TrackIR5 Likes / Dislikes

[harleyman]

I was thinking about getting this for myself but have a couple easy questions..

Does it move all over the place, as in do you have to keep your head totally still?

Is it hard for a software dummie like me to connect, set up and use ?

Does it have any negeative impact on your simming experience ? (frames?)


Thanks....Eats lots of Turkey and Ham !

[Naismith]

I was thinking about getting this for myself but have a couple easy questions..

Does it move all over the place, as in do you have to keep your head totally still?

No you don't have to keep your head totally still, but there is a short learning curve until you get used to it. The amount of response is adjustable through the software.

Is it hard for a software dummie like me to connect, set up and use ?

Not really, it is pretty intuitive.

Does it have any negeative impact on your simming experience ? (frames?)

FPS no effect whatsoever. Experience wise it is totally immersive and can only increase your enjoyment of the sim. I have used it since 2003ish and only fly heavies without it.


Thanks....Eats lots of Turkey and Ham !

Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

[harleyman]

Great replies...Thank you for that very much.. :ernae:

I think its for me.......

[flyinjake]

Mason,

TrackIR is easy to setup and use. In the trackIR software one can adjust how much and fast you want movement. The operator can also creat shortcut keys to pause movement (nice when adjusting radio frequencies) or recenter the camera while on the fly.

Although I have not used it in this fashion, it has the ability to emulate a mouse. I think this would be good to try in games such as BF2.

Robert

[jimjones]

It's a great product. Love the new interface. Easy to setup. Have not had to adjust the curves as is possible.

Viewing very far to the sides or to the rear requires looking out the corner of your eyes, a not too comfortable situation. But all in all its a great experience.

Love moving around the cockpit, viewing gauges up close and under things. Gives a 3D like feeling. Great for taildraggers when need to look over the panel or out side window to see the ground to takeoff or land.

Setting knobs, etc on the VC panel can be difficult, but there is a key to slow the response of head movement to aid settings.

[jankees]

I just got it, and am still in the learning curve,
but I can tell you it's easy to set up.
What I don't like is that it also works in spot view,
is there anyway to set it up in such a way that it doesn't work in spot view?

[flyinjake]

Jankees,
Have you tried pausing trackir when in spot view? Does it allow you to move spot view with FSX controls after the pause?

[Dimus]

It was suggested on another thread that this can be achieved by just deactivating it in spot view. Default key for this is F9 but it could be mapped to your joystick for easy on/off. Other than that I do not know another way.

Harleyman, get it and you won't regret it.

[2Low]

Everyone has said all that is needed. I'll just add my opinion that after a good set of controls the TrakIR will probably add to your imersion more than anything else you could spend less than $200 on. For me it totally changed the experience for the better.

[dswo]

On spot plane view: in FSX, there is no way to disable TIR automatically. (In FS9, that was the default behavior.)

A hint: edit your Flight profile, select the HotKeys tab, and uncheck the Trap box for Pause. This allows the F9 key (or whatever key you use to pause TIR) to be detected by another program in addition to TIR. Why? In FSX, make F9 the key that toggles Mouse Look. Result: when you pause TrackIR, MouseLook will take over. When you unpause TrackIR, MouseLook will yield control back. It's possible to get in a situation where both are active at one time, which doesn't work very well for either. To get out of that, use the OTHER key combination to untoggle MouseLook. (On my rig, it's shift-o.)

[MarkH]

do you have to keep your head totally still?

Most of the sample profiles include a flat spot near the centre, so that small head movements are not picked up when you're looking straight forwards (on the approach, for example). The profiles are completely user-definable.

[harleyman]

Great info and help guys...Thanks bunches...

Looks to me like a must have.....

As soon as I find that big fat man I will tell him I want one for Christmas...:bump:

[Dain Arns]

Plus you can speed up, slow down, smooth out your head movements via the software. Its really customizable. I think you'll be surprised how intuitive it is. The learning curve, in my opinion, is pretty flat.

And despite the price, it'll be something you use every flight. :wavey:

[PRB]

I have it. Don't like it. But you shouldn't go by that since I'm not normal. Most people seem to like it a lot. I don't like having to “re-learn” how to “look at things”. I understand why they did what they did, and it's a pretty ingenious solution to the problem they are trying to solve, but it just isn't quite there for me. I feel “constrained” by the requirement to keep my head still. After all, if you move your head, the thing “thinks” you want to look at whatever the device is pointed at. Once I have the darned thing “calibrated”, I can't kick back, lean back, relax, or whatever, or the device thinks I want to look at the cockpit ceiling, or where ever my real head is “pointed”. So I have to sit there, in proper posture, for the whole flight? Also, the device has to be mounted to a ball cap. It has to be situated a few inches in front of you, about where it would be if mounted on the bill of a ball cap. If you try to simply put it on top of your head, the “rotation point” as you pivot your head up and down will cause the view to be messed up. Looking down places your viewpoint at the top of the cockpit ceiling, while looking up places your viewpoint under the pilot seat. And I don't want to wear a ball cap, sitting still, for the whole flight. So I don't use it. But, your millage may vary!

[luckydog]

Its a hassle when you're on final approach and trying to drink a beer........

[Tweek]

So I have to sit there, in proper posture, for the whole flight?

That's my only gripe with it. A lot of the time I just want to sit back in my chair and fly, but obviously if I'm using TrackIR then I must keep my head in pretty much the same place at all times.

However, I can't imagine flying in the VC without it. I'd much rather have to sit up for a while and have freedom to look about with ease than have to use the hat switch or number pad. I most definitely recommend it.

[dswo]

So I have to sit there, in proper posture, for the whole flight?

That's not how I use it. When you just want to chill and monitor gauges, disable TIR with F9 (or whatever you assign) and use the hat switch like you normally do. Then, when you want to look around again, hit F9 again and your head is on a swivel.

[GT182]

[QUOTE=harleyman;298394]
Looks to me like a must have.....
QUOTE]

For a true flight experience yes it is a must have. As I've said before.... You don't use a hatswitch when you drive your car do you? You surely don't want to when you fly on your computer, so don't fly without it."

If you get it thru SOH's link there's a discount for it. At least there used to be.

The Tracker v5 software is the easiest and best to use so far.

[CodyValkyrie]

I mapped three buttons on my joystick for the TIR. One to slow it down (for filming, etc), one to turn it off (spot view, etc), and one to reset the view. The latter button is useful when like others, you get comfortable in a flight and want to relax and slouch a little in your chair. I just center my head or wherever at the monitor and hit the button. Simple.

[harleyman]

Bingo...Thats the solution...Just set it looking forward and kill it with however you set it up to take that command...Brilliant..

Thanks alot for all your answers...This may just be lots of fun....:ernae:

[CBris]

Trackir 5 is so much better than "3" - and that was good too.

F9/lock for the outside views and move via the coolie hat, unlock for inside. Lean round the girlie's head (in the Christen Eagle or the A2A Piper) to see the runway. Or raise the desk chair to look over the nose... In some planes or helis, you can even lean into the bubble canopies to look down (great for the underslung loads!)

[Dain Arns]

Folks, you don't have to sit still the whole flight. You can program in a big null zone, even how far it turns, just tweak.

If you really need to move, take the cap off. It resets to a forward view after a few moments of not detecting the reflectors.

Need to check something or land, put the cap back on, head in right position, hit F12, you're back in business.

For goodness sake, take control of the camera, don't let it control you. :icon_lol:

[LouP]

I have my keys mapped on my Nostromo so if I want to sloach down I just recenter the view with a touch of a button, easy peasy.

LouP

[Scratch]

One more thing, make sure there are no bright lights behind you when using TIR. It will really screw up your tracking. I have a lamp off to one side of my monitor slightly behind my head that doesn't bother it at all, but when my daughter comes in the game room and flips the overhead light switch it wigs out my view pretty bad.

[MudMarine]

How do people fly without a TrackIR? It's my favorite piece of gear. Easy to use and get used to! I won't take off without it!:engel016:

[LouP]

One more thing, make sure there are no bright lights behind you when using TIR. It will really screw up your tracking. I have a lamp off to one side of my monitor slightly behind my head that doesn't bother it at all, but when my daughter comes in the game room and flips the overhead light switch it wigs out my view pretty bad.

Hi Scratch,

There are adjustments for that. Jast had to make a few because of a lamp. :)

LouP