DIY Head Tracker For A Tenner

NeilF

NeilF
Is anyone able to use the new Coms/Wings panel with EDTracker? ie: When you look at your left/right panels you can navigate and operator them. However, with the new Coms/Wings panel, you seemingly have no choice but to maximised (by pressing the dedicated key)? Seems odd!

Or are they worried about people losing control of their ship by utilising control keys when looking in that direction?
 

mcg1355

M
I just stumbled across this thread and wish I had found it a lot sooner! I play on a laptop so a full IR tracking setup isn't feasible but this looks perfect. I have a few MPU6000's laying around from building multiroter flight controllers. Does anybody know if I could use an MPU6000 instead of the MPU6050? From my understanding the 6050 is just a slightly updated version of the 6000 but I don't know if they are drop in replacements.

-Nick
 

Ytheleus

Y
mcg1355 said:
I just stumbled across this thread and wish I had found it a lot sooner! I play on a laptop so a full IR tracking setup isn't feasible but this looks perfect. I have a few MPU6000's laying around from building multiroter flight controllers. Does anybody know if I could use an MPU6000 instead of the MPU6050? From my understanding the 6050 is just a slightly updated version of the 6000 but I don't know if they are drop in replacements.

-Nick
Click to expand...
My advice is to stick with the design and buy an MPU9150, because a) it's 'officially' supported, and b) the magnetometer is very useful in this application to correct yaw drift.
Naturally it's theoretically possible to hack a 6000 into working somehow, but practically speaking for the amount of work involved and for the added functionality of the mag I would say just order a 9150. If you don't mind waiting a couple of weeks they aren't expensive on a certain auction site. Otherwise good luck with the 6000 and I suspect you'll need it.
 

brumster

brumster
Aye, 6000 is *I think* just an SPI-enabled version of the 6050? So provided if it defaults to SPI mode you do whatever is needed to run it in i2c, it should work identical. But as Ytheleus states, the mag-enabled devices are much better if you can afford. I can understand wanting to make use of spare bits lying around, maybe trial run it first and if you think you're sold on the idea, invest in the better sensor...
 

Blairvoyach

Blairvoyach
NeilF said:
Is anyone able to use the new Coms/Wings panel with EDTracker? ie: When you look at your left/right panels you can navigate and operator them. However, with the new Coms/Wings panel, you seemingly have no choice but to maximised (by pressing the dedicated key)? Seems odd!

Or are they worried about people losing control of their ship by utilising control keys when looking in that direction?
Click to expand...

No, you are right Neil, have to use the focus keys. Does seem strange when you can navigate all the other panels just by lookng at them.
 

Ytheleus

Y
I think it's a design compromise, because the comms screen gets quite large and covers some of the forward view, which is not a problem with the side menus. If it wasn't that way, people would then complain about it popping up inconveniently in combat or something. They've picked the best simple option I think.
 

NeilF

NeilF
Ytheleus said:
I think it's a design compromise, because the comms screen gets quite large and covers some of the forward view, which is not a problem with the side menus. If it wasn't that way, people would then complain about it popping up inconveniently in combat or something. They've picked the best simple option I think.
Click to expand...

I can understand that I think... It was my guess too!

But it means to enter/exit it you have to use keys you probably never otherwise do!

For example, how do you exit it (if it's on the first/text tab)?
 

brumster

brumster
I'd agree, personally I never use headlook for any of the control panels. I much prefer buttons and my view "locking" to them. And as you both say, I suspect tracking targets up and to the left you would constantly be triggering the comms panel - so I think they've made a good call on this one.
 

NeilF

NeilF
What is the EDTracker logo in the taskbar when you minimise it? Sort of a red half circle on blue? Why isn't it the blue face we've all come to know & love? That's the application (taskbar) icon?
 

brumster

brumster
NeilF said:
What is the EDTracker logo in the taskbar when you minimise it? Sort of a red half circle on blue? Why isn't it the blue face we've all come to know & love? That's the application (taskbar) icon?
Click to expand...

Should be a blue half-head with a red ring arcing round it, kinda like the usual logo?
 

VR Morgan Grimes

VR Morgan Grimes
Ytheleus said:
I think it's a design compromise, because the comms screen gets quite large and covers some of the forward view, which is not a problem with the side menus. If it wasn't that way, people would then complain about it popping up inconveniently in combat or something. They've picked the best simple option I think.
Click to expand...

I'd far rather have it operate as the lower panels do personally, and then have it only pop out to full size when it is actually in use via the enter key, all I want is to be able to switch tabs along the top just by looking at it, maybe it could be added as an option.
 

Antmax

Antmax
It took me about a day to get used to the comms. What I do is have a shift key on my CH Throttle along with the hat I use for balancing energy pips. so Shift forwards is coms, shift left is left panel and shift right is right panel. To exit coms just shift forwards again. You can also use your back button, but my back button is my chaff when flying. So I had to train myself out of it.

I love the way you can do all these combos. I do still look at the coms to see what has been written on it. But I prefer to use the binding to open it properly now. That way it doesn't get in the way during combat.
 

alowva

alowva
brumster said:
The lack of any red dots does not look good to me... :( it almost certainly explains the over-correction. Can you try a complete "restore factory defaults" and start again from scratch just to make sure? Certainly hanging it on a magnet is not a great idea, but having said that, once it's off it it should be fine... drop us an email and I'll pass this on to Rob. He's down with flu at the moment so it might be a few days before he responds, bless him.
Click to expand...

I've done a restore factory defaults several times, reflashed both firmwares, tried different usb ports (front and back) and cables, and even completely deleted and redownloaded the software.
Il send you an email of the problem as suggested, Thanks.
 

brumster

brumster
Received. I've passed to Rob to assist you with the lack of red blobs :-S !!

If worse comes to the worst I'll sacrifice a test one here by sitting it on some neodymium magnets overnight and see if it somehow trashes the sensor...!

Pushing to get the website back online at the moment (almost done; hoping new server holds up a bit better than the last one!) so a bit busy to look into things at the mo... sorry :(
 

Mkkt Bkkt

Mkkt Bkkt
I've been spending the past few days playing around with my EDTracker and I must say, this is great! Everything seems to work flawlessly and on all my games thanks to opentrack.

Many thanks to you, brumster for your very helpful videos on how to construct and use the tracker, and many many thanks to the whole team of EDTracker for making this fine device!
 

Whagwan

W
Ok, so I set out today to build a replacement EDtracker to the one I snapped the micro USB from.

Like an idiot almost the first thing I did was to solder the pins for the Arduino board the wrong way around. I've proven myself unable to de-solder so I had a think and realised that I could sacrifice use of the button (I never used it on my last 9150) and solder the boards on on opposite sides (with the components facing the PCB to preserve the correct wiring.

I snipped off the top of the button, making sure the stub still clicked in, and built the EDtracker -backwards.

When I flashed it it seemed to have worked, so I went through the calibration process.

Now, strangely, it responds to pitch perfectly. However, when you make a yaw movement it will re-centre itself to face forward shortly after the movement. This happens in both left and right directions.

Any ideas? I assume it isn't that the Arduino board is pushing onto the button stub and that would affect pitch as well as yaw, and wouldn't have a delay to it.
 

brumster

brumster
That's normally just because mag calibration hasn't been done right - try it again? I assume you're on all the latest software, 4.0.4.0 of the GUI and 4.0.3 firmware...
 
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