Topic: Did anyone pick-up one of those "Wii Charge Stations"?

[Rhoq]

I saw two different 3rd party rechargeable battery solutions for the Wii today. One made my Intec and the other by Nyko. I went with the Nyko just because it seemed to be built a lot better and the charger acts as a cradle for my Wii-Motes (the Intec unit appeared to only charge the battery packs, but curiously had both a USB cord and an AC power supply, though the packaging indicated that a wall outlet was required to charge).

Nyko Wii Charge Station

The replacement battery cover has a nice rubberized grip which feels very good in your hand. The grip is actually a medium-colored gray (like the bottom portion of the base unit) and not white as pictured.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I bought the Nyko one and I've been having problems with it, the battery pack seems to only work with one of my controllers. The other controller may work for alittle bit but will shut off randomly (like there is a connection problem), I rotated the battery packs and I have that problem with the same Wiimote. Not sure what is up because batteries work fine in it. Oh well, at least it works with one of my Wiimotes.

[Willi]

Every since I completed my Wii puzzle with imports from all over the world and started serious Zelda gaming it become obvious how much power these lovely Wiimotes suck.

Thanks a bunch for this post to point me in the right direction to solve the single major annoyance Wii has given me. The Nyko is one of many recharchgers, but not the best IMHO. To share my research findings with you, this post includes a short overview on all rechargers currently available. The first one passed my online quality tests and was just (pre-)ordered at amazon.co.uk. I will gladly update this post when I have put this charger through it's paces.

I did not include pricing into my rating considerations because that's a non issue when risking melting Wiimotes and when even the top products costs are negligible...

Contestant #1
Manufacturer: Joytech
Name: Power Station
Official URL: http://www.joytech.net/1/products/wii/12/130/Power-Station.htm
Review-1: http://www.vooks.net/modules.php?module=reviews&id=127 (9/10)
Review-2: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Joytech-Power-Station-Wii/dp/B000L3DFS0 (7 x max rating)
Review-3: http://www.mywii.com.au/ReviewDetail.aspx?id=100 (10/10)
Battery Type: Ni-MH
Battery Capacity: unknown
Critic:
(o) positively works with strap in place according to review
(+) looks are in harmony with Wii
(o) useless and ugly nunchuck holders (can fortunately be retracted almost completely)
(+) reputable brand -> decent quality can be expected
(+) hijacks Wii dc adapter cable so won't even hog a wii usb port, most reliable power source without external power supply
(+) manufacturer obviously tried to build a battery pack as close to the original Wiimote casing as possible
-> third party feel minimized
(o) taken from last review, but since this should affect any and every battery charger rating (o) instead of (-).
"It's only fault (and it's a small one), is that you have to take out these batteries and use normal ones to Sync the controllers. This may be a bit annoying for people whose controllers keep going out of sync, but no more annoying than spending all your money on batteries."
I never had this problem with my Wiimotes, so this can be ignored for now.

Contestant #2
Manufacturer:  Nyko
Name: Charge Station
Official URL: http://www.nyko.com/nyko/products/?i=102#
Review-1: http://gear.ign.com/articles/764/764273p1.html (favorable 9/10)
Battery Type: unknown
Battery Capacity: unknown
Critic:
(--) Quality questionable, one report of melted battery pack http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802574
(-) Needs external power supply
(-) Adds rubber grip to remote -> third party feel (YMMV)

Contestant #3
Manufacturer:  Thrustmaster
Name: T-Charge NW
Official URL: http://www.thrustmaster.com/product.aspx?ProductID=75&PlatformID=10
Battery Type: unknown
Critic:
(--) merely a glorified battery charger

Contestant #4
Manufacturer:  Brando
Name: Wiimote Charger ?
Official URL: unknown
Review URL: http://gear.ign.com/articles/772/772303p1.html
Battery Type: unknown
Critic:
(+) the most beautiful of the bunch (http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/6922/7946/brando-unveils-wii-remote-charger.phtml)
(--) Only one Wiimote

Contestant #5
Manufacturer:  Powerwave
Name: Controller Dock
Official URL: http://powerwave.com.au/index.php?evnF=productImage&format=&title=Powerwave%20Controller%20Docking%20Station&id=3.199367&acode=139409
Battery Type: unknown
Battery Capacity: unknown
Critic:
(--) Can't be bought, only mock-up so far

Contestant #6
Manufacturer: Thanko
Name: USB Charger for Wii Remote Controll
Official URL: http://www.thanko.jp/wiirech/
Official URL Readable: http://raremonoshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=99
Battery Type: Lithium-ion
Battery Capacity: unknown
Critic:
(+) awesome looks
(+) Lithium-ion high longevity of battery pack
(o) positively works with strap attached
(-) battery pack looks flimsy
(o) hogs Wii usb port
(-) only one, need to buy 2 but reduced pack is being offered    

[Rhoq]

Quote
Originally posted by: Willi
it become obvious how much power these lovely Wiimotes suck.

Yeah - playing The Godfather: Blackhand Edition is what did it for me. I got tired of the low battery warning message that kept interrupting my game.

Quote
Originally posted by: Willi
Thanks a bunch for this post to point me in the right direction to solve the single major annoyance Wii has given me. The Nyko is one of many recharchgers, but not the best IMHO. To share my research findings with you, this post includes a short overview on all rechargers currently available. The first one passed my online quality tests and was just (pre-)ordered at amazon.co.uk. I will gladly update this post when I have put this charger through it's paces.

I had been interested in the JoyTech ever since it was first announced last year. Unfortunately I have never seen any of their products in any stores. I know they are based in the UK, so it's quite possible they are only available in the states via import.

Quote
Originally posted by: Willi
I did not include pricing into my rating considerations because that's a non issue when risking melting Wiimotes and when even the top products costs are negligible...

I saw that one review on GameStop's site where someone claimed that the battery melted inside of the Wii-Mote (but the Wii-Mote functioned normally after the melted battery was removed). Since that is the only claim, I'm inclined to believe that the product was being misused or his report is either being exaggerated or a complete fabrication. In any event, my Wii-Motes will not be on the charge 24/7 anyways (my cats would mistake the wrist straps for toys if I left them out all of the time). They will only be cradled until they reach a full charge before I put them away.

Since I can't comment any of the chargers except for the one made by Nyko, I will say that I disagree with your negative bulletpoint at the end of your product summary...

Quote
Originally posted by: Willi
Contestant #2
Manufacturer:  Nyko
Name: Charge Station
Official URL: http://www.nyko.com/nyko/products/?i=102#
Review-1: http://gear.ign.com/articles/764/764273p1.html (favorable 9/10)
Battery Type: unknown
Critic:
(--) Quality questionable, one report of melted battery pack http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802574
(-) Needs external power supply
(-) Adds rubber grip to remote -> third party feel (YMMV)

The rubber grip is a nice touch and feels very good when you hold the Wii-Mote. It neither looks nor feels "3rd Party". However, with that said, the plastic used for the new battery cover doesn't feel as dense as Nintendo's. The part of the cover that locks into the Wii-Mote felt too loose as it didn't really have much resistance when it was pressed inward (but it locks into the Wii-Mote in tightly).  

[NWR_pap64]

I was thinking of getting one, but SB convinced me that rechargeable batteries were better, since I just switch batteries when one pair was depleted.  

[Rhoq]

With the Nyko one, they say to allow the battery to fully discharge 2 or 3 times so the battery can achieve maximum charge capacity. After that, the instruction booklet says you can keep the Wii-motes in the cradle when they are not being used to keep them fully charged at all times. Though I suppose the rechargeable AAs are just as easy to use.

[Willi]

Yeah the "melting" post might be a complete fabrication and seemed very isolated. Overall the Nyko rating was very good in all reviews I found.

I added YMMV to the last negative bullet point for a good reason. I know the rubber grip has received good reviews. So some, like you, could read this as a positive bullet point.  For me personally, it is a clear negative, because I'm not the type of person who likes to use third party accessories unless absolutely unavoidable. Especially controllers with a company like Nintendo! I adore the first party feel and Joytech obviously took special care to retain that feeling.

I am located in Europe... so this specific import is quite easy. But since I got my Wii from Canada, my S-Video cable from Asia, and only my power supply from my own country, there isn't an import obstacle I'm not willing to climb to get to the good stuff. It's true the Joytech one seems hard to find. But this seems reasonable given it's very recent release. My Amazon order was also degraded to a Pre-Order but should ship in 3 days which is fine by me.

From what I have read Nintendo officially claimed not to have an interest in producing a Wiimote charger, so Nintendo effectively left the field for 3rd parties. I have not found any official link to confirm this though.

Oh any my Wiimotes will stay in the recharger at all times unless specifically not recommended in the chargers manual. I see little usability advantage from using rechargeable batteries compared to buying more and more non rechargeable batteries. Real usability is only achievable with a true craddle. That's the behavior I expect from a modern battery hungry mobile device.  

[cubist]

I use rechargeable batteries because I'm stuck with 6 Wiimotes.  I have about 30 rechargeables total, which help tremendously.  My only warning to those who use it is to make sure you've allowed the batteries to cool down before sticking it in your Wiimote.  You don't want the heat melting the plastic on your Wiimote.  

[Nephilim]

"Yeah - playing The Godfather: Blackhand Edition is what did it for me. I got tired of the low battery warning message that kept interrupting my game."

You should try rayman, once u get to 1 bar, the game is unplayable
means u only get 3/4 of the controls battery life

[Willi]

I received my Joytech Wiimote power station today. This post reports on on my initial findings.

Battery type:
Printed on the inside of the Joytech battery replacement cover: Ni-MH.

Battery capacity:
Still unknown

Build & installation:
Installation of the base unit was a breeze. I merely had to power down my Wii for a few seconds to piggyback it's DC power for optimal integration. Even this little connector looks like it could be an original extension of Wii's official DC connector. Both covers fit nicely, however one was a little easier to initially put in place than the other. Once in place the new covers seem to be rock solid. Both Wiimotes connected instantly with their wrist bands firmly in place.

Looks:
Very stylish as long as you don't extend the Nunchuck holder-legs.

Differences to standard Wiimote:
The weights of a charged and standard Wiimote are indistinguishable.  However, alas there is one minor tactile difference: The exterior surface of the Joytech cover is perfectly smooth as opposed to the lightly roughed up Nintendo surface. Joytech obviously didn't manage to reproduce the admittedly "difficult" Nintendo surface.


As expected the battery packs are shipped drained / empty... Alas I now need to take a Wiimote charge pause even though Fedex just delivered Super Paper Mario and a third Wiimote with WiiPlay to my doorstep.

In closing the Joytech build quality met my expectations with only a minor let-down on the plastic texture. I would be curious to learn if any other 3rd party did manage to reproduce that texture but I doubt anybody has just yet. Until Nintendo produces a 4-port official power station the Joytech will do fine. I will update this thread should I encounter any trouble down the road. My two primary Wiimotes will stay in the charger at all times when not in "use" for playing with the sole exception of extended holidays.

My new third Wiimote brings up one point I'd like to add. The Joytech charger only supports two Wiimotes piggybacking Wii's power line. This connector adds to the length of your Wii. If you really want to keep four Wiimotes charged like this you'd have to buy two Joytech stations and piggyback Wii's power line not once but twice doubling the adapters length.  

[ryancoke]

I just use rechargable double As.  When one set gets down to one bar I put in the backup set and recharge the first set. Works well so far.