Look up! Look down!

Planning ahead, and building very slowly. With the recent drop in monitors, I am presently planning on 5 x 23" monitors, giving me 225 degrees of view from the cockpit of my yet to exist Baron G58 cockpit. By the time I'm ready they might be selling for $19.95 (just kidding). I was delighted to log in today to read Mike Powell's timely article "Immersion & Scenery Display". I agree about the lack of reality from IR tracking (who'd disagree with Mike anyway), but I'd like a realistic way to look up and down, and not always on a level horizontal plain. If IR tracking could be locked to provide only panning up and down, that might be a benefit. However, it seems to me a less expensive solution might exist built around mercury (or mercury like) switches. It would be nice to actually turn left and look down to see the field while on the downwind leg for landing, or look up to make sure someone isn't trying to land on top of me. Of course, the head movement needs to be augmented as with the IR trakers. Anyone know of such thing, or similar solutions?

You can lock the movement of the TrackIR. It's been a while since I used it, but if you play with the response curve, you can eliminate side to side and only use up and down. I had the reverese set up in my old sim.... side to side, but no up and down as it was getting annoying having the screen shift in the corner of my eye whenever I looked down to adjust something, or at my kneeboard.

Warren

Hi Guys,

I have a quick question about Track IR. Is it used in the 2D cockpit mode or do you have to use the Virtual Cockpit?

Thanks

Rob

If I remember right, it needed to be used in VC mode.

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Originally Posted by fsaviator

If I remember right, it needed to be used in VC mode.

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He remembers right....

Reid

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fsaviator

If I remember right, it needed to be used in VC mode.

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I have the Track IR 5 Pro running on my desktop pit and use it in both 2D and 3D cockpits.

I fly 90% GA aircraft and run two monitors one above the other with the lower being my instrument panel and the upper my out the window view.

If the aircraft has a good IFR or full panel view that exposes all that I need in the lower panel I will keep the upper in the 2D cockpit view with no instruments so it creates a total out the window view. Track IR pans freely in all directions and the only strange affect is that panning to either side eventually adds the door and wing to the view. panning up and down does not and actually gives you an unrealistic amount of forward/down view.

If the panel view i the lower monitor can't be arranged yo give me enough view of what I need I leave the upper in 3D and again track IR pans very nicely. This time though with the correct portion of your out the window view blocked by aircraft interior. In either setup the lower panel is unaffected by the track IR.

For my full sim I was not planning to use the track IR. Although I am also looking for a solution to the down view . . .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fsaviator

You can lock the movement of the TrackIR. It's been a while since I used it, but if you play with the response curve, you can eliminate side to side and only use up and down. I had the reverese set up in my old sim.... side to side, but no up and down as it was getting annoying having the screen shift in the corner of my eye whenever I looked down to adjust something, or at my kneeboard.

Warren

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Thanks for the informative response. Your response, along with those below your response have me reconsidering any IR Tracker usage. I really only need to look up and down out the left window, so maybe I'll just install a switch to do that below the window. Not very realistic, but neither is being disturbed by movement around you while glancing down at the kneeboard, switch, or something else inside the cockpit.

I also received a nice response to an email I sent to Naturalpoint, maker if TrackIR. Their Technical Support Manager stated "Yes, it is possible to remove individual axes from input through the TrackIR software. If you prefer to just use pitch, you can uncheck x, y, z, yaw, and roll."