How to use the wiimote as a computer mouse using candles as a sensor!!

This guide will show you how to link up your Wii Remote (Wiimote) to your pc and use it as a mouse!

Step 1: What you will need

This is fairly simple to complete and you will only need the following:

-Wiimote
-Bluetooth adapter
-Candles (or sensor bar if you want it to be more accurate, there are several guides on Instructables)
-Suitable Bluetooth drivers (to my knowledge Bluesoleil may not work)
-Winremote (found free from http://onakasuita.org/wii/ )

If you do have the Bluesoleil drivers, you may want to look into WIDCOMM drivers (I use these) from here: http://www.devilived.com/2006/05/02/widcomm_bluetooth_stack_v5012500.html

After you have these, progress to step 2

Comments

[pietzeekoe]

Does Winnremote support the plus thing and will that make it more accurate?

[zcbaker]

I have tried everything I could think of but I still can't get it to work. :(

[boonjin]

If you need help, you can contact us via our contact form at http://www.smoothboard.net/contact or email us directly at [e-mail].

Regards,
Boon Jin
http://www.smoothboard.net

[lp_man]

I've added to the title that you use the candles as a sensor. It works supposedly, because candles emmit infared light as well as the other visible spectrum of light and its easy just to light a couple up and away you go! I'm considering making a USB powered one so you can use the Wiimote with USB but at the moment I don't have a use for the Wiimote on the computer appart from impressing visitors ;)

[A.C.E.]

i want to hook my laptop up to a bigscreen tv and use it with algodoo.. with either this method or using an ir pen and just setting algodoo to touchscreen.  It seems like it would be way more intuitive that way.

[A.C.E.]

hey can you set buttons on the remote to use as buttons on the mouse or keyboard? A and B for left and right click and then the digipad and 1 and 2 for the tools? (keys A and K and Z ect)

[boonjin]

You can use Smoothboard's Presenter mode to set the Wiimote's buttons and IR sensor to control the mouse and keyboard.

Regards,
Boon Jin
http://www.smoothboard.net

[Fenwick]

I like to play emulator games with my wiimote, but I use glovePIE instead of winremote.

[lp_man]

Quite true! You can use glovePIE (http://carl.kenner.googlepages.com/glovepie_download) but I haven't found out how to use it just yet!

[Fenwick]

There's some great documentation on it right here.

The biggest difference is that Winremote can take care of your basic button=key stuff and has a mouse driver built right in. It has a better GUI and you can calibrate your wiimote when you use it.

I recommend starting off with Wiinremote and then eventually moving on to Glovepie.

GlovePIE is better if you wanna do more advanced stuff, like use the accelerometers for anything like steering a car, or using the status LEDs. Its GUI is pretty much a "run" button and a text field. You have to write a script to use it, but they can be so simple. They are mostly if, then, else statements and equals signs.

[AlternateLives]

I heard of another software called GlovePIE through PCGamer. Will this work?

[abun1991]

glovePIE will work, you can make scripts to play games with the wiimote with it.

[lp_man]

Just to let everyone know, I'm planning on making a usb-powered sensor bar, may be a while until I get the LEDs however.

[Samlakes]

 Couldn't you use an normal Wii sensor bar? Just cut the end off, strip the wires of which I think there are only two. Then you could just attach the wires to the right place on a usb plug.

[hazzadobo]

I got 2 IR leds from an old remote i found lying around at the tip or throwout... saved me millions... well u get it...

[tanmanknex]

I got the LED from an old VHS remote, i bet if you had a few you could just take the leds off.

[Mocabai]

You could also buy a sensor bar and cut off the power cords tip and attach on a usb cable. (It worked well with my psp charger ^_) you would still need to adjust the amps and voltage depending on the leds.

[Fenwick]

I know that Radio Shack sells IR LEDs, if that helps at all. I almost made a USB-powered sensor bar, but I couldn't find an extra USB cable anywhere, so I just went with AAs.

[lp_man]

Unfortunately there are no radio shacks around here (in the UK) but also I've had to abandon the project - my cars service cost nearly £1k so I had to sell my wii to pay for it :(

[collard41]

Rapid, Farnell, RS, Maplin and CPC are the main electronic distributors in england (better than Radioshack and Digikey actually). i am also from the UK.

[aiden120000]

go to maplin

[cormac3050]

ur from ireland aren't u? thats the only place i've ever seen a maplin electronics store.

[maxgamble2]

 There's one in norwich, eastbourne and brighton...

[collard41]

there are a few in london and one near where i live (milton keynes)

[ultimatesx9]

hey, do what i did, 1. get another sensor bar, so you dont void you wii's warrenty (got mine of ebay) 2. get a usb 1.1 plug (maplins) 3. research on usb power 4. solder the wires. only reason my didnt work is because i soldered my wires in the wrong place

[Samlakes]

 you could get one of the wireless wii sensor bars.

[maxgamble2]

 You can always get a wireless sensorbar from amazon (i got one for 11 quid) they use batteries

[freshprincem218]

 this does work cause in the wiimote is an infared cam which reacts to candles

[ongissim]

I've been looking for a while to do this! Also, if you use candles you could possibly be changing the channel on the television. I have put candles near the IR receiver on an old TV of mine, and it changes channels and volume.

[tanmanknex]

now THAT's funny!

[snarfle]

so this actually douse work?

[tanmanknex]

oh yeah, using it right now!!!

[jtet37]

my bluetooth driver wants a passkey that came with the device (wiimote) to be paired. i think im missing something simple...

[king of shaws]

The default bluetooth password is 1234

[tanmanknex]

also, on my mac, you can turn the password off.  i'm actually using the mouse right now!

[Data643]

I've tried to do this before. Still can't get it to work. The wiinremote program doesn't think that the wiimote is connected with the computer, but when I go to Bluetooth it says it is connected.

[ReCreate]

will the remote work the same way as in the wii? Or is it that it uses the arrow buttons on the remote to move the mouse?

[AlternateLives]

to my knowledge, it works the same way as the Wii.

[ReCreate]

Thanks, I tried it last year with a friend's Wiimote ;)

[jimmy dean]

Wouldn't an infrared LED or two be much smaller, safer, easier, cheaper, and better?