DIY - Wii Sensor Bar with rechargable batteries

monkeymagic · 24th December 2006, 11:42 AM

DIY - Wii Sensor Bar with rechargable batteries

For those of us with projectors, the included Wii Sensor Bar cable is too short.
Here is an untethered Sensor Bar I've made for about $20, which can be placed almost any distance from your Wii. It works from as far back as I could try it from, which was about 5 meters.
It is made from scratch, without cutting your current sensor bar cord.

I've used 4 Infrared LEDs from Dick Smith. They run off 1.2V, which is perfect for the 1.2V Energizer AAA Rechargables. (make sure you get the 1.2v ones and not the 1.5v ones.)

Bill of Materials
4 IR LEDs - $1 each from http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.st...uct/View/Z3235
Energizer 1.2V AAA Rechargables - $12 for 2 (only use 1 battery at a time)
Some wire
AAA battery housing $3
something 240mm wide to mount the LEDs to

Here is the original sensor bar LEDs. The leds show up in photos because the cameras don't usually have IR filters, or so I've heard.
Wii Included Sensor Bar - IR Leds

Here is the measurements for the LED spacing.
The bar is 240mm wide and then the LEDs start 7.5mm in from each side.
Sensor Bar Measurements

I've just used a strip of clear Acrylic, drilled holes for the LEDs legs, and connected the positive from one battery, to the positive leg of all the LEDs, and negative to the negative leg. Angle the outside LEDs out a bit, so you can control the cursor from off-center.

DIY Sensor Bar

DIY Sensor Bar - LEDs turned on

To confirm the LEDs are working, (you won't be able to see if they are on because we can't see IR), either use a Digital Camera, or go to the Wii Console Settings screen, and point your remote at it. Adjust the sensitivity as required. Mine works fine on the default sensitivity of 2.

This is just a prototype, I haven't decided how to make this less dodgy yet, and at the moment it's just g-clamped to a piece of wood on the floor in front of my projector screen. I am also going to put a switch and a power-status led in the loop.
I'll probably bend a piece of acrylic around at the front and then glue a piece to the back for the final product.
Even though the included sensor bar has 10 leds, I've only used 4 for mine, first as a test, but I'll probably leave it at 4 because this works just as well as the included one. And more LEDs might drain the battery much quicker.
When I only had one led hooked up, I noticed on the Wii Channel screen that the pointer didn't jump around when I twisted the wiimote. I am not sure how this would go in games though, they are probably expecting 2 seperate spots of IR light.

Unlike the wiimote batteries, which have been running without recharging since launch, this bar chews through the batteries in about 4 hours before it becomes unusable. So you may need a couple of sets of rechargables for extended playing sessions.

Disclaimer: I am no electronics expert. This is probably not the best-practice way of doing things, but this works for me and as far as I know, it won't catch fire, which is all I care about.

z3[n] · 24th December 2006, 12:04 PM

This is pretty awesome, I was just reading up on these DIY sensor bars people are making and even some using candles to do so.

Didn't expect to see a thread in OCAU about it

GOOD JOB!

D3LTR33 · 24th December 2006, 12:44 PM

The Wii sensor bar has 5 leds on either side, yet you've opted for only 2 on each side in your design? Doesn't this negatively affect the accuracy of the wiimote?

seadog · 24th December 2006, 12:51 PM

thats hackaday worthy.

summit it:P

D3LTR33 · 24th December 2006, 2:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seadog

thats hackaday worthy.

summit it:P

Not really. There's dozens more of these which are better designed. Check youtube.

Sevva · 24th December 2006, 3:10 PM

How did you hook it up to the Wii? Did I completely miss that part of your post or not?

stroggos2k · 24th December 2006, 3:12 PM

All the sensor bar's cable does is power the LED's it doesn't need to be connected.

dexster · 24th December 2006, 6:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stroggos2k

All the sensor bar's cable does is power the LED's it doesn't need to be connected.

sooo... one could attach the cut and attach the cord from the original senor bar to an AAA battery and that would be ok???

i must admit the sensor bar cable is annoying for some reason... there are heaps of cables around my tv and sound system but the sensor bar cable pisses me off

probably cause it is sooo thin

monkeymagic · 24th December 2006, 9:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D3LTR33

The Wii sensor bar has 5 leds on either side, yet you've opted for only 2 on each side in your design? Doesn't this negatively affect the accuracy of the wiimote?

It might do, but I haven't noticed any difference.
Oddly, with only 1 led running, it seemed to work better than the OG sensor bar, although that was only on the Main Screen, I didn't try it in-game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dexster

sooo... one could attach the cut and attach the cord from the original senor bar to an AAA battery and that would be ok???

I don't think so, I've seen other peoples instructions around the place, and to power the OG sensor bar via batteries, they say you need a 9V battery. The leds in their sensor bar might be more powerful, or maybe it's because they're using 10 leds.
Some people have also said the wires are hard to solder to. I didn't want to risk cutting my cord.

24th December 2006, 11:42 AM	#1
monkeymagic Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 149	DIY - Wii Sensor Bar with rechargable batteries DIY - Wii Sensor Bar with rechargable batteries For those of us with projectors, the included Wii Sensor Bar cable is too short. Here is an untethered Sensor Bar I've made for about $20, which can be placed almost any distance from your Wii. It works from as far back as I could try it from, which was about 5 meters. It is made from scratch, without cutting your current sensor bar cord. I've used 4 Infrared LEDs from Dick Smith. They run off 1.2V, which is perfect for the 1.2V Energizer AAA Rechargables. (make sure you get the 1.2v ones and not the 1.5v ones.) Bill of Materials 4 IR LEDs - $1 each from http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.st...uct/View/Z3235 Energizer 1.2V AAA Rechargables - $12 for 2 (only use 1 battery at a time) Some wire AAA battery housing $3 something 240mm wide to mount the LEDs to Here is the original sensor bar LEDs. The leds show up in photos because the cameras don't usually have IR filters, or so I've heard. Wii Included Sensor Bar - IR Leds Here is the measurements for the LED spacing. The bar is 240mm wide and then the LEDs start 7.5mm in from each side. Sensor Bar Measurements I've just used a strip of clear Acrylic, drilled holes for the LEDs legs, and connected the positive from one battery, to the positive leg of all the LEDs, and negative to the negative leg. Angle the outside LEDs out a bit, so you can control the cursor from off-center. DIY Sensor Bar DIY Sensor Bar - LEDs turned on To confirm the LEDs are working, (you won't be able to see if they are on because we can't see IR), either use a Digital Camera, or go to the Wii Console Settings screen, and point your remote at it. Adjust the sensitivity as required. Mine works fine on the default sensitivity of 2. This is just a prototype, I haven't decided how to make this less dodgy yet, and at the moment it's just g-clamped to a piece of wood on the floor in front of my projector screen. I am also going to put a switch and a power-status led in the loop. I'll probably bend a piece of acrylic around at the front and then glue a piece to the back for the final product. Even though the included sensor bar has 10 leds, I've only used 4 for mine, first as a test, but I'll probably leave it at 4 because this works just as well as the included one. And more LEDs might drain the battery much quicker. When I only had one led hooked up, I noticed on the Wii Channel screen that the pointer didn't jump around when I twisted the wiimote. I am not sure how this would go in games though, they are probably expecting 2 seperate spots of IR light. Unlike the wiimote batteries, which have been running without recharging since launch, this bar chews through the batteries in about 4 hours before it becomes unusable. So you may need a couple of sets of rechargables for extended playing sessions. Disclaimer: I am no electronics expert. This is probably not the best-practice way of doing things, but this works for me and as far as I know, it won't catch fire, which is all I care about. Last edited by monkeymagic; 24th December 2006 at 9:05 PM. Reason: Updated link for LED url.

24th December 2006, 12:04 PM	#2
z3[n] Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Melb Posts: 736	This is pretty awesome, I was just reading up on these DIY sensor bars people are making and even some using candles to do so. Didn't expect to see a thread in OCAU about it GOOD JOB! __________________ SimplyXen.com

24th December 2006, 12:44 PM	#3
D3LTR33 Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Penrith Posts: 752	The Wii sensor bar has 5 leds on either side, yet you've opted for only 2 on each side in your design? Doesn't this negatively affect the accuracy of the wiimote?

24th December 2006, 12:51 PM	#4
seadog (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Adelaide,Au Posts: 290	thats hackaday worthy. summit it:P

24th December 2006, 3:10 PM	#6
Sevva (Banned or Deleted) Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Adelaide Posts: 763	How did you hook it up to the Wii? Did I completely miss that part of your post or not?

24th December 2006, 3:12 PM	#7
stroggos2k Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Rozelle, Sydney NSW Posts: 6,308	All the sensor bar's cable does is power the LED's it doesn't need to be connected.