Free Track (the free TrackIR)

[riverfish15]

Is drinking beer and flying safe? Kids read these forums;)
How many people would you say, use the TIR?

[moot]

So how does this compare with the Wii trackIR?

[Delirium]

How much is the cheapest method of making an IR cost? I've donated my 3 track IRs to the MS Society and I was thinking about making a few if the price was low enough...

[The Fugitive]

You can do a whole setup for like $30-40. Depends on the camera you use and if you buy the LED in bulk and such.

Its basically the same thing as the Wii thing that was posted, but a camera is a bit cheaper to buy than a Wii remote.

[moot]

The Wii solution seems to work the best, by far.

[smokey23]

I built one according to youre specs Fugitive although i used standard red LED's instead of IR LED's, I also found if you split a standard floppy disk case remove the disk and use it as the ambient light filter  superglue it over the lens it works very good and first off ITS AWESOME works very well i made the 3- point cap model, and after a week or so of messing with the settings and curves, profiles and stuff i finally got it workin good. Thanks for the post really cool tool for this game.

[AquaShrimp]

Isn't it more effective to just use an 8-way top hat?

[Fulmar]

This thread actually got me into buying and building this current setup.

Cost:  Webcame (Ebay) - $20
LEDs and resistors - $6-7
Battery: $4 for Lithium, $.85 for an Alkaline
Everything else was scavenged.

Items Used:
1 x Baseball cap
1 x Metal Coat Hanger
1 x Lithium 9v (you can use Alkaline)
1 x On/Off Dip Switch (from a hair dryer)
2 x 100 ohm 1/8 watt resistors
3 x 1.2v IR LEDs
2 x 30" of wire
Tape
Solder & Soldering Iron
Velcro
1 x Microsoft VX-1000 Webcam
1 x Floppy disk (used to replace the removed IR Filter on the Webcam - blocks out visible light) - see website for details on this

So far, works like a charm.  I do not take an FPS hit in game on my E6400, 4gb RAM, and an 8800GTS 640mb.  A few bugs with the software and webcam.  If the webcame power LED is on and I open Free-Track, the program will crash right away one I hit 'Start' on the program, just have to unplug the webcam and plug it back in to fix this.  I get a little jittering with tracking my head movement sometimes, I'll have to play with the sensitivity of Free-Track and possibly reposition the LEDs a tad.

A 3 point cap setup.  The frame is made out of the coat hanger.  Used a little Solder to hold it together.


Lithium 9V power supply.  A ON/OFF switch from a hair dryer.  A resistors in-line on the positive cable.


Probably the weakest point of the design, the LEDs are held in place by a double sided tape and packing tape.


Microsoft VX-1000 Webcam mounted upside down on my desk, right about the monitor.


Flight Video in an ME163
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pEOGeBMTDQ

[brucerer]

I made me one of these just after xmas, dang its cool. Now if i play other games that dont support it i find myself turning my head any going "What the..? Oh.. right"

Check 6 is no prob for me. I find it easiest to have the 'Relative aircraft movement' thingo checked - rather then turning back and looking straight at the chair then trying to slide around it i just think 'behind and left' or 'behind and right' and do it in one motion. Imagine where i'm trying to look rather than thinking about controlling my views if that makes any sense.

[smokey23]

i cured the jittering on mine by turning the outside ring on the webcam and focus the camera lens takes some fine tuneing but it cured mine of this problem.



I built mine directly into the cap

[/IMG]

i used the VX-3000
[/IMG]

[Fulmar]

Originally posted by smokey23
i cured the jittering on mine by turning the outside ring on the webcam and focus the camera lens takes some fine tuneing but it cured mine of this problem.

Good to know, I'll give it a try.

[The Fugitive]

Running a file along the rounded tops of the LEDs helps focus the "light" too. A rounded top spreads the light, a flat top beams the light. I was surprised at how much brighter mine seemed after I flattened them.

[smokey23]

thats a good point fugitive I also did that i ran it first without fileing the ends flat and then after fileing the tips and i must agree after flattening the tips of the LED's really did help.

[smokey23]

heres a lame short vid i made just messin with the Poormans trackIR that i made useing the fugitive instructions it works great