Happy Birthday Dave B ( 58) 3.4.15

[DaveB]

Ding Dong

Well.. TrackIR5/Track clip and the Saitek quad turned up yesterday just before I went to work!! SWMBO asked what it was and I told her it was my birthday present. I mentioned the throttle quad.. it seemed pointless boring her with details about TrackIR She'll find out soon enough

Decided to hook it up this evening (TIR.. not the quad yet) and it all went swimmingly smooth. You don't get an install disc these days.. instead, they tell you where to download the latest software. It took me a few mins to fathom out how the hell you attach the track-clip to the headphones but when I was reasonably happy.. I connected it and it got seen straight away! All I've really done with the software is to centre it.. the manual can wait Opened FSX and there we were.. moving about all over the place. I've successfully completed a carrier landing in the VS Panther, whizzed around in the MV/ND Huey and buzzed Culdrose in the JF Hurricane.. all without crashing The only thing that seems counter intuitive at the moment is goofing from outside while flying. Obviously.. the pan switch(hat) and directional keystrokes are stamped on by TIR so looking around the aircraft means you're sorta peeping from behind. If you want to look at the LH side.. you move your head to the left and turn it left. Most awkward. Not sure if there's a way around this It picks up camera views fine and you can navigate from them with relative ease but say going to spot view and trying to look around requires you have a neck like Rubberman Any TIR users know what I'm on about and is there an alternative?

Otherwise.. it's cool
ATB
Dave

[DaveG]

Hiya Dave, there is a proggy around which will automatically pause TIR when you swap to external view, then unpause it when you return to the VC.
I've got it on my main PC, but I'm just on my tablet at the moment, so I'm not sure of the name.
I'll look it up next time I boot up the comp.

edit: found it. Jab-FSX. http://jacky.brouze.ch/Programmes/JAB_FSX/index.php The web page is in French I'm afraid.
IIRC, you ned to register to download it, but it is free.

[DaveB]

That sounds just the ticket Dave Not too sure about JAB though.. EUJet e t c

ATB
Dave

[DaveG]

Didn't I mention it only works if you're flying an EUJet aircraft?

[Airspeed]

Sounds like a great self present Dave!
Watched some demo videos.
I see that in the US, they're about US$170, currently AU$240. Local retailers ask AU$300.
I don't think I'll be getting one THIS birthday. Maybe I can rig one up with mirrors and string
Has anyone here tried the VR goggles? Any opinions?

[Paul K]

Has anyone here tried the VR goggles? Any opinions?

MIke, I tried Oculus Rift at Cosford's flight sim show last October, and was blown away. The demo flight was something like an F-16 or F-18, and the impression of sitting in a solid 3-D cockpit was extraordinary. Samsung is now involved with it, and LM say P3DV2 is Oculus Rift - compatible, so for me its the next big BIG thing in flight simming. My only concern is - how on earth do you see the computer keyboard while you're wearing the headset ? There's only so much you can assign to a HOTAS set up.

[Airspeed]

Thanks, Paul!
I've read a few of their promotional articles, and often wondered when it was to be released. Now we have this, though DaveB said that you can't trust some rubbish that gets on the net:
http://www.crossmap.com/news/oculus-rif ... -400-17612
Maybe sensor gloves are the way to flick switches and push buttons.


btw
Some years back, they demonstrated a setup at Southbank, next to the River Yarra in Melbourne.
Apparently, paying customers entered a cubicle wearing goggles and gloves. Appealing to the LCD, they simulated a girl entering the space, and one could interact with her. As if anyone would go for that!

[DaveB]

Oculus Rift does come highly recommended Mike but the price is very high and as Paul says.. how do you see the darned keyboard

I got my TIR5 from Flightstore. The 'basic' pack is £139.95 and if you wish to buy the Track Clip Pro later.. it weighs in at £42.95. Alternatively, you can go with the TIR5 + Track Clip Pro pack for £159.95 which is what I did. From what I can see, the TIR5 differs from the TIR4 I had in that the resolution is much higher and it has more reference points. If you don't mind wearing a baseball hat when you fly.. then the 'basic' pack is fine. It has a reflector that attaches to the hats peak.. no wires.. nada and off you go. I can't be doing with wearing a hat.. my old dad used to say the only folk allowed to wear a hat indoors were women The Track Clip Pro allows you to dispense with the hat and reflector and comes with a thin USB cable which attaches to the TIR unit (it works with TIR4 too) then plugs into your pc. It means you're 'attached' to the pc but no more so than by wearing a headset.

There's no doubt about it.. TIR makes VC's useable. All the things you can only do with POV hats and keystrokes.. you do by moving your head. How many gauges are neatly hidden behind control columns!! With TIR.. you simply move forward and look over the yoke or move your head to the side. Flying taildraggers is suddenly easy.. just poke your head out of the cockpit or sit up to see over the nose.

It's not just a bit of flight sim kit either. There's a long list of games it's compatible with. I might try it with COD one day though I doubt it will stop me getting shot any less quick
ATB
Dave

[Nigel H-J]

Hi Dave,

I have the Track IR4 and bought both the track clip pro (the one that attaches to the headphones and the other one for use with a base ball cap. I found that you do not need the base ball cap to use it but attach it to the top of the band between the headphones that go over your head (can't think what you call it) as you would with the peak of the base ball cap......it does work!!

With the track clip pro situated on the side of the headphones you should be able to through the menu of Track IR to set a key to pause head movement, this I use when viewing outside the a/c and had set my number keypad to pan around and up and down. The hat switch is now used as trim set through FSUIPC, forward for trim down, back trim up, left and right is now aileron trim. Works really well and leaves my other hand free to toggle the throttles though would like to know how you programme the trim to go slightly quicker in FSUIPC as when requiring quicker trim movements I use the mouse wheel having increased the speed through the FSUIPC Module File but end up with hands going like the clappers all over the place on a short approach especially with an a/c that needs constant trim changes with flap settings!!

just for your info, the clip that holds the track clip pro to the side of the headphones on mine broke, found that it was a bit flimsy really, so I now use a rubber band to secure it to the side of the headphones after carefully making sure that the wire lead is not either pinched or sharply bent and it works a treat.

Nigel.

[Airspeed]

Just a quickie-
That Occulus release article says est price $200-$400 (US of course)