Dig out that old Wii controller and use it as a sleek controller for your next robot if you like. The Adafruit Adafruit Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter fits snugly into the Wii connector and performs the level shifting and power regulation needed to use the controller with any microcontroller or microcomputer.
The Wii controllers use a standard I2C interface, and there’s existing code for both Arduino and CircuitPython/Python for quick integration with an Arduino UNO, Feather, or even a Raspberry Pi. We like to use these with the Wii Nunchuck, as you can get an X-Y joystick, two buttons, and an accelerometer all in one hand-held package. All data is transmitted over I2C address 0x53, and the address can not be changed.
We use extra thicc 2.0mm PCBs for this breakout, and made cut-outs for the grabber-notches, so that the controller connection is snug, and won’t rattle or come loose!
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
