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Wii Host Adapter Documentation

Supported Controllers​

USB Connection​

  • PDP Riffmaster (both platform variants)
  • CRKD
    • MULTIPLATFORM - USE P3 MODE, KNOB 1
    • XBOX EDITION - USE PC MODE, KNOB 8
    • SG - USE LEGACY MODE (see documentation included with guitar)
    • XBOX OLIVE DRAB - USE PC MODE
  • Wired
    • RedOctane Guitar Hero 2/3 Xplorer for Xbox 360
    • Kiosk/Arcade Guitar Hero controller (needs testing)
  • Using 360 Wireless Receiver
    • RedOctane Guitar Hero 3/A Les Paul for Xbox 360
    • RedOctane Guitar Hero World Tour Sunburst/Metallica for Xbox 360
    • RedOctane "Guitar Hero 5/Band Hero" for Xbox 360
    • RedOctane Warriors of Rock guitar for Xbox 360
  • Using included PS3 wireless dongle
    • RedOctane Guitar Hero 3/A Les Paul for PS3
    • RedOctane Guitar Hero World Tour Sunburst/Metallica for PS3
    • RedOctane "Guitar Hero 5/Band Hero" for PS3
    • RedOctane Warriors of Rock guitar for PS3
  • Guitar Hero Drums
    • Playstation 2 and 3 kits will require the included wireless dongle
    • Xbox 360 kits will require a wireless 360 receiver
  • Wired
    • RB1 Wired Stratocaster for Xbox 360
    • Rock Band 3 Precision Bass Wired for Xbox 360
  • Using 360 Wireless Receiver
    • RB1, RB2, RB3, RBB wireless Stratocaster for Xbox 360
    • RB Beatles Hoffner for fox Xbox 360
    • RB Beatles Gretsch for Xbox 360
    • Logitech Stratocaster for Xbox 360
    • RB3 Telecaster for Xbox 360
    • RB3 Precision Bass Wireless for Xbox 360
  • Using included PS2/PS3 wireless dongle
    • RB1, RB2, RB3, RBB Stratocaster for PS3
    • RB Beatles Hoffner for PS3
    • RB Beatles Gretsch for PS3
    • Logitech Stratocaster for PS3 (requires special dongle)
    • RB3 Telecaster for PS3
    • Rock Band Precision Bass for PS3
  • Using included Wii wireless dongle
    • RB1, RB2, RB3, RBB Stratocaster for Wii
    • RB Beatles Hoffner for Wii
    • RB Beatles Gretsch for Wii
    • RB3 Precision Bass Wireless for Wii
  • Xbox 360 Turntable – Using 360 Wireless Receiver
  • PS2/PS3 Turntable – Requires included wireless dongle

Most USB Gamepads will work, but YMMV. (some third party gamepads will not work)

  • Stock console gamepads (Xbox 360, PS4, etc)

Setup​

Requirements
  • Wii Host Adapter
  • USB-C to USB-A cable
  • A compatible USB Instrument controller
  • A Wiimote
  • *A computer that uses Windows, macOS, or Linux
  • *The latest revision of the RCM Programming Tool

*only required if reprogramming or calibration is needed

Notes

  • The drum preset you use is exclusively for Guitar Hero Drums

Programming​

To change the preset of your Wii Host Adapter, you must use the RCM Programming Tool. Click here to be taken to the download page.

  1. Open the RCM Programming Tool.

  2. Plug your Wii Host Adapter into your computer via the USB-C port. You will see it appear with "Configure" and "Reset to factory" buttons.

  3. Click "Configure"

  4. You will be brought to this screen in the Programming Tool

    If you are attempting to change to a different preset, click the dropdown on the left side, then select that preset. After, click "Save Settings".

  5. Wait until the bar at the bottom reaches 100% and says Status: Done.

  6. Final notes: You may need to adjust the hit sensitivity of your instrument. The following section breaks down each type of instrument and how to install the V3 into them.

Calibration and Tuning​

  1. Open the RCM Programming Tool.

  2. Plug your Wii Host into your computer using the USB-C cable included with the adapter. Plug the USB-C end into the Wii Host and the USB-A end into your computer.

  3. The RCM Programming Tool should display the Wii Host. Click Configure.

  4. Plug your instrument into the Wii Host via the USB-A port.

  5. Scroll to the USB Inputs section. It should show 1 USB Input Devices Detected. Click it to open the menu.

  6. Scroll down to the Tilt section.

  7. Click calibrate.

  8. Hold the guitar in the "neutral" position that you would play your guitar in. While holding it there, click next.

  9. Now tilt it to the angle that you want the guitar to activate Star Power/Overdrive at. Hold it there and click next.

  10. That's it! If you're not happy with the way that tilt feels, repeat this process.

  1. Open the RCM Programming Tool.

  2. Plug your Wii Host into your computer using the USB-C cable included with the adapter. Plug the USB-C end into the Wii Host and the USB-A end into your computer.

  3. The RCM Programming Tool should display the Wii Host. Click Configure.

  4. Plug your instrument into the Wii Host via the USB-A port.

  5. Scroll to the USB Inputs section. It should show 1 USB Input Devices Detected. Click it to open the menu.

  6. Scroll down to the Whammy section.

  7. Click calibrate.

  8. Hold the guitar in the "neutral" position that you would play your guitar in. While holding it there, click next.

  9. Now tilt it to the angle that you want the guitar to activate Star Power/Overdrive at. Hold it there and click next.

  10. That's it! If you're not happy with the way that tilt feels, repeat this process.

  1. Before tuning the GH Drums on your Wii Host, make sure you're on drums preset. Click here to be taken to the programming section. You can find out what preset you're on in the main menu of the programming tool.

  2. Plug in your controller or electronic drum kit.

  3. Click the MIDI Inputs dropdown, then start tapping on your drums while looking through the inputs to find if they are appearing. It may be useful to write down the MIDI note value for each of your pads/cymbals for easy future reference.

  4. Refer to the picture above. Value shows the signal sent from your drums to the ACE Adapter. Hit the pads to see the bar move and number go up! There are two modifiers you can change, Threshold and Sensitivity.

    • Threshold is how hard you have to hit before the game detects an input. Raising this requires you to hit harder. You want to change this if your light hit starts at a high number.
    • Sensitivity defines the max range of detection. It determines the loudness or hardness of the hit that the game detects. Lowering this allows hits with less strength to hit louder. You want to change this if your hard hits do not get close to maxing out the Value meter.

  5. Some pads are more sensitive than others, so we suggest going through each pad/cymbal/input and adjusting to your liking.

  6. Once you're satisfied with calibration, click "Save Settings" on the left side of the window. Once the programming tool has finished writing the firmware, it will show "Status: Done" and 100%. Close the software.

  1. Before tuning your DJ Hero Turntable with your Wii Host, make sure you're on Turntable preset. Click here to be taken to the programming section. You can find out what preset you're on in the main menu of the programming tool.

  2. Plug your Wii Host into your computer using the USB-C cable included with the adapter. Plug the USB-C end into the Wii Host and the USB-A end into your computer.

  3. The RCM Programming Tool should display the Wii Host. Click Configure.

  4. Plug your DJ Hero Turntable dongle or 360 receiver into the Wii Host via the USB-A port.

  5. Scroll to the USB Inputs section. It should show 1 USB Input Devices Detected. Click it to open the menu.

  6. You will see sections for Fader and Effects Knob.

  7. In the Fader and Effects Knob sections, click the Calibrate buttons and follow the steps the programmer provides.

  8. Click Save Settings. Wait for the programmer to say Done at the bottom of the window.

  1. Before attempting to calibrate the V3 Adapter for Gamepads, make sure you're on the preset for your controller. Click here to be taken to the programming section. You can find out what preset you're on in the main menu of the programming tool.

  2. Plug in your gamepad. You should see "1 Devices connected" appear next to either USB Host Inputs or Wii Extension Input, depending on what type of gamepad you plugged in.

    Wiimote connection guitar on new V3 Adapter (with K/D switch)
    USB Guitar

    Click the dropdown arrow for the USB Host Inputs menu.

  3. Click the dropdown with whichever type of input you plugged in, then scroll to the thumbsticks. There should only be four inputs. X and Y axis for both thumbsticks.

    If you are using a Wii Classic Controller, you will see this instead:

  4. Move both stick around and see the values that they idle at once you release. Adjust the deadzone to be a bit higher than the idling number. Once you set this, click Save Settings on the left side of the window. You can also use the Calibrate feature, which you then just need to follow the steps of.

    Optionally, you can set deadzones for triggers if those are experiencing any erratic change in idle value.

  5. Once you're satisfied with calibration, click "Save Settings" on the left side of the window. Once the programming tool has finished writing the firmware, it will show "Status: Done" and 100%. Close the software.

Troubleshooting​

There are multiple potential reasons for this occurring.

  • Faulty USB cable or USB port. Using the same cable, try a different port, then switch the cable and try again.

  • Lastly, you may just need to hard reset the device. Holding the U shaped reset button while plugging the adapter in will put it into recovery mode, which will make a drive named "RPI-RP2" appear on your computer.

    Drop this file into that folder. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLASH NUKE FILE

    After you drop the file in, open the RCM Programming Tool and attempt to reprogram.

If you continue to run into issues, send us an email at support@retrocultmods.com

The RCM Programming Tool will sometimes get blocked by Windows Defender or other antivirus software. This is a false positive. The pop-up tends to occur due to the tool being freshly made (we have to recompile the programmer every time we update revisions).

You can just click Run Anyway.

If you are experiencing the following pop-up, macOS is detecting the RCM Programming Tool as a false-positive for being malware.

To fix this, open your System Settings/System Preferences.

Then navigate to the Privacy and Security tab in the left side menu.

Once you've entered this tab, scroll down to the Security section, then you'll see that the programming tool was blocked. Click Open Anyway. It will ask you to either enter your password or input Touch ID.

Once you've completed this, the programmer will open. However it is only for this revision.

Say you had 10.7.11 instead of 10.7.10, you would need to do this process again.

If the RCM Programming Tool is not seeing your device, it is likely due to a permissions issue in Linux.

You will need the following file:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 68-RCM.rules

Navigate to /etc/udev/rules.d/, then drop 68-RCM.rules into the folder.

Once you've done that, open the RCM Programming Tool. Your device should appear now! If not, try unplugging and plugging back in.