Wiimote connector The wiimote connector is designed to:
Power a wii remote (aka. wiimote) externally using a USB bus
as power source.
Create a stable voltage source for the wiimote of 2.5V to 3.3V.
Over-volting (that is above 3.3V) may destroy the wiimote.
Be able to cycle the power to the wiimote, that is removing the
power, pausing (for some milliseconds), and reapply power.
This setup enables an automated and unattended connection to
the wiimote. The former need for a manual pressing of the “1-2”
wiimote keys are not needed anymore, since the wiimote is put
into automatic discoverable mode through a power-down, power-
up cycle.
It is necessary to keep the “1-2” keys pressed during the cycle. This
can be accomplished via simple duck tape, hence keeping the keys
pressed at all times.
Wiimote power module design
DC-DC designs The power module design primary consist of a voltage regulator.
This can be a 5V to 2.85V, 3.3V, or 5V with the final voltage regu-
lated by diodes, LEDs, or simple resistors.
The appendix list some designs with a 5-to-3.3/5V with a secondary
resistor voltage regulator to get the voltage below the critical 3.3V.
These revisions can be controlled directly from the USB bus.
Power consumption The wiimote draws the following currents
15-35 mA @ startup.
21.5 mA @ startup.
The DC-DC converters used in revision 1 and 2 uses
TME 0505S, 1W, 5-5V: 200 mA @ max.
TMR 0511, 2W, 5-5V: 400 mA @ max.
1
TEN 3-0510, 3W, 5-3.3V: 600 mA @ max.
with the National Semiconductor LM1117 having a current output
of 800 mA.
The problem with revision 1 and 2 are, that they need external
power reset via the USB bus. If this is not possible (see USB Power
Control in the appendix), an alternate design is to use some sort of
digital IO board.
2
Wiimote power module - revision 4 This is the current final design, based on a Delcom USB, and using
USB Delcom design
no DC-DC converters.
CY7C63001 U1
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R2
XIN P0.5 ERROR FB
11 XOUT P0.6 18 4 GND Vtap 6
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Wiimote USB powered interface
TITLE
FILE: REVISION: 20090308
PAGE 1 OF 1 DRAWN BY: B. Stultiens
USBmicro design A small versatile IO board is made by USBmicro, found in two pack-
age: the U401 USB and U421 USB interface, the greatest differ-
ence being the size only. (http://usbmicro.com/odn/index.html)
The device has the following properties
USB Interface to PC.
Uses HID Drivers Inherent in OS (runs on Win and Linux).
Sixteen IO Lines, configured as input or output.
Board Size: 3.5 inches (88.9mm) long and 1.0 inches (25.4mm)
wide.
Board Type: SimmStick(TM) Compatible, (but not intended
for SIMM socket).
USB Power Type: Bus powered, uses the 5V provided by the
USB interface.
Specified USB allowed current draw: 100mA standard, total.
Bandwidth: 800 bytes per second as a HID device.
USB Bus Speed: 1.5Mbits/s. (Low speed)
Device Interface: 16 CMOS lines, selectable as inputs/out-
puts.
Controller Device: Cypress CY7C63743.
(C-SXC 0801, A 02,605217).
The problem with revision 1 and 2 where that they may draw too
much current to be connected directly to the USBmicro device. Re-
vision 2 draws about 50 to 70 mA without any wiimotes connected.
Wiimote power module - revision 3 A design based on the USBmicro device.
A simple design with the wiimote directly powered by the USBmicro
board. The voltage is dropped via a LED and a transistor. The
transistor also drives the wiimote power, using a USBmicro output
CMOS port as base input to a transistor.
4
rev 3A
POWER to wiimote +
USB bus
USBm
U421
+
GND
to wiimote ground
-
A5 DIGITAL
OUT
rev 3B
POWER to wiimote +
USB bus
USBm
U421
+
GND
to wiimote ground
-
A5 DIGITAL
OUT
Hardware list for REV3
USBmicro U421.
Transistor, with voltage drop Udrop,trans. = 0.76 V (C5578 PH87 of
unknown origin).
REV3A: LED, red, with voltage drop Udrop,LED = 1.67 V.
REV3B: Dual normal or zener diode, with total voltage drop Udrop,two diodes =
1.64 V.
An important design issue is the exact voltage delivered to the wi-
imote. The mote has the following operation voltage range
Umax,wiimote = 3.3 V.
Umin,wiimote = 2.5 V.
preferable with the voltage pinned at Uwiimote 2.85 V (as can be done
with a DC-DC voltage regulator). The wiimote is able to connect
below 2.5 V, but drops the connection again when trying to acquire
any data from it!
This should be coupled with the voltage and current range from the
USB specification
UUSB = 5 V ± 0.25 V (that is 5 V ± 5%).
IUSB = 100 mA maximum in low-power mode, 500 mA in
high-power mode.
5
with UUSB,eee = 4.95 V and UUSB,Lenovo = 5.17 V for two particular
computers, that for design revision 3A and 3B gives Uwiimote = 2.54
V and 2.7-2.8 V respectively (eee=3A, Lenovo=3B).
Note on REV3B: it is unimportant that the diodes is of zener type,
what is important is the total voltage drop across them.
Note: starting the whiteboard software, makes the wiimote draw
extra power, and a “battery level” of 7% correspond to a voltage
drop over the wiimote of Umin,wiimote = 2.3 V, that is very close to the
absolute minimum, before the wiimote is powered down, and the
connection lost.
Note on a final design: the voltage to the wiimote is the single most
important design issue. It should be kept at the specified range,
preferable at 2.85 V, taking into account the 5% voltage range on
in the USB specification.
USBmicro U421 layout
Packaging The USBmicro board, LEDs and transistors should preferably be
fitted into the wiimote battery bay. This has the size of two AA-
batteries.
The package should have an external connector on the wiimote, so
it will be robust towards strains and pulls in the cable. The cable
should disconnect at a large force. The USB cable should be as
long as possible, but no more than 5 meters (the max. length in the
USB specification),
If is possible, the LED should be visible from the back of the wiimote
6
(drill a small hole in the battery cover), and later we may also need
room for a USB Bluetooth dongle inside the battery bay.
An alternative design is to place the electronics at the vicinity of the
USB connection at the computer, and just cabling the power to the
wiimote. This should enable cable lengths of more than 5 meters.
Appendix
Wiimote power module - revision 0 A preliminary LED, resistor, zener diode based system. Did work
but lacked power robustness.
Wiimote power module - revision 1 A 5-3.3V regulator design.
The 100µF and 10µH pre-stage is only a stabilizing system, a final
layout may disregard the inductor.
to USB +5 V pin (RED) to wiimote +
+ 5 to 3.3 V
DCDC
+
10 myH 60 Ohm
100 myF (optional) Ref 10 myF
- to USB GND pin (BLACK) to wiimote ground
-
Hardware list for REV2
DC-DC converter: 5-3.3V 3W, TEN3-0510 (ELFA: 69-580-03)
Capacitor: Mini ellyt. 100µF/16V (ELFA: 67-195-32)
Capacitor: Mini ellyt. 10µF/35V (ELFA: 67-195-38)
Inductor: Axiell drossel 10µH/2.8A (ELFA: 58-084-49)
LED: EL383-2SURC LED 5mm Rød (ELFA: 75-036-75)
Resistor: 60,4 Ohm 1% 0.6W (ELFA: 60-708-90)
ELFA deliverers the following suitable DC-DC converters
DC-DC converter: 5-5V 1W, TME0505S (ELFA: 69-560-07)
DC-DC converter: 5-5V 2W, TMR0511 (ELFA: 69-598-03)
DC-DC converter: 5-3.3V 3W, TEN3-0510 (ELFA: 69-580-03)
none of the perfectly suitable for the task. The 5-3.3 only comes
in the 3W, that is far to large for the system. An alternate DC-DC
controller is the “LM 1117DT 285” from National Semiconductor,
that is a 7V-to-2.85V regulator, perfectly suited for the wiimote.
7
Wiimote power module - revision 2 A 5-5V regulator design, with remote power control via the USBmi-
cro device.
Otherwise equal to the REV2, except for the variable voltage divisor
(that did not work). Remote control of power is done by the “Re-
mote ON/OFF” pin 3 on the DC-DC package. The 2W TMR0511 is
the only DC-DC that has this option.
to wiimote +
to USB +5 V pin (RED)
+ 5 to 5V
DCDC +
10 myH 60 Ohm X Ohm
100 myF (optional) Ref 10 myF
- to USB GND pin (BLACK) remote ON/OFF. to wiimote ground
-
common GND
USBm
USB bus U421
Hardware list for REV2 (resistors, LEDs, capacitors, and inductors
as REV1)
DC-DC converter: 5-5V 2W, TMR0511 (ELFA: 69-598-03)
USB spec The 4 pin USB A connector has a layout of (seen from the front)
|_________|
| |
| 1 2 3 4 |
\_________/
Pin Cable color Description
1 Red Vcc, 5V ± 0.25V
2 White D-, serial Data
3 Green D+, serial Data
4 Black Ground
The max current drawn from a USB controller is 500 mA. Shield
should only be connected to Ground at the host. No device should
connect Shield to Ground.
8
Wiimote Compatible Bluetooth Devices A compatibility list of bluetooth dongles, that works with the wi-
imote, is maintained at http://www.wiili.org/index.php/Compatible_ Blue-
tooth_Devices
USB Power Control The power-cycle can be controlled directly from the USB controller.
In the USB 2.0 specification the USB hub (connected directly to a
USB controller) has features to control the port power.
The USB power ability can be found via (on Linux)
$> sudo lsusb -v | grep -A 3 wHubCharacter
that for my particular hardware gives
wHubCharacteristic 0x000a
No power switching (usb 1.0)
Per-port overcurrent protection
TT think time 8 FS bits
--
wHubCharacteristic 0x000a
No power switching (usb 1.0)
Per-port overcurrent protection
TT think time 8 FS bits
--
wHubCharacteristic 0x0002
No power switching (usb 1.0)
Ganged overcurrent protection
bPwrOn2PwrGood 1 * 2 milli seconds
--
wHubCharacteristic 0x0004
Ganged power switching
Compound device
Ganged overcurrent protection
--
wHubCharacteristic 0x0002
No power switching (usb 1.0)
Ganged overcurrent protection
bPwrOn2PwrGood 1 * 2 milli seconds
Only one hub has power switching, all the other do not have power
switching. This particular USB system will not work since we are
looking for a Per-port power switching.
Currently tested USB controllers
Working:
9
Intel(R) ICH9 Family
Elecom U2J-G4S
Sanwa supply USB-HUB14GPH
Targus Inc. PAUH212
Hawking Technology UH214
Not working:
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family)
Dick Smith Electronics XH6777
10
