No sensor bar? AndreMP says use flashlights instead

If you break your sensor bar, don’t panic. You can “replace your sensor bar with one or several flashlights,” said AndrewMP, who gave us this tip. “The sensor bar simply projects light into the Wiimote, and the Wiimote then tells the console where it’s at.”

In other words, what AndrewMP is saying is that the sensor bar is just a light bar. The Wiimote picks up this light, and your Wii calculates what your Wiimote is doing based on where the light is. “The only reason for the sensor bar plugging into the Wii is to power it; it does not send any information itself to the console.”

Here’s proof:

Last night I was testing out AA batteries in a flashlight to find a pair fit for my Wiimote. At one point I had placed the flashlight (turned on) on top of my television, and had the sensor bar detached from the console. Lo-and-behold, I started moving my Wiimote and noticed the cursor moving on the television.

You might want to try this “if you broke your sensor bar or just want to try a neat experiment.” Let us know.

Finally, while this might just light the fuse of anti-Wii people who want to point out how un-amazing the Wiimote and sensor bar are, it also might shed light on complaints about how the Wiimote is sensitive to sunlight and strong light (although nobody would play with a strong glare on the TV, so this shouldn’t be a problem, right?).

Come on, let’s just sing GameJew’s Wiimote song and be happy!

If you break your sensor bar, don’t panic. You can “replace your sensor bar with one or several flashlights,” said AndrewMP, who gave us this tip. “The sensor bar simply projects light into the Wiimote, and the Wiimote then tells the console where it’s at.”

In other words, what AndrewMP is saying is that the sensor bar is just a light bar. The Wiimote picks up this light, and your Wii calculates what your Wiimote is doing based on where the light is. “The only reason for the sensor bar plugging into the Wii is to power it; it does not send any information itself to the console.”

Here’s proof:

Last night I was testing out AA batteries in a flashlight to find a pair fit for my Wiimote. At one point I had placed the flashlight (turned on) on top of my television, and had the sensor bar detached from the console. Lo-and-behold, I started moving my Wiimote and noticed the cursor moving on the television.

You might want to try this “if you broke your sensor bar or just want to try a neat experiment.” Let us know.

Finally, while this might just light the fuse of anti-Wii people who want to point out how un-amazing the Wiimote and sensor bar are, it also might shed light on complaints about how the Wiimote is sensitive to sunlight and strong light (although nobody would play with a strong glare on the TV, so this shouldn’t be a problem, right?).

Come on, let’s just sing GameJew’s Wiimote song and be happy!