Track IR Recommendations
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BMS’ers,
Looking to finally purchase a Track IR system. Any recommendations?
GW
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yes, buy a naturalpoint system
people have tried cheaper alternatives but almost all of them end up eventually buying either a trackir 4 or 5.
also if you have glasses or greasy/shiny skin or have a window where the sun can shine through a window onto your head or in view of the camera you are likely to get conflicting IR sources, a trackclip pro solution might help but i suggest looking to buy a metal version instead of the “official” one as i can so far count on 1 hand the number of unbroken official trackclip pro clips from the dozens of people that i know in this community. another bonus point is that the metal version is cheaper than the official version, it is however better constructed than the official version and far more sturdier.
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As I have a TrackIR 5 myself for quite a couple of years now I find it very good. However; it’s quite a steep price. If I were to do it all over again I’d go for the metal Delanclip, which is the same as a trackclip Pro from TrackIR only made out of solid metal, and a PS3 Eye cam in conjuction with Facetrack Noir or Freetrack. Saves you about €100…
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As I have a TrackIR 5 myself for quite a couple of years now I find it very good. However; it’s quite a steep price. If I were to do it all over again I’d go for the metal Delanclip, which is the same as a trackclip Pro from TrackIR only made out of solid metal, and a PS3 Eye cam in conjuction with Facetrack Noir or Freetrack. Saves you about €100…
that was the name of the clip… forgot what it was called…
facetracknoir is not worth the hassle, it’s shaky and not worth the time to setup tune and tweak only to throw it away later in frustration. (though by far the cheapest solution) free track with that clip could work, esp with the ps3 cam which is reporterdly at 120fps? iirc, possibility there.
plenty of people went before you though grim wreaper so i suggest to google but also to search this forum (as google does not crawl this board so no topics will pop up from here with a google search). trackir is expensive but 2nd hand it’s less so. but it’s almost worth it’s exorbitant price…
and the trackclip pro… it’s price is criminal for it’s quality -
I’m absolutely happy with FaceTrackNoIR and the delanclip. (total cost about €50 including a ps3 eyecam, using the pointtracker plugin).
None of the folks I know that have tried the delanclip (or even a custom built clip that can be made for about $10 in parts) have “gone back” to NP products, so YMMV (on the other hand, I understand the need to justify spending so much money on sub par hardware like the proclip from time to time :D)
All the best,
Uwe
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My advice: Get a TrackIR 5 and the UTC Mk II and be done with it.
Do not even factor in the price. Looking online, the TrackIR5 costs anywhere from £160 to £220 depending on what you get with it (with or without the TrackClip Pro). Even at £220, if you flew Falcon for 1 hour every week, 4 hours every month, that’s 48 hours in one year. That translates to £4.58/hr cost of the TrackIR. Expensive? What if you flew Falcon for 6 hours every month, that’s 72 hours in one year, or £3.06/hr cost of the TrackIR. Still expensive? I have had my TrackIR for 7 years now and even at the 1hr/week assumption, 336 hours over 7 years, that’s £0.65/hr cost of the TrackIR. I am very confident that myTrackIR has seen more than 336 hours of use; I used to fly DCS A10C and do at least two flights per week for 1.5-2 years and each flight would easily be 2-4 hours, then there’s the practice flights, training flights, testing-the-new-mission flights… With BMS, a typical flight would be 1-2 hours long, but again, you have your practice/training/testing flights…
If you only see yourself simming for the next 3 months then packing it in, then TrackIR is expensive. If not, then TrackIR is one of the cheapest but most useful hardware you can buy.
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Thanks All……good insight.
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My advice: Get a TrackIR 5 and the UTC Mk II and be done with it.
Do not even factor in the price.
+1
Bought a UTC Pro recently on Ice’s recommendation to go with the 3 year old TIR5 (binning their quite awful Trackclip Pro) and all is good again.
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+1 for the UTC Pro, it’s small compact and no wires.
Also have the Delan clip, works very well, but this was an early model with no on/off switch and a wire. There are later wireless versions now.
Both work well with my very old TrackIR (I still have the reflective clip as backup). -
A few years back my TrackIR ProClip broke. I contacted Naturalpoint and explained my grievance and they admitted the design was less than robust, and sent me out an updated version of the TrackClip which is thicker than the old one used to be in the location which failed.
I have had no issues since then, and personally would not see the need to buy anything other than the default TrackClip Pro at this point.
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Thanks to -Ice’s recommendation (without him I wouldn’t even know about the UTC) I use the UTC MkII Pro in conjunction with TrackIR 4 and I am very happy with it.
Very robust hand-made, wireless piece of equipment. You can attach it anywhere you like. Will probably last a very long time ^^ -
yes, buy a naturalpoint system
people have tried cheaper alternatives but almost all of them end up eventually buying either a trackir 4 or 5.
also if you have glasses or greasy/shiny skin or have a window where the sun can shine through a window onto your head or in view of the camera you are likely to get conflicting IR sources, a trackclip pro solution might help but i suggest looking to buy a metal version instead of the “official” one as i can so far count on 1 hand the number of unbroken official trackclip pro clips from the dozens of people that i know in this community. another bonus point is that the metal version is cheaper than the official version, it is however better constructed than the official version and far more sturdier.
Where can you buy a “metal” version of the Trackclip Pro?
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My advice: Get a TrackIR 5 and the UTC Mk II and be done with it.
Do not even factor in the price. Looking online, the TrackIR5 costs anywhere from £160 to £220 depending on what you get with it (with or without the TrackClip Pro). Even at £220, if you flew Falcon for 1 hour every week, 4 hours every month, that’s 48 hours in one year. That translates to £4.58/hr cost of the TrackIR. Expensive? What if you flew Falcon for 6 hours every month, that’s 72 hours in one year, or £3.06/hr cost of the TrackIR. Still expensive? I have had my TrackIR for 7 years now and even at the 1hr/week assumption, 336 hours over 7 years, that’s £0.65/hr cost of the TrackIR. I am very confident that myTrackIR has seen more than 336 hours of use; I used to fly DCS A10C and do at least two flights per week for 1.5-2 years and each flight would easily be 2-4 hours, then there’s the practice flights, training flights, testing-the-new-mission flights… With BMS, a typical flight would be 1-2 hours long, but again, you have your practice/training/testing flights…
If you only see yourself simming for the next 3 months then packing it in, then TrackIR is expensive. If not, then TrackIR is one of the cheapest but most useful hardware you can buy.
Hi ICE….I checked out that SimUK video on this UTC MkII sounds like this maybe the clip I’ll get. However what’s the cost in USD?
GW
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@Grim:
Where can you buy a “metal” version of the Trackclip Pro?
I think he’s talking about the DelanClip option instead of the TrackClip Pro.
@Grim:
Hi ICE….I checked out that SimUK video on this UTC MkII sounds like this maybe the clip I’ll get. However what’s the cost in USD?
Prices are in the post that I linked above. Actual price in USD would depend on conversion rates when you order and also what the actual conversion rate Paypal is using.
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I’m currently using this Track Clip Pro clone and it works well:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151566612691I5-13600KF, 32GB DDR4 3200, PNY RTX 4090. Pimax 8KX, Reverb G2, Quest 2, 55" 4K TV+TIR5. Saitek X65F, Saitek Switch Panel, DIY switch box, PointCTRL, TM MFDs, PSM ICP, Logitech G13 DED, TM TPR pedals. JetPad, 3rd Space Vest, and bass pucks
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The DelanClip has the same dimensions as the track clip pro I think so it should work with other options besides opentrack or freetracknoIR just fine.
W/R to not having a switch, I bought a cheap usb extension with a switch for about 3€ from amazon.
uwe
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also if you have glasses or greasy/shiny skin or have a window where the sun can shine through a window onto your head or in view of the camera you are likely to get conflicting IR sources,.
With a IR filter on the camera ( floppy disk or a film ) and a bit of configuration you should remove all the wrong IR lights.
I’ve bought this:
http://www.ebay.it/itm/Capteur-infrarouge-usb-Trackir-Head-pro-Clip-Tracker-Freetrack-Track-IR-5-/252860946178?hash=item3adfafd702:g:nnYAAOSwe7BW1CtlThe clip is made with cheap wood but is that is lighter than a metal clip. The PS3 Eye camera comes with an IR filter. I use all with Opentrack with success with many games ( BMS, FSX , DCS , ARMA3 , even XWING Alliance with mouse emulation ).
Maybe I’m unlucky but I’ve broken the USB cable in some way … I’ve managed to open it and repair it soldering another one.
