Lost my TrackIR, what to replace it with?

[Aliza_Airlines]

During a move of some kind my TrackIR 5 system that I had for years got lost or thrown out and I didn't bother to save or find it when I moved because I thought VR would be more than sufficient in terms of head tracking. As it turns out, my computer can't run IL2 very well in VR (30-40 FPS on the lowest settings) and I find the headset to be a chore during longer play sessions. I've been using the POV switch on my VKB Gladiator NXT EVO and it's been pretty decent so far, but not as nice or responsive as head tracking (especially If I have to move my head in the cockpit to look at a gauge or something).

 

Out of the options I have listed on the poll, which one is best to replace my lost TrackIR?

Edited September 22, 2022 by Aliza_Airlines

[BOO]

I thnik id go 2nd hand TIR5 and a better 3rd party proclip. £199 for new in UK is too much. 

 

or

 

Delanclip gamer kit. (£65 wired or £98 wireless in UK)

 

From expereince the TIR proclip was flimsy but that was long ago and i dunno if the design has improved. I have used Delan clip with my TIR5 which was £35 and its been rock solid over perhaps 4-5 years now. 

 

If my TIR5 went U/S Id probably try an Opentrack solution next time just out of curiousity. 

 

Amazon has a load of knock off TIR type stuff around £120  but buyer beware I guess. 

 

 

[sevenless]

You might want to consider Delanclip. I use it for some years now. It is wireless and totally convenient to use. I can recommend it.

 

Either buy the "DELANCLiP™® Fusion - Complete Kit (Wireless)" with camera, or if you already have a camera, buy "DELANCLiP™® Fusion (Wireless)" for 52 quid.

 

DELANCLiP Fusion (Wireless) (delanengineering.com)

 

For software you need opentrack to make your individual settings. Tutorial here: 

 

[Mtnbiker1998]

imo its pretty hard to justify spending the money on 2d headtracking in 2022, especially since it sounds like you already have a headset. VR is the future and thats an extra hundred bucks you could put towards a new GPU to run it.

 

Try out motion smoothing in SteamVR, its not ideal either but can make a big difference at lower FPS. If nothing else you may also try lowering the supersampling to get the fps up. 

 

Also, don't feel bad about using labels in VR, especially given your situation. you can set them to toggle on a hotas button and enable/disable as needed for immersion.

[352ndOscar]

Try this……

https://grassmonkeysimulations.com

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

13 hours ago, Aliza_Airlines said:

During a move of some kind my TrackIR 5 system that I had for years got lost or thrown out and I didn't bother to save or find it when I moved because I thought VR would be more than sufficient in terms of head tracking. As it turns out, my computer can't run IL2 very well in VR (30-40 FPS on the lowest settings) and I find the headset to be a chore during longer play sessions. I've been using the POV switch on my VKB Gladiator NXT EVO and it's been pretty decent so far, but not as nice or responsive as head tracking (especially If I have to move my head in the cockpit to look at a gauge or something).

 

Out of the options I have listed on the poll, which one is best to replace my lost TrackIR?

 

10 hours ago, 352ndOscar said:

Try this……

https://grassmonkeysimulations.com

I have one of these.  Works great.

[GamerK5083]

If it were me, I'd just replace the same TrackIR basic clip setup that is working for me now.  Don't let anyone tell you that VR is better if you've already tried it and don't think it is.  VR is not for everyone at its current stage of development and maybe not ever.  The other head/eye tracking solutions tend to be either cheaper but less polished, or more expensive with unwanted features.  The cost is unfortunate and you should try to get one used, but I think it's still the way to go.

 

August

[Vishnu]

VR

 

you won’t regret it. 

[KevPBur]

If you already have a web cam of any sort then Opentrack with aitrack is completely free so no loss to try it.

 

I have been using it very successfully for the past 18 mnths since I got back into this sim. It does require enough light for the webcam to see your face but I am finding a rear (red) bike light illuminates my face in a dark room  and doesn't ruin my night vission for dawn/dusk flights. I can't spot target planes in the broad daylight so pointless me trying at night!

 

 

[stburr91]

I just want to chime in and say that I personally had issues with eye strain/headaches using Tobii eye tracking, I know other people have reported similar issues with it. I don't know if that is in anyway helpful, but I just wanted to share my experience with it in case the op, or anyone was interested in eye tracking.     

[Denum]

Will second delanclip for the price.

[Customizer171]

5 hours ago, RNAS10_Mitchell said:

 

I have one of these.  Works great.

 

Is it hard to set it up?

[=OT=Rollie]

The pro clip is so much better than the reflectors. 

[RNAS10_Mitchell]

1 hour ago, Customizer171 said:

 

Is it hard to set it up?

Not at all.  The vendor has links to a nice tutorial.  Very simple.

Edited September 23, 2022 by RNAS10_Mitchell

[Pict]

2 hours ago, =OT=Rollie said:

The pro clip is so much better than the reflectors. 

 

 

Please expand on this comment some.

 

I ask as I had a Track IR 3, then a Track IR 5 at which point I bought the "pro clip". It didn't last long before the feeble plastic broke at the weak point and I went right back to using the reflector clip....that was years & years ago and it still works just fine...

 

Plus the reflector clip really is wireless and I havn't ever put a battery in it   It's also super light to the point you don't notice it, unlike the "pro clip"

 

In fact it's better than the "pro clip" in every way, cheaper, lighter, more robust, wireless and equal to it in performance from a head tracking perspective, at least I didn't notice any notable difference in performance that would offset all of it's negative points.

 

=================

 

So I would like to know what you meant by "much better"?

Edited September 23, 2022 by Pict

[BOO]

12 minutes ago, Pict said:

 

So I would like to know what you meant by "much better"?

Cant answer for him but for me

 

1) I dont need to wear a silly hat

2) I find the delan clip i use better suited to my set up where the camera is offset to my left not on top of a monitor. The reflectors glitched a lot when set up this way

3) I have much less rogue light interference as the camera isnt reliant on reflected IR beams and can have its sesitivity turned down a lot

4) I find its a little more accurate in the vertical plain and Z axis

5) its a little less sensitive to positioning and distance

 

Horses for courses, my setup isnt what was envisaged back in the day. But yes, for me, the Delanclip trumps the reflectors.

 

[Pict]

35 minutes ago, BOO said:

Cant answer for him but for me

 

1) I dont need to wear a silly hat

2) I find the delan clip i use better suited to my set up where the camera is offset to my left not on top of a monitor. The reflectors glitched a lot when set up this way

3) I have much less rogue light interference as the camera isnt reliant on reflected IR beams and can have its sesitivity turned down a lot

4) I find its a little more accurate in the vertical plain and Z axis

5) its a little less sensitive to positioning and distance

 

Horses for courses, my setup isnt what was envisaged back in the day. But yes, for me, the Delanclip trumps the reflectors.

 

 

Thanks for the input Boo.

 

I have to say that I'd never heard of the Delan Clip until I read your 1st post above and went to check it out. It certainly looks 1000 times better that the "pro clip" that I bought from Track IR, especially the wireless version.

 

But I was really looking for the logic behind the claim that the "Pro Clip" was "much better" than the reflector clip. I wanted to know why.

 

I think going on your information that it comes down to point no. 3, and light interference, as with any of the gear somthing needs to be worn on the head, be it a cap of headset or whatever.

 

And the other ponts are not huge increases in performance, well not enough to warrent the fragile construction, yet another cable and yet another USB port.

 

=============

 

The Delan Clip that you mention is clearly the logical development that Track IR should have gone with but didn't. I'm looking at it now and considering a wireless version.

 

I wouldn't ever buy another "Pro Clip" from Track IR though.

 

Thanks again, your input has been very interesting.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Pict

[IckyATLAS]

On 9/23/2022 at 2:00 AM, sevenless said:

You might want to consider Delanclip. I use it for some years now. It is wireless and totally convenient to use. I can recommend it.

 

Either buy the "DELANCLiP™® Fusion - Complete Kit (Wireless)" with camera, or if you already have a camera, buy "DELANCLiP™® Fusion (Wireless)" for 52 quid.

 

DELANCLiP Fusion (Wireless) (delanengineering.com)

 

For software you need opentrack to make your individual settings. Tutorial here: 

 

Just bought the complete kit. I was fed up with all the TrackIR5 cables. I will post when received and share my experience.

The long-term future is VR, I am completely convinced about that, but unfortunately after testing it is still not at the point where I will make the switch. I will try again after another two generation of VR technology evolution. 

[Lusekofte]

18 minutes ago, IckyATLAS said:

Just bought the complete kit. I was fed up with all the TrackIR5 cables. I will post when received and share my experience.

The long-term future is VR, I am completely convinced about that, but unfortunately after testing it is still not at the point where I will make the switch. I will try again after another two generation of VR technology evolution. 

Problem is gpu. The insain investment in top gpu and at the moment varjo next gem pimax 12 

You will never get the best.

I fly GB in a Rift s, I have g2, but yet to find motivation for installing it 

I do it for the experience of actually being in the pit. Not for beauty. But to me beautiful enough

[dburne]

3 minutes ago, LuseKofte said:

Problem is gpu. The insain investment in top gpu and at the moment varjo next gem pimax 12 

You will never get the best.

I fly GB in a Rift s, I have g2, but yet to find motivation for installing it 

I do it for the experience of actually being in the pit. Not for beauty. But to me beautiful enough

 

Actually a  bulk of the problem lies with the CPU rather than GPU especially with our current flight sims in VR.

Edited September 26, 2022 by dburne

[Padre*]

+1 for Delanclip Fusion (wireless)

 

You just need a few velcro ties to attach it to your headset, and it can charge while in use if need be

[IckyATLAS]

20 minutes ago, 334th_Padre* said:

+1 for Delanclip Fusion (wireless)

 

You just need a few velcro ties to attach it to your headset, and it can charge while in use if need be

Sure, for the long multiple hours across the black sea ? 

[Spinnetti]

On 9/22/2022 at 5:42 PM, Aliza_Airlines said:

During a move of some kind my TrackIR 5 system that I had for years got lost or thrown out and I didn't bother to save or find it when I moved because I thought VR would be more than sufficient in terms of head tracking. As it turns out, my computer can't run IL2 very well in VR (30-40 FPS on the lowest settings) and I find the headset to be a chore during longer play sessions. I've been using the POV switch on my VKB Gladiator NXT EVO and it's been pretty decent so far, but not as nice or responsive as head tracking (especially If I have to move my head in the cockpit to look at a gauge or something).

 

Out of the options I have listed on the poll, which one is best to replace my lost TrackIR?

Those were my findings too though my computer does VR fine. VR is a PITA and the cables are annoying so its rarely worth the bother to drag it out. Still have my trackir 5 setup.

Edited September 26, 2022 by Spinnetti

[Padre*]

10 minutes ago, IckyATLAS said:

Sure, for the long multiple hours across the black sea ? 

or if you forget to put the bloody thing on charge the night before ?