Discussion archive for uweschmidt.org
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Hi,
regular remote controls are useful to try the system. The problem is that they usually emit flashing IR light, which doesn’t really work well.
Uwe
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James on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
I would REALLY love to find a solution to this too. One thing that I have found on my PC under Windows 7 is that the Microsoft bluetooth stack is going all the way out on the web to look for an updated driver, EVERY time you start the program. I don’t know why, or how to stop this automatically but you can stop it manually. If you click on the information bubble in the lower right, the bluetooth connection progress box comes up. There is an option on the bottom, for “skip this step” or something like that. When I check it, it still works fine and speeds up the connection process a lot. I am using Smoothboard, with its autoconnect startup feature. Another thing that I have noticed is that as soon as you get the “1 found: 1 connected” message or “2 found: 2 connected” message you are OK to force the application to start using the big: “Start Applicaiton button”. The difference depends on if you want to use 2 Wiimotes and whiteboard and presenter mode, or just a one Wiimote whiteboard mode.
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to James
Hi James,
I suspect the connection process using Smoothboard is very different from that of my app. This is because Smoothboard uses the OS to connect to the Wiimote, whereas my app directly connects via Java APIs.
Uwe
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hi, Thank you for your work. I have a couple of questions. They have a kit where I can use USB to power my wii. Here is the scenario and solution:
Tired of getting on a stool or reaching up with a yardstick to push the 1 and 2 buttons? With this power source, never touch the 1 and 2 buttons ever again. Our Remote Controlled Outlet bundled with QUICKUSB Auto Connect makes connecting your wii remote to your computer a snap. Here is how it works: The Remote Controlled Outlet plugs into an available AC outlet. Our QUICKUSB with Auto Connect replaces your current battery cover and the AC/USB Adapter supplies power from the remote outlet to your QUICKUSB and Wii Remote. The QUICKUSB will automatically place your wii remote into discovery mode when it receives power. It works seemlessly with Smoothboard’s SmoothConnect feature (recommended) and pratically eliminate recalibrating your IWB. This bundle will include: (1) Remote Controll Outlet, (1) RF Remote Control, (1) AC/USB Adapter and (1) QUICKUSB. Wii Remote not included.
Your morning routine will look like this:
Start Your Smoothboard Software Turn on the Remote Controlled Outlet with the RF Remote Control (included) QUICKUSB will sync your Wii Remote Automatically with Smoothboard
Can I use your software like this or do I always need to hit the 1 and 2 button all the time? Also what is the optimal distance and angle my wii should be from the screen?
Thanks, John
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to John
Hi John,
Can I use your software like this or do I always need to hit the 1 and 2 button all the time?
have you tried simply taping the 1 and 2 buttons so that they’re always pressed down? This should make the Wiimote discoverable at all times, and also shouldn’t interfere with normal operations once it’s connected.
If you’re worried about power consumption, then get a generic RF- or otherwise controlled outlet where you plug-in in your Wiimote power supply. (I’m assuming you’re not using batteries in your Wiimote.)
Also what is the optimal distance and angle my wii should be from the screen?
I actually don’t know this since I have never used this in practice. Your best bet is to ask others who use this on a regular basis. Also see this article on Positioning the Wiimote.
Uwe
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
Hi Uwe, I tried to tape down the 1 and 2 buttons, but after about thirty seconds the Wii powers off automatically. If you have time can can you check this website out? http://www.irgreat.com/power.htm This the place that had the solution. I hate to pay the money for it if it will not work with your software.
Also, currently I am using batteries in the Wii. Finally, what is a generic RF?
Thanks, John
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to John
Hi John,
I tried to tape down the 1 and 2 buttons, but after about thirty seconds the Wii powers off automatically.
I guess the Wiimote would start searching again if you take the batteries out and then insert them again. The same would hold if you were using a remote-controlled power outlet, like this.
Finally, what is a generic RF?
By saying
get a generic RF- or otherwise controlled outlet
I meant getting some power outlet that is remote-controlled via radio frequency (RF) or some other technology.
Uwe
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Bryce on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hey, so I have a Sony Viao VGN-FW351J, with vista 64bit, and it has a built in Bluetooth. My wii remote can pair with it easily, and if I use the original form Jonny Lee’s, but it does not work, it calibrates but that’s all. So I tried this software and it says it can’t find my device and then the program asks to close itself. I have tried the UnCrippling Bluetooth in Vista RTM but the instructions tell me to download WIDCOMM 5.1.0.1100 form this site that doesn’t work. I found the .exe file but the file that the instructions are talking about has an .inf file which tells you if your device is supported. So I tried to install the .exe file and it said that my device was not supported. I have tried everything have had no luck. Can anyone help me I really don’t want to buy a Bluetooth adapter if I have one in my computer sounds like a waste. Thank you for your time and help.
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hi Uwe, I made an IR pen today and bought the parts for radio shack. I followed these instructions to make one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czs2oJZY7hU. I went to hit the four targets to calibrate, but when I moved my pen to hit the first target they all were activated with green check marks. I checked my calibration utilization and it said 1%. Obviuosly I have no control over the cursor now. I have tried everything to make it work, but it does not calibrate correctly. Does my calibration utilization need to be 100%.
Thanks, John
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John, Look at your IR pen through a digital camera. You will probably find that the light is on all of the time, instead of only going on when you push the button, or that is is blinking at inappropriate times. This can happen because there is a short connection across the switch. Sometimes the short might have only started when you push the button for the first time, because the switch in not properly supported, and it slips under the pressure. It then pushed the wire together to make contact in a way that they should not. Also, some switches are designed so that they can be wired in a “normally closed” configuration. That is, they are on when your are not pressing the button and off when you are pushing the button. In short, check your pen. It is probably the source of this problem behavior, and good luck.
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Hi Bryce,
Can anyone help me I really don’t want to buy a Bluetooth adapter if I have one in my computer sounds like a waste.
my app won’t work on Windows if you can’t use the WIDCOMM stack. You basically have two options if you can’t get your existing Bluetooth adaptor to work with this stack:
- Buy a new Bluetooth adaptor that’s WIDCOMM-compatible.
- Use another Wiimote Whiteboard software that works with other Bluetooth stacks.
Sorry, but I’m not a Windows user and can’t help much with that. I suggest you head over to the wiimoteproject.com forums; start with this thread.
Uwe
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hi Uwe, I am using a macbook version 10.5.8. When I first start the program I have noticed that I receive an error message saying the bluetooth is not working. But bluetooth icon is activated though. So I turn off the bluetooth and your software. Than I turn on the software and the second time it works. It does this every single time. Is there something I can change so I don’t have to restart the system twice? Thanks, John
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Jordan on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hey. i have a mac and my wiimote is connecting to the program perfectly, but the problem is that when i try to calibrate it, it goes wild and the mouse goes everywhere clicking random things. when i go to the if monitor sometimes it will show 4 if dots where my pen is. it is all very choppy and weak.. help!!!! please.
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Hi Hohn,
have you tried restarting my app without turning Bluetooth off and on? Does this always happen? How often did you try?
Uwe
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hi Uwe, How can I make the log not pop every 30 seconds? I am using the software in my school building now and every 30 seconds the log pops up and says not a known device. There are multiple computers being used around the building.
Thanks, John
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
Hi Uwe, Yes I have tried with bloothtooth off and on and I get the same result. It happens 90% of the time. I am unclear on your last statement. Thanks for your help.
John
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Hi John,
How can Imake the log not pop every 30 seconds? I am using the software in my school building now and every 30 seconds the log pops up and says not a known device.
I included a feature that allows you to only connect to specified Wiimotes, this should solve the problem for now. Please read about the runtime option org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.wiimoteAddresses in the Wiki. I’m planning on making this simpler in a future version…
Uwe
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Hi John,
I think this is also related to there being too many Bluetooth devices in the vicinity.
Uwe
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
Hi Uwe, Today was the first day I had it in the building. before I had it at home and it still needed me to boot it up twice. Here is the error message: javax.bluetooth.bluetoothconnectionexception Failed to open. Does this help? Thanks for getting back to me. You have helped my school with your software. I can’t thank you enough.
John
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
I went to the Wiki. How and where do you go t0 make that change?
Thanks, John
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Hi John,
I went to the Wiki. How and where do you go t0 make that change?
Have you carefully read the section about Runtime Options? You can get to that Info.plist file by right-clicking on the WiimoteWhiteboard Mac app in the Finder, then select Show Package Contents from the contextual menu. This will open up another Window, where you’ll find the file at Contents/Info.plist.
Hope that helps, Uwe
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John on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Uwe
Hi Uwe, I followed your directions and I placed the new code into the software, but it still is showing the bluetooth connections and the log is pooping up every 30 seconds. The code is below. Did I mess up somewhere? org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteWhiteboard Properties
apple.laf.useScreenMenuBar true org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.insideBundle true
org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.wiimoteaddresses 001E353CEF87
WorkingDirectory $APP_PACKAGE/Contents/Resources NSHumanReadableCopyright Copyright © 2008-2010 Uwe Schmidt.
Thanks, John
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Hi John,
this is case sensitive, use
org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.wiimoteAddressesinstead oforg.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.wiimoteaddresses.Open the log right after starting the application, then check for the following:
INFO ... Directly connecting to bluetooth address(es) [001E353CEF87].
It works if you see that.
Uwe
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Hi Daniel,
it is even possible to use cheap laser pointers if you remove the Wiimote’s IR filter; please see this blog post for more information. I’m not sure about IR lasers, aren’t they supposed to be dangerous? Either way, your best option is to take a look at the wiimoteproject.com forums.
Uwe
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Arun on Wiimote Whiteboard
Has anyone tried 2 wiimotes, both placed parallel to the whiteboard on the whiteboard itself (say stuck with a magnet)? one of the wiimote to get he X and another to get the Y? and place the IR pen tip ont eh whiteboard using this X-Y? yes I am proposing to use each wiimote to a surface scan to get one dimension only.
I am sick and of the angle management of wiimote placement and occlution by hand, person…etc…..
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Hi Arun
The problem will be the field of view, the camera in the Wiimote will be unable to see the parts of the board at the widest angle from it.
Dave
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Arun on Wiimote Whiteboard
I think teh wiimote has +/-20degrees view that means if I place the wiimote parallel or slightly tipping towards teh board, then it should cover the boards from few inches away from the wimmote till the enite boards laterally. isn’t it. Had I even placed it perfectly parallel to the board, assuming the center of the axis of the camera is say an inch from the surface of the board a 25degree view should intercet the board say at 3 inch and from that point till the end of the bards any IR blob should be visible.
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David on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hi Uwe, further on installing on Ubuntu: you also need to have libbluetooth-dev installed (at least on 9.10/Karmic). Thanks for the software!
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Landon Pilant on Wiimote Whiteboard
I can only get one wii remote to recognize. I have attempted to connect a second remote for about a week now with no success. Can someone please help me with this??
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Arun, The issue is the width of the board nearest the wii remote. At +/- 20 degrees the width of the field of view at the nearest point of the wii remote would be (using trigonometry): 2 * y * Tan 20 or about 0.75 * y where y is the distance of the wii remote from the board. So to cover a 40 inch board the wii remote would need to be 53 inches from the board.
I think this means it would be best to have the remote pointing almost diagonally across the board as the width of the board perpendicular to the diagonal is much smaller than traditional xy. I see no reason why your idea of triangulation shouldn’t work in this manner.
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Of course the perpendicular distance grows to exceed the xy values but not until you are further into the board which means the wii remote can be placed closer to the board initially.
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Landon,
The only time I had problems (though I’ve not tried recently) was when one of the wii remotes was a fake.
Have you connected both wii remotes to the bluetooth computer before launching smoothboard?
Dave
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oops…got carried away, sorry Landon - you probably aren’t using smoothboard are you…
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Landon Pilant on Wiimote Whiteboard
I’ve tried to get the thing to work with my macbook laptop and with a Windows XP desktop. Neither with any success. Very frustrating and I’m in the IT industry! I was evaluating for our whole school board to see if we could implement in schools instead of full smart boards to save money.
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I know that with early Smoothboard there were problems with bluetooth drivers not talking to the wii remote but this was all solved with the XP service pack 2 when the native microsoft drivers were updated, I’ve no experience with Mac’s though - sorry.
Dave
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Landon Pilant on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Dave Fountain
my biggest problem is that I can’t get 2 remotes set up on either mac or PC at the same time. I can get one remote to install, but I can only get the remote to either hit the top 2 or bottom 2 calibration spots, but never all 4. I am trying to get the second remote set up so the whole board is aliened. Can someone tell me how to hook up multiple wii remotes to same box. Smoothboard has it build into the software to show both remotes, but only one connects. Wiimote Whiteboad and mac I don’t see anything in software to get more than one controller connected to help with new positions.
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I normally place the one wii remote by the projector, this usually lets me set it up so it can cover all 4 points. If you use third-party wii remotes then they tend to struggle as you put them further away from the board. I’ve just let my nieces have the Wii back so I’ve only got my sales stock and I’m reluctant to break open a new couple to test so it’ll probably be a couple of days before I can check on the dual connection with Smoothboard. The last time I tested a dual wii set up was last year and had no problems with getting them connected, though I do recall connecting them through Windows before launching the Smoothboard software.
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I’ve just tried it with two Mad Catz I had lying aound and got both connected if I connected them to the PC using the bluetooth discovery first, then when Smoothboard launched used the ‘Show Settings’ button to choose ‘two wiimotes’ - needed a restart of Smoothboard
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Boon Jin on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Landon Pilant
Hi,
There are some cases with certain Bluetooth adaptors where only one Wiimote can be connected at a time.
What Bluetooth adaptor are you using? What is the error/status shown on your computer when you try to connect the second Wiimote?
You may want to try another Bluetooth adaptor or test it on another computer.
If possible, please do send to us a screenshot of your Device Manager with the expanded HID device list. You can reach us at admin@smoothboard.net
Regards, Boon Jin
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Andy on Wiimote Whiteboard
Hi, I read your post on how to use this on Ubuntu (although I’m using 9.10).
I followed your commands word by word, and when I ran the final command (java), I came up with this: (This is the debug command)
:~/WiimoteWhiteboard$ java -Dbluecove.debug=true -jar WiimoteWhiteboard.jar Exception in thread "main" java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method) at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57) at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43) at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:616) at com.simontuffs.onejar.Boot.run(Boot.java:306) at com.simontuffs.onejar.Boot.main(Boot.java:159) Caused by: java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: Can't load library: /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/i386/xawt/libmawt.so at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary(ClassLoader.java:1646) at java.lang.Runtime.load0(Runtime.java:787) at java.lang.System.load(System.java:1022) at java.lang.ClassLoader$NativeLibrary.load(Native Method) at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary0(ClassLoader.java:1747) at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary(ClassLoader.java:1664) at java.lang.Runtime.loadLibrary0(Runtime.java:840) at java.lang.System.loadLibrary(System.java:1047) at sun.security.action.LoadLibraryAction.run(LoadLibraryAction.java:67) at sun.security.action.LoadLibraryAction.run(LoadLibraryAction.java:47) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at java.awt.Toolkit.loadLibraries(Toolkit.java:1614) at java.awt.Toolkit.(Toolkit.java:1636) at java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(EventQueue.java:957) at javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(SwingUtilities.java:1286) at org.jdesktop.application.Application.launch(Application.java:181) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteWhiteboard.main(WiimoteWhiteboard.java:79) ... 6 more :~/WiimoteWhiteboard$When I initially ran the “java” command, it said I did not have it installed, so I ran: sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre-headless
Could you tell me what I’m doing wrong? Usually I can figure these things out by looking at the debug info, but I’m completely lost this time.
I’m using our big TV as a “Whiteboard” for the family.
Much appreciated. (I’ve gotten Johnny’s vanilla program to work on my Windows box, but the PC connected to the TV is running Ubuntu.)
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Hi David,
thanks for letting us know. I’ll add it to the README when I get around to make a Linux-specific version…
Uwe
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Landon Pilant
Hi Landon,
I can only get the remote to either hit the top 2 or bottom 2 calibration spots, but never all 4.
does that mean you can’t even get a single Wiimote calibrated? Or can you successfully connect both Wiimotes, but can’t calibrate them? Also you need to be clear which software you are using, since my app and Smoothboard connect quite differently to Wiimotes (under the hood).
Wiimote Whiteboad and mac I don’t see anything in software to get more than one controller connected to help with new positions.
My app automatically searches for two Wiimotes, even after you connect one.
Uwe
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Uwe on Wiimote Whiteboard in reply to Andy
Hi Andy,
When I initially ran the “java” command, it said I did not have it installed, so I ran: sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre-headless
the error message says that an Java AWT library couldn’t be loaded, which suggests to me that this is a GUI problem.
Why did you install the headless variant of Java? The package descriptions says:
Minimal Java runtime - needed for executing non GUI Java programs.
I’d assume that it works with the “regular” Java JRE, i.e. package openjdk-6-jre:
Full Java runtime environment - needed for executing Java GUI and Webstart programs.
Uwe
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Andy on Wiimote Whiteboard
Egh. Sorry to be a bother.
I’ve switched to the regular version as you suggested, and now I’m getting a new error message:
pham@pham-tv:~/WiimoteWhiteboard$ java -jar WiimoteWhiteboard.jar JarClassLoader: Warning: Unable to load native library: java.lang.NullPointerException Native Library bluecove not available java.lang.IllegalStateException: Bluetooth failed to initialize. There is probably a problem with your local Bluetooth stack or API. at wiiremotej.WiiRemoteJ.(WiiRemoteJ.java:74) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteConnector.connect(WiimoteConnector.java:48) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteDataHandler.(WiimoteDataHandler.java:84) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteWhiteboard.startup(WiimoteWhiteboard.java:99) at org.jdesktop.application.Application$1.run(Application.java:171) at java.awt.event.InvocationEvent.dispatch(InvocationEvent.java:226) at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(EventQueue.java:602) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForFilters(EventDispatchThread.java:275) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForFilter(EventDispatchThread.java:200) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(EventDispatchThread.java:190) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:185) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:177) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(EventDispatchThread.java:138) Caused by: javax.bluetooth.BluetoothStateException: BlueCove library bluecove not available at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.loadNativeLibraries(BlueCoveImpl.java:381) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.detectStack(BlueCoveImpl.java:429) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.access$500(BlueCoveImpl.java:65) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl$1.run(BlueCoveImpl.java:1020) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.detectStackPrivileged(BlueCoveImpl.java:1018) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.getBluetoothStack(BlueCoveImpl.java:1011) at javax.bluetooth.LocalDevice.getLocalDeviceInstance(LocalDevice.java:75) at javax.bluetooth.LocalDevice.getLocalDevice(LocalDevice.java:95) at wiiremotej.WiiRemoteJ.(WiiRemoteJ.java:67) ... 12 more Apr 22, 2010 3:13:56 PM org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteWhiteboard startup SEVERE: Error on startup java.lang.IllegalStateException: Bluetooth failed to initialize. There is probably a problem with your local Bluetooth stack or API. at wiiremotej.WiiRemoteJ.(WiiRemoteJ.java:74) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteConnector.connect(WiimoteConnector.java:48) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteDataHandler.(WiimoteDataHandler.java:84) at org.uweschmidt.wiimote.whiteboard.WiimoteWhiteboard.startup(WiimoteWhiteboard.java:99) at org.jdesktop.application.Application$1.run(Application.java:171) at java.awt.event.InvocationEvent.dispatch(InvocationEvent.java:226) at java.awt.EventQueue.dispatchEvent(EventQueue.java:602) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpOneEventForFilters(EventDispatchThread.java:275) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForFilter(EventDispatchThread.java:200) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEventsForHierarchy(EventDispatchThread.java:190) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:185) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.pumpEvents(EventDispatchThread.java:177) at java.awt.EventDispatchThread.run(EventDispatchThread.java:138) Caused by: javax.bluetooth.BluetoothStateException: BlueCove library bluecove not available at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.loadNativeLibraries(BlueCoveImpl.java:381) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.detectStack(BlueCoveImpl.java:429) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.access$500(BlueCoveImpl.java:65) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl$1.run(BlueCoveImpl.java:1020) at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.detectStackPrivileged(BlueCoveImpl.java:1018) at com.intel.bluetooth.BlueCoveImpl.getBluetoothStack(BlueCoveImpl.java:1011) at javax.bluetooth.LocalDevice.getLocalDeviceInstance(LocalDevice.java:75) at javax.bluetooth.LocalDevice.getLocalDevice(LocalDevice.java:95) at wiiremotej.WiiRemoteJ.(WiiRemoteJ.java:67) ... 12 moreI’ve put bluecove in the /home/pham/WiimoteWhiteboard/lib and ran
zip WiimoteWhiteboard.jar lib/bluecove-gpl-2.1.0.jar
And it says I don’t have BlueCove?
(I already have BlueZ installed. I’m pretty sure it’s standard on all Ubuntu installations)
Again, sorry to be a bother, but I really want to get this to work.
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