Hardware I bought an Ultra Sensor Bar at Target tonight, mostly bought for

[RemixDeluxe]

Dolphin Emulator as well as less cable to mess with for my Wii U and Wii, now its just HDMI and AC adapter to deal with.

Now for my question, this Sensor Bar is capable of being used wired and wirelessly. However the wired part attaches to the Bar to the game console and the whole reason for me wanting to get this was for it to not be dependent on the game console especially when I wanna play my Wii games on dolphin. The voltage on this I assume is 6 voltage since the battery part takes up 4 AA batteries which are 1.5 V each (4 x 1.5 = 6), so would it be possible to buy a cable of sorts that delivers 6V via USB if possible, also here is the port to where it connects.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87121071/Jack.jpg

 

[bobmcjr]

Looks like it could be a PSP charger. They deliver 5V more or less so it isn't too far off.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

Looks like it could be a PSP charger. They deliver 5V more or less so it isn't too far off.

Is that something I can get through USB and will 5V be enough to power it?

 

[Monty Kensicle]

Is that something I can get through USB and will 5V be enough to power it?

I imagine so, I have a USB syle sensor bar that works a treat with my set up.

 

[Walker D]

You could cut a old usb cable and hack it yourself too

Pin 1 VCC (+5 V, red wire)
Pin 2 Data− (white wire)
Pin 3 Data+ (green wire)
Pin 4 Ground (black wire)

Don't know if its wise to limit the Amperes or something though (sometimes I do some hacks like this but I'm not much of a expert..)

The sensor bar is just a array of ultraviolet (UV) LEDs ..so it could work with even less power than what the usb port gives. You could do the hack, plug it in and look the sensor bar though a digital camera ( UV light can be seen like that).. that way you can know if it works.. ..leave it on for some time while checking if it's getting warmer... if so, maybe it's best to decrease the power going to the sensor bar (with a 15 ohm 82 Ohm resistor maybe? ..not sure)

Well ..that's a idea.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

I imagine so, I have a USB syle sensor bar that works a treat with my set up.

Where did you get the cable to plug in USB?

You could cut a old usb cable and hack it yourself too

Pin 1 VCC (+5 V, red wire)
Pin 2 Data− (white wire)
Pin 3 Data+ (green wire)
Pin 4 Ground (black wire)

Don't know if its wise to limit the Amperes or something though (sometimes I do some hacks like this but I'm not much of a expert..)

The sensor bar is just a array of ultraviolet (UV) LEDs ..so it could work with even less power than what the usb port gives. You could do the hack, plug it in and look the sensor bar though a digital camera ( UV light can be seen like that).. that way you can know if it works.. ..leave it on for some time and check if it's getting warmer... if so, maybe is best to decrease the power going to the sensor bar (with a 15 ohm resistor maybe? ..not sure)

Well ..that's a idea.

I dont trust myself enough to do any modding, can I just this cable somewhere for $5?

 

[Walker D]

Never saw a cable to convert the standard wii connection to usb..

But this doesn't seems like a hard mod ..you could risk moding that cable yourself really

I read this on a blog too:
"snip the sensorbar cable. Also find a usb cable, and snip that too. Twist together the yellow wire from the sensor bar to the silver shielding within the usb cable. Now twist the red wire from the usb cable to the red wire of the sensorbar cable. Tape together if you like, and you’re done. Thirty seconds to make a USB sensorbar (provided you’re cracking open a v2 sensorbar)."

So, yeah ..seems easy

 

[Monty Kensicle]

I got my USB sensor bar from eBay for a couple dollars. but I've modded standard ones to USB before.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

Never saw a cable to convert the standard wii connection to usb..

But this doesn't seems like a hard mod ..you could risk moding that cable yourself really

I read this on a blog too:
"snip the sensorbar cable. Also find a usb cable, and snip that too. Twist together the yellow wire from the sensor bar to the silver shielding within the usb cable. Now twist the red wire from the usb cable to the red wire of the sensorbar cable. Tape together if you like, and you’re done. Thirty seconds to make a USB sensorbar (provided you’re cracking open a v2 sensorbar)."

So, yeah ..seems easy

But I dont want an adapter for the Wii port or to do any modding. Doesnt a USB cable exist for it? Heres what the port on the bar looks like as well as the jack.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87121071/Sensor Bar.jpg

 

[RemixDeluxe]

I wanna get something more or less like this. I dont know if the voltage or the jack size is correct.

http://www.dx.com/p/dc-2-5mm-plug-to-usb-charging-cable-for-tablet-pc-100cm-217276#.U2hER1c1bQo

 

[Walker D]

But I dont want an adapter for the Wii port or to do any modding. Doesnt a USB cable exist for it? Heres what the port on the bar looks like as well as the jack.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87121071/Sensor Bar.jpg

um.. that's a standard connection for a lot of chargers ...you could try using a 5v - 7.5v charger and see what you get. I don't know if chargers with more than 300mA would make it heat up and break though..
Do the test and see if it starts to heat up

Edit: the connector from the cable you linked on dealextreme is wrong though

Edit2: I also can't say for sure if you'll need to add a resistor (based on my badly made calculus, a 82 Ohm one) independent of what cable you buy. I would need to try this mod myself to know for sure. But as I said, doesn't hurt to try ...just do the heat up test and see what you get (it would only break the LEDs if it heats up A LOT though)

 

[RemixDeluxe]

That was just an example to give an idea of what I'm asking for. I dont even know how big the jack is and I read the manual for this bar, it just mentions 6V and thats all I got to go by. How do I know what USB cable delivers that, let alone if the jack is the correct size?

 

[Walker D]

The connection in your sensor bar is a dc connector (there are different diameter variations, like the one you got from dx..)

USB is always +5v

Edit: it's not that easy to tell what is the right dc connector for you (there are lots) ..but I think this one is the same as yours.
ps: never saw that site before, so I can't say if it's good to buy from ..but at least it has the measurement so you can compare with your connector.

Hope t helps.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

The connection in your sensor bar is a dc connector (there are different diameter variations, like the one you got from dx..)

USB is always +5v

Edit: it's not that easy to tell what is the right dc connector for you (there are lots) ..but I think this one is the same as yours.
ps: never saw that site before, so I can't say if it's good to buy from ..but at least it has the measurement so you can compare with your connector.

Hope t helps.

Yeah that helps a lot. So I just need to find a DC connector and since you said USB is always 5V I wont have to worry about it being too much (hope it doesnt burn it out)

 

[Walker D]

since you said USB is always 5V I wont have to worry about it being too much (hope it doesnt burn it out)

Maybe. You need to count voltage and amperage
If I'm not wrong, usb can produce 5 V and 100 mA
..that's why I said before that I needed to test it myself to be completely sure. But if you follow my last advice about the test, you should be fine.

There's also the possibility of the LEDs not lit at all too (it depends of how much LEDs your sensor bar has.. IF they have too many, maybe 5v will not be enough for them ..to know how much it has, you need to turn it on and see through a cam as I said) ...then you could open your sensor bar and removing some of the LEDs (if they are in parallel)

Yeah ...stuff

 

[Slartibartfast42]

But I dont want an adapter for the Wii port or to do any modding. Doesnt a USB cable exist for it? Heres what the port on the bar looks like as well as the jack.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87121071/Sensor Bar.jpg

Dude, splicing a two wire cable together and taping it up doesn't count as modding. I was doing that kind of thing at 8 years old or younger. There's no soldering, no power tools, no dangerous quantities of electricity, nothing valuable to destroy. What are you worried about? This is no more complicated then making a microwave pizza, another thing an 8 year old should be capable of doing. Do you count making microwave pizza as cooking? Nobody mass produces the cable you want, because you are the only one who wants it. All you need to do this is electrical tape. Wire cutters/strippers or at least scissors would be helpful, but not really needed. You could cut and strip the wires with your teeth if you couldn't find something sharp.

Please learn some basic science. Knowing what voltage and amperage is and how electronics work is also something an 8 year old should know. USB is always 5V. The type of cable never effects what kind of volts or amperage goes through it. It effects what's supposed to go through it. Someone could run 30V through a USB cable if they wanted, but they would have to make their own charger, since that isn't normal. Of course there are physical limits to how much electricity you can safely run though a given cable, but those limits are way higher then the actual standards. How much amperage goes through your USB cable depends on what you connect it to. It depends on what charger you connect it to. I think the upper limit for USB is around 1000mA for rapid chargers, I think it's like 500mA for real devices like laptops and Wii's. If the device connected has the right circuit, it can ask for less power. The guy above states his concerns that you may need a resistor, but probably not in a wireless sensor bar. Those should have enough regulatory circuits to protect the insides. How else would it know how much current to get from the batteries, right?

You are making this way too complicated though. Just put some batteries in the sensor bar like a normal person. You can use rechargeable ones. You already got batteries for your Wiimotes right? Just buy another pack of those kind. If you can't afford 10-$15 on another pack of rechargable batteries, just use regular batteries. Buy some cheap AmazonBasics, or some from the dollar store.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

Are you having a bad day or something? I just asked a question and last I checked I'm allowed to ask questions on this forum. If you feel so offended you didnt have to resort to calling others 8 year olds.

Go take your garbage post elsewhere.

 

[chevowner]

One of the most common mistakes I see about electronics is that you need to worry more about amps then volts.
In reality you you need to be more concerned about volts then amps.

Here is a good example of why volts are far more important then amps.
PC Power Supplies can supply more amps then the PC uses. I have yet to see a PC burn up from too many amps.
However if you were to plug a HDDs Power connector in backwards (yes I know some that likes to force power connectors) it will fry. To be specific I am referring to the old 4 pin HDD connector.
When one of those connectors is plugged in backwards the +5 and +12 or switched.

I see no problems trying 5v instead of 6v from my experience doing similar thing i think one of the following might happen.
It will work fine.
It will work but the LEDs might be dim.
It wont work but I don't see damage from this.

That is if +/- are not flipped.

 

[tbgtbg]

http://www.amazon.com/Nextronics-Sensor-Bar-USB-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B001UAAX60

 

[gamecaptor]

tbgtbg for the win!