[mellott124]

Hi,

I just completed schematic entry and PCB design on a Virtual Boy Multicart design I’m calling MultiBoy 32.
Specs first and then some more discussion.

1. Flash space: 32 slots of 32Mbit RAM via a 1Gbit Flash.
2. RAM space: 256k x 16 SRAM space (8k x 16 per slot) using MRAM (no battery needed).
3. Full 16bit SRAM bus instead of the production 8bit width.
4. On board 32bit microcontroller (MCU) for programming slots.
5. USB input for interfacing and control.
6. Games loaded via SD card slot.
7. On screen game selection themed around my 8bit VB character Do-Do.
8. Arduino compatible MCU (custom firmware development if you’re so inclined).

MultiBoy name for obvious reasons. Several reasons for the 32 number. There will be 32 slots of 32Mbit for a total of 1Gbit Flash (ROM) space. Also 256k x 16 of SRAM space which is divided among the 32 slots to give 8k x 16 (close to the production cart SRAM space of 8k x 8 but wider bus width). The microcontroller on board is also 32bit (cheaper than comparable 8 bit, faster to program slots, built in USB). I’ll probably run the MCU at 32MHz just for fun.

I have a stretch goal of using the USB port as a built in USB link cable as well. Hardware hooks are in place. Firmware should work but some details will need testing.

The reason I’m announcing now is because the board is dense, and with several BGAs, there will be NO hand assembling of these units. I will have to get this assembled by my PCB house and that means knowing up front how many to order.

So if you think this is something you’re interested in, then please let me know. Only collecting an email list for now. Please email me at mellottsvrpage@gmail.com . How many get ordered will affect the pricing. Can’t commit to a price at the moment but based on my experience with VB projects and the current BOM cost, think ~$150. More details to follow.

Timeline, we’re probably looking around 4-5 months from now. I also need the on-screen code for the title selection (volunteers?). Even 5 months might be aggressive if ducks don’t all line up. Think summer release. I will do a small 25 unit prototype run initially before doing the full hopefully ~100 unit production batch. Next steps are to get fabrication and assembly quotes.

Background on myself since not everyone may be familiar with me. I’ve been an R&D Electrical Engineer for the last 10 years. An electrical technician for 7 years before that. I’ve designed and/or built quite a few VB related projects in the last 3-4 years including: VB link cable, USB link cable, VB cart programmer, SNES to VB adapters, VB controller to PC adapters, first VB 128/256Mbit reprogrammable cart, 16Mbit reprogrammable cart, and others. Professionally I do system and electrical design for very high end head mounted displays and other AR/VR related gear. I’ve been designing and building VR related projects for over 20 years. I’ve maintained and updated http://www.mellottsvrpage.com with VR projects and reviews I’ve done since 1998.

So there it is. Lets see what the reaction is and if we can finally get a VB multicart built for the VB.

Thanks,
Kevin

• This topic was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by mellott124.

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mellott124 wrote:
I did spend some time looking into one that may be simpler. Turns out the electronics would be nearly the same so not much different in effort.

I may have a small window in January to come back to the MultiBoy to push it to the next step.

Good luck, can’t wait to hear an update!

That’s great news Kevin! I’m still ready to throw my money at you when it’s ready. lol

retronintendonerd wrote:
That’s great news Kevin! I’m still ready to throw my money at you when it’s ready. lol

Was thinking the same!

Another what if.

What about a device similar to FlashBoy but has a 32Mbit memory?

With Flashboy no longer being produced, I think most people would welcome any solution. Wouldn’t hurt to have two tiers, a cheaper and a more expensive option. I’m guessing Multiboy32 will be pretty pricey and it might turn a lot of people off, having a cheaper simple option like a Flashboy might help expand the market for homebrew. Could do a Flashboy32 and a Multiboy32.

Yamagushi wrote:
With Flashboy no longer being produced, I think most people would welcome any solution. Wouldn’t hurt to have two tiers, a cheaper and a more expensive option. I’m guessing Multiboy32 will be pretty pricey and it might turn a lot of people off, having a cheaper simple option like a Flashboy might help expand the market for homebrew. Could do a Flashboy32 and a Multiboy32.

Yes, I’m thinking along the same lines.

Yamagushi wrote:
With Flashboy no longer being produced, I think most people would welcome any solution. Wouldn’t hurt to have two tiers, a cheaper and a more expensive option. I’m guessing Multiboy32 will be pretty pricey and it might turn a lot of people off, having a cheaper simple option like a Flashboy might help expand the market for homebrew. Could do a Flashboy32 and a Multiboy32.

That was about what I was thinking as well. It could be cheaper. It’s also a good in between engineering wise and would be faster to develop. I doubt I’d ever be able to name it FlashBoy32, though. Although that would be the most logical name. I was thinking HyperBoy32 for obvious reasons. Or just HyperBoy.

Honestly I agree, I think making a cheaper Flashboy-like cart would be a good idea to start before making the final project, especially since you’d be the only place to get any sort of flash cart at the moment. You would get some credibility in the community and have some extra funds to put towards the project, all while gaining the project more publicity and getting the community more excited for the final release of the multiboy. (I know a lot of people would be interested in getting one to hold them over until you have enough time to work on the multiboy, including me)

Yamagushi wrote:
With Flashboy no longer being produced

Hello, can you link to somewhere where Richard has said he is no longer making them? I am asking because the last thing I read he said he was still making them, however, his donor sources have been depleted and he was asking for donors + cost for a FB+.

I just sent him an email recently and he sent this back, he’s probably talking about the multiboy, which means now you’re “the guy” 🙂

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Sorry, but I am even more confused now. Your e-mail asked about the FB (FlashBoy) and I was curious about the FB+ (FlashBoy Plus). After poking around the cart’s dedicated thread, it appears the last few to post that mention receiving one did so in December of 2017 (so about 2 years ago). I am going to assume Richard was responding generically by grouping the FB and FB+ together.

Yea, by flashboy I did mean the flashboy plus, so I’m assuming he meant it as a blanket statement as well that he didn’t make any carts anymore. As for “the guy on planetvb” I assume he’s talking about the multiboy 32 and Kavin Melott, since no one else is making these carts anymore, at least to my knowledge after some digging.

Well, well… some new parts just came out that would make MultiBoy32 a lot easier to build. Could be an interesting year in 2020. 🙂

OoOooOh sounds wonderful

This project always sounded really interesting!

Fingers crossed!

mellott124 wrote:
Well, well… some new parts just came out that would make MultiBoy32 a lot easier to build. Could be an interesting year in 2020. 🙂

I have been watching this thread for a long time hoping that someday there would be a link to buy…still waiting, but ever hopeful that someday I can get my own VB multicart.

Any closer to a timeline for when/if it might be available? I mean, now that the world is shutdown from COVID-19 maybe that’s given some time while stuck at home to refine those prototypes you teased last year.

Whenever it is ready count me in for 1.

keeerrrttt1 wrote:
I have been watching this thread for a long time hoping that someday there would be a link to buy…still waiting, but ever hopeful that someday I can get my own VB multicart.

Any closer to a timeline for when/if it might be available? I mean, now that the world is shutdown from COVID-19 maybe that’s given some time while stuck at home to refine those prototypes you teased last year.

Whenever it is ready count me in for 1.

All my efforts are in HyperFlash right now. It’s likely to keep me busy the rest of the year. Multiboy will eventually come. Many of the features and lessons learned on HyperFlash are likely to move forward into Multiboy. Especially the eInk display. I’m loving that feature and the community labels that are being generated. I’ll likely scrap my current Multiboy design and do a new one when the time comes.

Is the MultiBoy 32 still happening?

Still on the road map. I’ve also changed the design from the original MB schematics. Just for documentation purposes, the original Multiboy design was routed and ready for PCB fabrication. But there are better options now. I’ve also about run out of other things to do for VB, and no one else has done a VB multicart design, so I suppose I’ll have to do it. Like I’ve mentioned on the Discord channel, shipments of HF32 flashcarts and other designs like VB rumble and VB BlueRetro have delayed me working on MB again. Just not enough hours in the day.