Track IR

[Waldo Pepper 1,952]

32 minutes ago, RobJC said:

I use it and generally like it. To the guys who use it, my issue is selecting a button with the mouse which is hard to steady. I sort of feel like I am chasing the button due to the head movement. Any fix for this? Also, it snaps to the center when I move my head. Maybe I should RTFM?

lol

Map a joystick button to "pause" in the tir software.   There is also a "precision" mode you can map a button to.

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

I have an old trackIR 3.0 from 20 years ago but it still works fine.  it use the hat clip not the fragile little active thing people use these days. Would never fly without it, circuits in particular are way easier BUT it does need to be set up right or it is a pain.

Basically, when set up well, you only turn your head a few degrees and the view swings and then for mouse VR cockpit stuff you either pause the trackIR or switch to precision mode. It becomes intuitive after a week or two. Many people give up too early.  Eventually you even catch yourself trying to look around by moving your head while watching TV or at the movies. You need a good profile, most people download the "Seth" profile though it is designed for combat so the acceleration is quite high.

Some hints:

• search for "TrackIR Seth profile" and download it
• optimally you will want the pause and possibly precision modes on joystick buttons plus the game  "return to centred view"  on a button as well, in a civilian sim there are no ordinance or guns to map so there should be a few spare buttons, even the hat will work in a pinch as you no longer use it 
• the active PRO dongle is fragile and apparently breaks easily - I use the hat clip reflector thing but NOT on a cap just ghetto modded to attach to the top of the headset because I find the cap peak interferes with tracking especially if you look upwards (more a combat sim thing to look up of course)
• Depending on your monitor and seating position you may be better off sitting the camera below your screen not above
• If you use the reflector clip you need a relatively subdued light with no bright sunlit windows etc
• If you have return to centre mapped you no longer need to worry too much about camera settings you can do things like sit up straight or crouch a little, centre the view then return to normal seating position to adjust your view height, same with zoom in or out
• centre the view is a good habit on final, if you try landing with your view off centre from the yoke things will get a bit out of kilter
• if your game hammers your CPU consider dedicating a core to trackIR

This recent Warrior II video below is an example of a typical circuit with trackIR, cockpit view starts around 1:00 in the video ...

 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by Glenn Fitzpatrick

[captain420 3,099]

1 hour ago, Waldo Pepper said:

Setup your horizontal sensitivity curve so that when your nose is pointing at the left and right border of your monitor,  the head in the TIR software has rotated 180 degrees.   You should be able to look 180 behind you in either direction without your nose passing the border of your screen.

Adjust the vertical sensitivity curve in the same manner,  more or less.    A bit over 90 degrees up/down at least.   You should be able to look at your lap and over your head effortlessly.

Then map a convenient joystick button to "center" in the trackIR software.   Mapping another button to "pause" is recommended.

I've done that already and find it way too sensitive and gets me dizzy. With any small head movements the view is unstable for me. Maybe works better for users with small displays, monitors, but not big screen TVs. Since I have to mount the sensor above, it's not aimed straight at me but angled downwards. Perhaps that throws it off.

Edited July 23, 2021 by captain420

[Bobsk8 12,492]

5 minutes ago, captain420 said:

I've done that already and find it way too sensitive and gets me dizzy. With any small head movements the view is unstable for me. Maybe works better for users with small displays, monitors, but not big screen TVs. Since I have to mount the sensor above, it's not aimed straight at me but angled downwards. Perhaps that throws it off.

You don't have it set up correctly.. 

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

6 minutes ago, captain420 said:

I've done that already and find it way too sensitive and gets me dizzy. With any small head movements the view is unstable for me. Maybe works better for users with small displays, monitors, but not big screen TVs. Since I have to mount the sensor above, it's not aimed straight at me but angled downwards. Perhaps that throws it off.

Download the Seth profile and work from there. It is just a matter of moving the whole profile downwards to reduce sensitivity.

Also why are you mounting at the top of the TV ? Most people with big TVs mount the camera on a pedestal that is level with the bottom of the TV. If you have a sim pit sitting the camera on the top of the dash is a good solution.

Getting TrackIR configured right can be a pain - but you only need to do it the once.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Glenn Fitzpatrick

[Republic3D 1,229]

TrackIR was the best purchase I've done for simulators ever. Still using the hat clip version, still works great for me. 

And I agree with Glenn, The "Seth - Flight" profile is the best.

[CaptainNick 575]

3 hours ago, captain420 said:

I use a 55" 4K TV for my display and have it mounted at the top, and I sit maybe about 3-3.5 ft away. Perhaps its my setup. I don't know really.

I also have a wall mounted 55" 4k set that I use as my monitor. Its mounted over my desk so I sit just at 36" from it. Luckily I have it mounted so my desk lines up just underneath, and I have my track IR camera right there, underneath the tv. its a bit messy but you can see the camera under the Chrome icon on the taskbar.

Edited July 23, 2021 by CaptainNick

[captain420 3,099]

Interesting. Well, the reason I have it mounted above is because that's how everyone does it. I thought it was suppose to be pointing at your eyes or eye level when you sit. If I mount the sensor at the bottom of my tv like what Captain Nick did, it won't be perfectly be aimed at my eyes but more angled up. But I guess it's better than mounting it from the top down, since the angle isn't as extreme when mounting it from the bottom like that. Okay I will give it another go and get the seth profile and try again to see if it's any better. By the way, I have the version with the clip that attaches to the brim of a hat. So on my desk, if I were to place the sensor at the bottom of the TV, then it would have to be slightly angled up in order to see the sensors on my hat/head. My TV is also mounted to the wall. So hopefully I can just place it on top of my desk.

Update: Doesn't matter if i mount the TrackIR sensor on the top or bottom of my TV. the angle to my hat is about the same. So I don't think it'll make much of a difference if I were to mount it at the bottom of the TV.

Which Seth profile do I get? He has 2. Seth Flight.xml and Seth FPS.xml

Edited July 23, 2021 by captain420

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

28 minutes ago, captain420 said:

Interesting. Well, the reason I have it mounted above is because that's how everyone does it. I thought it was suppose to be pointing at your eyes or eye level when you sit. If I mount the sensor at the bottom of my tv like what Captain Nick did, it won't be perfectly be aimed at my eyes but more angled up. But I guess it's better than mounting it from the top down, since the angle isn't as extreme when mounting it from the bottom like that. Okay I will give it another go and get the seth profile and try again to see if it's any better. By the way, I have the version with the clip that attaches to the brim of a hat. So on my desk, if I were to place the sensor at the bottom of the TV, then it would have to be slightly angled up in order to see the sensors on my hat/head. My TV is also mounted to the wall. So hopefully I can just place it on top of my desk.

The trick with bottom mounting is where the sensor is on your head. In the case of the cap clip at least, it needs to be more forward and pointing downward.

Just apply common sense. For example the cap clip on a cap is not going to work with bottom mounting as the cap peak will block the camera seeing the top rear sensor, especially if you try and look upwards.   

basically the camera needs to be able to detect all the reflectors or LEDS throughout your likely head movement.  In my case I mounted the cap clip to my headset but tilted it downwards slightly and I also wear the headset it is attached to with the head strap slightly forward on my head. End result for me is the cap clip is about 30 to 40 degrees off horizontal pointing down towards where the camera is located.

 

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by Glenn Fitzpatrick

[captain420 3,099]

Anything else I should adjust? I can't seem to map the 'center' to my wireless xbox controller.

 

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by captain420

[Paladin2005 421]

Never fly without it +1

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

20 minutes ago, captain420 said:

Anything else I should adjust? I can't seem to map the 'center' to my wireless xbox controller.

 

 

Possibly see if you can tilt the camera up a touch more to get the green dots in the "Camera" window, closer to the middle of the display.

No idea about Xbox, though there should be a way one would think.

You can also centre the display by mouse clicking the F12 on the TrackIR window, though that is not much use if you are only on one display and using Xbox controller.

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by Glenn Fitzpatrick

[captain420 3,099]

Glenn, wow this profile really makes a difference. It's now useable! Could you please explain to me what "PRECISION" does and why I need to map that?

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

6 minutes ago, captain420 said:

Glenn, wow this profile really makes a difference. It's now useable! Could you please explain to me what "PRECISION" does and why I need to map that?

 

Precision slows the profile down.  Generally you would use that if you are trying to use virtual cockpit mouse controls and the normal profile is too jittery.  Or maybe trying to finesse a landing.

The normal profile is great for combat sims where you are wildly looking about trying to see who is shooting at you, or doing aerobatics where you need good SA, or just looking around at scenery-  but sometimes you may just need more precision.

Generally personally, I just turn the tracking off completely in these situations, but sometimes it can be handy to just have less extreme head movements.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Glenn Fitzpatrick

[captain420 3,099]

I see, also should I be using Seth Flight or Seth FPS profile?