Main Restorations Software Audio/Jukebox/MP3 Everything Else Buy/Sell/Trade
Project Announcements Monitor/Video GroovyMAME Merit/JVL Touchscreen Meet Up Retail Vendors
Driving & Racing Woodworking Software Support Forums Consoles Project Arcade Reviews
Automated Projects Artwork Frontend Support Forums Pinball Forum Discussion Old Boards
Raspberry Pi & Dev Board controls.dat Linux Miscellaneous Arcade Wiki Discussion Old Archives
Lightguns Arcade1Up Try the site in https mode Site News

Unread posts | New Replies | Recent posts | Rules | Chatroom | Wiki | File Repository | RSS | Submit news

  

Author Topic: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...  (Read 14977 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
hey guys, it seems as though there has been alot of interest in light guns recently...i know i have been dying to play some good gun games recently. i have been trying to satisfy my urges using my PS2 and timecrisis 3 and vampire night. the guncon 2's work great, but i only have a 26" TV with composite video input, so it doesnt look that great.

all of my other consoles are connected to a DLP projector, and played on a 102" 16x9 screen.  this setup just doesnt work with traditional light guns, and according to EMS, the screen is too big for the LCD topguns as well.  so the other day i decided to give the wii another chance.  i already had house of the dead 2 and 3 for the wii..which is fun, however i was unable to calibrate the guns properly, because the wiimote couldn't see the sensor bar when i pointed at the top corners. (sensor bar was below the screen)   i couldn't put the sensor bar above the screen, because it added a little distance and would cause the wiimote to function in a non consistant manor.

my couch is about 10 feet from the screen...even at that distance, the wiimote doesnt always work well...and i cannot even play Far Cry, because it says i am too far away from the screen.  but i had a feeling that if i could move back a few more feet, i could accurately calibrate the guns, due to the increased field of vision of the WiiMote's ir camera.

i adjusted the sensitivity  in the wii menu, but it still wasnt working properly all the time at 10ft. when you are adjusting it, you see 2 little dots on the screen, which are the clusters of IR LEds that the sensor bar contains.  the problem is at that distance, they seem like they are really close together.  so it didn't look like a brightness issue, but rather a spacing issue... so, i found the replacement wii sensor bar that i purchased at circuit city right before they closed, for $6.  i intended to use it with my cabinet, but that never happened.   i opened it up, and there are two small circuit boards, one at each end that has 5 IR Leds on it.  they are connected by a 2 strand piece of wire.  by simply cutting this wire and splicing in a new piece of wire, i added about 6 to 8 inches to the distance between them.  then i simply placed it on top of the screen and secured it temporarily with electrical tape.  now i can easily stand 15 ft back from the screen and it never once seems to have a problem.  more importantly, at that distance, i can go into house of the dead, or ghost squad and calibrate the cursor accurately.  i was able to disable the on screen cross hairs and accuratly shoot the zombies/enemies with no problems at all.   

sure, 15 ft is a pretty big distance to stand away from the screen, but when it is over 100 inches, it really isnt bad at all.   i havent tried link's crossbow training yet, but since it doesnt allow for calibration, it will probably suck. 


for what it is worth, house of teh dead 2 and 3, and ghost squad are both a ton of fun on the wii once it is properly calibrated (using the nyko perfect shot pistol grip attachment).  if you have a smaller screen, it may not be an issue..but for anyone using a large tv or projector..getting those extra few feet out of your wiimote can make all the difference.   you can purchase replacement sensor bars for around $10 if you dont want to ruin your original, and as long as you can strip a few wires and use electrical tape, you will have no problem doing this mod...it is well worth the time.


i think i will eventually make some kind of enclosure for it, but for now i will just keep it taped to the top of the screen frame
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

werejag

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 161
  • Last login:July 06, 2018, 05:16:51 am
  • I want to build my own arcade controls!
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2009, 12:18:14 am »
how about a pvc pipe with endcaps

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2009, 12:20:20 am »
that was exactly what i was thinking..cheap, easy, and the right shape.  paint it black and it should blend right in....

i figured at first that the IR leds weren't bright enough...but just adding a few inches of space between them can effectively double the range of them.    they now work perfectly fine with my back to the opposite wall, which is 20 feet away.  i love things that are fast, cheap and easy.
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

danny_galaga

  • Grand high prophet of the holy noodle.
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8522
  • Last login:July 18, 2025, 01:09:20 am
  • because the mail never stops
    • dans cocktail lounge


ROUGHING UP THE SUSPECT SINCE 1981

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2009, 09:29:59 am »
OK, so i wasn't the first person to figure this out...i pretty much already assumed that...i just wanted to make sure everyone else knew that with screwdriver, a small piece of wire and some electrical tape, they could easily double the effective distance of the wiimote

that second link seems to make no sense....i used their little calculator at the bottom of the page, and it says at 102" screen, standing 15ft back (properly converted to centimeters) that i should make my sensor bar approx 6 inches long, which would put them even closer together.....that just makes no sense.

Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

danny_galaga

  • Grand high prophet of the holy noodle.
  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8522
  • Last login:July 18, 2025, 01:09:20 am
  • because the mail never stops
    • dans cocktail lounge
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2009, 10:49:56 pm »
OK, so i wasn't the first person to figure this out...i pretty much already assumed that...i just wanted to make sure everyone else knew that with screwdriver, a small piece of wire and some electrical tape, they could easily double the effective distance of the wiimote

that second link seems to make no sense....i used their little calculator at the bottom of the page, and it says at 102" screen, standing 15ft back (properly converted to centimeters) that i should make my sensor bar approx 6 inches long, which would put them even closer together.....that just makes no sense.



dunno  :dunno

im using a 51 cm telly so everything seems to be spot on without modding. just thought id post the link. seems like the best bet is to just experiment, like you have...


ROUGHING UP THE SUSPECT SINCE 1981

hypernova

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2753
  • Last login:November 25, 2016, 12:52:48 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2009, 04:10:55 pm »
Sweet.  Didn't know it was this easy to fix it.  Just bought an extra on on ebay for 5 bucks.  Will be spacing it out when it arrives.

Where I like to sit relative to my 36" is just outside the range of the sensor's cabability.  This should remedy that.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2009, 04:12:33 pm by hypernova »
I'll exercise patience when you stop exercising stupidity.
My zazzle page.  I've created T-shirts!

ChadTower

  • Chief Kicker - Nobody's perfect, including me. Fantastic body.
  • Trade Count: (+12)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 38212
  • Last login:June 22, 2025, 04:57:38 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2009, 11:49:46 am »

Hrm... I might have to look into this or something similar, if we're going to use the Wii outside.  Or maybe just keep the wii bar closer to the players than the screen is since we're outside anyway.

hypernova

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2753
  • Last login:November 25, 2016, 12:52:48 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2009, 10:35:08 pm »
5 bucks?  Surely your wife has some candles you can steal?  :D  Those last for hours without recharging!

True.  But they aren't exactly enduring.

That and the annoying flickering of light.  And the fire hazard.  Children and fire don't mix.

Well they do.  But things kinda get out of hand. ;)
I'll exercise patience when you stop exercising stupidity.
My zazzle page.  I've created T-shirts!

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2009, 02:00:51 pm »
plus candles suck in a projector environment...you generally dont want any extra light in the room.  I have a wired version of the sensor bar, which requires no recharging, so much more cost effective than candles, plus my 2 year old shouldn't be able to burn the house down with a wii sensor bar.


this setup should work great for outdoor wii usage
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

northerngames

  • Trade Count: (+18)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2927
  • Last login:April 09, 2016, 04:18:51 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #10 on: May 06, 2009, 02:24:55 pm »
somebody made a wireless one from a remote shell in this link

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.makezine.com/Wii_Sensor_Bar_Made_from_old_remote_control_6-1.JPG&imgrefurl=http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/08/wii_sensor_inside_an_old.html&usg=__pAfQnU-YkQ9TfFu-RKwa_G99R2Q=&h=450&w=600&sz=113&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=oMhWz4NsX-IriM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwii%2Bbar%2Binside%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF-8

I alway's wondered if you could use a stronger IR LED out of a quality TV remote or perhaps just buy one with a higher MCD rating then the stock one's off a electronics dealer and have better reaults that way by just changing the leds with stronger higher MCD rated one's.

they did not do that in the link but thought it was worth posting anyhow.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2009, 02:26:48 pm by northerngames »

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2009, 12:38:17 am »
it's been my experience that the brightness isn't an issue.  the standard LEDs in the madcatz sensor bar i hacked up are plenty bright enough, even at 20ft away...but naturally, since i am using a projector, the lights in the room are all turned off...i don't know how well they work with alot of light in the room, but from what i have seen, the real problem is the spacing between the LEDs that is the biggest problem.
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

butteroj

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 41
  • Last login:December 18, 2021, 06:12:24 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #12 on: May 15, 2009, 10:56:53 am »
Awesome!!!!

Moose13

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 135
  • Last login:December 16, 2020, 10:07:11 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2009, 09:25:31 am »
it's been my experience that the brightness isn't an issue.  the standard LEDs in the madcatz sensor bar i hacked up are plenty bright enough, even at 20ft away...but naturally, since i am using a projector, the lights in the room are all turned off...i don't know how well they work with alot of light in the room, but from what i have seen, the real problem is the spacing between the LEDs that is the biggest problem.

I was having a problem witha light directly above my TV. I was playing Boom Blox, and on the Jenga type boads I couldn't pull anything straight. Off went the light and all worked fine. I check the claibration with the light on and off. Brightlights greatly affected the controls.

ChadTower

  • Chief Kicker - Nobody's perfect, including me. Fantastic body.
  • Trade Count: (+12)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 38212
  • Last login:June 22, 2025, 04:57:38 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #14 on: May 18, 2009, 10:51:23 am »

Oh, lights definitely affect it.  I have a window right next to my TV that gets serious sunlight.  During the day if I don't pull the shades on that window the Wiimote is useless. 

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #15 on: May 18, 2009, 03:13:24 pm »
i don't have any lights near my screen..i only have one small lamp in this room, so even with the light on, the room is pretty dark.  you cannot have any bright light sources near your TV if you want your wiimote to work properly
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

hypernova

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2753
  • Last login:November 25, 2016, 12:52:48 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #16 on: May 19, 2009, 06:16:31 pm »
I was having the same problem with light one day, and for some reason, the light problem never hit me.  I know better...
I'll exercise patience when you stop exercising stupidity.
My zazzle page.  I've created T-shirts!

hypernova

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2753
  • Last login:November 25, 2016, 12:52:48 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #17 on: May 20, 2009, 06:42:56 pm »
Just did it to the one I just bought.  I like it.  Now I just need to fashion a housing that's sturdy.  I have some options. 
I'll exercise patience when you stop exercising stupidity.
My zazzle page.  I've created T-shirts!

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #18 on: May 21, 2009, 11:48:33 am »
i haven't made a housing for mine yet, i just taped the two small PCBs to the top of my screen frame and you cannot even see them unless you are right up at the screen.  i've thought about just cutting the ends off of the original housing and having them be two separate units tethered by a wire
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade

hypernova

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2753
  • Last login:November 25, 2016, 12:52:48 pm
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #19 on: May 30, 2009, 08:55:37 pm »
Unless you've got the means to hide the wire, it looks very crude.  Anyone got any suggestions?  I've got something in mind from work, but I want to see if anyone else has anything to suggest.
I'll exercise patience when you stop exercising stupidity.
My zazzle page.  I've created T-shirts!

severdhed

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2975
  • Last login:December 14, 2024, 05:01:52 pm
  • RIP Dinosaur Hippo
Re: easy 5 minute mod to increase the IR range of your wiimotes...
« Reply #20 on: June 03, 2009, 01:44:04 pm »
i had no problems hiding the wire on mine.  my projector screen just has a wooden frame wrapped in black felt.  i used two small pieces of tape to hold the PCBs to the top edge of the screen frame, and all of the wires are hanging behind the screen.  since the top edge of the screen is about 6.5 feet from the floor, nobody is looking at the top of it anyway.  from the couch, you cannot even tell there is anything up there.

if you have a normal tv..that may not work for you
Current Projects:      Zak-Man | TMNT Pedestal | SNES Pi | N64 Odroid
Former Projects:     4 Player Showcase | Donkey Kong | iCade