I’m new to this form and just scored my first Virtual Boy for $70 on eBay. Came with a controller and the stand. However, the listing said that the VB turned on and loads games with the infamous 1 eye out problem. This I’ve read how to temporarily fix and will do that eventually. However, at this time I don’t have a battery pack or AC adapter. I’m new to this console so I assume that I could hook up a 9V battery for quick testing just to see if the VB is as listed. I’m hoping someone can recommend if there is a better way to test this. I’m assuming like every other Nintendo console that without a game plugged in I’ll at least get a Nintendo logo on the screen?
Unfortunately you’ll need a game to see anything on the screen. Without a game you’ll hear the vibration of the screen but nothing will display on the screen. You’ll a game to properly test. Since you’ll need a game anyway I’d suggest getting either the battery pack or a AC tap, no need to mess around with a 9V battery.
What he said, but I’d just pay up for the ac adapter because the thing chews through 6AAs fairly quickly so it’s kind of a pain unless you have like 12 rechargeable batteries and can swap between as they refill.
Just grab a Mario Tennis game since it’s like $5-10 shipped being the pack-in game.
As far as the infamous eye issue goes, depending on skill level it’s either easily repairable in like an hour, or over your head dangerous as it’s a thin plastic cable with copper leads through it and easily melted. I can do it, it just takes time and a steady hand.
Okay thanks for the advice. I do have a copy of Wario Land coming in that I snagged for $11. I wish I had thought more when purchasing my VB since it doesn’t have the battery pack and they cost half of what I paid for the system! I think I might have a unit from a store display which is interesting, however, I’ll make a separate post about that.
I was able to finally test my Virtual Boy yesterday. So far so good on everything that is working. Sound is perfect and crisp with both speakers firing just fine. Controller works flawlessly. Left eye works 95% of the time which is pretty good. Oddly enough the warning message displays fine, the VB focus image displays fine. However, as soon as Wario comes crashing in on his plane sometimes the screen is just lines. Even more strangely after you go into the save selection screen in works about 95% of the game with very few glitches. The right eye as I expected has no image and will require some work. I know there are many people who offer services to repair the ribbon cable. I think for now I will try to reheat the glue and 3D print a clamp. If and when this fails then I will go ahead and solder the cable down to the board.
Maybe I’ll call Nintendo and confuse the heck out of a service agent who might not know what the console is and just ask for a repair for fun. 🙂
Anyway, progress is being made and now I just need to wait for my security bit screwdriver to arrive!
