How to make an IR pen for a Wiimote Interactive Whiteboard

[AxelTiger]

I understand that a diode only allows electrons to travel in one direction but is there any benefit to having one in such a small circuit?

[goodmorninggeek]

I can't hear a THING you're saying.

[nanotek2711]

I think 1.5V won't be enough to light the LED.

[ahmd1431]

ia331411.us.archive.org/3/item­s/TvQuran.com__1/TvQuran.com__­020.mp3

[stinkyhamster111]

unless you expect a newborn baby to solder, why are you explaining it like: this is a battery holder, it is important to put the battery in the right way

[tdulude]

Thank you for the instructional video. It was easy to follow for a novice such as myself.

[TimothyTheDude]

ah so basicly what he means is battery + switch + IR led = a circuit

[motaseemm]

good explanation

[remboy3000]

i had some friends gather around to play and sooner or was it later...we got bored. so we watched some stuff on youtube...when we saw this, nobody understood but me. they asked me how i did it and if i could teach them. so i did. now they are smarter than ever-wait a sec wtf?! why am i even doing this?!

[davidjeffers28227]

how do you power it? I use 2 AA but it doesnt give off enough IR light to reflect back to the wii mote. do you think it ir my IR led thats the problem?

[ccardew]

I use an AAA and the pen that I made in this video still works ok over a year later...Not sure what diode you are using

[TheEntertainer93]

@davidjeffers28227 i have the same problem... i dont know what to do...

do you solwed it?

[davidjeffers28227]

@TheEntertainer93 No, I never did. I plan on going back to that project before long

[viclope]

@davidjeffers28227 It matters very much if the batteries are alkaline (around 1.5V) or rechargeable (around 1.2V). Usually these LEDs light with one battery. Did you use rechargeables in parallel?

[soulisland]

Sorry but unless you expect a 3 year old child to solder this why are you explaining this as if it were how a rocket works.. by just having the objects in front of the person meant to solder it you could see how to do it.

[harrycollard]

if i wanted mine to last for more than two days i would add a series resistor so that the average current through the resistor does not exceeded its exceeded current rating. normally about 30mA or 50 mA. for battery purposes i normally set it at 20mA. and you dont need it any more powerful than that because it will still work.

[superaaric]

good job i liked it, go to a thrift store and get a romote for cheap. =] thanks

[Iwillkillyou35]

Hope this helps someone. I will be building one shortly and my led is rated at 1.2v this would not work well/at all with a regular AA or AAA battery rated at 1.5v, but rechargeable are rated at 1.2v and I will be using those.

[harrycollard]

that is probably the forward voltage drop

[ccardew]

You can get an infrared LED from places like Maplin in the UK, Radioshack in the US, Akihabara in Tokyo. If you use any serach engine and put in IR LED it should give you some sources. Remember to check the specification of the diode carefully as I explain above. In my video I use an IR LED with an operating voltage of 1.6volts which means I can get away without using a resistor. Hope this helps

[elektrey]

Radioshack's suck, waste of money.

[JordanIsPaper]

you can get one from an old tv remote;)

[gorogawa]

where can i get an infrared-LED light?

[jacksparrowlol]

hi there , thnks for the explanation, i like your brithish accent :) . the first one who made this technologie is a moroccan teacher , he made this before johnny lee , ithink

[yashatono]

thanks for a nice video explaining things a little deeper.

:)

[ccardew]

Great, glad you found it helpful

Chris

[metalclay]

cool! nice integration with the ciruit diagram =) I got 3v (dual AAA battery holder) and a 3.6v led on my pen, so it looks funky but eh...

question though: this does mean I don't need a resistor right? I mean...I got 3v going into 3.6v so that means my led is actually getting less energy. so...that's fine right?

If I do decide to put in a smaller led (1.3v) then I will need a resistor,no? what do you recommend? 47ohms? for my 3v or if i get one like yours, how many ohms?

[ccardew]

Hi there,

You need enough voltage to switch the diode on.

My diode needs 1.4v so a 1.5v battery is ok.

The diode has a maximum operating voltage of 1.6v. So this means that my 1.5v battery does not exceed the diode operating.

In your case you need 3.6v to switch on the diode, so 3.0v is not enough.

If you have a 3.0 v supply and a 1.3v diode, you will also need to know the operating current of the diode.

R=(Vs-Vd)/I.

If the current is 20mA then

R=(3-1.3)/0.02

R=85 ohms

[metalclay]

thanks

[ccardew]

Hi there,

What I wanted to add but ran out of characters in the reply was that you should use a resistor slightly larger than 85, maybe 91 or 100 ohms.

Also this kpsec website gives an excellent explanation of how to design LED circuits.

Google kpsec and then click on the LEDS link

Cheers

Chris

[skycaptain01]

can I use the red laser pointer instead if IR pen?

[ccardew]

Unfortunately not, the Wiimote receiver needs Infra Red light

[sashavol]

use ur wii sensor bar.