Ultimate Wii Velcro Battle

Start 12.21.2007 Last Post 1.5.2008

What do Velcro and Bluetooth have in common? You need them to make Ultimate Wii Velcro Battle. Before you take another step, you must know that you proceed at your own risk. Wii remotes are dangerous enough but when you combine it with velcro and a punching bag anything can happen. Not for use around pets or children and wear protective eye wear. You may break your Wii Remote. Still with me, check with a physician before starting any exercise program. Still here, proceed if you dare... If you would like to be a champion in our Areana of the Battle just begin buying the items below:

A height adjustable heavy bag with a strong base is a must. You can not use a model that hangs from the ceiling. The current DA prototype uses the AZiO Bluetooth adapter (much love to the egg). Now let's start with some real fighting!

Yep, it's a Wii Remote attached to a punching bag using velcro. It doesn't get any better than that. I like to attach the fuzzy side of the velcro to the Wii Remote and you need to make sure you can still get in to change the batteries. Attach the remote to the top of the bag, it should be at an angle to the front of the bag.

You are going to have to punch at half power and if you are in the UFC or have any upper body strength to speak of, you can send the remote flying. I have found some stronger velcro the 3M Dual Lock also sold as Superlock at RadioShack. The strong stuff makes it difficult to attach the Wii Remote the first time, I had to stick the two pieces together and then stick it to the bag.

Next insert your Bluetooth dongle into you computer. In Vista the drivers install automatically. After your Bluetooth adapter is working, you can add your Wii remote as a device. You have to remove and then add the Wii remote every boxing session for now. You should see a Bluetooth HID device in device manager if everything works out correctly. Press and Hold buttons 1 and 2 on the Wii Remote, you have to hold them down until the wizard is done. Click Add on you Bluetooth Device dialog. If the blue LEDs on the Wii Remote stop flashing press and hold both buttons again. Make sure you select no passkey and finish the wizard. Check device manager for the Bluetooth HID device. The Wii Remote is called Nintendo RVL-CNT-01.

Now you are ready to run the Ultimate Wii Velcro Training application. The prototype version is available below, it uses .Net from Microsoft, you probably already have this if not run Windows Update and get it. It is a zip file you place all of the files into a New Folder and then run WiiPunch.exe. If you enjoy this project, let me know via email.