Track IR 5 is too jittery - can I set a dead zone for any head position?

[CommandT]

Hey folks,

 

Ever since I got my track IR 5 over 6 months ago I've been having a super annoying problem that I cannot solve. I've tried everything from forums to manuals to youtube videos - literally nobody seems to have the specific issue I have. The only way round it that I can think of is by having a small dead zone at any position of the head - so not just the on-center position (that you can do easily with curves).

 

Basically my curves and everything is set up exactly like I want and I have no complaints with the actual movement left/ right/ up/ down. When my head is more or less facing forward +/- 20deg or so I have no issues - the image is rock steady. As soon as I turn my head more, to lets say look down and flip a few cockpit switches, the camera just cannot hold very steady. If I REALLY REALLY concentrate on keeping my head stationary, the camera sort of just-just moves a little up and down, enough for me to not be able to flip a switch very easily without having to counteract with my mouse for this smooth but still annoying 'jitter'.

 

So since then, I've tried everything from sitting higher, closer, changing curves, adjusting various settings in the "camera" section in the trackir software, and I even bought a new trackclip pro in case the problem was with faulty LEDs - but no, same thing. The only thing that's left to change is the actual tracker module that sits on top of my monitor. So before I do that, is there anything I can do? What would solve it is if I could set a small dead zone for any given head position, not just on-center. But I can't see any way of doing that?

 

I also considered deleting and re-installing the software but I'm afraid it wont make any difference and I'll just loose my curves profile :(

 

Would really appreciate any input! Cheers!

 

Screenshots of my trackir settings below.

[Art-J]

Well, your pitch curves are a bit on the outrageously steep side :D (what is this green one? I don't have it, although I only use a track hat), which combined with snail-pace "speed" value and molasses-like "smooth" value makes for a peculiar combination. My pitch-axis settings for comparison are in the screen below.

 

On the other hand, "smooth" parameter is exactly what you're after - a deadzone equivalent, working within the whole movement range. You've got it set very high, so it's puzzling why you're having issues - when I set it to 35, I can literally shake my head a little and the camera doesn't even pick it up.

 

I wouldn't be afraid of reinstalling the software - just make backups of your settings and profiles first. They should be stored here:

 

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\NaturalPoint\TrackIR 5\

 

 

[BuzzU]

With your curves i'd put Trackir pause on an easy to use button. Pause for a sec to flip switches or whatever and then unpause.

[CommandT]

Well, your pitch curves are a bit on the outrageously steep side :D (what is this green one? I don't have it, although I only use a track hat), which combined with snail-pace "speed" value and molasses-like "smooth" value makes for a peculiar combination. My pitch-axis settings for comparison are in the screen below.

 

On the other hand, "smooth" parameter is exactly what you're after - a deadzone equivalent, working within the whole movement range. You've got it set very high, so it's puzzling why you're having issues - when I set it to 35, I can literally shake my head a little and the camera doesn't even pick it up.

 

I wouldn't be afraid of reinstalling the software - just make backups of your settings and profiles first. They should be stored here:

 

C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\NaturalPoint\TrackIR 5\

 

 

I don't seem to have "AppData" folder at all. The only NaturalPoint folder I can fins is in C/Program Files (x86). However the only profiles stored in the folder "profiles" there are the 3 original ones - smooth, one2one and default. None of my ones. If I knew where to find my ones I'd save them and reinstall the software.

 

I know my pitch curve may look excessive but it's the only way I seem to be able to make it work given my set up so I don't strain my eyse like crazy looking in the opposite direction of my head movement. the actual movement on the screen is not as excessive as you might think from the curve. Either way, the problem is not specifically in the curve I suspect as I have the same issue in yaw, and my yaw profile is fairly representative of what most folk what have. And even if I do chance the pitch to what you have, apart from having to strain my eyes like crazy I still get the jitters. Something else must be wrong.

[CommandT]

With your curves i'd put Trackir pause on an easy to use button. Pause for a sec to flip switches or whatever and then unpause.

 

I appreciate the effort in trying to help but this is not a practical solution. Not only would that be extremely annoying and time consuming but it doesn't really fix the issue. I mean I can flip switches as it stands, it's just annoying how it's not steady enough to do it as easily as it should be. Especially given all the youtube videos where the camera seems rock steady, and mine never is (when off center)

[BuzzU]

Do you still get it with the default profile?

[CommandT]

Do you still get it with the default profile?

 

Yes, exact same problem. Could you tell me where your profile is located? If I can find mine, I'll reinstall the software.

[BuzzU]

I never could find it. However, it seems to be saved somewhere besides the NP folder, because when I do a new install my profile is still there.

[CommandT]

I never could find it. However, it seems to be saved somewhere besides the NP folder, because when I do a new install my profile is still there.

 

So you re-installed and the profiles were there? Interesting.

[Art-J]

Ah, I forgot the AppData folder is hidden by default (Windows treats it like a system folder), maybe that's you guys couldn't find it. When reinstalling, it stays there, that's why any old settings are still stored.

 

No idea how to make it visible in Windows File Explorer, though (I use Total Commander for managing files and folders), you'll have to google around.

 

Edit: got it - File Explorer -> View -> show hidden elements.

[CommandT]

Ah, I forgot the AppData folder is hidden by default (Windows treats it like a system folder), maybe that's you guys couldn't find it. When reinstalling, it stays there, that's why any old settings are still stored.

 

No idea how to make it visible in Windows File Explorer, though (I use Total Commander for managing files and folders), you'll have to google around.

 

Edit: got it - File Explorer -> View -> show hidden elements.

 

I see, well, if it stays there I will just re-install the software if the profiles remain stored :)

[CommandT]

Well, re-installed the software, same thing. Basically it's like the LEDs and their position is too sensitive. I just need like a microscopic dead zone for any movement given position. And no combination of LED brightness and other settings seems to yield this result. So frustrating. I'm considering buying a new trackir tracker "box" - maybe this one is just faulty? I've literally never seen anyone have this issue in youtube videos!

[Mordants]

Well, re-installed the software, same thing. Basically it's like the LEDs and their position is too sensitive. I just need like a microscopic dead zone for any movement given position. And no combination of LED brightness and other settings seems to yield this result. So frustrating. I'm considering buying a new trackir tracker "box" - maybe this one is just faulty? I've literally never seen anyone have this issue in youtube videos!

 

I was watching Rossmum last night on Twitch and his settings looked rock solid when he looked in the cockpit and elsewhere. It reminded me of your problem. He said he ensures “precision“ is enabled, slows the movement a little but may help. I don’t have access to my computer to check it out at the moment but perhaps it might help you before you spend anymore.

 

[CommandT]

 

I was watching Rossmum last night on Twitch and his settings looked rock solid when he looked in the cockpit and elsewhere. It reminded me of your problem. He said he ensures “precision“ is enabled, slows the movement a little but may help. I don’t have access to my computer to check it out at the moment but perhaps it might help you before you spend anymore.

 

yep, it's enabled. Not sure I notice any difference between it being on or off though.

[Frederf]

Your smoothness is insane. My global speed is 1 (profiles are where all the adjustment is) and smoothness is 6.

 

One of the best modes for diagnosing issues is the view from the camera back at the pro clip. Button on the top right HeadsUP mode, right click the space and select Camera View. You should see three circular green blobs and nothing else as you move your head around. If you see blips of red and green that aren't the clip LEDs then you want to fix that. And the LED blobs should remain clear on the camera view throughout your range of motion.

 

On the Camera tab of Advanced Settings I have the following options set:

• Status LEDs Enabled: True. These are just the colored lights for clip track and title detected on the front of the camera unit, personal preference is fine.
  
• Status LEDs Brightness: 0. I think they are plenty bright at minimum, personal preference.
  
• Camera Rotation: 180. Mine's mounted upside down because the cord works better that way.
  
• Light Filter Threshold: 253. Because this is the Track Clip Pro with active LEDs on the clip they are plenty bright for the camera to see. Turning the threshold up to maximum means that all the other stray lights and reflections in the room are more filtered out. This setting is designed for the standard clip which uses the IR flood lights and reflective strips which aren't as bright.
  
• Video Processing Mode: Precision. This is slightly confusing because there is a selectable "precision mode" which is entirely different than this option. I find this option is much nicer than standard.
  
• Precision Mode Smoothing: 15.0. This setting has absolutely nothing to do with the processing mode option above, confusing eh? What this number does is determine how much smoothing is used when you engage precision mode with default key F7. I just discovered what this does so I might actually use the F7 mode at all. I found that 15 was smooth but not obnoxiously laggy like the default 100.
  

My DCS profile has a yaw setting of 3.1 degrees per second which is essentially a flat line horizontally on the profile editor. It's the slightly "smile" curve up to about 5.0 at ~50 degrees true head angle. This value multiplied by the global speed value (1.0 for me) gives me a good range of output angle for the most reasonable range of input angle. The default profiles with a huge "notch" in the middle position are in my opinion very bad. I recommend you make a new profile with horizontal lines for all the axes of motion and use the up/down green curve arrows until you are at the minimum value that lets you move enough degrees or centimeters before the clip loses track.

 

My pitch axis is a roughly flat line at about 6-7 (1.0 global speed multiplier). This gives me the ability to aim and hold my head still within the inner circle of the 3D View/First Person reticle. I recommend setting smoothness to 0 and increasing it one at a time until the jitter is an acceptable minimum. It's a balance between smoothness and lag where TIR motion is delayed after your head direction changes.

 

I can hold my head still with +-0.1 degree "raw" angle and about 0.3cm translation if I try. If you're about the same then we can compare our setups pretty well.

[Mordants]

Your smoothness is insane. My global speed is 1 (profiles are where all the adjustment is) and smoothness is 6.

 

 

......... My DCS profile has a yaw setting of 3.1 degrees per second which is essentially a flat line horizontally on the profile editor. It's the slightly "smile" curve up to about 5.0 at ~50 degrees true head angle. This value multiplied by the global speed value (1.0 for me) gives me a good range of output angle for the most reasonable range of input angle. The default profiles with a huge "notch" in the middle position are in my opinion very bad. I recommend you make a new profile with horizontal lines for all the axes of motion and use the up/down green curve arrows until you are at the minimum value that lets you move enough degrees or centimeters before the clip loses track.

 

My pitch axis is a roughly flat line at about 6-7 (1.0 global speed multiplier). This gives me the ability to aim and hold my head still within the inner circle of the 3D View/First Person reticle. I recommend setting smoothness to 0 and increasing it one at a time until the jitter is an acceptable minimum. It's a balance between smoothness and lag where TIR motion is delayed after your head direction changes.

 

I can hold my head still with +-0.1 degree "raw" angle and about 0.3cm translation if I try. If you're about the same then we can compare our setups pretty well.

 

Whilst I realise profiles are mainly set for personal preference for the kit you have, it might be worth attaching your profile so we can have a play around with it. Looks like you have a great setup.

[Frederf]

Here is the contents of my %appdata%/Natural Point folder minus the two files which are not Notepad-readable. I don't know how easy they are to read.

NaturalPoint.zip