Wireless Wii sensor bar selling for $31
by Christopher Grant 
{ Dec 12th 2006 at 1:42PM }
If you've simply got to have a wireless sensor bar for your Wii and you don't want to test your homeowners insurance policy with ye olde candles or your health insurance policy with those new fangled soldering irons, then consider spending $31 (after shipping and handling) to get one of these homemade -- but not necessarily unsightly -- wireless sensor bars for your Wii. A simple 9-volt battery earns you 48 hours of wireless Wii-ing. We're pretty sure Nintendo has at least one health and safety warning regarding 48-hour gaming marathons, so we'd urge you to spread those 48 hours out over a period of, say, three days.
We can't argue with how cool wireless stuff is, but we're wondering when someone is going to make the obvious solution: a wall wart power adapter with a sensor-bar female connection. Anyone buying?
[Via Game|Life]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kudos @ Dec 12th 2006 1:44PM
come on nintendo, how about a wireless nunchuk?
Probot @ Dec 12th 2006 1:48PM
I'm all for third-party accessories, but catering to the 0.01% of the gaming population that needs this seems to be a waste of money.
crono141 @ Dec 12th 2006 1:53PM
Its a waste of money to buy anyway. I build my own for $5, and thats only because I went to RadioShack for parts.
1.99 for an LED!?!? WTF is their problem!
Michael Ray @ Dec 12th 2006 4:44PM
Unless you own a projector, I thnk this is a waste of batteries. Cool yes but I won't be getting one any time soon.
mykie @ Dec 12th 2006 2:27PM
For $10 you can buy a genuine sensor bar and $10 on a 12v lantern battery, strip the wires and hook it up to that for almost unlimited battery life.
John F @ Dec 12th 2006 2:43PM
So... remind me again what's wrong with the sensor bar that comes with the Wii?
Jim @ Dec 20th 2006 12:54AM
People apparently keep their Wii's 25 feet or more from their TV's. When will they release one in two parts, one that goes on each side of your TV? No more vertical bias!
ackmondual @ Dec 12th 2006 2:55PM
@ #1
If the nunchuck were wireless, it wouldn't be a nunchuck now wouldn't it :P
Besides, it'd be a pain to have to worry about another device that now needs batteries and signal to the Wii.
.
@ #5
The included sensor bar is wired. It works well for your typical TV setup where everything is up at front (TV, Wii, and sensor bar). With a projector, it and the Wii are are in the back, while the screen is up front. Now you need to loop the sensor bar across the room to the front, likely requiring an extension cable and even no doubt creating a tripping hazard that will be mentioned here on Joystiq someday. Wireless would eliminate those hassles
jeph @ Dec 12th 2006 3:19PM
A wall outlet would also be expensive, the sensor bar runs at 9v, wall outlets (in America) output 120v. To buy a 9v DC Adapter from Radio Shack, you're looking at spending 30 bucks or so.
Radio Shack is of course, way over priced, but you get what I mean.
mykie @ Dec 12th 2006 3:28PM
According to this thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=759093&page=1&pp=30
The official sensor bar runs at 12v.
Player1 @ Dec 12th 2006 3:44PM
I have a projector setup, and can't get a wii until I find a sensor bar solution. I agree that there should be a wall wart for the sensor bar. I don't want to be replacing batteries all the time.
Nintendo also removed the digital out on the Gamecube because they claimed something like 0.01% used it. Now how many people are trying to get component or s-video cables for the wii?
crono141 @ Dec 12th 2006 4:29PM
"The official sensor bar runs at 12v"
I'll buy that. 10 LED at 12 v is 1.2v per led.
Burnt Meatloaf @ Dec 12th 2006 4:20PM
@Player1: Who wanted to pay $50 for a cable that needed its own proprietary decoding chip? The digital-out port was a lousy idea.
James @ Dec 12th 2006 4:33PM
@#7, what are you, retarded or something? http://www.itparade.com/exchange/listing.cgi?ID=290711488
That's what I turned up after 10 seconds of Froogling.
"Man, it's crazy to wear a belt -- Joseph A. Banks sells 'em for like 100 bucks! I know they're overpriced, but surely that means all belts everywhere must also be pretty expensive." Seriously, I would be surprised if the wholesale price of a 10V, low-wattage wall-wart AC adapter exceeded $1 US. Almost without question, the single most expensive component would be the socket for the Sensor Bar power cord, which is non-standard and therefore does not benefit as much from economies of scale. Even considering that fact, Nintendo could send an adapter *to your door* for under $10 shipped and still turn a profit. EBGamestop could probably have them on the shelf for $5 and it would be worth their while. I got a $15 USB charging cable for my PocketPC and they threw in an AC-to-USB (5v) adapter *free* because they're so cheap. The only thing holding up a product like the original poster requested is the lack of Sensor Bar sockets, which I expect some Taiwanese outfit to remedy any day now.
Matt @ Dec 12th 2006 5:11PM
I just have to put this out there...
Do you honestly think Nintendo has NO REASON to wire the sensor bar directly into the console?
Do you know what you can do by pulsing the left and right ir led's at different rates?
ngs @ Dec 12th 2006 11:42PM
If you can use candles, and have a projection screen, why not try using reflective tape set apart the same distance as the LEDs. Wouldn't the light reflected back by the reflective tape work? They could be just tiny dots at the top of the screen near the top edge. You may barely notice them. (I don't have a projector or a Wii to try this)
Pandaguy87 @ Dec 12th 2006 5:21PM
Has it ever occurred to anyone that they could make a sensor bar that plugs into the wall? I mean, if you make the cord long enough, I'm pretty sure you could place it just about anywhere in the room and not have to worry about plugging anything into the console.
Player1 @ Dec 12th 2006 5:42PM
Burnt Meatloaf,
I have the Gamecube component cable, and I know I didn't pay $50 for it.
FSK405K @ Dec 12th 2006 8:28PM
I just bought the S-Video cable Joystiq alerted me to at Best Buy a couple of days ago. Drastic increase in in detail on Link. And yes, I CONSTANTLY get angry at the sensor bar cable for getting it caught in my feet and moving the bar. Projector, 86 inch.
Does it have a power switch or do I have to take the battery out?
mocax @ Dec 12th 2006 9:46PM
does wiimote only detect IR?
how about a concentrated source of light, like LED pen-light?
anyone tried pasting a couple of infrared magnifying lenses on a TV screen?