Maker Esteban Fuentealba is colliding two worlds of moveable electronics with the launch of the MALVEKE, which connects cartridges designed for the traditional Nintendo Recreation Boy console to the favored Flipper Zero digital multi-tool.
“As a hacking problem fanatic and a Recreation Boy console fanatic, in addition to a Flipper Zero fanatic, I made a decision to mix two of my favourite issues and create this product,” Fuentealba explains. “Presently, it is a practical prototype the place I am creating varied apps for the board, and it’s also possible to create and contribute to them, as pull requests and new concepts are welcome.”
The Flipper Zero, lately the topic of a Tech Spotlight video, is designed to mix a pocket-friendly Tamagotchi-style digital pet with a spread of instruments for experimenting with sub-gighertz, Bluetooth, Radio-Frequency ID (RFID), and Close to-Discipline Communication (NFC) radios, infrared alerts, iButton tags, and a spread of different gadgets by way of its general-purpose enter/output (GPIO) pins. The Recreation Boy, in contrast, was Nintendo’s smash-hit success within the moveable gaming market, launched in 1989 and promoting close to 120 million items worldwide.
Fuentealba’s creation takes benefit of the Flipper Zero’s GPIO headers to interface with an Espressif ESP32-S2 microcontroller — including Wi-Fi connectivity to the Flipper Zero’s loadout straight out of the field. Unusually, although, it additionally permits you to join a Recreation Boy, Recreation Boy Shade, or Recreation Boy Advance cartridge, unlocking some fascinating new admittedly-work-in-progress performance.
A MALVEKE-equipped Flipper Zero can speak to an actual Recreation Boy, buying and selling digital creatures like a professional. (📷: Esteban Fuentealba)
On the time of writing, the software program facet of the MALVEKE had matured to the purpose the place it might learn cartridge info from Recreation Boy, Recreation Boy Shade, and Recreation Boy Advance cartridges, and dump saved video games in RAM from Recreation Boy and Recreation Boy Shade video games. Work is underway so as to add the flexibility to dump the sport ROMs themselves, too, although this has but to be completed — however a Pokémon buying and selling app has been demonstrated, letting the Flipper Zero commerce any first-generation Pokémon to an actual Recreation Boy.
For homeowners of the long-lasting black-and-white Recreation Boy Digicam accent, there’s excellent news: the MALVEKE can use the digicam straight, taking snapshots that are saved onto the Flipper Zero and could be transmitted to a desktop or laptop computer over Wi-Fi. If you happen to even have a Recreation Boy, on-board Hyperlink Cable connectors let the Flipper Zero stand in for a Recreation Boy Printer. If that is not sufficient, there are additionally slots for non-obligatory radio modules and a GPS receiver.
The machine may also work with the Recreation Boy Digicam ,capturing snaps and transferring them over Wi-Fi. (📷: Esteban Fuentealba)
The MALVEKE is, maybe, probably the most uncommon Flipper Zero add-on we have seen of late, but it surely’s definitely not alone: Erwin Ried lately launched the FlippernHeimer so as to add radiation monitoring to the digital multi-tool, whereas SCE’s TinyGPS provides the flexibility to go “subdriving” — like Wi-Fi wardriving, however for sub-gigahertz radio alerts.
Fuentealba is creating the challenge on GitHub underneath the permissive MIT license, with contributions welcome; prototype boards can be found on his Tindie retailer beginning at $65 for the fundamental package model.
