Track IR - With or Without the LEDs

[gpbarth 12]

Well, I thought that, as the reflective pieces could be placed on a hat, so could IR LEDs. I already have the LEDS and battery pack, and a baseball cap, so all I need is the suggested pattern for the reflectors, and I'm good to go.

 

I'll keep everyone posted on my results.

[gfd 15]

I'll keep everyone posted on my results.

 

Excellent. The guys at Naturalpoint are really good to deal with. Bet they'd give you all the pointers you need.

[CrownCityMisfits 58]

I've had no problems with the reflector. Of course, I have nothing to compare it against, so I can't say if it works more or less smoothly than the Pro Clip. I avoided buying the Pro Clip after reading that many people were breaking their units unintentionally.

 

Good luck!

[Bozdog 63]

Yes Ebs that  link looks like a good alternative,  I emailed a query and got a fast responce from him so may well pick one up as a spare. 

My Pro Clip is currently held together by tape, for the cost of the product the quality of the  Track Clip Pro attachment that goes on your headphones is pretty shocking to say the least!  May go for this alternative as you only seem to be able to buy the entire product including the camera here, and not just the clip?

 

Anyone tried this out yet?

 

Cheers

[gpbarth 12]

Reading the NaturalPoint manual, it shows the TrackClip with 2 reflectors on either side of the cap bill and the 3rd above and slightly behind the other two. The TrackClip Pro, OTOH, has the LEDs mounted vertically on one side of the head. So I'm wondering right now if I can replace the reflectors on the TrackClip (or build my own) with my IR LEDs and have it work the same. I have a small 4-AA battery pack with a switch for the power, so no USB connection needed.

 

I might just mount the LEDs directly on the cap bill (hot glue?) and figure out some rigid mount for the top LED, and mount the battery pack on the back strap. Back to the work bench. Got to figure out if the distance between the 3 LEDs is critical.

[gpbarth 12]

Yes Ebs that  link looks like a good alternative,  I emailed a query and got a fast responce from him so may well pick one up as a spare. 

My Pro Clip is currently held together by tape, for the cost of the product the quality of the  Track Clip Pro attachment that goes on your headphones is pretty shocking to say the least!  May go for this alternative as you only seem to be able to buy the entire product including the camera here, and not just the clip?

 

You don't have to buy the entire package. The TrackIR camera is available for $149 directly from NAturalPoint, and comes with the TrackClip. Hopefully, I can build a LED alternative to the TrackClip Pro. I have the parts, and you can get everything for under $10 USD.  The schematics/diagrams/parts lists are available at http://forum.free-track.net/index.php?showtopicgroup=11 .

[gfd 15]

 

 

I might just mount the LEDs directly on the cap bill

 

Gary,

 

You can order a track clip from Naturalpoint for 10 bucks. You could mount the LEDs on that and give it a whirl maybe.

[Raven9000 272]

So here's a stupid question from a noob...

 

I see ezdok is mentioned. But if you have the trackir for camera movement,etc. what do you still need ezdok for? What would a complete setup use/involve?

[gpbarth 12]

Gary,

 

You can order a track clip from Naturalpoint for 10 bucks. You could mount the LEDs on that and give it a whirl maybe.

I might just do that if I can't get the right effect using the cap directly.  I re-tested my light circuit tonight and everything is working fine. Just gotta dig up an old cap and modify it, and then the most important part - get a TrackIR camera. I did initially try the FaceTrackNoIR program, and it sorta worked, but there were still bugs that I didn't want to deal with, so I un-installed it. Hopefully, I will get the TrackIR shortly. It's the last thing I really need to complete my FSX "experience".

So here's a stupid question from a noob...

 

I see ezdok is mentioned. But if you have the trackir for camera movement,etc. what do you still need ezdok for? What would a complete setup use/involve?

The TrackIR uses the EZDok camera set-up. I suppose you could use it straight up, but EZDok makes it so much easier to arrange the visuals.

[Guest]

I'm using the reflectors, I have the TrackClip Pro but I rarely use a headset.  The only issues I have with the reflectors is my now "silver reflective hair" :(

 

For night flying I don't really like the LEDs and they reflect on my monitors also.

 

Cheers, Rob.

[Need-To-Know 34]

So here's a stupid question from a noob...

 

I see ezdok is mentioned. But if you have the trackir for camera movement,etc. what do you still need ezdok for? What would a complete setup use/involve?

 

There are no stupid questions -

 

EZDOK and Opus cameras allow you to quickly zoom in on something without having to try and hold your head in the perfect position. I use Opus. I can zoom in on say the overhead while going through my flows. I can also disable (via Opus) the TIR while zoomed in or just have my head pointing at an area while letting me pan just that area..

 

Kinda helps like when looking at something off screen to keep the tracking from jumping around.

 

Lots of times something is too far to one side and the tracking drops when I turn my head too far (I have 4 screens). EZDOK or Opus lets me pan my head to that far point.

 

A BIG Advantage is setting limits. So if you pan your head too far to one side you are not poking through the fuselage - Flying along at 400 knots with your head sticking up above the cockpit - makes for a virtual bad hair day.

[gpbarth 12]

Well, I popped for the TrackIR w/TrackClip Pro this afternoon - should have it on or about the 28th. I am assuming that it should come with the TrackClip, which I will use to set up the 3-LED cap I am building. I've been reading up on the TrackIR forum about the cap that others are trying, and it seems to work very well. NAturalPoint even sells the IR LEDs, if you want to get the exact ones they use. I bought 8 of them for just over $3, and a 4-AA switched battery pack for another $1.50. An old baseball cap and a few 2small wires, and I should be good to go. When I start putting it all together, I'll take some pictures and post them up here.

[gfd 15]

I'll take some pictures and post them up here.

 

Cool