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Recap guide

Recap the Nintendo Virtual Boy

Virtual Boy failures are mostly the DC-DC converter or regulator, flex cables and cartridge contacts. We found no widely documented cap leaks.

Open the interactive checklist Tick off each capacitor as you replace it. It saves in your browser.

Check first. A recap is not always the answer here, so look at the guides before you order parts.

Where to start

We did not find a clear list of what fails first on this machine, so we are not guessing. Read the guides below, check the board for leaks, and replace what you can see.

Tips, tales and maybes

Found in write-ups and forum threads. These are other people's reports, not tested by us. Check part references and values against your own board.

  • Story: No sign of life (Low confidence). A virtual-boy.com forum reply said a Virtual Boy that shows no life most likely has a failing cap somewhere and should be recapped with a kit. It also lists a loose controller power connection, corroded battery contacts and a dead adapter as other causes. Source
  • Tip: Sound but no picture (Low confidence). The same forum reply says that if the audio plays and buttons work but there is no visual output, the LED ribbon cable may have come off its board because its adhesive aged, which is a resolder job and not a capacitor one. Source
  • Tip: No hum, no display: test the U8 converter (Medium confidence). The Virtual Boy repair page on virtual-boy.com blames a failed U8 DC-DC converter for a unit with no mirror hum, no display and no sound, and says to measure Vin and Vout (5V expected) before opening anything else. A reading near 8V on the 5V rail means the electronics may already be damaged, and output caps may be needed with a 7805 or LM1086 substitute. Source

Before you start

  • Boards changed during production. Check your board number against the guides before you order parts.
  • A mains power supply can hold a dangerous charge. If you are not trained to work on one, have a professional do it.

Guides we used

This page and the interactive bench are built from these. They have the photos and the full detail, so please read them and support their authors.

The capacitor list

We have not checked a capacitor list for this machine yet, so none is shown. Follow the guide above for your board, then add the capacitors in the interactive checklist and it builds a shopping list for you.

Skip the sourcing

While you are in there

Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These links only search by name. Disclosure

Steps, tools and safety

The steps, the tools in top, middle and budget picks, and the safety list are the same for every machine, so they live on one page: How to recap, step by step.

Values are shown as published in the guides above, and boards changed during production. Check the board in front of you. A recap involves hot tools and, on some machines, dangerous voltages. You do it at your own risk.

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