So, I'm a huge fan of the Virtual Boy, and I'm quite fond of Furrtek's VirtualTap.  However, a user on PlanetVB.com contacted me and asked if I could consolize his VirtualBoy.

Well, I'm up for a challenge!  With a set of calipers in hand and a copy of Autodesk Fusion 360, I set out to engage in what I like to call full-frontal nerdity.  

Below is the render of the (still incomplete) Virtual Bro, a dual-output (RGB and VGA) consolized Virtual Boy that, when finished, will measure approximately 6.9 x 4 x 3.  

The goals for this project are pretty straightforward:

  -  Console needs to be as compact as possible
  -  Console needs to be able to be taken apart without difficulty while still maintaining excellent connections
  -  Console must have line-level audio
  -  Console must work with all first-party Virtual Boy accessories.
  -  No fundamental/irreversible changes to the hardware (no removing circuit board components)

I've designed a few custom circuit boards to help with these goals, including a new I/O board withe RGB, VGA, and stereo audio out, as well as a plug'n'play servo emulator board that will eliminate the need for the mirror assembly (by far the bulkiest and heaviest part of the Virtual Boy).

Once the design is completed, I'm going to 3D print it, though I eventually would like a proper plastic injection mold made of it at some point.

 

That's pretty fuckin' rad.

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing more.

Definitely interested in seeing the progress.

That's super impressive! It will be cool to see how this progresses!

also interested in progress

Making it work so it outputted to a 3D TV correctly so you could use 3D glasses would be sweet.

That is too cool! I'll be looking forward to updates on this.

Most of my day to day updates are detailed in the PlanetVB.com Discord server, as at this point I'm really just designing some circuit boards and figuring out the line level audio. Most of the design work is done already, and what isn't is just some tweaks for when the circuit boards are finalized. All the exciting work is pretty much in the past...though I suppose there might still be some surprises. I've 'finished' a design, had a thought while at work, then scrapped the finished design and redesigned it.

Very cool project. Good luck!