Track IR/Free Track Rigs

I've seen there are pockets of Goodjers who use Track IR or some other form of head tracker units. Someone on the forums pointed me to Free Track and I've been trying to navigate their forums and decipher how to build a home brew rig. I'm a complete idiot in the arena of assembling electronic devices of this sort.

Is there any feedback out there from you guys about ponying up and paying $120 for the Track IR versus the low price of entry for a home brew rig?

Any build tips or success stories to impart?

I'm going to hit Radio Shack for the IR LED's and then using an old cell phone charger for the power source. A Wii remote will most likely serve as the tracker unit.

Thanks all! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and maybe seeing some homebrew tracker rig pr0n.

I was actually just looking into FreeTrack/FreeTrackNoIR last weekend. Even hacked my old Xbox camera to remove the IR filter and add a couple of pieces of film negative to get it to start working.

Just need to try to get profiles built to a couple of games. Was trying to decide if I wanted to go down the rabbit hole to the point of building an LED device or buying the TrackIR headphone clip to improve it.

Was thinking about using it for War Thunder and maybe ARMA 3.

I suspect that some of the uses for TrackIR might be superseded by Occulus Rift within a couple of years. I'd much prefer that solution. That makes it hard for me to justify buying the TrackIR now.

I have the TrackIR 4, and it's amazing. If you're into the games that support it I can recommend it without qualification.

I recommend the TrackIR 4 bundle that comes with the TrackClip Pro. That'll run you $120 instead f the $150 for the TrackIR 5 alone. The TrackClip is just a lot nicer than the hat mounted reflector setup and isn't subject to random IR interference.

I've seen and experimented with a FreeTrack setup exactly once, and it was a pretty gorram ugly setup to have on a desk, and wasn't as smooth as my TrackIR. I understand that YMMV somewhat on FreeTrack depending on what webcam you cannibalize to make it etc.

I was just going to start this thread. Glad I checked first.

Based on groan's recommendation in the Euro Truck Simulator 2 thread, I just ordered a DelanClip from eBay and am going to buy a PS3 Eye from Amazon. groan uses FreeTrackNoIR in his video and the DelanClip creator uses FreeTrack, so it looks like I'll have two options when it arrives. I'm looking to use it with ETS2 and especially Arma 2 & 3.

I've been on the cusp of getting the TrackIR for a couple of years, but TrackIR 5 + Track Clip Pro comes to $220 with tax and shipping. The DelanClip + PS3 Eye will come to about $80 including tax and shipping. I'm hoping the combo works well.

I am sure you will be very happy.
I took a length of velcro ribbon and wrapped the frame of the Delanclip. I then got a large adhesive patch of the other side of the velcro and attached it to my PS3 headset. it has a wide headband so it was perfectly suited to this. now when I want to use it I just stick it on and it is very stable. I'll post a pic of it when I get a chance.

I tried freetrack and if would not work well for me.

groan wrote:

I am sure you will be very happy.
I took a length of velcro ribbon and wrapped the frame of the Delanclip. I then got a large adhesive patch of the other side of the velcro and attached it to my PS3 headset. it has a wide headband so it was perfectly suited to this. now when I want to use it I just stick it on and it is very stable. I'll post a pic of it when I get a chance.

Yeah, I've got a Tritton headset so I'll probably have to use velcro, too. Thanks for the tip.

I ordered the Delanclip on Wednesday, but it hasn't been shipped yet afaik. No email, anyway. PS3 Eye should be here Monday, so I might play around with FacetrackNoIR a bit before the Delanclip arrives.

ebarstad wrote:
groan wrote:

I am sure you will be very happy.
I took a length of velcro ribbon and wrapped the frame of the Delanclip. I then got a large adhesive patch of the other side of the velcro and attached it to my PS3 headset. it has a wide headband so it was perfectly suited to this. now when I want to use it I just stick it on and it is very stable. I'll post a pic of it when I get a chance.

Yeah, I've got a Tritton headset so I'll probably have to use velcro, too. Thanks for the tip.

I ordered the Delanclip on Wednesday, but it hasn't been shipped yet afaik. No email, anyway. PS3 Eye should be here Monday, so I might play around with FacetrackNoIR a bit before the Delanclip arrives.

that's what I did since the clip is coming from overseas. Facetracknoir is OK and initially I thought it would do the trick but I found it looses track of your face too easily.

groan wrote:

I am sure you will be very happy.
I took a length of velcro ribbon and wrapped the frame of the Delanclip. I then got a large adhesive patch of the other side of the velcro and attached it to my PS3 headset. it has a wide headband so it was perfectly suited to this. now when I want to use it I just stick it on and it is very stable. I'll post a pic of it when I get a chance.

Here they are.

DelanClip wrapped in Velcro
IMAGE(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7779045/delanclip/delanclip-valcro.jpg)

PS3 Wireless headset with Velcro patch
IMAGE(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7779045/delanclip/headset-velcro.jpg)

Delanclip attached to patch, very stable.
IMAGE(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7779045/delanclip/joined.jpg)

Nice. Thanks for posting those.

I got my PS3 Eye today, so I tried out FaceTrackNoIR without the clip. It works surprisingly well. I did a job in ETS2 and it makes an incredible difference just being able to look around without using the controller. The head tracking wasn't super smooth in game, but I imagine the settings could be tweaked a little bit to fix that. It makes me really excited to get the clip since I'm hoping the tracking will be even better using that.

don't you have a photo shop around that still processes film? we have a few. if you are still having trouble let me know via PM with your address and I'll mail you a strip.

I got my DelanClip today, but I'm at a bit of a loss. Do I actually have to take the camera apart to place the diskette filter or can that just be put over the lens on the outside? Did you remove the camera's IR filter (the DelanClip manual says not to)? Also, once I have everything set up, do I set the camera to zoom in by twisting the lens or just use the default view?

I think I'm in over my head...

EDIT: I ended up taking the camera apart, removing the IR filter, and putting the piece of diskette inside the camera and it works like a charm. FacetrackNoIR seems to be the way to go, since I can't even get Freetrack to run without freezing up and killing the camera drivers.

hehe, I used a filmstrip so I just taped it in front of the lens.
As you said with freetrack, it's no good and besides development on it ceased so they wont fix it anyways.

How do you like it? Report back after doing a couple runs.

It works really well in ETS2 with the settings you posted in your video. I tried it in Arma 3 for a bit, too, but I'm going to have to tweak my settings a bit. It's also going to take a little getting used to in general, especially in Arma where you're pointing a gun and looking around and may not be looking where you're aiming.

Overall, I'm really glad I went this route. It's much cheaper than a full TrackIR and I'm hoping I can tweak the settings enough that the performance/responsiveness is also comparable (based on video since I haven't used the TrackIR) or at least better than the controller/keyboard alternatives for looking around in each game.

I have a TrackIR 5 and love it.. except for the Trackclip Pro. What a piece of crap, it broke on about the 4th use, and I have it electrical taped to the max.

I picked up a TrackClip Pro + PS3 Eye camera + visible light filter (cut up floppy disk) + OpenTrack.

I'm pretty damn impressed! I can't imagine a real TrackIR being a whole lot better. It's incredibly responsive with the PS3 Eye running at 640x480@75.

I had originally used the Eye with FaceTrackNoIR for face tracking, and that was so sluggish (and CPU intensive) that I dropped it. But I've been itching to have head tracking in Elite, and I've been avoiding buying a TrackIR when I'm likely to be in the VR headset market within the next 12-18 months, so I figured I'd get the clip and try it again.

Open Track is the way to go for sure. What are you playing it with? I havn't tried Elite Dangerous but it works great in Euro Truck Simulator. I use the Delanclip which is basically the same thing.

groan wrote:

Open Track is the way to go for sure. What are you playing it with? I havn't tried Elite Dangerous but it works great in Euro Truck Simulator. I use the Delanclip which is basically the same thing.

Elite and ARMA so far. I do have a copy of Euro Truck, should try it there too. Also going to try to get back into WW2 flight sims like IL-2.

I wonder if it would work in something like Dirt for driving. I think I tried it...threw me off my game if I remember right.