rechargeable Wii station?

Mephistopheles

So, I've had my Wii for a week, and I've already drained the batteries in one of my wiimotes (thanks zelda). I started looking into those rechargeable battery packs and charging stations that you see everywhere, but as with most peripherals, buying third party makes me nervous. Is there some consensus as to which of these is the best?

I'm really not sure if this should go in the subforum or not...

ulanshad

I wasn't aware there was more than one kind of charging station. I have the Nyko one (for two Wii-motes) and it works very well. Note that with the charge pack and new battery cover in, they bulge out slightly (vs. the original cover), but this is not unpleasant.

DeadlySherpa

A lot of people find the nyko charging dock a great solution.

Personally i just use a bunch of rechargeable doubleAs and switch em out when needed, but i can see the nyko charger being a good purchase if you're looking for rechargeable batteries.

Darlan

If you have many oft-used appliances that take AA batteries, it would be more economical to buy a generic AA battery charging station, but if you're only looking to charge the wiimotes, the convenience of just sliding them back into the dock makes the nyko thing the thing to get. Definitely get one or the other though, battery prices can really add up over time.

bash

My friend got me one of the Nyko ones for my birthday and it works pretty well. It hold two remotes and shows a blue light when they're charging and a green one when they're full. The battery packs get warm though not hot while charging but not so warm you can't hold them and play a game immediately after charging. I haven't done any long marathon sessions of Wii'ing so I don't know exactly how long the packs last playing continuously. I can usually go a few weeks between charges though I try to keep them topped off.

wunderbar

I do the rechargable AA thing. I have 3 sets for my 2 Wiimotes.

slash000

Supposedly the Nyko Charge Station is really good:







It's also the 'original' of these things. It should only be $20 now, iirc.


There's another company that makes these now, too, but I don't recall what/which.

Lord Yod

I have one of the single-Wiimote chargers - can anyone tell me if it will work for two units, obviously switching which one is in the charger? With the battery pack on there's no way to hit the pair button, so I'm curious...

jothki

Remotes aren't locked into player positions, whichever one contacts the Wii first after it's turned on grabs Player 1.

Dodge Aspen

The Nyko one is perfect. The rubberized battery cover is actually pretty nice. I have seen a couple of other charge stations, but they all seemed to be USB chargers, instead of wall plug compatible.

bfiggins

I have some trouble with the Nyko dock; the Wiimotes don't just start charging when I drop them in, I have to wiggle them and finesse it a bit to get the contacts to connect and the light to come on. It's not really a problem, though - if I see a remote get down to like 1 or 2 bars or charge, I'll just make sure to get the light on next time it's in the cradle.

Xaquin

I have the Nyko one and it's great.

Well worth the 20-30$

Mephistopheles

thanks for the advice guys. I guess I know where that TRU giftcard is going.

Xagarath

I just got regular rechargeable batteries and a regular charger, which was no more expensive and has the advantage I can use it for other things.

Darkblade_1

My Nyko one doesnt work.. so it was like a $25 brick.. Which frustrates me.


Aparantly its a fairly common problem from what I can gather online..

Vargas Prime

bfiggins wrote: »

I have some trouble with the Nyko dock; the Wiimotes don't just start charging when I drop them in, I have to wiggle them and finesse it a bit to get the contacts to connect and the light to come on. It's not really a problem, though - if I see a remote get down to like 1 or 2 bars or charge, I'll just make sure to get the light on next time it's in the cradle.

I have the Nyko one, and it works like a charm. I had trouble fitting the remotes into the base at first, too, because the cords for the wrist straps were getting in the way. I took the straps off my remotes and they fit perfectly. Most of the time, I'm not swinging the remote with enough vigor to launch it across the room, so I usually don't even use the wrist straps when I play.

paco_pepe

Q about the nyko charge station: do you charge the controllers only when they run low? or do you place them in the station after every gaming session?

greebzilla

hmm on Amazon, this runs for $30. For that amount, you can get an Eneloop kit from Costco stores which contains 8 AA's, 4 AAA's and 2 each of C and D shells (you can put the AA's into them and they will act like a C or D) along with a charger. The eneloops are supposed to hold charge longer and better than your average battery.

I don't see the Eneloop kit on costco.com but I did pick one up a couple weeks ago at the local store. Hopefully a little more utility than just a specific charger for wii's

mcdermott

paco_pepe wrote: »

Q about the nyko charge station: do you charge the controllers only when they run low? or do you place them in the station after every gaming session?

They're NiMH's (not Li-ion), so I'm pretty sure with those it's generally better to run them down (though not completely) before recharging. Could be wrong, though...I'd just check out "NiMH battery" over at wikipedia for more info.

MoogPaul

I have the Nyko dock. Actually two of them. I've been using them for close to a year now, and my only complain is that you may have to fidget with the remote a little in order for the recharging part to touch the battery in order to make the remote actually charge and not just sit there. It's not really that much of a problem though.

mooshoepork

I just bought one. Thanks guys

edit: not sure if it was my charger, but previously I used energizer lithium ion, somethings. They would seriously go dead in about an hour. It was ridiculous. How long do you get out of the Nyko ones?