My Wiimote Whiteboard

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Permalink Reply by Eric on March 4, 2009 at 3:51am

What software did you download?
I have a teacher that I am going to experiment with this.
I have heard of differing software to download.

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Permalink Reply by Dale Ehrhart on March 4, 2009 at 4:04am

I'm using the Java Wiimote Whiteboard for teachers. It's just a little bit easier software, and it shuts the wiimote off when you close it. I'm experimenting with Smoothboard, and I like it, but the UI is more complicated and (unless I missed something-which is possible) you have to remove the wiimote batteries.

Battery life for the wiimote and the IR pen is an issue to address right off the bat. You should include AA rechargeables in your initial costs, imho.

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Permalink Reply by Kev on March 4, 2009 at 7:28am

Still playing with mine. I've got it up and running consistently now but I am not at all happy with the accuracy. The screen writing just isn't coming across cleanly. I've tried the WiiMote in multiple positions and though it calibrates correctly the writing is a mess.

Maybe I got a weak IR pen or the lighting in my room is messed up, I dunno. I'm kinda bummed though because in the current state it is quite unusable for anything but showing off.

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Permalink Reply by Dale Ehrhart on March 4, 2009 at 12:29pm

I haven't had any problem at all with accuracy.

Questions I would ask:
1. How's your machine
2. How much sunlight are you getting (IR interferance)
3. How far away is the wiimote from the whiteboard
4. pen batteries (I noticed chopiness when one of my pens batteries were weak.

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Permalink Reply by Dale Ehrhart on March 4, 2009 at 3:23pm

Should add what wiimote whiteboard software are you using?

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Permalink Reply by Rich White on March 4, 2009 at 7:52pm

Should give http://kindlelab.com a go

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Permalink Reply by Kev on March 6, 2009 at 7:13am

1. Machine is fairly weak. It's a 3-4 year old Dell that I recently bumped up to 1 gig of RAM. Maybe I'll try it on another system.

2. I've got curtains and blinds in front of them so that shouldn't be an issue (or at least, not a big one!)

3. I've tried lots of distances. Seems I need it to be about 6 feet to get it to "see" my full board.

4. Pen is brand "new" but I'm surely tempted to try another.

5. I'm using Smoothboard 1.0.

Another teacher at my site has set one up and I'll talk to him and see if he's had the same issues.

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Permalink Reply by Dale Ehrhart on March 6, 2009 at 12:11pm

Try using the Java Wiimote Whiteboard which can be downloaded here.
I like Smoothboard but I find the Java Whiteboard software easier-so that's what I'm training the teachers on.

http://www.wiimoteproject.com/index.php?action=downloads;cat=3

For myself I find being a 1 1/2' off to the left works great at 11 ft.

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Permalink Reply by Dale Ehrhart on March 8, 2009 at 7:05pm

ambient light

taken from this forum thread http://www.wiimoteproject.com/wiimote-whiteboard/the-ambient-light-...

It depends greatly on the infrared component of the ambient light. Fluorescent lights (including compact fluorescent lamps that replace traditional bulbs) emit almost no infrared light, so you can use them freely around Wii Remote applications. Traditional incandescent bulbs emit some, but should be ok as long as the lamp itself (or reflections of it) isn't visible to the Wii Remote's sensor. Light from halogen lamps or sunlight can cause significant problems, because of the extremely intense infrared content

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Permalink Reply by Eric Holshoe on December 19, 2009 at 7:28pm

Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Could be the led. They are not all the same. I've been using my wiimote whiteboard for about a year now. I use it every day. I make my own pens now, too. To improve tracking I scuff up the tip of the led with a fine grit sandpaper. Be careful not to push on the tip too much. It could cause the connections to fail. Where did you buy your wiimote? I had some bad luck with a few I bought on ebay. Just get one from a local retail store. What program are you using to write on the screen? I have found three that are free and work well for me. Check out the section called Free Screen Overlay Downloads on the Teachers page of my website. mrholshoe.com I like Pointofix best because you can highlight. PowerPoint has writing tools also. What are you projecting on? white board? pull down screen? As another said, make sure it's not the battery in the pen. A friend of mine told me a pen she bought wasn't working. I switched out the battery and it worked fine. Let me know. I think I can help.

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Permalink Reply by Ronnie Ji on December 19, 2009 at 2:34am

try to use a powerful iWiiBoard wiimote whiteboard software which has a built-in automated wiimote connect feature.

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