Implanting the reflectors?.... hmmmmmm.....

 

For those who feel it may be silly to where a hat/visor when simming on the computer, I ask, is it silly to be watching TV on your couch while wearing the goofyest pair of sunglasses known to man?

 

People who love 3D movies don't care how they look in those glasses.

 

We TrackIR folk don't care how we look in or gear either.

I ALWAYS have a headset on when I am behind the PC. I don't even have speakers attached...! So the clip isn't a problem at all here.

I started out using Free-Track. Once I used it, I could never go back to using mouse pan or hat switches. Never. It really is THAT good!

 

However, I found that Free-Track was very sensitive to light, and after a while the solder joints on my hat starting going bad. The result was that I would often have to spend 15 minutes fidgeting with it before I got it to work. If you are handy and have more time than money, give Free-Track a try. If you can afford it, just jump straight to TrackIR. Once I did, I regretting fiddeling around with Free Track for so long and not just getting TrackIR sooner.

 

You can get TrackIR 4 off of ebay for $110 (that's what I did). Even though you have the TrackIR 4 camera, you can still use the latest (TrackIR 5) software. That's what I'm doing and it works great. I had actually heard early on that some people thought the trackIR 4 camera worked better than the 5, but I don't know if that is true or not.

Hi

 

I notice a few of you have TrackIR, I am thinking of purchasing TrackIR 4 + TrackClip Pro, I can get it quite a lot cheaper than TrackIR 5 +, I was wondering if TrackIR 4 would be OK?, Is there much difference between them?

Now that TrackIR will be supported by Flight, I would realy like to get one or the other. Any of your thoughts would be most appreciated ... I really enjoy Flight, and definitely looking forward to new DLC in the future, not to distant I hope. Thanks in advance.. Gary

I second this request. I too am considering a TrackIR purchase and am wondering the same thing. I've already read some comparisons... but would always appreciate anything anyone else whose experienced 4 and/or 5 thinks.

 

Given what I've read, my own thoughts on how I'd be using it... (mostly MS flight... and maybe IL2), and the fact that TrackIR 4 + Alaska DLC is probably less then TrackIR 5 alone I am leaning toward the 4.

 

Thanks

I'm sure Trackir 4 would work just fine. I still have my old Trackir 3 in addition to 5, and I'm sure even Trackir 3 would work fine.

I use TrackIR 4 + TrackClipPro and find it pretty much flawless. It's also very reliable as I invested in the trackIR 4 around its release (early 2006 I think) and it's still running without any problem ever.

 

In short, if you're on a budget, go for a trackIR 4. I can't compare it to trackIR 5 as I've never tried it, but the version 4 does the job perfectly well. In any case, go for it, trackIR is an amazing addition to your simulations, I couldn't play without it! In addition to your civilian sim, I recommend trying dogfighting in a sim like Rise of Flight, where looking all around in a natural way while engaging in a wild and deadly aerial ballet will shine in all its glory!

I have both TrackIr 3 and TrackIr 5. Went from 3 right to 5, skipping 4. Trackir 5 does seem a little smoother, as you would expect with the higher resolution that it features. However, it doesn't seem better to the point where I'd say, "Wow, how did I live with Trackir 3 for so long when I could have had this?"

 

In my opinion, you're not going to go wrong by opting for TrackIr 4, especially if the price is right.

Back in TrackIR 2 days, they only used 1 reflective dot, and they came with a pack of stickers. Smart people put the stickers on a hat, but not so smart people put them on there for head. Why not so smart? Because you look like a moron when you forget the reflective dot on your for head and go out in public....

I'm the same as mailbu43, I tried FreeTrack and it worked fine, I even ripped apart a perfectly good golf hat to make it (and a webcam).

It worked, but I spent most of the time fiddling with the settings.

 

Now the Flight update is out I ordered a TrackIR 5 bundle.

Can't wait.

You are going to love it. It's great. You will have to fiddle with the settings though to get your preferred 'feel'. I have everything said to smooth, some like it more twitchy. So you still need to fiddle with the settings , but once you found your perfect setup, you can forget about it all.

I thought I'd post this in the "big trackir topic", where it belongs.

 

It's a tip for Trackir 5 users who have the problem where their trackir keeps wanting to fall off the top of their monitor. Find a couple of regular-size plastic drinking straws, cut them to about 5" or 6" in length using scissors, then attach them to the rear prongs on your trackir. They will fit on and stay there with no need for glue or tape. The straws will run down the backside of your monitor. Your trackir will now NOT fall off, and will hold its position much better, not move around.

You are going to love it. It's great. You will have to fiddle with the settings though to get your preferred 'feel'. I have everything said to smooth, some like it more twitchy. So you still need to fiddle with the settings , but once you found your perfect setup, you can forget about it all.

 

I use the provided "Smooth" profile for all my flight sims. I've tried tweaking things just for fun and found it to be a waste of time. I always come back to "Smooth". :good:

Also keep in mind you'll be wearing a cap or headset to use TrackIR (depending on your preference). If you want to go the headset route get the TrackIR 5 Pro bundle from Natural Point. Also make sure you can mount it to your headset (as in the headset band is narrow enough for the clip). Google Search is your friend.

 

 

 

 

I've actually found that on lower end hardware, TrackIR can be quite demanding. Mostly do to the excessive panning that puts more demand on the GPU. This is even more true in the FSX environment. But hey, you guys are here for FLIGHT!

 

 

I think ones hardware would have to be really low end to be bogged down by Track IR. In fact , if that were the case, I couldn't imagine flight even running on it.

I think ones hardware would have to be really low end to be bogged down by Track IR. In fact , if that were the case, I couldn't imagine flight even running on it.

 

I'm not going to argue with you. Take it from a long time MFS user and also someone who found work-arounds for such issues on "really low end" hardware (a GTX260...).