Hello all. I've been tinkering with ideas using the Wii-mote and IR LEDs, and came up with what I think is a pretty decent system.

I want to use an IR LED as a needlepoint, or as a part of a needle, and use the Wii-mote to track the needle location. The needle would be used for sewing, so no wires could be connected between the IR LED and a battery. I was thinking of maybe somehow connecting a very small LED to a capacitor, then using a current loop to power the LED while the needle is in use. Seems like a neat idea, but to be honest I'm having trouble figuring out where I could get a small LED, and how this wireless powering would work.

So two questions. Does anybody here know where I could obtain a very small IR LED? And if there is one, could you direct me to any information on wirelessly powering something like this? Thanks for any and all help.

 

Which frequency band were you planning to use?
There are snags with the proposed arrangement:
1) To get any significant power into the LED would require a powerful transmitter.
2) The RF spectrum has only limited frequency bands available for hobby use.
3) Use of frequencies outside those bands is illegal and could be readily detected by the Authorities.

The smallest IR LED I'm aware of is 0603 size (0.06" x 0.03").

 

I haven't done anything using RF before, so I honestly have no idea. Do you have any suggestions for how I could learn to do this? My original idea was to use a coil of wires and transmit power via the needle moving through them.

 

I want to use an IR LED as a needlepoint, or as a part of a needle, and use the Wii-mote to track the needle location. The needle would be used for sewing,..

I don't see how this would work. What you're describing resembles an optical mouse. Does the Wii-mote have enough resolution to watch the tiny motions of sewing? Perhaps if you shared what your goal is.

I don't think you'll get very far with wireless power - it's just not practical. Use a small battery.

 

Come to think of it, isn't the Wii-mote an IR transmitter? How can it detect the position of an IR source?