Nano analog pin voltage

Official Hardware Nano Family Classic Nano
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I'm working on a project that will utilize a Wii nunchuck remote to control the movement of motors. These are some of the guides I will be following: (https://www.instructables.com/Arduino-Wii-Nunchuck-controller/) - (Arduino Wii Nunchuck Tutorial - YouTube).

An Arduino Uno would have been the board to use for receiving signal from the Wii remote, however the controller utilizes a 3.3V power connection and, according to a quick google search, the Uno utilizes up to 5V for the analog pins, so there could be a risk of burning the controller. Perhaps to avoid this risk most of the guides include a special module/adapter (such as this one) to connect the Wii remote to the Arduino, but I can't get my hands on one right now.
Another google search shows that the "Nano 33 IoT" and "Nano 33 BLE" are some of the boards that utilize up to 3.3V for the analog input pins, then I would guess there wouldn't be any chance of frying the remote with these respective Nano models. I'm afraid the "regular" Nano does not have those same properties and the analog pins would then use up to 5V regardless of the 3.3Vcc connection. If that's the case, I will need to search for those specific Nano models, which could be harder to find in my area.

I need to know if there isn't a risk of burning the controller with the the regular Nano or if I will need to find other ways of making the controller connection safe.

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The connector module that you linked to has no active components on it so it does no voltage conversion

If the nunchuck outputs 3.3V then there is no danger of it damaging the Uno which will tolerate up to 5V on its analogue pins

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But will it not damage the controller?

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You can power the nunchuck from the 3.3V pin of the Uno. What I don't know is if you will be sending signals from the Uno to the nunchck. If so then there is a danger of damaging the nunchuck

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Sorry for not going into detail. The Wii nunchuck will communicate with the Arduino by sending the signals to the analog pins. So the Arduino would be receiving data from the controller.

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It's a pure coincidence that the I2C pins of an Arduino also support analog in.

You will need a simple level shifter to connect the device correctly.
Connecting I2C 3.3V to I2C 5V is asking for trouble.

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In which case there should not be a problem. If you are concerned then you could insert a voltage level shifter between the Uno and the nunchuck

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So no matter which Arduino model I use there needs to be a level shifter?

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For all 5V Arduinos you need a level shifter.

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Oh well that answers my doubts. Thanks for the help people!

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I would drop the UNO and step up to an ESP32, which will happily work with the Nunchuck.

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My problem is accessibility. I'll look into it and see if I can get one of those, but chances are the level shifter is gonna be easier to find and cheaper. Thanks for the advice though.

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How come? I've heard that some hardware is hard to get worldwide, but an ESP32?

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I'm not too familiar with the ESP micro-controllers, but if they are as popular as Arduino then I would assume the stores I usually get my electronic components will probably have them. I just never bothered to ask or to notice if they have any. I live in Brazil so it's not like electronics are that inaccessible, but more specific/obscure products are harder to find compared to from what I've heard of other countries.

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I have no experience with the Brazilian market.

ESP32 is not really new, and very mainstream with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth applications.
They are quite cheap (still) and very powerful.

1 Like
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Here's an adaptor with all the level shifting.

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-wii-nunchuck-breakout-adapter

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