Maker Esteban Fuentealba is colliding two worlds of moveable electronics with the launch of the MALVEKE, which connects cartridges designed for the basic 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. “At the moment, it is a useful prototype the place I am growing numerous apps for the board, and you may as well create and contribute to them, as pull requests and new concepts are welcome.”
The Flipper Zero, not too long ago the topic of a Tech Spotlight video, is designed to mix a pocket-friendly Tamagotchi-style digital pet with a variety of instruments for experimenting with sub-gighertz, Bluetooth, Radio-Frequency ID (RFID), and Close to-Subject Communication (NFC) radios, infrared alerts, iButton tags, and a variety of different units 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 models 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 helps you to join a Recreation Boy, Recreation Boy Colour, or Recreation Boy Advance cartridge, unlocking some attention-grabbing 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 may learn cartridge info from Recreation Boy, Recreation Boy Colour, and Recreation Boy Advance cartridges, and dump saved video games in RAM from Recreation Boy and Recreation Boy Colour 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 digital camera instantly, taking snapshots that are saved onto the Flipper Zero and might be transmitted to a desktop or laptop computer over Wi-Fi. Should you 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-compulsory radio modules and a GPS receiver.
The system may 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, however it’s definitely not alone: Erwin Ried not too long ago launched the FlippernHeimer so as to add radiation monitoring to the digital multi-tool, whereas SCE’s TinyGPS affords the flexibility to go “subdriving” — like Wi-Fi wardriving, however for sub-gigahertz radio alerts.
Fuentealba is growing the mission on GitHub beneath the permissive MIT license, with contributions welcome; prototype boards can be found on his Tindie retailer beginning at $65 for the essential equipment model.
