Wii-charging your Wiimote

One of the few issues of getting a Nintendo Wii, especially in the early days of our Wiinfatuation, was the constant changing of the remote’s pair of AA batteries. For a while it seemed like we went through a two or three pairs a month. I thought of buying a set of rechargeable AAs, but still didn’t relish the idea of swapping out batteries every few weeks to recharge them.

So I was thrilled when I learned that a company called Nyko was stepping up and making a rechargeable battery pack and charging station. No need to swap batteries, just stand the remotes on the station and boom! automatic recharging.

Unfortunately, when I read about it, the product was still months from being released. When my buddy THW noted a few weeks ago that it was available at Fry’s, I kept an eye out for them, visiting various Fry’s and Best Buys, without success, until last night, when I found myself killing time at the Palo Alto Fry’s.

At only $30 for the ability to charge two remotes, and save untold amounts of money (and landfill space) going through batteries, buying a set was a no-brainer. Most of THW’s points from his report stand for me, except I find the handling of the wrist straps on the remotes to be poorly thought out: if there’s a groove for them, they are not obvious on my system, and having to put them just right to charge the remotes was a tad annoying. Having the lights though does make it less frustrating than it would otherwise be, and no doubt I’ll get used to finessing them.

At four AA batteries per pair, and eight batteries a month, I figure I’m saving close to $100 and 100 batteries a year. A win-win for my wallet and the environment.

My new concern? Running down the battery charge in the middle of a marathon game of Wii tennis, and not having extra batteries….

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2 thoughts on “Wii-charging your Wiimote”

  1. You didn’t think the wrist strap grooves were obvious? Without that tiny slit through which to rest the wrist straps, I wouldn’t be able to fit my controllers on the charging station at all.

    Start at the right light and go about an inch to the right (to the corner), an inch toward the back, and about an inch up. There’s a slit there through which you can run your strap.

  2. I wonder if we have different models. The only slits I see are the two groves up the middle of the unit. The instructions say “Make sure that the remote writ straps rest to the side of the Charge Station.” No mention of slits or anything.

    Hm.

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