NES Zapper Modded for PC

[glassjester]

I've wanted to do this for a while, and I finally thought of a very simple procedure, using the Wiimote.

First, I have the Wiimote paired to the computer (using bluetooth and glovepie).

Next, I altered two cheap mini book lights from the dollar store. The long-necked, flexible ones. I replaced their LED's with infrared LED's from Radio Shack.

I gutted the Zapper, and fitted the tiny book lights into the barrel of the Zapper, cutting the wires to size so that both IR LED's would point forward at the tip of the gun.

Next, I took the insides of a Wii Nunchuk and put them in the handle of the Zapper (cutting out the extra plastic to make room). I put the board with the C and Z buttons right behind the white plastic slider inside the Zapper's trigger mechanism, and glued it in place. The rest of the Nunchuk guts go unused, but fit into the handle of the gun, with the Nunchuk wire running out of the bottom, where the original Zapper wire was.

I filed some spaces into the bottom of the gray section, and glued the switches for the LED's in place. That way I could turn the IR lights on and off without taking the whole gun apart.

I put the casing back together, and I used a wireless Nunchuk-to-USB adapter (Mayflash makes them cheap). The Wiimote sits at the base of the TV to track the IR lights in the barrel of the gun.


I use Joy2Key to map the Nunchuk button to the left mouse click, but I used a glovepie script for tracking and calibration. I'd be willing to post the script I use if anyone wanted it.

[glassjester]

Here's the finished product:








And a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgnnMQLC3Vs

[glassjester]

I posted some pictures and a video, but it has to be approved by a moderator before it'll show up.

An interesting side effect of this setup - any infrared light source can be used as a mouse pointer, ie: tv remote controls, the Wii sensor bar, an NES Uforce, a candle, match, or lighter.

This could lead to a lot of possibilities for homemade PC light guns.

[glassjester]

Here is a video of the Zapper working:





And some pictures: