Talismoon offers up retractable Wii Sensor Wiire

We can't definitively say that a travel-friendly sensor bar is undoubtedly superior to a wireless sensor bar, but for those who can in fact say that, Talismoon has you covered. The Sensor Wiire is nothing more than an ultra-compact Wii sensor bar that features a pair of sensing blocks on a retractable spool, but it'll serve as a satisfactory replacement for your factory bar when hittin' the road with your console. Click on through for a couple more pics, and be sure to hit the read link if you're looking to snag your own for $24.95.

[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]

[Jon @ Nov 7th 2007 8:56AM]

The sensor bar just two IR emitters with no two-way traffic. You could use candles or hack up two IR LEDs on either side of a tv set to simulate a sensor bar.

File this one under useless. Lets see the next LCD TV have one built in ;)

[StrangeBum @ Nov 7th 2007 9:04AM]

As far as the retractable cable goes.

FINALLY A USEFUL ITEM FOR THE WII!

The stock sensor bar's cable is ridiculously long and I am totally digging this. The only problem I have with it is that it's not first party from Ninty and I usually can't stand third-party periphs. Oh well.

[Jason @ Nov 7th 2007 9:20AM]

For traveling, I think this is pretty cool. If work starts sending me on long road trips again, I may consider getting one, if only so I don't have to re-run the cable for the home system repeatedly.

I hadn't previously seen the article about the wireless sensor bar. 48 hours of gaming isn't all /that/ much. Especially considering it's running on a relatively pricey 9-volt. If someone came up with a better solution, power-wise, I'd much prefer that sort of solution, though.

I still think people who believe candles are a reasonable solution are nutjobs.

[Wiserun @ Nov 7th 2007 9:27AM]

There's another wireless sensor bar by Nyko that 1) is cheaper ($14.99 at Amazon, free shipping eligible) and 2)uses AA batteries (comes with Energizer, but you could always use rechargeables).

[Jason @ Nov 7th 2007 9:42AM]

Sweet! Thanks for the info.

[Mark @ Nov 7th 2007 10:36AM]

That's good and all, but will it blend?

[ethana2 @ Nov 7th 2007 1:07PM]

It could sure as heck help you blend, yes.

I'd get one, if only it was USB instead of whatever the heck that is...

[Jamie @ Nov 7th 2007 11:20AM]

Is the sensor bar REALLY that much of a pain? No batteries, very slim profile...

[brett.chandler @ Nov 7th 2007 2:07PM]

Personally, I'd rather leave my sensor bar attached to my set, so that I don't risk losing the adhesive, and I don't somehow mess up my game play by having the bar moved by a smidge.

The idea of a sensor bar that's made for travelling means I can leave my original sensor bar in place if I decide to take my Wii elsewhere...

[Mike @ Nov 7th 2007 11:23AM]

I've got a projector, so until I grabbed the one from Nyko I just stripped the cable and ran it to a 9-volt. It worked fine, but the battery would run out after a few nights of playing, the Nyko one however lasts usually at least a week and we've got a house of 9 guys playing it constantly, so I don't find it to be much of a problem.

Best of all, Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii doesn't use the bar at all so it's basically been off since that came out.

[Tango @ Nov 7th 2007 11:33AM]

Could be useful for, say, using a Wiimote with a Macbook and Remote Buddy... if only the thing had a usb plug instead of that weird proprietary plug.

Of course, you could say the same about the regular bar. Who is this for?

[Alex Whiteside @ Nov 7th 2007 12:27PM]

People who can fit the Wii console, PSU, and remotes in their bag, but not the sensor bar. It's not a long list.

[cokebottle tuque @ Nov 7th 2007 7:02PM]

well the wii sensor bar dosent work well with projectors, you either need to put the sensor bar on a stand 1/3 the way up the screen or constantly aim down to hit the bar. This on the other hand can have the IR transmitters pulled farther apart so it will work properly with a 10'+ screen.

[Abe @ Nov 8th 2007 8:12AM]

When using a projector, it is important to space the two IR emitters so that their position relative to the width of the screen is proportionally the same as when using the stock sensor bar with a regularly sized tv screen. In order to get good results with my projector based setup, I had to resort to a diy solution:

I have made two separate IR-emitter boxes, each containing 5 IR leds (the kind you can buy as replacement for a remote control led). Power comes from a AC/DC adapter providing 12V, so there are no batteries to replace and you don't need a cable to the WII itself (which is located far from the screen in my case). Any necessary wiring for power supply can thus be made to fit in unobtrusively with the projection screen setup.

All that is needed are 10 leds, two resistors (lots of info online regarding how to wire up leds and calculate necessary resistance to be added to the circuit), the power adapter, two project boxes and wiring + your choice of DC plugs. The result is very functional.

One tip: in the original sensor bar, the five leds per side also have their specific spacing: three in the middle bunched close together, and one on each side spaced about 5mm away. This leads to a horizontal target that when viewed from a distance (check with a cameraphone, those wil generally also pick up infrared) looks like a wide hotspot tapered off at both ends. In my experience, this setup produces the best results in terms of responsiveness of the whole system.