TrackClip project

gpbarth
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 1:16 pm
Location: NE Pennsylvania

Re: TrackClip project

Post by gpbarth »

Sorry, I thought you could switch off the LEDs in both modes.

As far as I know at this time, all you might be able to do is decrease the intensity in Track Clip mode. I'd love to find out how to turn them off.

Just a quick question: Have you tried using the hat with LEDs with he Pro Clip setting?
Isn't that possible?


I have used my hat with the Track Clip setting, and it works great. In my opinion, quite a bit better than the reflectors. The 3 "dots" on the screen seem to be more defined, and turning my head to the extreme sides still tracks the LEDs perfectly. It seems like the horizontal layout of the LEDs does a better job of tracking my head movement than the Pro's vertical mount, and it lets me mount the receiver in the middle of the monitor instead of the left side. That might be the big reason for better performance right there.
ark1320
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:37 am

Re: TrackClip project

Post by ark1320 »

MikeWitham wrote:gpbarth,

I haven't located a way to do it. I am reaching out to my Devs, but it may not be possible for an end user. I'll let you know what I find out.

Regards,
Mike,
What did the Devs say regarding turning off the LEDs when TrackClip is selected?

Thx,
Al
Last edited by ark1320 on Sun Jun 21, 2015 9:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
gpbarth
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 1:16 pm
Location: NE Pennsylvania

Re: TrackClip project

Post by gpbarth »

Yeah, we're still waiting. It has to be somewhere in the XML or some ini file. If choosing the Track Clip Pro turns the LEDs off, what code is doing that?

And in a similar vein, what would happen if I choose the Track Clip Pro and present my horizontal ball cap LEDs to the app? I'm going to try that next and will let you know what happens. Maybe that's all I need to do - just replace the Track Clip Pro with my hat.
ark1320
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:37 am

Re: TrackClip project

Post by ark1320 »

gpbarth wrote:Yeah, we're still waiting. It has to be somewhere in the XML or some ini file. If choosing the Track Clip Pro turns the LEDs off, what code is doing that?

And in a similar vein, what would happen if I choose the Track Clip Pro and present my horizontal ball cap LEDs to the app? I'm going to try that next and will let you know what happens. Maybe that's all I need to do - just replace the Track Clip Pro with my hat.
Unfortunately, I don't see any ini file. It may be the main exe file that turns off the Track Clip Pro LEDS. The XML entry LedsOn>1</LedsOn> seems to refer to the status LEDs, not the IR LEDS. The only other obvious LED entry I see is <TrackClipProLedsOn>1</TrackClipProLedsOn, but changing the 1 to 0 didn't seem to have an effect on the transmitting LEDS. The other issue is when the XML info is read -- maybe just at startup, and some values may be reinitialized at that time as well.

I think the potential problem with using the hat IR LED configuration with the Track Clip Pro processing software is the software is looking for a different type of IR light pattern to figure out where the user is looking. For example, while having the 3 lights lined up vertically with the Track Clip Pro is "normal", that never happens with the hat configuration. However, there is no reason not to give it a try. I'll be interested to here what you learn.

I'm just getting to the point of building the IR LED hat version. I measured the dimensions of the Track Clip and then cut, bent and glued a couple of strips of metal together so I have a framework similar to the Track Clip, but without the reflectors, to attach the IR LEDS to. I'll attach it all to the hat peak with a black spring clip. So without the reflectors I'm hoping it won't make any difference if the camera IR LEDS are on or off, especially if I turn them down to the 10 setting.

My motivation for building the IR LED hat is I'm hoping that by using wide angle IR LEDS, the useful vertical, up-down range will be greater than with the Hat Clip. I use Track IR for flight simulation and often an aircraft will have overhead controls as well as a center console of radios on the floor between the seats, so a wide vertical range is very useful.

BTW, you might be able to negate the effect of the reflectors on your Track Clip by making some temporary (and non-damaging) "covers" (out of black paper or cloth, etc) for the reflective strips to prevent any useful reflections getting back to the camera.

Al
gpbarth
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 1:16 pm
Location: NE Pennsylvania

Re: TrackClip project

Post by gpbarth »

Well, I'm certainly going to try the hat with the Track Clip Pro config and see what happens. Can't hurt.

As far as the cap, that's exactly why I used the wider-angled LEDs. They are completely exposed - no surrounding plastic housings. As I stated previously, turning one's head too far in any of the directions hides the LEDs in the Track Clip Pro, and to a lesser extent the reflectors in the Track Clip. With my hat, there is always light reaching the receiver, no matter how far I turn (of course, within reason - I can't turn my head all the way around :))

I built the hat using the Track Clip as a template - it doesn't stay on the hat, and I didn't use it to mount the LEDs on (is that what you were thinking?). The LEDs are in the same plane as the reflectors would be, although the top LED might be a bit further back than the top reflector would be. I don't think it's that critical to have the LEDs in exactly the same layout - seems to work very well for me so far.

I'll let you know how things work out.
ark1320
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:37 am

Re: TrackClip project

Post by ark1320 »

gpbarth wrote:Well, I'm certainly going to try the hat with the Track Clip Pro config and see what happens. Can't hurt.
...
I built the hat using the Track Clip as a template - it doesn't stay on the hat, and I didn't use it to mount the LEDs on (is that what you were thinking?).
...
I'll let you know how things work out.
Yes, I misunderstood, I thought you had mounted the LEDs on the hat clip itself.
BTW, what LEDS did you use and where did you get them?
Thx,
Al
MikeWitham
Posts: 1477
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 10:19 am

Re: TrackClip project

Post by MikeWitham »

Hello,

Just spoke with the Dev again and at this time there isn't a way to turn off the LEDS and still use the TrackClip mounting configuration. I was hoping to dig deep enough to find something for you, but fell short on the task. If anything changes, or they come up with an easy way to do it. I will let you all know.

Regards,
Mike Witham
TrackIR Product Manager
gpbarth
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2015 1:16 pm
Location: NE Pennsylvania

Re: TrackClip project

Post by gpbarth »

ark1320 wrote:
gpbarth wrote:Well, I'm certainly going to try the hat with the Track Clip Pro config and see what happens. Can't hurt.
...
I built the hat using the Track Clip as a template - it doesn't stay on the hat, and I didn't use it to mount the LEDs on (is that what you were thinking?).
...
I'll let you know how things work out.
Yes, I misunderstood, I thought you had mounted the LEDs on the hat clip itself.
BTW, what LEDS did you use and where did you get them?
Thx,
Al
No, I actually hot-glued the LEDs to the brim and in a hole in the top of the crown of the hat. I heat-shrunk the wires first. I just used the Track Clip as a template to determine where to glue the LEDs.

I bought the LEDs from Mouser Electronics. The part # is 720-SFH485P. They are 880nm Osram IR emitters. Here's the URL:

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Osr ... r2QA%3d%3d

Looks like it has been replaced by this one:

http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDet ... 52bw%3d%3d

They're 41 cents apiece. Amazon carries them, too.
ark1320
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:37 am

Re: TrackClip project

Post by ark1320 »

Thanks for the IR LED links. I ordered 10 of these from Mouser -- http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDet ... 52bw%3d%3d , about $8 including shipping.
They have a decent viewing angle (130 degrees) so worth a try.
Al
ark1320
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:37 am

Re: TrackClip project

Post by ark1320 »

gpbarth wrote:...
I'll let you know how things work out.
Any luck?
Al
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