WiiLi.org

[Octovir]

I started this in the remote section, moving here for topicality..

It's been determined there is no signal recieved by the sensor bar. So I decided that i would have a go at building my own..


What I know now:

12.16 volts out from the wii to the sensor bar, the top or slanted side is negative

What i will try to find out:

if my two radishack LEDs will preform up to the standards of the 8 in the bar

how spacing of the two points of IR light affects the remote

if there is a certain pulse needed or if the remote works with the LEDs always on

how easy it is to make an adapter/find a plug for the wii sensor bar port

[Swampfox]

Awesome project. I will be watching this thread

[GizmoTheGreen]

sounds interesting!
post pics and videos when your done!

[Octovir]

Thanks guys!

Im mad at myself.. I forgot about USB..

There's no need to cut up the sensor bar's wire.. all you need is an extra usb plug.. which i just realized I had..

oh well, i think i will either make two or an adapter of sorts. Ive already reassembled my original sensor bar, but with an extra plug on it..

I also opened the sensor bar up.. they are two clusters of 5 LEDs.. It looks like each cluster(array?) has their LEDs in series, but the clusters in parallel..

Ill get some pictures when i get home..

[Sumo X]

To be honest, all of your tech talk is downright jibberish to me.

But I understand what you want to do (in general) and I really, REALLY hope you succeed! I would love nothing more than to play some FPS on the PC with the remote and nunchuk.

Please keep us updated with your progress.

[Octovir]

It works! I get about the same range directly back from the TV, but from side to side its a lot more limited, which is probably because im using only a single LED per side, as opposed to the Wii's five in a /|||\ pattern..

the distance between the two LEDs doesnt really effect anything, at least noticably. There is no pulse for the LEDs either, but making an adapter for the bar wasn't the best. It's not extremely difficult but requires a lot of precision to manipulate the tiny strands of wire so that they can be soldered and placed so that they don't create a short, plus cutting the wires cuts the string that runs along side the strands and could lead to weakness..

EDIT:
Pics:
Inside the sensor bar:





Adapter and assembly:





As far as using the Wii remote on a pc.. this is barely a baby step, its going to take something like a custom bluetooth driver, which i have no experience in writing but will research nonetheless..

What I used:

2x high output IR LEDs from radioshack
1x 270ohm resistor
about 10ft of 20? gauge stranded wire I found
some polarized Deans Plugs(just about any plug/connector will work)[/img]

[Octovir]

First of all Ive gotta point out.. I've been using the wrong foward curent value for my LEDs, by a difference of -180 mA

USB ports may only support 100 mA, which could limit the number of LEDs..

Anyway heres the basic idea of construction:

The parts I used, minus solder, soldering iron, and basic tools(strippers and needlenose pliers...):



pictured: Speaker wire(stranded 24gauge wire), Various sizes of Heatshrink, IC sockets I didnt use, A USB plug I ripped from a dead USB mouse, A 100ohm resistor(which, in light of new evidence , should be 18ohms), and my LED assembly (two IR LEDs soldered in parallel with a deans plug),
As well as a female plug here:




The first step after having found a USB plug and tinning its wires is to seperate the green and copper from the red and black/brown (blue in my case) and heat shrink them:



next solder the other two and mark your polarity if you are using unmarked wires like me..



Shrink


Then I added another two layers:


Cut and solder the resistor to the other end's positive lead:


Shrink it too, and prepare to solder:



Once soldered, connect and plug in:


Note: They seem a little dim because of the 100 ohm resistor I was using instead of the 18 ohm that should have been..

helpful link for resistor calculation as well as LEDs
RadioShack here has no more