Wiimote Project

I'm a high school teacher, and I always use my own tablet PC to give notes in my class.  I am not comfortable letting my students use my tablet PC, so the wiiwhiteboard is a great way for kids to be able to work things out on the board.  Anyways, I needed a cheap, durable light pen that works like a pen should work, not like a stick with a button.  Here's what I came up with.

It's a short piece of PVC pipe capped on both ends, one end has a Radio Shack toggle switch with the cap removed.  This means that when someone makes contact with the white board surface it activates the LED like a toggle switch would (the button is very loose, so it doesn't scratch up surfaces).

This pen costs about $4 when all is said and done.

Here are some pictures:

With that design, do you have to put the wiimote off to the side?  Your diode is not sticking out very far.  For the wiimote to see the tip well, I have to use the pen at an angle in which the light tip is sticking out and plainly visible.

I have had difficulty getting the side view to get accurate precision at the farthest away points in a classroom where the image needs to be large.

Would you be able to post a picture of how you mounted your wiimote to the ceiling?  I'm having trouble coming up with a design.  Thanks!

One of our testing setups involves some industrial velcro on the projector or ceiling, and then again on the bottom of the wiimote. Works a treat.

The other of our testing setups uses a 3/8" bolt through the ceiling squares and then a mic holder (clip style) screwed onto it and then the wiimote clipped into it.

Cant take photos of either of the setups as they are in secure rooms, but my home setup is similar and ill shoot a pic of that.

Hmmm... I hadn't checked these boards in a while.

Anyways, it's the summer right now so I can't take a picture in the room.  The setup is fairly simple.  I bought one of those gorilla pods from best buy, mounted some velcro on it and attached it to the ceiling using folder clips... it sounds ghetto but it looks pretty nice and works like a charm.

I'm probably going to stop by my classroom in about 3 weeks, I'll take a picture of it when I do.

I stand on the chair that's right below it every morning to sync it

The way I sync mine every day is this:
I have a rubber band holding a block of plastic over buttons 1 and 2 constantly.  The power drain is not a concern because I always have power supplied to it.

How do you supply constant power to the wiimote?  I have tried the AC to DC converter suggested in other threads but have had no luck.  I like the block of plastic idea.

I used the 9V plug on a universal DC power adapter, switching the voltage to 3V of course.  I cut a small notch in the side of the wiimote for the cord to get inside.  I used little tinfoil balls to maintain contact between the 9V adapter and the wiimote leads.  I used some erasers and plastic to maintain pressure.  If I get a chance I'll take a photo for you.

Thanks, I just bought one after reading your post!  A picture would be great if you get a chance.