Trouble connecting 8 devices at once. (4x MotionPlus, 4x Balance Boards)

[55hz]

System:
MacBook Pro Retina 15" Mid 2012, i7, 16GB RAM, OSX 10.9.4

Apple Bluetooth Software Version:
4.2.6f1 14216

OSCulator Version:
2.13.1 (20140113)

I have been attempting to connect 4x Wii MotionPlus controllers and 4x Wii Balance boards. I'm having trouble connecting 8 devices simultaneously as only 7 will work at any given time. Usually it's the last device I try to connect that has trouble, but not always. I ran 20 connection tests attempting to pair them in different orders, in all 20 cases the first 6 devices (regardless of which 6) connected successfully. In 4 of the cases, the 7th attempted device never connected.

The screenshots show that all devices are capable of connecting, but in no instance could I get all of them working.

Screen Shot 2014-08-24 at 3.24.29 PM.pngScreen Shot 2014-08-24 at 3.25.36 PM.pngScreen Shot 2014-08-24 at 3.26.24 PM.pngScreen Shot 2014-08-24 at 3.28.25 PM.png

Specifically, the devices are:
1: RVL-CNT-01
2: RVL-CNT-01
3: RVL-CNT-01-TR
4: RVL-CNT-01-TR
5: RVL-WBC-01
6: RVL-WBC-01
7: RVL-WBC-01
8: RVL-WBC-01

There has been no issue with data I have tested otherwise other than unrelated initial 1-4 LEDs not always turning on on the Wiimotes (solved by toggling "Sync LEDs with Preset #)

Any ideas of why this may be? Should I give up for now?

[camille]

Hello 55hz,

It is very rare to be able to connect 8 remotes to a single bluetooth adapter.

OSCulator is rated for 4 connected devices, then depending on your computer and environment (wireless interferences), more can be connected. Apple gradually enhanced their Bluetooth adapter, in the beginning no more than 4 remotes could be connected. Given your descriptions it is expected that the seventh remote is difficult to connect.

If you absolutely need to use 8 wiimotes, I would recommend that you pair 4 wiimotes with one computer, and 4 other on another one.


Best,
Camille

[55hz]

Thanks for the reply, I understand asking for 8 devices to connect to one computer is a lot, I've never tried more than four before now.

For the project we're working on and the environment this will be demoed in, Wifi communication is not an option. I suppose it shouldn't be too much trouble to hook up a local network with an ethernet switch and have one computer handle Wiimotes and the other handle the Balance Boards? Any tips on rigging this up? We'll be sending all data to MaxMSP for further processing.

[camille]

Hi,

Here's how I would recommend you set things up:

- in System Preferences / Network, create a new "Location".
- configure the Ethernet port with a static configuration (if you need help about IP addresses, please let me know), so your 3 computers are on the same local network.
- In the folder OSCulator ƒ/Samples Library/Wiimote/Cycling '74 Max" check out the file "Wiimote to Max.oscd". I routes every messages of a Wiimote to Max on the local host. Copy this file in order to customize it.
- With the file open, open the OSCulator Parameters window, and go to the OSC tab,
- Change the target that says "osc.udp://localhost:9000" to "osc.udp://<IP address of the computer running Max>:9000". It assumes that you run udpreceive in Max on port 9000.

Now it's up to you to decide if you want to send Balance Board and Wiimotes data to one port, or two different ports. It should not be a problem to run two instances of udpreceive on two different ports (e.g. 9000 and 9001), and it would make it easier to know which computer the data is coming from.

I hope it help, let me know if you need more details.


Cam

[camille]

Hi,

Here's how I would recommend you set things up:

- in System Preferences / Network, create a new "Location".
- configure the Ethernet port with a static configuration (if you need help about IP addresses, please let me know), so your 3 computers are on the same local network.
- In the folder OSCulator ƒ/Samples Library/Wiimote/Cycling '74 Max" check out the file "Wiimote to Max.oscd". I routes every messages of a Wiimote to Max on the local host. Copy this file in order to customize it.
- With the file open, open the OSCulator Parameters window, and go to the OSC tab,
- Change the target that says "osc.udp://localhost:9000" to "osc.udp://<IP address of the computer running Max>:9000". It assumes that you run udpreceive in Max on port 9000.

Now it's up to you to decide if you want to send Balance Board and Wiimotes data to one port, or two different ports. It should not be a problem to run two instances of udpreceive on two different ports (e.g. 9000 and 9001), and it would make it easier to know which computer the data is coming from.

I hope it help, let me know if you need more details.


Cam