this ones actual work
and they are so cheap.

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine.aspx?Ntt=*tsal6200*&N=1323038&Ntx=mode%2bmatchall&Ns=P_SField&OriginalKeyword=tsal6200&Ntk=Mouser_Wildcards

inio, sorry for the delay in the reply. i was hoping the wide angle would allow the wii mote to better detect the led when the led was pressed against a board with the wiimote placed behind you. i unfortunately have gotten really busy with school and work and havent had a lot of time to even finish building my first pen. i do appreciate the links though. i will definitely have to look into those leds. thanks again

Hi! I'm new here (well, i have been looking this page for like 2 weeks, hehehe) and I looked this post, about these 120° LED, but, ehm, they are too expensive, and, why don't you try to make yourself a wide-angle LED by just modifying the way the light is emmited? It's really too simple, I have tried it myself, I just made my own IR pen (i will post some photos in a few days) and you can modify the angle by using hot silicon bars, I made a hot silicon bubble surrounding the LED, that way, the IR light will "light" the silicon, thus, making a bigger spot and, as you are making a bubble, it can be viewed at almost any angle. If you don't believe me how it works, put a laser or a normal white or color LED and put it near a silicon bar, you will see that it will look like a lightsaber, hehehe.