i dont know if the LEDs in the virtual boy are too old or too inaccessible to do this, but i was reading this –> http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/powerled-green-red.php <-- article on how to change the xbox eject button green LED into a red LED (or half green half red) and i was wondering if something like this was possible in the virtual boy ?

Unfortunately, no… The problem is that the VB has literally hundreds of tiny little LEDs all fabricated on a single die with some logic and driving circuitry. Even if you could get LEDs that small, and in that quantity, and hook them up in two perfect rows, you’d have to reproduce that othe circuitry, too.

I’m not saying this is impossible (I hate that word ;-)) it does seem cost-prohibitive and time-consuming, to me.

My idea is to use quite small (but not quite VB-sized) LEDs and use fiber optics to put the light in the right spot. That still leaves the matter of the driver circuitry, but I know a bit how that works, and finding the details wouldn’t be that hard.

Later

ok, well it was just an idea, i do have a very simple back-up option, one could simply put a translucent color film over the plastic display, blue would get a nice purple color, and anything else you would probally get brown, just a thought. – Tim

You’re thinking of subtractive color mixing, which applies to pigments, rather than additive mixing, which applies to light; like the light coming from the VB’s displays.

Take a look here: http://www.yorku.ca/eye/colormx3.htm

Imagine the yellow curve is the red light the VB produces, and the blue curve is the light allowed through your plastic lens.

As you can see by the size of the green region, if any light at all got through, it would be very dim, indeed. And that dim light would have to be red, since the light from the VB’s LEDs is quite pure.

Until science produces a material that can change the wavelength of light passing through it, you’ll just have to learn to like red 😉

lol, i love the red, but until i can teach myself to program im just thinking of small stuff.

“Until science produces a material that can change the wavelength of light passing through it, you’ll just have to learn to like red 😉”

Note: this has been around for a while now, in the form of quantum dots. Anyone feel like brewing us up a batch? 😆