I picked up a projector this past year. I recently move my av equipment to the back of the room which presented a problem for my Wii... the sensor bar cord is only 12'. I did some searching and discovered an interesting fact. there is no data being transmitted via the cord on the sensor bar. In fact, the sensor bar transmits NO data at all. It is just an infrared (heat) beacon for the wiimotes to home in on. You could even just used to candles and it would be just as effective. I read it on this article from IGN. Instead of burning my screen with candles, I found a cheap wireless sensor bar that cost less than $10 on ebay... and NO WIRES!. WAHOO

I thought it would be good to have a thread here for others who run into this problem.

here is link to the article


http://gear.ign.com/articles/751/751096p1.html

Wii Wireless Sensor Bar Review
Cut the Wii's sensor bar wire. Our hands on testing results.
by Gerry Block
December 14, 2006 - As we previewed yesterday, Wirelesssensorbar.com is the first company to launch what many Wii gamers have been yearning for since the Wii came out: a wireless sensor bar. The official sensor bar included with each Wii looks complex and connects to the Wii via a 12-foot wire, which many assumed meant it must be communicating with the Wii. That is, in fact, not the case, and the wire that runs between the Wii and sensor bar does nothing but supply power to the array of infrared LEDs that the Wiimote uses to track its spatial orientation. Any infrared source will work, including birthday candles on either side of a TV.

Once this discovery was made it was only a matter of time before battery powered sensor bars / sticks with IR LEDs came to market, and Wirelesssensorbar.com appears to be the first out of the gates. The company is quite young as its website and PayPal billing system reveal. Our review samples have arrived and we've put them into use. Is the final product similarly rough? Let's see.





Compared to the official sensor bar the Wireless Sensor Bar looks very homebrew, probably because it is. The housing is significantly larger in every dimension, about 13-inches long, an inch tall and about 2-inches thick. The dull-white plastic is cut and assembled in garage-factory style, entirely competent, but certainly not comparable to a fully-engineered and Chinese manufactured mainstream retail release.



This isn't really a problem as the Wireless Sensor Bar does exactly what it is supposed to do, and does it well. The IR LEDs are powered by a 9-volt battery (one battery is included), which Wirelesssensorbar.com asserts will last for more than 48-hours of play. We haven't had our sensor bars for 48-hours yet so we can't confirm or deny this claim, but it seems reasonable. The Wireless Sensor Bar is said to offer the same range and accuracy as the official Nintendo version and we believe this to be the case after testing with Far Cry and navigating the Wii's internal menu system from various positions between 4 and 15 feet from the display.



The front of the Wireless Sensor Bar includes a pair of IR LEDs at either end, a red power-on indicator light, and a red button for turning it on and off. The bottom has a swath of double-sided foam tape for mounting purposes. Opening the case reveals the very basic design of the product, but all the solder points look clean and carefully completed.



Conclusion
The Wireless Sensor Bar from Wirelesssensorbar.com does its job of shining infrared LEDs at the Wiimote quite well. Wii owners with entertainment arrangements that don't easily accommodate a Wii sensor bar tethered to the console will likely get a lot of utility out of the product. The only real failing of the Wireless Sensor Bar is the fact that its rough aesthetics will make it stand out rather dramatically if perched on a glossy new HDTV or among nice looking A/V gear. The price (US $24.99+$5.99 shipping) is also somewhat high considering the rough construction of the product. Regardless, freedom from tripping over an exposed sensor bar wire every day is a true luxury irrespective of cost.

I just extended my Wii bar with Cat5 cable.

Cut the wire and attach it to the Cat5 cable and you are good to go.

I heard people having troubles extending the Wii bar via Cat5 without good results.

If anyone wants to try extending their Wii bar; here is the "trick", which really isn't a trick at all. The wires in the Wii sensors are coated (insulated) with clear polyimide. So, the trick is to separate the wires and burn off the polyimide from the wires. I used a lighter and quick burned off the coating. Solder them to the Cat5 cable and repeat to the other side.

Done!

I have been using a wireless sensor bar for more than 6 months and it is working great. I paid around $25 for it and it has a auto shutoff, to preserve the battery.

I picked up a projector this past year. I recently move my av equipment to the back of the room which presented a problem for my Wii... the sensor bar cord is only 12'. I did some searching and discovered an interesting fact. there is no data being transmitted via the cord on the sensor bar. In fact, the sensor bar transmits NO data at all. It is just an infrared (heat) beacon for the wiimotes to home in on. You could even just used to candles and it would be just as effective. I read it on this article from IGN. Instead of burning my screen with candles, I found a cheap wireless sensor bar that cost less than $10 on ebay... and NO WIRES!. WAHOO

I thought it would be good to have a thread here for others who run into this problem.

here is link to the article


http://gear.ign.com/articles/751/751096p1.html

I use nothing extra on my Wii to my projector and it works perfectly with my projector. I keep the Wii on my rack behind me and the sensor just in front of me. No problem!!

Yes, this is noted in various threads in the Wii forum. The sensor bar is just some IR LEDs to give a front and center orientation to the Wii remotes. The cord is nothing more than power.