Energizer Wiimote Induction Charger Teardown

Energizer Wiimote Induction Charger

An inductive charger is a type of wireless energy transfer system, it can also be called an air core coil transformer. It works by passing alternating current into the coils and air acting as a medium between them, the interacting electromagnetic field helps to induce inductive coupling. Wikipedia does a much better job of explaining it: Inductive Charging.

In this teardown, I’ll be featuring the Energizer Wii Inductive charger (model # PL-7581) and try to figure out how it works internally. This will be a challenging on-going project since some key IC components have been blackened for a reason to keep their functionality secret. I would like to add that throughout this teardown, I have come to appreciate the complexity of this device and commend Energizer for a job well done, they did their homework.

Fast Traxx Rover: Beta

Add a Tyco Fast Traxx, WRT54G router, tons of batteries, web camera, gps head, and user control via a laptop. What do you have? A wicked homemade wireless tank-like rover!

While it may not look like the mid 90’s commercial boasting the original Fast Traxx, it has taken on a whole new dimension of geek-like excitement Übermodder has to offer, (batteries sold separately).

I have to give credit where it’s due, if it wasn’t for JBProjects this rover system would be a lot harder to implement. I will be using some their code and hardware to jump start our rover in the beta stages, then later revisions of the project will upgrade with our own code and programming structure. I might go as far as minor autonomy to help the rover navigate in tough situations, stay tuned…