The nice people over a PDP sent me a cool accessory to review, and it’s something that is actually very useful for those who want to save some cash. This induction charging system for your Wii Remotes, keep your stuff charged and ready to go for your all night gaming sessions. What’s pretty interesting is there is nothing you have to plug the remote into, you just place it on a dock. To find out the secret of the charger
The secret of the charger from what I got from the designer of the product is that it runs on Induction technology. Which basically means at the docks core, it operates via a system of two coils of copper wiring. The transmitting coil, technically termed the “primary winding” is located in the base station of the charger, and the receiving coil, or “secondary winding” is located in the battery pack. The magic happens when current is applied to the primary winding, which causes it to develop an electromagnetic field. Chips in the base station then alternate the polarity of the electromagnetic field, shifting its north and south poles back and forth thousands of times a second. When the receiving coil (secondary winding) is placed within this electromagnetic field, the alternating polarity creates electrical current in the copper coil, which is used to recharge the batteries.
Basically it means that the ions transfer from the coil into the battery pack charging it up, pretty tricky stuff. However, during the process it produces a bit of heat, which I thought was a problem. After consulting the designer I learned that there is also a fail safe in the device that causes it to regulate the temperature at 55 degrees Celsius. Assuring me that it would never get as hot as the bottom of a laptop.
Overall the product does what it says and it’s actually pretty cool that you could just drop your remote in the dock once your done playing with it. Although I would not suggest doing that, since that would make the rechargeable battery die faster. [You are suppose to have a rechargeable run out of power before you charge it again.] It’s a good product and at the price point of 49.99 it might be a little more costly then some rechargeable battery systems, but it saves you the time of taking them out of the Wii Remote (especially if you have the remote in a jacket) and placing them in the charger separately.
Pros:
Takes any type of Wii-Remote (Sheathed, WiiMotion Plus, and Probably Third Party)
Saves cash on batteries, and after a few recharges on multiple Wii-Remotes you can count in the saving.
It charges faster than some rechargeable batteries I had in the past fastest charge time was four hours.
The dock easily lets you know when something is charging (orange LED) or is ready for use (green LED)
The dock can be placed either flat or in a standing position.
Cons:
Comes with two battery packs (so if you have more remotes you have to get another set)
The battery pack is hot to the touch after removing it from the charge dock.
