Adafruit Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter User Manual

Adafruit Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter

Created by Kattni Rembor

Last updated on 2021-10-22 11:44:48 AM EDT

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Guide Contents

Guide Contents Overview Pinouts

Power Pins I2C Logic Pins Wii Nunchuck Connector

Arduino Use Python & CircuitPython

CircuitPython Microcontroller Wiring Python Computer Wiring CircuitPython Installation of Nunchuck Library Python Installation of Nunchuck Library CircuitPython & Python Usage

Full Example Code Python Docs Downloads

Files:

Schematic Fab Print Sample Project: Nunchuck NeoPixel Ring

Parts Wiring Code

Overview

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 (https://adafru.it/PbS) and CircuitPython/Python for quick integration (https://adafru.it/PbT) 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 0x52, 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 wont rattle or come loose!

To make using it as easy as possible, we’ve created this breakout in Stemma QT form

factor (https://adafru.it/P3F). You can either use a breadboard or the SparkFun qwiic (https://adafru.it/Fpw)

compatible STEMMA QT (https://adafru.it/Ft4) connectors, and compatibility with 5V voltage levels as

commonly found on Arduinos (https://adafru.it/P4a), as well as 3.3V logic used by many other boards like

the Raspberry Pi or our Feathers. QT Cable is not included , but we have a variety in the

shop (https://adafru.it/JnB) for quick plug-and-play support.

Doesn't come with the Wii Nunchuck controller, that's sold separately (https://adafru.it/eQ5) (or just look in

that plastic bin in your parent's attic next time you visit).

Pinouts

Power Pins

VIN - This is the power pin. To power the board, give it the same power as the logic level of your

microcontroller - e.g. for a 5V microcontroller like Arduino, use 5V

3V - This is the 3.3V output from the voltage regulator, you can grab up to 100mA from this if you like.

GND - common ground for power and logic

I2C Logic Pins

Default address is 0x52 - this cannot be changed.

SCL - I2C clock pin, connect to your microcontroller I2C clock line. This pin is level shifted so you can

use 3-5V logic, and there's a 10K pullup on this pin.

SDA - I2C data pin, connect to your microcontroller I2C data line. This pin is level shifted so you can

use 3-5V logic, and there's a 10K pullup on this pin.

STEMMA QT (https://adafru.it/Ft4) - These connectors allow you to connectors to dev boards

with STEMMA QT connectors or to other things with various associated

accessories (https://adafru.it/Ft6)

Wii Nunchuck Connector

Wii controllers use a standard I2C interface. We use extra thick 2.0mm PCBs for this breakout, and made

cut-outs for the grabber-notches, so that the controller connection is snug, and wont rattle or come loose!

See the GIF for how to install. The notched side of the connector U goes on the side that says Notch Up!

Arduino Use

Connect the Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter as shown below using the STEMMA QT connector or a

solderless breadboard.

Connect board VIN (red wire) to Arduino 5V if you

are running a 5V board Arduino (Uno, etc.). If your

board is 3V, connect to that instead.

Connect board GND (black wire) to Arduino GND

Connect board SCL (yellow wire) to Arduino SCL

Connect board SDA (blue wire) to Arduino SDA

There are existing Arduino libraries you can use with the Wii series of devices. We'll be using the popular

WiiChuck library (https://adafru.it/PbS) which has support for the following devices

Nunchuk

Classic Controller

Guitar Hero Guitar

Guitar Hero Drums

DJ Hero

Drawesome Tablet

Taiko Drums

Install it by searching the Arduino Library Manager for WiiChuck

You can use this sketch, again it barely fits on a 32u4 or 328 Arduino but it will connect and display data

from a Nunchuk type controller!

#include <WiiChuck.h>

Accessory nunchuck;

void setup() { Serial.begin(115200); nunchuck.begin(); if (nunchuck.type == Unknown) { nunchuck.type = NUNCHUCK; } }

void loop() { nunchuck.readData(); // Read inputs and update maps

Serial.print("X: "); Serial.print(nunchuck.getAccelX()); Serial.print(" \tY: "); Serial.print(nunchuck.getAccelY()); Serial.print(" \tZ: "); Serial.println(nunchuck.getAccelZ());

Serial.print("Joy: ("); Serial.print(nunchuck.getJoyX()); Serial.print(", "); Serial.print(nunchuck.getJoyY()); Serial.println(")");

Serial.print("Button: "); if (nunchuck.getButtonZ()) Serial.print(" Z "); if (nunchuck.getButtonC()) Serial.print(" C ");

Serial.println(); delay(100); }

Open the serial console at 115200 baud to see data streaming out, you can see the X Y Z accelerometer

data (ranges from 0 to 1023), X and Y from the thumbstick (ranges from 0-255, with ~127 in the center

The WiiChuck library is very fully featured, using a lot of RAM and Flash and we don't recommend

it for use with Arduino compatibles that use ATmega32x's like the UNO/Leonardo/32u4 because

its easy to overuse the memory and go unstable. Please pick a board with over 4K of RAM!



position), and the two trigger buttons Z and C

Python & CircuitPython

It's easy to use the Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter with CircuitPython and the Adafruit CircuitPython

Nunchuk (https://adafru.it/PbT) module. This module allows you to easily write Python code that reads

controls from the Wii Nunchuck.

You can use this sensor with any CircuitPython microcontroller board or with a computer that has GPIO

and Python thanks to Adafruit_Blinka, our CircuitPython-for-Python compatibility

library (https://adafru.it/BSN).

CircuitPython Microcontroller Wiring

First wire up a Wii Nunchuck Adapter Breakout to your board exactly as follows. Here is an example of the

Nunchuck Adapter wired to a Feather using I2C:

Board 3V to sensor VIN (red wire)

Board GND to sensor GND (black wire)

Board SCL to sensor SCL (yellow wire)

Board SDA to sensor SDA (blue wire)

Python Computer Wiring

Since there's

dozens

of Linux computers/boards you can use we will show wiring for Raspberry Pi. For

other platforms, please visit the guide for CircuitPython on Linux to see whether your platform is

supported (https://adafru.it/BSN).

Here's the Raspberry Pi wired with I2C:

Pi 3V3 to sensor VIN (red wire)

Pi GND to sensor GND (black wire)

Pi SCL to sensor SCL (yellow wire)

Pi SDA to sensor SDA (blue wire)

CircuitPython Installation of Nunchuck Library

You'll need to install the Adafruit CircuitPython Nunchuck (https://adafru.it/PbX) library on your

CircuitPython board.

First make sure you are running the latest version of Adafruit CircuitPython (https://adafru.it/Amd) for your

board.

Next you'll need to install the necessary libraries to use the hardware--carefully follow the steps to find and

install these libraries from Adafruit's CircuitPython library bundle (https://adafru.it/ENC). Our CircuitPython

starter guide has a great page on how to install the library bundle (https://adafru.it/ABU).

Copy the following files from the bundle to the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive:

adafruit_nunchuck.mpy

adafruit_bus_device

Before continuing make sure your board's lib folder or root filesystem has the adafruit_nunchuck.mpy,

and adafruit_bus_device file and folder copied over.

Next connect to the board's serial REPL (https://adafru.it/Awz)so you are at the CircuitPython >>> prompt.

Python Installation of Nunchuck Library

You'll need to install the Adafruit_Blinka library that provides the CircuitPython support in Python. This

may also require enabling I2C on your platform and verifying you are running Python 3. Since each

platform is a little different, and Linux changes often, please visit the CircuitPython on Linux guide to get

your computer ready (https://adafru.it/BSN)!

Once that's done, from your command line run the following command:

pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-nunchuck

If your default Python is version 3 you may need to run 'pip' instead. Just make sure you aren't trying to

use CircuitPython on Python 2.x, it isn't supported!

CircuitPython & Python Usage

To demonstrate the usage of the sensor we'll initialize it and read from the controller in the board's Python

REPL.

Run the following code to import the necessary modules and initialize the I2C connection with the

adapter:

import time import board import adafruit_nunchuk

nc = adafruit_nunchuk.Nunchuk(board.I2C())

Now you're ready to read values from the controller using these properties:

joystick - An (x, y) tuple of the joystick position.

button_C - The pressed state of button C.

button_Z - The pressed state of button Z.

acceleration - An (x, y, z) tuple of acceleration data.

For example, to read the joystick position:

x, y = nc.joystick print("joystick = {},{}".format(x, y))

To read button presses on the+ buttons:

print(nc.button_C) print(nc.button_Z)

To read the acceleration data:

ax, ay, az = nc.acceleration print("accceleration ax={}, ay={}, az={}".format(ax, ay, az))

That's all there is to using the Adafruit Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter with Python and CircuitPython!

Full Example Code

This example reads all the data in a loop.

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2021 ladyada for Adafruit Industries # SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time import board import adafruit_nunchuk

nc = adafruit_nunchuk.Nunchuk(board.I2C())

while True: x, y = nc.joystick ax, ay, az = nc.acceleration print("joystick = {},{}".format(x, y)) print("accceleration ax={}, ay={}, az={}".format(ax, ay, az))

if nc.buttons.C: print("button C") if nc.buttons.Z: print("button Z") time.sleep(0.5)

Python Docs

Python Docs (https://adafru.it/PbW)

Downloads

Files:

Fritzing object in the Adafruit Fritzing Library (https://adafru.it/PbU)

EagleCAD PCB files on GitHub (https://adafru.it/PbV)

Schematic

Fab Print

Sample Project: Nunchuck NeoPixel Ring

Here's an example project you can do with your Nunchuck breakout to control some NeoPixels with

joystick, button, and motion from a Wii Nunchuck.

Parts

Adafruit Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter

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...

$2.95

In Stock

Wii controller (Nunchuck / Wiichuck)

This is a generic Wii Nunchuck controller, we haven't tried it with a Wii but it does work great with the Video Game shield, and all the

microcontroller code we tried. May come in...

$12.50

In Stock

You can use pretty much any CircuitPython-capable board for this, I had a Metro M4 Airlift handy.

Adafruit Metro M4 Express AirLift (WiFi) - Lite

Give your next project a lift with AirLift - our witty name for the ESP32 co-processor that graces this Metro M4. You already know about

the Adafruit Metro...

$34.95

In Stock

This will work with any NeoPixel strand, strip, or ring.

NeoPixel 1/4 60 Ring - 5050 RGBW LED w/ Integrated Drivers

What is better than smart RGB LEDs? Smart RGB+White LEDs! These NeoPixels now have 4 LEDs in them (red, green, blue and white) for

excellent lighting effects. Round and round...

$11.95

In Stock

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Add to Cart

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Add to Cart

STEMMA QT / Qwiic JST SH 4-pin to Premium Male Headers Cable

This 4-wire cable is a little over 150mm / 6" long and fitted with JST-SH female 4-pin connectors on one end and premium Dupont male

headers on the other. Compared with the...

$0.95

In Stock

Wiring

Use the STEMMA QT/qwiic to male header pin adapter to plug the Nunchuck breakout into your

microcontroller's 3.3V, GND, SDA, & SCL lines.

Wire your NeoPixels into the board's 5V, GND, and D6 (to NeoPixel DIN) pins (if your board only has 3.3V

that's usually fine, too, but NeoPixels prefer 5V when available).

Then, plug your Nunchuck controller into the adapter, making sure to follow the silkscreened "NOTCH UP"

guidline.

Code

Set up your board as shown on the previous page, then download this code onto the board as code.py.

Add to Cart

import time import board import adafruit_nunchuk import neopixel import simpleio

nc = adafruit_nunchuk.Nunchuk(board.I2C()) # create neopixel object NEOPIN = board.D6 NEOLENGTH = 60 NEOORDER = neopixel.GRBW # set to GRB for 'regular' RGB NeoPixels pixels = neopixel.NeoPixel( NEOPIN, NEOLENGTH, brightness=0.1, auto_write=False, pixel_order=NEOORDER )

RED = (220, 0, 0) PURPLE = (80, 0, 160) PINK = (100, 0, 80) GREEN = (0, 180, 0) CYAN = (0, 80, 100) BLUE = (0, 0, 255) BLACK = (0, 0, 0)

COLORS = [RED, PURPLE, PINK, GREEN, CYAN, BLUE] pix = 0 # selected pixel color_pick = 0 # current color index pixels.fill(BLACK) pixels.show()

while True: x, y = nc.joystick # get joystick values ax, ay, az = nc.acceleration # get accelerometer values

tilt_x = simpleio.map_range(ax, 300.0, 800.0, 0.0, 1.0) # remap tilt to brightness # remap y to current pixel pix = int( simpleio.map_range(y, 0, 255, 0, NEOLENGTH - 1) )

if nc.button_C: # hold C button to use tilt for brightness pixels.brightness = tilt_x

if nc.button_Z: color_pick = (color_pick + 1) % 4 # cycle through colors time.sleep(0.02) # debounce

pixels.fill(BLACK) # turn off pixels for i in range(0, pix + 1): # light up all pixels up to the current one pixels[i] = COLORS[color_pick]

pixels.show()

Now, you can control your LEDs with the nunchuck!

move the joystick up and down to choose how many pixels are lit

tap the Z button to change colors

hold the C button while tilting the controller from side to side to adjust brightness. Let go of the C

button to lock in that brightness level

Adafruit Wii Nunchuck Breakout Adapter User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual