[RetroDan]

I have been wondering why several of the prospective buyers haven’t responded. I’m only now realizing that, somehow, I never actually PM’d some of them.

Derp! Mea culpa; PMs have been sent out.

In addition, I’m planning on adjusting the order and sending it in by the end of May at the latest, with an estimated in-hand time of the second week of June. Of course, if enough people respond sooner, I can send the order in sooner, and get the parts in quicker.

So here’s how this is going to go down:

When I put in the order, I’ll shoot PMs and emails to those who have indicated interest. Now, I’m not going to demand payment before I send the order in, but it would definitely help. I’m dropping quite a bit on this project up-front, and between this and my recent 3D printer purchase, I’m not going to be buying model paints for a bit. Obviously, I will require payment before shipping.

Looking forward to seeing this through!

EDIT: If you’re interested, but didn’t PM me or get a PM, there’s still time to be added to the list! You have until May 31st to let me know your shipping address and how many pairs of cables you’d like. Orders close on June 1st, 17:00 US Central Time. Cost is $11/pair, with $7.90 shipping in the US, and exact shipping per-destination outside of the US.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by RetroDan.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by RetroDan.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by RetroDan.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by RetroDan.

There is a 3D printable bracket that you can install that will put pressure on the lifting pins. I printed one out for testing purposes, and it works quite well.

I’m going to guess that they are test points for the factory to quickly determine if the cartridge is functional.

I, too, would front the cost. Do a kickstarter.

The motherboard side goes into the FPC connector pins downward. When installed, the LED side needs to be on the other side to be solderable. It does look weird at first blush, but it is correct.

Finally got my cable prototypes! As you can see, this is v1.3, whereas I am on v1.6, with a v1.7 being a possibility. Nothing changed, functionally-speaking, between iterations, only some ease-of-use features and a few aesthetic issues.

Initial Thoughts:

Initial tests look pretty good – everything lines up, continuity is there.

Prototypes don’t come with a stiffener, but some 0.15mm thick painter’s tape brought the thickness up to spec. The actual run will have a proper stiffener.

The material used in the prototypes is less malleable and tougher to work with than the FR-4 I’ll use in the finished project, making soldering a bit of a challenge. That’s fine; nothing unexpected there. The bend radius is pretty awful, though, again, this has already been addressed in the final.

I’m currently working on a few projects and waiting for about half of the people interested in this project to get back with details, but after that, we should be off to the races!

Attachments:

1. 

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2. 

   img_0194-scaled.jpg
   

I have designed a replacement flex cable for the VB LED boards that is intended to prop up the weakest part of the console. I’m also working on a modified VirtualTap (thus far dubbed the VirtualTap 2.0) with a few secret features, one of which should absolutely blow people’s minds.

…if I get it to work.

I’ve also designed a couple of breakout boards for the VirtualTap – one for RGB, and one for VGA.

[RetroDan]

Cables are shipped to me. I should have them sometime next week.

EDIT 04/05/19: According to the tracking number, I should have my prototypes by Monday! Messages have been sent out to all interested individuals.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 8 months ago by RetroDan.

Without the eye shield and without a game in it, the head unit weighs 841g, or 1lb 13.6 oz. The 1K pod will be fine for you.

Fish17 wrote:
So is the only option the RepairBox screen shade? I was hoping there was a silicon version rather than the foam.

With less than a million units out there (probably less than a quarter of that, more like), the expenses involved in making a mold for silicon on an industrial scale don’t match up with the potential market. Foam is easy to simply cut, fill, and sew into the right shape, and it’s orders of magnitude cheaper in all aspects for such a low volume future.

Sorry, mate.

My cable prototypes are being fabbed at this very moment. I should have them the first week of April. Once I’ve tested then, I can put in the order for the VirtualCables.

About damn time…

I have about 50 of them, along with baggies, the Nintendo Power ads, and the generic virtual boy manual. Shoot me a PM.

Biscuit wrote:
I’d also be interested in two sets.

Added. I’m still waiting my prototypes, but I’m hopeful that I’ll hear movement on them this week.

Johnpv wrote:
Is anyone with one of these running it through the Framemeister? Just wondering if anyone has made a framemeister profile yet or any recommendations in doing so. Mine is currently out getting this installed and I can’t wait to get it back.

I run mine through the mini framemeister. I just use FBX’s 4x SNES profile, but that’s really more because that’s what I’m usually playing anyway, and I’m not diehard enough to really dial in “perfect” settings.

virtualnoob wrote:

A whole bunch of not good on a VirtualTap!

That looks like there is a short on one of the clock signals (The VB uses 3). I could take a look at it, but I’m not terribly interested in buying the VGA model. I could flash it with the RGB .pof, but I don’t currently have a second VB in need of the VirtualTap, and I’m not interested in getting another one just to mod it. That might change, eventually.

To sum up – I’ll try to fix it, but I don’t want to buy it.

BigDen wrote:
Depending on the price, I would be very very interested 😃 So that means with your parts someone gets a full set to play th VB on a screen? Or are the Furrtek-parts also necessary?

Furrtek’s parts are absolutely required. Mine just make the VirtualTap installation a little bit easier.

In addition, you would need to make, buy, or modify an RGB cable to make use of the VirtualTap as per normal, though I may yet design a proper SCART connector board a la Tim Worthington.

BigDen wrote:
@ RetroDan: Is it very complicated to install these parts? Is it possible to buy these parts from you and you send them together with an installation guide/ manual?

*thoughtfully* In terms of difficulty, I would say that, without my parts, the VirtualTap install is probably a 5/10, with 1 being very simple and 10 being for highly advanced solder monkeys only. With my parts, I would say that drops to perhaps a 2.5/10.

I wouldn’t mind selling my boards and the parts, though I’m not sure enough people would want it to make it worth my while to have them made. Wouldn’t mind being proven wrong, though.

ubersailer wrote:
Can you explain this PCB further as to what it does. You say receive the rgb signal and attach to mini din 8 connector. I have a few rgb virtual taps and was having someone install a mini din 8 connector but what does the PCB do?

The PCB acts as a convenient breakout board for the important signals (Red, Green, Blue, Sync, Blanking, GND) so that an installer need not solder directly to the miniDIN8 pins themselves, but rather to conveniently-sized and -placed vias. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but it is very convenient.

I have designed a small PCB to use a miniDIN8 connector that will accept the needed signals for RGB output from the VirtualTap board. I’ve already used it on my own VB with complete success, and an waiting for a small order of them to be delivered soon for a fellow member who asked me to recap, fix, and modify good VB.

SpectreVR wrote:
Here’s pictures

Okay, what it appears you have there is one, possibly two data lines not transmitting. I’m less inclined to believe that this is related to a capacitor and more inclined to think that there is a short or broken connection on your LED cable. But you said you’ve swapped displays…hmm.

It occurs to me to wonder – do the lines seem to be limited to a specific ‘depth’? Or is it just generally over sprites?