Cheapest way to buy Track IR 5 bundle?

[kingneptune117]

Hello, I want to purchase the bundle for Track IR 5. It is like 10 dollars shipping added on to the already outrageous price for the actual product!

 

Is there any website i can order the bundle from that has free shipping. This is insane - paying 200 dollars for this product. Not sure if this is worth it or not anymore...

[Kuky]

You don't really need the TrackIR ClipPro so you can save some money right there... and if you ask me TrackIR IS worth it.

[ESzczesniak]

http://www.amazon.com/TrackIr-Professional-Premium-Tracking-Gaming-Pc/dp/B0029M6VKA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293248159&sr=8-1

 

$150 with free shipping. I've heard others say that this is still too expensive and that a Track IR equivelant can be built with $25 of material. I'm not that good at computer programming to make a program to interpret such an input.

 

EDIT: beaten to the first reply. I hadn't thought that you were asking about buying the clip as well. I've looked at the clip and foudn a lot of debate. It is very fragile and adds another usb cable coming off your earpiece/headset. It seemed the consensus was that is some high "noise" (i.e., lots of lights) environments, it might help TrackIR, but in most cases it didn't increase the fidelity of the program much. If I were you, I would get the base set first and play with it from there (the base set gives you a passive IR headset that works very well and easily clips to any headset). Maybe you'll want the clip later, but might as well try it first.

 

And I agree, Track IR is excellent. I find that I will not fly any small/light aircraft without it. This includes DCS and some of the small stuff in MSFSX. The only time I don't use it is when flying large commercial jets in FSX and am sitting at the gate pushing buttons for startup. Once moving, I again use TrackIR without exception.

Edited December 25, 2010 by ESzczesniak

[kingneptune117]

http://www.amazon.com/TrackIr-Professional-Premium-Tracking-Gaming-Pc/dp/B0029M6VKA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293248159&sr=8-1

 

$150 with free shipping. I've heard others say that this is still too expensive and that a Track IR equivelant can be built with $25 of material. I'm not that good at computer programming to make a program to interpret such an input.

 

EDIT: beaten to the first reply. I hadn't thought that you were asking about buying the clip as well. I've looked at the clip and foudn a lot of debate. It is very fragile and adds another usb cable coming off your earpiece/headset. It seemed the consensus was that is some high "noise" (i.e., lots of lights) environments, it might help TrackIR, but in most cases it didn't increase the fidelity of the program much. If I were you, I would get the base set first and play with it from there (the base set gives you a passive IR headset that works very well and easily clips to any headset). Maybe you'll want the clip later, but might as well try it first.

 

And I agree, Track IR is excellent. I find that I will not fly any small/light aircraft without it. This includes DCS and some of the small stuff in MSFSX. The only time I don't use it is when flying large commercial jets in FSX and am sitting at the gate pushing buttons for startup. Once moving, I again use TrackIR without exception.

 

doesnt that mean I have to wear a hat or something if i dont buy the clip?

[Kuky]

Yes, the hat is the easiest and most preferred way to attach the clip

[ESzczesniak]

doesnt that mean I have to wear a hat or something if i dont buy the clip?

 

No, that is how they advertise it. However, the clip attaches just as easily over to the edge of a headset on top of your head as it does to the brim of a hat....

 

 

Yes, you need some type of headset, but you need that with the clip as well.

 

In the end, I just can't recommend Track IR enough for something like DCS. I was just flying around in the new beta and had made a run on an armored column. I missed a couple trucks and prior to Track IR would have spend 5 minutes (ok 20 seconds, but still too long)trying to remember my headings, position, speed, etc so that I could find the column when I turned around. But with Track IR, I just looked over my shoulder, stared at the column and smoothly turned back on the colum for another gun run...all without ever loosing sight of the target.

Edited December 25, 2010 by ESzczesniak

[joey45]

The hat is a minor drawback... But not a show stopper.

[kingneptune117]

ok, so i ordered, thanks for the help guys, cant believe i almost wasted money on that clip :doh:

 

so, once i get it, how do i configure it or whatever?

 

Also, do I need to run some kind of program before playing DCS in order for trackir to work?

 

Also, I heard it is recommended to assign a button on your joystick to the function that like resets your head position, is this true? Will the TIR software automatically detect your joystick so I can assign a button on the stick instead of a keyboard button? Thanks I'm so excited to finally get a TIR!

[ESzczesniak]

ok, so i ordered, thanks for the help guys, cant believe i almost wasted money on that clip :doh:

 

so, once i get it, how do i configure it or whatever?

 

Also, do I need to run some kind of program before playing DCS in order for trackir to work?

 

Also, I heard it is recommended to assign a button on your joystick to the function that like resets your head position, is this true? Will the TIR software automatically detect your joystick so I can assign a button on the stick instead of a keyboard button? Thanks I'm so excited to finally get a TIR!

 

1. Yes, you need to "run" the Track IR program. This runs in the background while playing, but you need to initialize it first.

 

2. Just download the "TrackIR 5" program from the link they give you on the Natural Point website. After this the drivers are plug and play and it sets up almost instantly. The program comes with a couple of default profiles, so you'll be able to get up and running instantly. However, you'll want ot customize some eventually. For instance, the default profile limited me to about +/- 60 degrees side-to-side. This was great if flying an airliner in MSFS, but for DCS A-10C, I made a profile that increased the scaling so I got +/- about 160 degrees allowing me to look over my shoulder in the sim. There's a handful of other options you can customize in profiles.

 

3. You will need something assigned to "reset" and "pause". I don't use a joystick button, as I don't need to use either all that often. I have a TM Warthog that has almost everything mapped to it, leaving my arrow keys open. So I use up and down arrow for these. They default to F7, F9 and F12, so regardless what you do with them, you'll want to reassign them (done through custom profiles) to some other keys or else they'll intercept these keys used in the radio communication menus. I know some insist on having a HOTAS joystick button for this and perhaps others will be able to chime in about assigning a joystick button specifically. I haven't found it necessary because of the rarity of their use.

 

As a side note, Track IR takes a little bit of getting use to...not too much in my experience, but some have claimed weeks. Don't drop it if it doesn't seem natural after your first session with it. It becomes natural quite quickly. The biggest learning experience I had: I swapped out my fancy office chair for a cheap one that didn't recline...if I leaned back TrackIR lowered my viewpointi n the cockpit and it was quite hard to keep the chair from leaning back at all.

Edited December 25, 2010 by ESzczesniak

[kingneptune117]

Yeah this is weird haha. I just got it it feels weird. Im gonna keep trying it.

[WynnTTr]

...if I leaned back TrackIR lowered my viewpointi n the cockpit and it was quite hard to keep the chair from leaning back at all.

That's why you have the centre trackIR key mapped to your hotas. You're note expected to sit in one position for hours. so a quick re-centre works wonders. I do it subconsciously now every time I shift. I can lean wherever and my finger automatically re-centres the view for me.

[BTTW-DratsaB]

I don't think money is wasted on the clip, yes it is over priced. But it also enhances TrackIr a lot.