00:00Hello and welcome with the release of our brand new updated Virtual Boy tripod adapters.
00:09I kind of want to take this as an opportunity to go back to my original prototype, both the original
00:18Virtual Boy tripod adapter that I made many years ago,
00:22as well as my original V2 Virtual Boy tripod adapter to see just how well they held up after all
00:31these years.
00:33This I think is going to be the more interesting one since this has been together since the original photos
00:39and whatnot that I've taken of it.
00:41And I do kind of want to see how it compares with my updated revision, but first I want to
00:46go over with the original V1 tripod.
00:51One of the bigger differences that you'll see from my prototype versus the actual one is the fact that the
00:58actual one has the Virtual Studios logo on the bottom, and this does not.
01:04The other one you're going to notice is that it still has the Virtual Boy mounting holes.
01:09I find these to be quite useful on an actual Virtual Boy since it helps hold it in place while
01:15you're taking it on and off the stand.
01:17But at the same time, once it's clamped down, it doesn't really make much of a difference, so removing these
01:22was not an issue if it means that we can just make everything compatible with the new system and the
01:30original.
01:30Now, taking it apart, you can see that there's a fair bit of play in here now that it's been
01:36used for quite some time and under tension.
01:40But overall, while it is a little loose and a little stretched, it still holds up very, very well.
01:49I'm actually quite pleased with this. I'm afraid to take this apart because this part right here is a wear
01:54component, and I'd rather not completely wear it down if I don't have to.
02:00As for the rest of the unit, I just need to get the appropriate drill screw bit for this.
02:13Unfortunately, the screw on the back is extremely warm.
02:17Either the screw or the screw hole, can't tell which one specifically, it looks like the internal hole here, is
02:24worn down considerably.
02:26It's still holding it in place, and it ain't going to come out, but it's not as smooth or it's
02:33not as held down as I want it to be.
02:35If I wanted to extend the life, I'd either replace the screw outright with a metal one or with a
02:42longer screw, and I feel I probably should do that.
02:45But in this case, it still holds up very well.
02:50I'm going to take the bottom apart now.
02:58These screws held up a little bit better.
03:00I wonder if that's just because of the print orientation of the bottom component.
03:04And of course, the metal washer has held up very nicely.
03:08But compared to a modern unit, this one is really similar.
03:13I hadn't had much time between the release of the V2 and the switch for there to be much in
03:19terms of alterations.
03:21But it's held up quite well, even with the bit of a print defect that we had on the bottom.
03:26This was present in the photos that I took of it.
03:29I just hit it as well as I could because one of the biggest changes we made with the V2
03:34unit is simply the fact that the V2 is partially assembled.
03:40More so than the original Virtual Boy because it needs to be partially assembled or else it doesn't hold very
03:47well.
03:48But this is the bit I'm talking about.
03:49Like I'm trying to tie in it and then just let's go.
03:52A bit of a fault with the screws.
03:54But considering that you shouldn't really be disassembling this thing for any reason after it's put together, I'm okay with
04:01that.
04:02And if you need to, you can easily replace this with a 1032 screw and it functions perfectly.
04:07In fact, it holds better than the plastic one.
04:09But it will wear the part out, which is why I don't like to use metal screws when we have
04:15the 3D printed component.
04:19Next, we have a look back at the original tripod adapter.
04:30Unlike the V2, we were still using PLA as our main plastic and we are paying dearly for it.
04:38You can see cracks forming at around our thin joints where pressure was put on.
04:43This component was used extensively for testing and on and off and on and off.
04:50And it holds well, pretty well, relatively speaking.
04:54But the color has 100% faded over the years.
04:58Though we will be able to see if that's due to sunlight when we actually take it apart.
05:02But for the thicker components, I have a rule of thumb.
05:052mm thinness is required on most places.
05:09And this is kind of the reason why.
05:11Because if you look on the sides, they are still holding up quite well.
05:16I think this is just a little too thin on the up and down.
05:20The reason this is a little bolder in color is it was printed yesterday and it's also made out of
05:26PETG.
05:26The other thing I'm going to note is that if you look at the design properly, you'll see that it's
05:31a little more curved.
05:32This is also because this here is not a 1x1 replica.
05:37Well, I did my best to make this as close as I can.
05:41This model here was originally designed in Fusion 360, whereas this is made in FreeCAD.
05:47I took the designs and dimensions and ported it over as much as I could.
05:51The problem with that design choice was that the Virtual Boy proper is, well, a little different.
05:58You can tell from the back because the B cut into the back part when I placed down the text.
06:05Whereas this, the text was able to put on the actual component itself.
06:11Taking this down though, one of the first things you're going to notice with the age of this thing is
06:17the elastic is functioning, but well worn.
06:24This is why we always shift to two of them.
06:27Because even, you know, decades in a bag, an un-tensioned Virtual Boy, sorry, an un-tensioned elastic is still
06:33going to hold up well.
06:34And this still functions if you give it a bit of, you know, play, let it relax, let it recover.
06:40I'm pretty sure if you apply a bit of heat to this, it'll probably also bounce right back.
06:44But you can see inside the groove, there's a bit of cracking on the elastic.
06:48So a replacement is probably in order if I actually wanted to use this.
06:52This is one of the bigger reasons why when we move to the V2 unit, it's no elastic and it's
06:58all mechanical for how it functions.
07:05Alright, let's go take apart the biggest problem child.
07:10Alrighty.
07:15And with that out, you can see another issue that I have.
07:20You over torque it, this part comes out.
07:22I think when I designed it in the V2, I reinforced that a little more, but yeah.
07:33A lot of design, a lot of bad design choices were made when I was making this guy.
07:38So, I'm surprised that this unit specifically has held it together so well.
07:45This part has held well.
07:47You can see that probably, you know what, my guess is the reason this went up is because this alt
07:52put pressure there.
07:54Oh, that's hysterical.
07:56Alright, so take the bottom apart.
08:05The one benefit for the screws is that these, actually, no, the reason why the cavities is so deep is
08:11because I had a different screw type at some point.
08:14And it had a, I think, it's not a pan head, it's a bulb, I forget the type of head
08:19type, but it wasn't flat.
08:20So the extra depth was needed to go and hide that.
08:25Actually, you can see how, unlike this part where it bowed out because of the screw, this did not.
08:34So I added a little more margin on other components.
08:37And on the bottom, this held up extremely well.
08:43The elastic, as you can see, it's kind of recovering in parts, but the elastic is holding up as well
08:49as it needs.
08:49The only parts I actually need is this part right here and this curve right here.
08:53The rest is just aesthetic or just a place to put the extra excess.
08:58Otherwise, this has held up remarkably well for a 3D printed component.
09:03Oh, yeah.
09:05Oh, shoot.
09:06You can kind of see it, too.
09:07This part right here also starting to bow out.
09:09You can see the stress cracks forming about here.
09:12And it's just being pulled out.
09:15And I think it's because I'm over-tightening it.
09:18Another benefit of using plastic screws.
09:20The screw will destroy itself rather than the unit, and the screws are pennies.
09:24And I will be more than happy to ship replacements if you can show me that they were destroyed
09:29because I can put it in an envelope with a piece of paper and call it a letter.
09:33Thank you, US Postal System.
09:35So let's put this back together.
09:40Oh, come on.
09:42I know you're old and you haven't been used, but you're not that old.
09:55And be cautious not to over-tighten, though I think at this point it's already too late.
10:02And when we're back, we are down.
10:10Here we go.
10:11So that is the original, original Virtual Boy.
10:15I want to retire this guy.
10:17He's going to be kept on my shelf as a decoration.
10:19I think if I want to keep an original one laying around, it's going to be one of these guys.
10:25But honestly, I love the V2 designs just so much better than the V1s.
10:30Just because this is what I wanted the tripod to be in the first place.
10:35It's just a mechanical pull.
10:37I didn't want the elastic.
10:38That was kind of a workaround.
10:41I love the intricacies of the unit when you actually look at the details.
10:44And I do kind of miss these.
10:46But at the same time, I love the V2s.
10:48I'm probably going to use these guys.
10:50As for these guys, they exist.
10:54Anyways, thank you so much for watching.
10:57I hope you enjoyed this video.
10:59And if you want to buy one of these yourself, you can either make it.
11:02I do have the files available on my printables and Thingiverse profile.
11:07Or you can buy it directly from us at 16bitstore.com.
11:11Take care.
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