Ben Heck's Virtual Boy Part 1: Teardown

[@GameplayandTalk]

It would be awesome if those custom clamps were produced, the ribbon cable issue is a common problem with the Virtual Boy. Anyway, great episode! I'm looking forward to Part 2.

[@nutz4gunz457]

I'm not ashamed to admit I love the Virtual Boy. I even have one of the store display kiosks.

[@Ur2ez4me81]

That kiosk was boss, I remember sticking my face into that display it was awesome. They have one on ebay for over $2,000

[@kavya1638]

don't be ashamed. it's a piece of history, it was fun to play and only 1.5% of anyone ever got a headache (seriously, you're weird if you got a headache from this thing. i just don't see that happening).

[@forgedby2112]

Waterworld had great music and Teleroboxer, Tetris and Warioland were must haves! Too bad this was rushed onto shelves to compete with the Saturn and the PS1. It had a unique charm to it. Even if it did make everything look weird as hell when you took your eyes out of the machine after 20 minutes of gameplay

[@Boscoand]

Kavya It hurts your eyes from long playing sessions but yeah, I never got a headache from it. And I too love it. Especially sense every game on it is an exclusive. Plus you can't emulate it so having the actual hardware for it means something. Plus the controller is overhated in my opinon. It works way better then it looks. Not perfect, but not as bad as everybody makes it out to be.

[@nukacola6639]

Kavya yeah my eyes do get sore though, loads faster than even ps vr

[@4468]

At 13:10 you say that blue LEDs didn't exist in 1995 which then sent me off on a Google adventure, fascinating how difficult it was to invent them and now they're so cheap I decorate my garden in strings of hundreds at Christmas :D

[@element14presents]

And so paved the way for LED cubes and flat screen monitors.

[@4468]

A massive change for the world and technology, yet all I think about is Christmas lights haha well 'tis almost the season. I've read about the inventors winning the Nobel Prize for physics in 2014 too, really is amazing the changes it brought about. Thanks for pointing it out so I could learn more!

[@element14presents]

Hopefully they weren't crossing the road at the time..

[@tookitogo]

I remember seeing articles in Popular Electronics in the late 1980s talking about blue LEDs. You could buy them, but they were $20 a pop.

[@MazeFrame]

Yellow LEDs were. Because the blues were to dim to actually indicate the hi-beams....

[@crowmigration8245]

Watch Ben Heck slowly go insane as he takes apart the virtual boy. Great stuff.

[@bcsuda]

Virtually everyone I've shared this video with agrees: This is one of the best Ben Heck Show episodes! I love this project! The tear down was super helpful and your non-destructive fix really made me happy. A lot of retro game fixes permanently alter original hardware. I've seen people strip and solder the ribbon cable. I'd like to see more things like this in the future to help preserve our video game history! Looking forward to the next part!

[@MrBeiragua]

I am falling in love with this channel more and more

[@nullwii]

can we get the drawing for the 3d printed clips? A lot of us have issues with the virtual boy and it would be great if those clips were available to print

[@MrPuntSpeedchunk]

Ben... I wanted to take a moment and thank you for these amazing videos. Not only are they informative and nostalgic, often connecting me to my nerdy youth... you are like the geek engineer Bob Ross with the calming vibe your videos can project at times.

[@RickThornquist]

At 23:02, Felix is in the background thinking, "Ugh, I can't get any work done with Ben going on and on about Diopter Man. I wonder if Dave Jones is hiring?"

[@GruntUltra]

Don't turn it on - take it apaaaaahhht!

[@radexx]

I liked this episode very much. Here are a couple of ideas I'd love to see in the second part: - Combine the vibrating mirrors from both optical assemblies with a laser to make a virtual boy projector - Replace the LED arrays by modern RGB strips and drive them with the microcontroller of your choice to create color images

[@WickedGamerCollector]

I really love your channel, And seeing how they made old and new hardware. Thanks for this and keep up the good work ! :D

[@andremoore810]

ben, youre amazing at what you do, please keep these types of videos coming! I love watching you tear stuff apart to improve things, and with all the retro consoles and addons you have infinite options. The retro gaming stuff is amazing keep up the amazing work

[@3DJapan]

I was actually working my very first real job when this came out, at the game store Babbages (later bought out by Game Stop). We got a unit in for the employees to test and we all hated it.

[@codymartin2005]

We need someone to make these clamps available for purchase. Would love to get the my VB going again!

[@Noodleude]

"When in doubt, jiggle the cable" -Ben Heck Words to live by.

[@daveb5041]

ben heck does have a sense of humor. The eye doctor joke made me laugh out loud for real.

[@alexkiksyomom]

Is there anyway we can get the file to print our own? It would be much appreciated.

[@jdsoldger2]

I am pleased to see one of these taken apart! I have always been afraid to take my apart since it still work. Which is surprising since I bought it new (when it was on sale) and it has been played, a lot, since. Still one of my favorite systems. I did have to CNC mill a new piece for the stand. The plastic part that holds the legs eventually breaks.

[@MrManBuzz]

I bet it's great to work with Ben, he's hilarious with his random quips and references.

[@peshozmiata]

This video is 50% about the Virtualboy, 50% about Dioptaclops

[@element14presents]

Do you know what it's like to have a Virtual Boy diopter setting that is .05% different than the national average!?

[@scottmckinstry1698]

lol

[@MirrorRiker]

I would pay for a couple of those foam clips

[@KWKBOX]

When are you going to consolize the R-Zone?

[@jupreindeer]

I had no idea that blue (LED's) didn't exist, back then. Interesting how time changes things. I do remember Nintendo publishing the fact that had they made this thing do color, it would have tripled the cost. ($180 X 3 = $540) Maybe inventing that color would have been why. (???) Yet, I just bought this tiny MP3 player with a tiny price tag that includes a raver light. It's one of those LED's that has multiple elements inside that produce all kinds of light frequencies. And I'm sure that the LED probably cost like next to nothing to produce. Oh, had these been around back then, I wonder if that $180 price tag could have dropped at all. Another thought hits me. If their image trick uses only one row of red LED's, now I am curious if the Virtual Boy could be rigged to work with one of those novelty 'free floating word' things to create a non-3D free floating game screen. After all, some of these games barely did much with the 3D to begin with. In fact, I think Ben even created one of those free floating LED grid displays in the past.

[@v2joecr]

Sorry but 1994 for the bright blue LEDs and 1989 for the non bright blue LEDs is before the virtual boy.

[@KuraIthys]

Uhm... 1989 and 1994 are before 1995 are they? This thing released the same year as the N64, meaning it was probably in development from about 1992-1995... Besides, there would be other ways to do this besides blue LED's... LCD displays technically already existed. Prototypes for systems can go through many revisions...

[@bikefriday]

Hey Ben, love this video series! Can you give more clarity on how to fix the display, you used a heat gun... for how long? How careful of the other pieces do you need to be? How much pressure and do how long do you need push down on the connection after you've heated it? Any other pro tips would be super appreciated, I'm about to do this to mine!

[@CandisClassicGameShrine]

Another option you could take to fix the displays is to solder the points on the ribbon cable. It's what majority of the VB collectors do. I had it done to both of my systems. The soldering definitely requires a lot of skill and a steady hand but finding someone in the community that does it isn't too hard. I can't wait to see what you do with it. I'm a huge fan of the Virtual Boy. My second one is a custom Virtual Girl. I wish I could get the Pink LEDs to make it complete.

[@Braeden123698745]

I really really wish someone would take Ben's ramblings and run with them. Make it into a full blown animated series

[@robhales5521]

Let's do it.

[@robhales5521]

Great Idea

[@nutz4gunz457]

The Virtual Boy isn't dead. There is a online community dedicated to keeping it alive and making home-brew games. They recently made a near perfect Street Fighter 2 clone called Hyper Fighting that looks and plays amazing. www.planetvb.com

[@EthanDoezYT]

That’s actually really dope.

[@AndikaThe2000]

So, what aboutmultiplayer with cable?

[@allluckyseven]

Y'know, when Karen first came to the show it was awkward, she didn't really seem to fit in very well... But now I just kind of adore her.

[@simonknoll6999]

allluckyseven But I sometimes get some Major Cringe Attacks because of her...

[@ky-gp4sz]

+Llonk “LlonkNomis” Nomis same, every time I'm reminded of her existence

[@JamesMichaelDoyle]

ben gives me just as many cringe moments. I don't want religiously, who is she? just someone he hired, or is that his wife or daughter or whatnot?

[@jephremackovic4804]

I fixed my ribbons by soldering, and it was a very sketchy process. You are the man Mr. Heck.

[@KGRAMR]

You should take apart both the Atari Jaguar and the Jaguar CD to see the guts of those systems :)

[@itsGeorgeAgain]

And perhaps even fix the cd because i chances are, it won't work.

[@GoldenGrenadier]

itsGeorgeAgain I second. I'm curious as to just what makes those things fail so regularly.

[@GoldenGrenadier]

xnamkcor X they're not as famous for mechanical failure as they are for the red screen of death. meaning that there's some error in its circuitry.

[@GoldenGrenadier]

I think jagfest just happened recently. The nostalgia nerd made a video about it not too long ago as well.

[@amberb9701]

The reason why I lot of them don't work is not because they failed, but because about half of the patch of 20,000 units didn't work from the factory.

[@allluckyseven]

0:25 "...Or take a portable and consolize it..." YES! But Ben has never done that. :( Unless you call the giant Game Boy a console... But don't. :P

[@jumhig]

allluckyseven a consolised PSP would be awesome.

[@allluckyseven]

James Higgs As would a consolized GBA.

[@asasial1977]

+James Higgs there is a cable to connect the PSP to a TV, I have one some where, it connects RGB I believe,i know it's not standard RCA or HDMI

[@stevenbenson9976]

a while ago a guy consolized a GameGear. it was awesome.

[@VinchVolt]

[clears throat] The Super Game Boy and the Game Boy Player.

[@FlameSoulis]

Jeez, watch the audio on your videos. You have softer, quieter audio, suddenly louder, then back to quieter. Then the Element14 midway commercial plays and is stupid loud.

[@timmityok8722]

Video editing apps have waveforms for audio in clips while you create your video project. Smaller waveform (shorter) = quieter, bigger (taller) = louder. So yes, you can "watch" sound.

[@KingBlonde]

Heaps of youtube channels have this problem, it's the single most annoying thing ever. Especially when you're dosing off to sleep and all the sudden 10dB LOUDER (over-exaggeration). A bit of compression never killed anybody, I have double compression going on (windows volume equaliser and compression in my receiver) just to combat this bullshit. Just have to remember to turn it off for music ;)

[@Turtle_1976]

Ben + vocal sound effects/music = Entertaining!

[@austinborton8693]

Please sell some of those clips! Every Virtual Boy has that problem (or will soon).

[@Jingleboy14]

I love the old console teardown vids, so oddly satisfying.

[@HowardAnthC]

Hey Ben, how about sharing those clamp plans for the led emitters? Currently the only two methods of repairing the ribbon connectors are painstakingly soldering each lead, or heating them up like you did and hoping they stay for a while.

[@rwthomas23]

As someone who's got an extra virtual boy head unit I'm super excited to see part 2!

[@qqq1701]

I don't think I had ever even heard of the Virtual Boy when I saw it on clearance in a store. I bought it right away. Played it 2 or 3 times. Finally sold it a year ago.

[@iCach0]

Your Mario impersonation cracks me up every time

[@ZeroTransformVR]

Greetings. VR Developer here and I love old VR tech as a look back to the origin of current VR. Anyways, I have a few Virtual Boys that have been placed in storage because I was tired of the display going out. I've repaired one but my fundamental fear of ribbon cables prevent me from keeping a Virtual Boy on display at the studio I run. Can I get the STL of the wonderful clip you made? I'd love to have my Virtual Boys singing again.

[@chargers014]

BEN, YOU ARE AN ALL-STAR! NEVER CHANGE!

[@spamaccount6460]

A Virtual Boy that fits comfortably on your head is going to be so cool to see.

[@Drhumbolt]

god this brings back memory's. especially the short sound clip. Killed your eyes too.

[@aithanmier]

Please add the ribbon clamp to thingverse, I need a set for my virtual boy!

[@wag317]

any plans of posting those clips. Would love a pair for my Virtual Boy.

[@PickleRick91x]

How the hell do you not got the Nintendo screw bit yet?!

[@samull4946]

"... or take a mobile and consolize it" lmao

[@dj505Gaming]

Samüll Look up BennVenn's DMG Entertainment System (DES). It's a Gameboy made into a full console.

[@voidofspaceandtime4684]

Isn't that almost what the gameboy viewer is for the gamecube?

[@dj505Gaming]

Void of Space and Time Yeah, but it's GBA only and can't play GB or GBC games, iirc.

[@PScoopYT]

I'm probably sure Game Boy Player can play GB and GBC games. Game Boy Player is basically a Game Boy Advance without a screen after all.

[@dj505Gaming]

P.Scoop True, but the way the original GBA and GBA SP played Gameboy games was it used a small switch inside the cartridge slot to detect whether or not a GB or GBC games was inserted, then switch to that bios and chipset as opposed to a GBA one. That's why the Gameboy Micro couldn't play GB/GBC games.

[@EsaKarjalainen]

That mirror thing is fascinating. Could you generate a full image from one LED by using two mirrors, oscillating at right angle with each other?

[@CheddarGetter]

Hey Ben! Love your content. I have a Virtual Boy. It works well and i have all games except Mario Clash, but I digress. So my issue is that the left eye works fine, but the right eye has the grid line glitchy look you would see on NES when the cart wasn't fully inserted. Do I need a whole new display/mirror assembly? Or can I possibly just make sure there's not a loose connection? Edit: Actually, farther into the video I think I have my answer!

[@karmatose]

Would love to get a couple of those clips to hold down the ribbon cable. I have two VBs and they're both having this issue.

[@xwillnotbetelevisedx]

Can't wait to see the second part of this!

[@SharifSourour]

Wow. This show is like a dream come true.

[@Thomsonicus]

11:50 in 20 years is going to be the pinnacle of 2010s'

[@DJignyte]

I wonder if it could be adapted to display colour by replacing the red LED's with RGB ones? Obviously the existing games wouldnt display in colour but you could maybe try to get something displayed on it?

[@markn1090]

Ben, can you please release the 3d printing file for that clamp? It is the most common problem with the Virtual Boy, and know many people would love to be able to fix theirs, including myself. It actually has a few good games I like to play from time to time!

[@MillerNj41]

I'm assuming there's no replacement parts for the virtual boy

[@goldenretrogames]

Do you ever sell the items you build? If so, I may be interested to buy the 'improved' Virtual Boy.

[@BawesomeBurf]

Still hard to believe that Nintendo didn't use a head strap for this.

[@RetroSwim]

The thing is actually quite heavy. You wouldn't want it on your head even if you could.

[@FloorManiac]

I own one. It wouldnt really make sense to strap it to your head. The console itself doesnt make sense. It wasnt built for long play sessions. However, it is still a very cool piece of tech, and the Wario game on there is awesome.

[@BawesomeBurf]

***** Still would be a better option than the stand that makes you feel like taking an eye exam.

[@petterfroling2411]

Please stop quoting AVGN...

[@BawesomeBurf]

Petter Fröling Well it's pretty much the most accurate way to describe the horrible design of this thing.

[@chantafreak]

I enjoyed the tear down, I enjoyed MORE your rants though! You should write that stuff down, who knows, may come in handy later on!

[@ghosthead2008]

Doesn't need to. Most of them a forever preserved in his videos.:)

[@DelphiTheDolphin]

Did you built that 3D-Printer yourself? Or did you go directly for an Ultimaker or similar go skip building- and calibration-stuff?

[@goldug]

Every time you pick something like this apart, my brain immediately start going "Oh no! He's destroying it and will never get it working again!" :P

[@iCach0]

Amazing! Can't wait for part 2!

[@SarahLJP]

I did buy mine back when they were trying to get rid of stock after it was discontinued.

[@ValensBellator]

I wonder how many times Ben has loosened or tightened a screw in his lifetime... Methinks it's probably a high number.

[@markray3263]

Any chance you can share the print files for those clamps?

[@neolithicau]

This is such a common fault now with these. I'd love a set of clips to sort mine out somewhat more permanently.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Hahaha, the Mario imitations and fake movie lines! I'm dying here! :D

[@Lavietto]

From 11:01 what song is that ! ? :) Matt

[@syragrippa8769]

Your stream of consciousness rambling is highly amusing. Everything else is pretty cool as well.

[@folver91]

I'll never comprehend the magic of image making. Led and mirrors and eletrons..

[@ShaneEngelman]

I have a screen out in my Virtual Boy. Thanks for the video, Ben!

[@groebiene8623]

Ben when are you doing a teardown for the Mighty Playstation 4 Pro?

[@JC-qu5lv]

Love tear down's like this!! TG16 teardown/comparison to 8 bit/16bit gens!

[@SuperJustinChannel]

The other night I was literally thinking of a proper consolized version of the Virtual Boy that had a LED screen with switchable viewpoints (either left or right) and colors (White, Blue, Red, Green, etc).

[@thegerm574]

I just bought one today at Long Island Retro game show but I need the stand. Can I buy it from you if you sill have it?

[@MadManDarkJedi]

Can't wait for Part-2,

[@NightFlyStudio]

I can't wait for the switch teardown. It's going to be interesting to say the least.

[@NightFlyStudio]

Josh Russell This is no ordinary tablet though. It's Nintendo, they're not standard. There's going to be some deviation and special hardware in the switch no doubt.

[@NightFlyStudio]

Josh Russell I know it's made by Nvidia but it was a collaboration. Nintendo didn't just say, hey Nvidia make a console for us, they worked together on this thing. If it was simply a Nvidia shield, it wouldn't have taken 2 years to develop. That's simply not how console development works.

[@thesral96]

The talk like they're reading off a sheet of paper :D

[@Veylon]

This thing is probably the last mechanically complex device Nintendo ever made. All the holdovers from the days of N&B Blocks and the Duck Hunt toy got one last hurrah.

[@afonline2004]

Are the emitters on a Virtual Boy similar to a DLP projector? Could the console be modified to actually project an image onto, say a wall or a dog's flanks?

[@playitnextgames2467]

Wow, Funcoland. I used to love getting the pamphlets in Gamepro magazine.

[@YancySmithTurboRexPerformance]

Is it really VR if the game play is a third person view? It looks more like a simple head mounted display. Does it even provide a stereoscopic view?

[@AnalogX64]

Whats the music track called 11:00 ?

[@alynicholls3230]

sometimes ben's a pillock but we still love him.

[@bushmann9272]

you can use a regular clothes iron to heat/solder down the ribbon connector

[@ElChasco_official]

is possible to change monochrome screens to colour screens?

[@RodyDavis]

2:20 to skip the intro

[@mr.creeper7802]

Like those "thank me later" jokes.

[@kushshah4554]

You're missing a huge opportunity to make a steam link portable HANDHELD with the steam controller it would be a great video and project

[@IanPageEchols]

My roommate at the time played it lying down with the Virtual Boy sitting on his face. More ergonomic than leaning against the table at least.

[@DaggaSoft]

Can you post the file you made for the clips? I'm having the same issue with my virtual boy and going to attempt a repair after watching this.

[@maker_karen1785]

They should be in here. github.com/thebenheckshow/264-266-tbhs-Virtual-Boy-Teardown-and-Build

[@DaggaSoft]

OH great thanks! Would you mind if I added it to thingiverse with attribution or could you? There is already a nice collection of 3d prints for the virtual boy on there such as fixes to the stand pieces that break. It would make a nice addition.

[@DaggaSoft]

the scale of the stl is way off, it imports at a fraction of a centimetre. I'll try to rescale manually but if you have the original dimensions it would be helpful

[@NFPC06]

Is this ribbon cable fix available for purchase?

[@SharifSourour]

It is a nice testament to Gunpei Yokoi's originality!

[@vectrexer]

Another awesome video Ben. Thanks!

[@jw5031]

Ever heard of volume equalization? That mid-video element14 clip was deafening.....

[@photog.prince]

Can you please do a Step by step Guide on how to fix the ribbon issue causing the left eye to not display Properly... Please.

[@SharifSourour]

I think eventually being able to switch between VR & AR would be pretty cool.

[@Criterion515]

18 yrs ago when I was pregnant (and not super mobile or flexible), I had a Virtual Boy. I would lay on the couch and put it over my eyes to play. The stand would prop against my chest/collarbone area and keep it steady. It was totally worth the $20 or so I paid for it.

[@nomisastro2000]

I have a Vive and think it is fantastic but what I want next is the true holodeck experience. Could it be a reality in the next 20/30 years?

[@fireaza]

The Virtual Boy cops a lot of flack, but it's actually a pretty impressive system. It was able to do real stereoscopic 3D (albeit with layered flat 2D objects) that actually looked pretty good save for the lack of colors other than red and black.

[@MAL-Collector]

2:42 MARIO TENNISSA. HAHA so funny.