It's for wood but plastic also becomes fine dust as it drills through it. It only costs about $2 and it the perfect tool for getting the VB open if you can't make a notched screw drive. What you can't see in the picture is a little well in the end that fits neatly over the VB screws. That means that if you are right over a screw it won't be shreaded. Not that it matters. There are 6 holes that need to be drilled out with this handy little device.
As you can
sort of see in this picture are the two deep holes with screws way at the
bottom. If you can't get at them with a notched screw driver just take the Rasp
and drill straight down the hole about 1/2". Check it often so you don't
accidently destroy anything that isn't supposed to be. You're done with the
screw well when it breaks away from the black part of the casing. Do that with
the other three screws in wells. The reason that works is because the screws are
down posts that are relatively thin. I used a 1/2" drill bit with mine but
the Rasp works A LOT better. After the four posts are broken away you have to
remove two other screws. One is located at the front of the system in front of
where the cartriges go. There's a large mount where the cartriges go with 6
screws in it. Remove those as well but after the rest of the system is open. The
screw you're looking for is at the bottom of the mount right in the front of the
system. There's a large semi-circle well around the back of the screw. Drill
that screw out with the Rasp. It's also on a post like the other 4 screws but is
a lot smaller. You may have tilt the drill to break it away. Just be careful.
The last screw is located between the red lenses in the front. Be VERY careful
with that one because if you go too far you'll hit the mirrors or destroy the
lenses which you need. Now the system should open a little. There's still wires
holding the two sections together.
To get the system open the rest of the way you have to remove the small sections that the speakers are connected to on both sides of the system. After letting those hang loose you will see a small circuit board connected to a black box with a single screw and a wire just connected to some metal. Just pull the end of the wire with the metal clip off gently. Then unscrew the screw with a small philips screw driver. That circuit board is the LCD display. Just let it hang but be very careful with it. Do the same thing with the other LCD display. You should now be able to open the system like a book. Use extreme caution for the rest of the steps.
First off break the tall posts. There are 4 that you broke away from the black part of the casing. Break them right at the bottom and the screws will come with them. You really want that to happen. If you haven't already take out the red lenses and put them where they won't get scratched. Now that the screws are gone you can almost take the screen sections out. First remove all of the metal clips scattered around the metal plate the screens are connected to. I guessing those wires are there to prevent static buildup from the moving mirrors to destroy the delicate circuits. You won't need them because static isn't a problem when the screens are 3-6 feet from the system. Now the metal plate along with the screens should come out. It's still connected to the black bottom by some wires. DON'T CUT THEM! You don't need the red part of the casing except to hold parts you are about to remove.
When you look at the top of the metal plate you will see adjustment nobs. Turn the circle one and the screens move away or towards each other. You will see that the screens just miss being able to slip off. To slip them off you first must remove the metal clips coving things. If you look at the bottom of them you will see a small tab holding it on. It slanted. Take a small screwdriver and push it gently until the clip pops out. They fly so be careful. Remove all of them the same way. Now you will see that the adjustments can be taken apart. Do it. All my pieces are in a small box and I didn't take pictures of me while doing this project. There is one knob that moves back and forth. Remove that by removing the plastic tab covering it the same way you remove the metal tabs but with a little more force. The rest should easily come off. The circle will come off after you remove a little metal thing on the post above it. It's bronze or brass colored. To remove it, take a pliars and pull the back of it. It will take a little bit of effort to remove. After you get it off remove the rest of the circle adjustment thing. You should now be able to slide off the screens. Keep the metal plate and all the other parts in a box where you can find them again.
This part was very easy and so is the next part. Don't cut any wires or lose any pieces.
This is
what should be left of the VB after you take everything out. On the board where
the speakers connect to, there are little connectors that the speaker wires go
to. Pull the little black tab towards you and take the speaker off. Do that with
the other speaker. You don't need them anymore because you will be using stereo
headphones which will make the experience even cooler.
On the main
board where the displays connect to, there is a connector with 9 green wires and
a red wire going to it. Disconnect the wires from the main board or the other
board but not both. Make a mark where the red wire goes so you don't forget. It
won't work if you connect it wrong.
Here are
the parts needed to build the headband which will hold the HMD VB to your head.
2 Rubber bands
12 inch or so elastic strip
1x1x6 or so inch board
Rubber band
one end of the elastic strip to the board and then try it on to see how much
elastic to rubberband to the other side.
This just
shows how the screens will be situated on the head band. The tape on my wires is
because I had to resolder after the failed first attempt at this project.
With the
adjustment knobs down, remove the screw closest to the front of the mirror. Take
a 9v battery holder and screw it on with the screw. Do the same with the other
screen.
Now take
the headband and put connect it to the screens using the 9v holders. Make sure
the screens are far enough apart that the circuit boards on back don't overlap
but don't bother with any other adjustments. Make sure the straight side is
down. Any differences in height of the screens will result is a REALLY bad
picture.
Take two
rubberbands and wrap it around the screens as shown going UNDER the head band.
Those are the red ones in the picture. Take two more rubber bands and wrap them
around about three times going OVER the head band as shown.
Now take
two more rubber bands and wrap them around the tops of the 9v holders as shown.
This helps keep the screens on the head band and also keeps the screens properly
situated. Don't adjust anything yet. There's still one more part required to
keep the screens completely straight.
Here's the
final adjustment part. Take a 12x1/8x1/8 inch metal rod and feed it through the
rubber bands. It's kinda hard to see here but once you start working on it
you'll see what I did.
This part
is what the foam visor connects to. Take the visor off and put a rubber band
around the center as shown. Take a soft foam piece and slip it under the rubber
band as shown. If the foam pice is too thick cut triangles off with scissors
like I did.
In this
picture, the red lenses aren’t in yet. It's harder to put them in later so you
may want to try gluing the lenes in before doing this step. Don't get glue on
the lens part you look through. For this part just slip the plastic part from
the previous step under the red rubber bands. You can also see better where the
metal rod is supposed to go.
Slip
another piece of soft foam under the rubber bands like shown. Put the foam visor
on. If you havn't already, put the red lenses in. You should actually do that
before putting the foam from this step on.
Back to
the main board. Un like what is shown in the picture, only put ONE rubber band
around the thick foam piece in the center. This step allows the displays to be
limp to avoid having them rip.
Now flip
the main board over and reconnect it to the second board.
Take
another rubber band and rubber band the main board underneath the visor as
shown. The side thing with the two screws has a side with a notch that the
display wire goes out. That need to be on the bottom. The screws are not typical
screws but are big enough that a needle nose pliars can be used to unscrew them.
Take the
displays and screw them on.
This is what should be on the
bottom. The game cartriges go into the large black thing at the top lable down.
Before playing this please read the warnings! They are important.
If you would like to redistribute these directions please contact me at kalvinb602@hotmail.com
If you complete this project, please send me comments and questions so I can compile a full and complete FAQ and Warning.
Answer: Absolutly! Just be careful of the display wires. They arn't exactly durable. Just build it and get it to work and then never take it apart unless absolutly nesseccary. Since I've been handling mine alot to get pictures of the steps, the display wires have come loose on one of them. I now have thin red lines going accross the screen. The other one did the same thing but I used 1/4 inch thick electrical tape strips to hold it tight. You may want to do the same BEFORE they come loose.
Question: Are there any warnings we should know about?
Answer: It's on your face and it rests on your nose. Don't get to carried away.
Question: How much does it weigh?
Answer: 1.5 to 2 pounds. The original system weighs about 3.
Question: What are the best games to play this way?
Answer: Red Alarm,Teleroboxerand Golf. Vertical Force and Jack Bros. are okay but you really need a first person perspective.
Question: Will any more extras be made for this system?
Answer: Yes. Hopefully "Red Mug" will get well underway soon and also David Tucker at the "Unnoffical Virtual Boy Page" is working on programming the system.
Question: When's the best time to play the syetem?
Answer: Anytime! But, anytime it's dark is better.
Comment: I think this could ruin the VB if you don't do it right. Plus it looks weird.
Reply: First, the "weird" part. Yes, it looks wierd. You can't really judge the weird factor though. You have to decide if you want cool or comfortable. I don't think hunching over to play the VB is all that cool either. You have to decide.
About the possible ruining of the Virtual Boy. It's entirly possible. It's also possible to destroy anything complex you open. The VB is not as complex as it seems. Once again, you have to decide. From what I've done, you can't destroy the system. The only fragile parts are the wires going to the displays. To fix that just take electrical tape and carefully wrap it around tightly. Start right under the LCD display on the board and work down to the white flap. Another precaution is to take the lose black wires with clips that are on the controller connector board and the headphone connector board and connect them to the metal plate on the back of the board with the wires that go to the mirrors sections. A good way to judge if you can do this project is by how good you are with Legos. Seriously. If you can build complex Lego things without directions pretty easily then this won't be much of a challenge. If not, use a lot of caution and go slowly.
comment: I would do it because i like seeing the insides of things (hehe) and i can't stand leaning over the VB soo much i left it but when i saw your little FAQ or instruction book i decided o do it and with no problems at all within 1 hour i was playing tennis in VR World
comment: Rubber bands and wood? Rotary Rasp? Why not just buy the tool to open it? Also try a spell checker there are only about 30 words misspelled on your page.
my reply: Yes, there are many misspellings on my pages. That's why there are lots of pictures. Spelling is not my best subject. And another thing...What tool?
If you have any comments on questions and comments made by other people or if you have comments about my answers and replies, send them to me. I'd be happy to answer any and all questions you have.