Powering a Game Boy over USB
One of the cool things about the Game Boy is that it uses regular AA type batteries, which are ubiquitous. However, you might not always have (charged) AA batteries lying around. Nowadays you’re more likely to have a USB outlet somewhere around you.
Since the Game Boy operates over quite a wide range of voltages, it should be perfectly possible to power it using a USB cable, which is 5v.
The DC jack needed is of the fairly standard barrel type, measuring 3.5mm on the outside and 1.35mm on the inside. It’s quite easy to find USB to these barrel type cables on AliExpress. I decided to order a few of these.
It took about four weeks before they arrived. When I got them I quickly plugged one into a USB power bank and into a Game Boy only to see nothing happen… Aaargh. It could be a faulty cable, but the others gave the same result so it must be something else. The Game Boy expects the inside to be negative and the outside to be positive, but the cables are the other way around, it’s like putting the batteries in the wrong way!
I took one cable apart and rewired it so it would have the correct polarity. I plugged it in and it worked! It works from power banks, your computer, your iPhone charger, whatever you like.
See it in action!
If you find cables that have the correct polarity, let me know!