Virtual Boy Power Pak
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The Virtual Boy was released with a removable battery pack, and an optional DC Power adapter that used the SNES power supply to power the system.
Today both of these accessories are not super common and command high prices on the 2nd hand market. We designed a custom solution that can replace these missing parts with modern replacements. Especially as used working original AA battery packs can cost upwards of $80 on their own.
The Virtual Power Pak and Virtual Battery Pak utilize USB power for powering the console. The power can be supplied by any USB power adapter supplying 5v 500mA (1A for the Battery version) or more. No need to find a special USB-C Power Delivery PSU, pretty much any off the shelf USB brick will work with this adapter. If possible stick to a name brand of adapter as some of the less expensive units could add unwanted noise to the circuit and exceed the ripple smoothing in place.
The Battery Pak comes in two versions:
(Batteries Not Included)
The Small Battery Pack fits into the space behind the controller and does not exceed the outlines that are in place. Its still smaller than the original AA battery pod that was originally provided with the system.
This version requires 2x 18350 cells, these range in capacity from 700mAh to about 1400mAh. The Virtual Boy takes 2.5Wh to run, so in this pack a 700mAh set of batteries will run about 2h of playtime, while the 1400mAh set will run for around 4h on a full charge.
The following are confirmed working higher capacity 18350 cells
A set of 1400mAh cells will run about $25
A set of 1200mAh cells will run about $22
The large version of the battery pack is compatible with button top 18650 lithium ion cells(not included). These can range in capacity from about 1500mAh to 3800mAh. The pack requires 2 of these that are matched capacity. We recommend Nitecore, and Epoch branded cells. The Epoch 3500 cells typically cost about $10 each, and the Nitecore are around $20 each.
When choosing your battery look out for potentially fake capacity cells. If its claiming to be over 3800mAh its likely fake especially if its outrageous like 8000mAh, most of the time these are actually 1500mAh or less.
On 3500mAh cells you can get around 10h of gameplay on a full charge.
Tested and confirmed working 18650 cells: (you need 2 of these)
EPOCH 3500mAh cells 18650 battery store $9.99each
Nitecore NL1835HP