as what would have come if the system had lasted a few more years.
sometimes i have to close one eye and then open it again to realize that i am looking at 3d. where with the 3ds it was instantaneous, but then again they really tried to perfect what was going on with the 3ds.
i love this vid, i can’t stop watching it. i recognize some of the locations, especially the Ross dress for less. i wish i could track down some VB gamers out here! did you film some of this in the valley?
some good news for FB+ users. below is a response from richard.
BTW it does not require any soldering to replace the battery, it fits in a holder on the PCB. All you need is the screwdriver for the 2 screws that hold the cart together.
