Anyone Using Track IR?

Loving trackir. I have the headset adapter but haven't tried without.

You will need to find best position for camera and learn to config properly but once you get it right it is brilliant. Can't imagine ED without it (or Voice Attack).
 
I can not play without it. I love it. It works with other flight sims too and some shooters. I got mine on sale. If you plan on using for just this game I would ask you if it is for the emersion? Are you going to keep playing for a long time? If so then yes it was worth it to me. But 150$ for a peripheral is expensive for one game.
 
Had mine for a few years, it works fine in ED. It is worth noting that ED does not support 6DoF (you can't lean in/out, side to side or up/down) but directional tracking works flawlessly. The only real issue I have with it in ED has nothing to do with TIR itself but instead the ship cockpit designs. Most of them are little more than a front windshield. There simply isn't anything to see but a blank panel in most directions other than straight ahead. As for the pro clip, it seems rather pointless to me. I use the basic clip it came with. It works just fine when on the brim of a hat/visor or taped to the top of my headset. It also doesn't require electricity, which is nice. Too many cords here already.
 
I use the cap-based Track Clip as opposed to the Track Clip Pro with my Track IR.
I have the Clip Pro, but it requires an extra USB connection, and as it mounts on the side of a headset, I found the camera couldn't see it when I turned my head far to the left. The cap clip had a wider range of movement and didn't require a cable trailing to a USB port. I just have to wear a baseball cap.
I wouldn't play Elite without it now; the extra immersion factor is incredible, and it immediately improved my dogfighting ability.
 
Had mine for a few years, it works fine in ED. It is worth noting that ED does not support 6DoF (you can't lean in/out, side to side or up/down) but directional tracking works flawlessly. The only real issue I have with it in ED has nothing to do with TIR itself but instead the ship cockpit designs. Most of them are little more than a front windshield. There simply isn't anything to see but a blank panel in most directions other than straight ahead. As for the pro clip, it seems rather pointless to me. I use the basic clip it came with. It works just fine when on the brim of a hat/visor or taped to the top of my headset. It also doesn't require electricity, which is nice. Too many cords here already.

... What about the side panel interfaces,

or hell, I don't know - being able to track a target as it flies by! Since Elite doesn't have a padlock feature, Track IR, ED Tracker or Oculus are the only ways to really enhance your combat situational awareness.

As for 6DoF it is there, but the X, Y and Z translation axis are extremely limited. In most ships there's enough movement allowed for you to lean around your seat while looking rear which is kinda neat.

Its also worth noting that FD have finally sorted out the clipping issues that TrackIR used to have, so you no longer drift inside your pilot's neck hole and see pieces of his geometry floating around do to ship acceleration into and out of SC. This cuts down on the frequency of centering required.
 
Last edited:
I have the basic hat clip, and it works great. But after a little while it hurts my neck a bit. And I wish I could find a deadzone that works enough that in a station I don't misclick menu items, but still doesn't "stick" too much in combat.
 
I bought it for DCS orginally, but use it for ED all the time. It helsp a lot during combat.
I have the pro clip and it works really well once you've set everything up nicely. I also received the cap clip, but I must confess I can't get myself to wear headgear inside the house so I never compared the systems.
Short answer: DEFINITELY WORTH THE BUY.
 
I use a Track IR5, well worth it. In games it works with, it works flawlessly. I have yet to tweak a game to make it work with my Track IR or "work better". The only downside of the TIR in my opinion is the fact that more FPS' don't cover the technology.

I was very pro-Track Clip when I bought it because I thought it'd work better and I wouldn't have to wear a hat. The hat clip is kind of a downside as far as heat/long play comfort but I've gotten used to it. My track clip didn't last very long at all due to the size of my headphones (G19, Wireless). It was overall very flimsy. I also didn't think about being tethered to the computer, which eliminated the reason for my wireless headphones. However with some home DIY you could easily make it into a self powered built-in on big headsets, eliminating the ball cap. The hat has now been kinda like my "gaming" hat.

Oh, the clip for the hat works just as good as the IR, if not better. Regardless of lighting in the room. This includes two windows in my room that are often open with low/mid glare angles with bright sunlight.
 
Last edited:
It is expensive, but honestly, its totally worth it!

I use the hat clip and no problems. I thought I'd have to upgrade it, but don't see the need.
 
I bought it for DCS orginally, but use it for ED all the time. It helsp a lot during combat.
I have the pro clip and it works really well once you've set everything up nicely. I also received the cap clip, but I must confess I can't get myself to wear headgear inside the house so I never compared the systems.
Short answer: DEFINITELY WORTH THE BUY.

I have both and use both, sometimes I have to play without sound and use the cap clip since I'm not wearing headphones obviously. I have slightly tweaked profiles for both solutions and they work equally well. Though in my experience the cap clip is less tolerant of head movements lest the contact points overlap, so curves need to be set for less actual degrees.

The pro-clips used to have major build quality issues which natural point has supposedly sorted out, but do be aware.

Mine broke in a few months even with gentle handling - so its currently welded together with moldable glue stuffed into its joints.
 
Last edited:
It is worth noting that ED does not support 6DoF (you can't lean in/out, side to side or up/down) but directional tracking works flawlessly.
That's odd. I can lean in and out, move side to side, and tilt my head just fine.


I have the basic hat clip, and it works great. But after a little while it hurts my neck a bit. And I wish I could find a deadzone that works enough that in a station I don't misclick menu items, but still doesn't "stick" too much in combat.
Yeah, I just use buttons on my joystick to navigate the menus and side panels. Or, I just pause the TIR tracking and the game automatically centers the view and the mouse positioning works fine. You might want to tighten up your TIR profile if your neck starts to hurt...sounds like you need to move your head a lot. I sit 28" from my 24" widescreen monitor, and to look 180 degrees behind me, I only have to point my nose at the edge of the monitor.

- - - Updated - - -

The pro-clips used to have major build quality issues which natural point has supposedly sorted out, but do be aware.

Mine broke in a few months even with gentle handling - so its currently welded together with moldable glue stuffed into its joints.

The Pro-clip makes it easier to play under certain lighting conditions. Some people have windows behind them or bright lamps. If you use the hat reflector, you really need to play with settings and lighting. The Pro-clip emits IR light so the TIR camera can more easily see it instead of background "noise". I've had my TIR and Pro-clip for about 5 years and have had zero problems with either one. Can't fly without it.
 
You can set trackir to rotate around z (forward) axis and you can config to move forward and back - I don't have z-axis movement in use though.

You can set slight dead-zones for the panels in config to make it easier to hold attention - I removed my dead-zones and just glance at panels then use trigger panel view (like you do without track ir) for when I am making changes because it feels more accurate (although if I had stuck at just using IR I expect I would be just as accurate as manual by now).

Getting the camera position right is important (mine sits on the same side as the led attachment on my headphones and not in the center on top of . Watch out for bright pin point light behind you (ie opposite the camera) and then set up your movement rates and smoothness in config. I also angle the led slightly downwards so that I get a better range of movement upwards (because it is rare that you need to need to stare down at your abbercrombies but you will want to stare upwards out of the cockpit.

If you find your head moves in rl but not in game (or moves and stop, moves and stops) chances are that your camera is losing your head piece (by being obscured by a cable, bright light source or your head turning too far).

If you turn your head and the view flips then you need to reduce the max amount the view turns.

I learnt how to set up the ir from an Irish guy on a flight sim on youtube who explains how and why perfectly. Before I got it setup correctly I was getting frustrated. Now I have it right it works every time.
 
Last edited:
Mine works perfectly. You sure you've set up your profile in the TrackIR software correctly?

It is setup properly. I use it just fine in DCS, RoF and BoS and use the exact same profile for all of them. ED does technically support 6DoF but the limits on it are so hilariously small that it might as well not be there. I think max head movement range is under 1cm in any direction. Apologies for any confusion I may have caused by my previous statement.
 
It is setup properly. I use it just fine in DCS, RoF and BoS and use the exact same profile for all of them. ED does technically support 6DoF but the limits on it are so hilariously small that it might as well not be there. I think max head movement range is under 1cm in any direction. Apologies for any confusion I may have caused by my previous statement.

I see what you mean.

Oddly the roll axis (as if I were to put my ear on my shoulder) seems to move through the full natural range whereas the other axis are very limited.
 
I have it and I do not like playing ED without it. My problem is that I have to have my laptop set up in a room that is very bright in daylight hours (I have nowhere else to set up unfortunately) and it is susceptible to extraneous light sources, so I have to wait for evening or else it doesn't work properly. Or at all even.
 
Back
Top Bottom