Bluetooth adapter with verified good range?

themanuel · 02-18-2016, 11:06 AM #1

Hello.

I'm looking for suggestions from users that own or have owned a bluetooth adapter with good enough range to have a dolphin equipped PC in one room and play with real wiimotes on another.

I have my PC in the basement and run a long HDMI cable to my TV upstairs. This works wonders with my xbox 360 wireless controller and official USB PC adapter but the very cheap old bluetooth adapter I had lying around is not good enough to support wiimote play.

**admin89** · 02-18-2016, 11:13 AM #2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1PK1321083
It works with 4 wiimotes at the same time . You will need Toshiba Stack though

themanuel · 02-18-2016, 01:11 PM #3

(02-18-2016, 11:13 AM)admin89 Wrote: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1PK1321083
It works with 4 wiimotes at the same time . You will need Toshiba Stack though

Thank you. Can you comment on the range, perhaps through walls? That's an important factor in my case.

**admin89** · 02-18-2016, 01:23 PM #4

Maximum 10m

Quote:perhaps through walls?

I'm not sure about that because I don't know how thick you wall is but it works just fine in my case

**mbc07** · 02-18-2016, 02:49 PM #5

If range is a concern I would suggest searching for class 1 BT adapters, they have a theoretically max range of 100m...

**Helios** · 02-18-2016, 04:12 PM #6

Toshiba stack isn't needed anymore on >= Win 8 AFAIK.

themanuel · 02-18-2016, 10:46 PM #7

(02-18-2016, 01:23 PM)admin89 Wrote: Maximum 10m
I'm not sure about that because I don't know how thick you wall is but it works just fine in my case

Thank you.

mimimi · 02-18-2016, 11:14 PM #8

I would recommend getting an active 10m usb cable and an usb hub with power supply. Then you can also have fun with keyboard and mouse or just any kind of controller.

themanuel · 02-19-2016, 04:31 AM #9

(02-18-2016, 11:14 PM)mimimi Wrote: I would recommend getting an active 10m usb cable and an usb hub with power supply. Then you can also have fun with keyboard and mouse or just any kind of controller.

Thanks. I've been considering that as well. I'll look into it.

themanuel · 03-08-2016, 10:53 PM **#10**

I just wanted to update this thread with some new info on a cheap, no-brand BT adapter I got over the mail yesterday that is working great. I posted the whole story here.

Here is what I posted, to save you the click:

Quote:Coincidentally, after I posted above, I checked my mail and the new dongle had arrived. I plugged it in and it worked right away with the Windows 10 drivers without having to do anything at all. My wiimotes reconnected and I was not asked for a confirmation code or anything. I did not even have to use the red sync button; I just pressed 1+2. This worked the same with both, Wii MotionPlus (first generation, packed in with Sling Smash), and white original controllers.

The initial experience with the new dongle was incredibly smooth. The controllers take less than 20 seconds to reconnect and the dongle is always enabled after several restarts of the computer, unlike the previous one. To boot, I am able to use the dongle at the end of a USB extension cable of about 12ft. This allows me to move it a bit closer to my sitting position in the family room upstairs, where the TV connected to the PC in basement with a long HDMI cable. The older dongle would simply not work with the extension cable.

I'm guessing the fact that the new dongle is BT 4.0 may have something to do with it, whereas the older one was who knows what BT version (I had had it in a drawer for years). The funny part is that I only paid $3.24 for it. It is this guy here. It took two weeks to arrive from China, it is generically branded and was packed very cheaply so I was highly skeptical when I got it that it would even work. I just took a chance on it because it was so cheap.

Last night I played a couple of cups (four races each) of Super Mario Kart Wii and did not lose connection at any time after I connected the dongle to the USB extension cord. Plugged directly into the computer was causing drops and eventually disconnections as the signal is going going through the floor from the basement to the room upstairs. Moving the dongle several feet in the direction of my couch with the extension cord was enough to get it work solidly. Eventually I will consider a powered hub upstairs if the connection is not robust enough.

All in all, I'm pretty well set up now with the adapter and my wiimotes.