A Wireless Luddite Wii Sensor Bar Replacement
OK -- There's a "sensor bar" that comes with the Nintendo Wii. It sits either on top of the TV or just below it. The function of this little plastic strip is to help the Wii remote control know where the TV is located. Turns-out, "sensor bar" is really a misleading name for it. In fact, the Wii remote is the sensor and the bar is a transmitter. There are two little infrared emitters embedded in the bar and they transmit an infrared signal. The Wii remote essentially has a sensitive infrared camera. When pointed at the TV, it "sees" the two little IR spots and uses that to orient the pointer onscreen.
That said, my Wii gaming console is across
the room from the TV -so- when I want to play, I have to drape a wire
(with the "sensor bar" on it) across a room (Bounce's room, to be
precise). Then I roll it up and tuck it away when I'm done playing (so
Bounce -- and/or I -- won't trip over the wire).
Well, someone at work suggested that all I
really needed was an alternate source of two IR signals from the front
of the TV. Any infrared source would do (didn't have to be the Wii
"sensor bar"). He made a suggestion (based on something he read off of
the interwebs) and I just tried it -- sure enough! I present to you
what I'll call the Luddite-hack ... a wireless sensor bar replacement
for the Wii:
Yup! Two candles!!
Works like a charm,
-- Will