Recently, I won a auction lot full of old Nintendo promotional buttons. Included in this lot were buttons for various systems like SNES, Nintendo64 and even the PlayStation. This lot also included the yellow special value button pictured in this site under the merchandise section.
But the button that caught my eye was the one next to the yellow special value button. Its another special value button but with Virtual Boy graphics and a light sticking out from the letter “A” in the word value. This button doesn’t say Virtual Boy in any text but does so with the Red and Purple design of the button. Plus, wasnt the Virtual Boy the only system that got the ” special value ” treatment from Nintendo?
Now, this button has a on/off switch on the back of it. I flicked the switch on and nothing happened, so I figured it must just need a new battery. When I opened the back of the button ever so carefully I was shocked to see that this tiny light/Led needs 8 button cell batteries to operate, but the batteries and parts of the board are a bit corroded from them being left in there for 20 years, infact its so corroded that a little red wire became disconnected from the board and would now need to be soldered back in place. But thats not a job for me so im gonna do some research and see if I can find someone around my area that would be able to restore this thing back to its former glory. If I cant find anyone, then maybe an elite member with soldering skills from this site would like to take on the challenge. ” IT MUST BE SAVED “. I’ll definitely pay for your time and service.
I’m very curious to find out if the light shines Red or White and if it blinks/flashes or just stays on, and I cant seem to find any pictures or info of this thing online, not even on Nintendoage.com, and is the reason I’m calling it “undocumented”
What do you guys think about this promo item?
Picture 1 – shows both special value buttons.
Picture 2 – shows just the lighted special value button.
Picture 3 – shows the side of the item and its stand.
Picture 4 – shows the corroded batteries and board.
Sup guys… Sorry for the delayed update on this. I’ve actually been really busy the past couple of weeks but will soon have some free time to get this thing checked out. If it works, I’ll definitely post some more pics.
HP Lovethrash wrote:
Is there a pin as well or just the little kickstand? I can’t imagine wearing this thick button with 8 batteries inside.
No pin, just a stiff piece of plastic that looks like you can bend it but would probably snap if you tried. This piece of plastic has a white plastic nub inserted through it, as if it was once part of something bigger, like some sort of special value cardboard display or something.
I dont think this was made to be worn like a button at all, unless you wanna walk around blinding people all day with the laser beams that shoot out of this thing ( thanks to the 8 batteries ). =P
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vuefinder83 wrote:
…He tested the light and it works…
It seems I misunderstood him when we had that brief conversation ( sorry ). Allow me to explain just what exactly happened here.
As I mentioned in my first post, I opened the back of this item ever so carefully and a wire became disconnected from the board. When I took it to the first guy, I opened it for him and a second wire became disconnected. So by the time I took it to the second guy both wires connecting the power switch to the board were disconnected. As this guy was checking out the power switch all he did was slightly move the wires and they both fell off in his hand. It was at that time I left it with him. A Couple days later I received a call from him. He was saying that during the removal of the batteries one of the battery holders split at the top and had to be repaired, so he repaired it. After connecting new wires and repairing the battery holder, he then flowed some solder over the needed areas of the pcb, put in new batteries, flicked the switch and nothing happened. Using a multimeter he can see that there was power flowing through the board all the way up to where the light connects to the pcb. So he desoldered the lights wire and connected it to an alternative power source with no luck getting it to turn on, so I decided to have him install a red flashing led with a water clear lens, and here’s why…
In 1996, during the Virtual Boy special value promotion, there weren’t many colors of leds available at that time, with red being one of the most popular ones its very likely that this items led was red flashing. But why would it need 8 batteries to achieve such a simple effect? Well, as I mentioned in one of my previous post, I believe that this lighted medallion was once part of a special value store display, and if it was then that would mean that it was most likely designed to stay turned on for weeks, possibly months at a time just quickly flashing a single red light every second or so at the people who passed by it, wich I think would explain the 8 batteries. Its original light certainly didn’t project/display any images as it turned out to be just a 5mm led.
Another reason I went with a quick flashing red led, is because I believe that the artwork of this item ( minus the text ) is representing a red flash followed by the purplish aurora that one would see if flashed once in the face with this thing =P
Hey, maybe some day another one of these will show up, one that is still fully functional with no battery corrosion and we will then know the true actions of this items original light.
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It’s hard to be sure looking at these pics. But if you look at the PCB then it seems like there is a blob at the other side. Which would mean there is an IC there. Not SEEING light doesn’t mean there is no light. I just wonder if it wasn’t IR light. What the purpose of this would be is unknown to me. But with an IC and a IR led you could send out a IR signal that can be received by another device.
Maybe some kind of stunt in which the badge is the key in making something happen.
I know this is a long shot… but it’s all based on it being a blob on the other side of the PCB and the led not giving any light. Although leds do die easily in some conditions.
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Also, the traces that apear through the PCB do not make any sence when it would only be to light up the led. There must be more to this button like device then just a led lighting up.
DrWho198 wrote:
It’s hard to be sure looking at these pics. But if you look at the PCB then it seems like there is a blob at the other side. Which would mean there is an IC there. Not SEEING light doesn’t mean there is no light. I just wonder if it wasn’t IR light. What the purpose of this would be is unknown to me. But with an IC and a IR led you could send out a IR signal that can be received by another device.Maybe some kind of stunt in which the badge is the key in making something happen.
Interesting, I never considered the possibility of it being a infrared device. The LED does kind of look like something you’d see on the front of a remote control or something. If it is, then I have no idea what this device could’ve possibly triggered. Maybe that’s why the technician couldn’t see the light. He told me that he thinks that some of the battery acid found its way in the lens of the LED and damaged it.
DrWho198 wrote:
I know this is a long shot… but it’s all based on it being a blob on the other side of the PCB and the led not giving any light. Although leds do die easily in some conditions.
Now, I dont know jack spit when it comes to circuit boards and junk, but I have a GBA promo button that has a pcb with what appears to be a blob between its two batteries, and this button coincidentally flashes a red LED as well. Im pretty sure it doesn’t send out any signals or anything so does the presence of a blob on a pcb always determine a ic is being used?
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An IR led is indeed a wild guess… but I still find this circuit too complex for blinking. You can’t look through the pcb very well. But I can easily distinguish at least 12 lines comming from the blob. Not to mention that you can even more easily see there are 12 square pads above it.
What I find even stranger is the fact that after repair, you can not see a visible blink. The batteries though don’t puzzle me as you can see that some are put parallel instead of in serries. This clearly suggests that it is done to get it running longer.
For me it remains a mystery.
If you wich to know if the led was ir or not, and if you still have it. Then you could hook it up and look at it through your mobile phones camera. If you see it light up in the camera then its IR… if not then it’s probably dead.
