FreeTrack Forum

First of all thank you for making this available !
Secondly thank you all who contributed ... I have spent 3 days browsing the forums before I started purchasing anything and I THINK this is where I am at.

Could people please comment if any of my statements are incorrect or what they think as a better course of action.

I have NO camera to use so after reading that the WII kicks out about 100fps as opposed to the cameras averages of 30, it seemed to me purchasing a camera for $20 would be daft as the Wii remote is superior for a mere $10 more !!!

To operate the WII remote you need a Compatible USB Bluetooth Dongle & (Software to recognise the Wii remote to your PC), some Dongles come with software that picks the remote up ,,, some require Blusoleil.

I think the building of the 3point Cap or Clip system will be fun and hoping that the compatible parts will be ordering from Radioshack will suffice.

My main question is ....  Is there really any advantage to using a camera over the Wii remote, or am I just aswell buying a Wii remote to start my project and will ANY wii remote do as long as purchased from any retail store that sells such.



Many many thanks for your input guys
Jax

Wiimote rules !!!  

100 fps tracking , and no interference with visible light ( Use official Nintendo Wiimote )

For BT dongle i sucessful use a-quip and  Toshiba ( STHS BT Headset ) check the wiki for compatibility .
free Bluesoleil software works fine

An example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCsY-qoJw94

not a track , direct capture to show San's il2 fov Changer working .

E6420 , Nvidia 8800 GTS 640Mo , 2Mo Ram
FT 2.2.279 with 1 dot model , No name cutted DEL .

Many thanks for your response sir    

I think a 1 point system would be a great start for me learning how to build these and by the look of your video is exactly what I am looking for.
btw. awesome flying ,,, nice patience waiting for the angle on the follow as you home in :-)  lol

Tracked down a compatible Dongle (Targas) that my local Staples dealer has (confirmed with Wiki it's compatibleness)... and currently scouting about for a Cheap Wii remote.   Picked up some infrared led's from Radioshack that will serve as a test basis until I can order the proper and recommended wide angle ones as per the forums.

Again many thanks for your input and help.  Will update this post again with some final results once I have the system put together and working.

Cheery
Jax

k, here's my latest update on my Wii remote and 1 point headtracking system.

I purchased a Wii remote not realising it was NOT an original Nintendo one, and obviously was apprehensive as to whether it would work or not, as forums suggested the Nintendo was really the only one so far and the WU remote was reported not to work....

Well so far, I have built my prototype Single Point Cap and am currently using my SHIRO Nintendo remote.   It looks almost identical to the Wii remote but has absolutely no identifying marks on it at all.  My only guess as to it being by a company called Shiro if the fact that, that was the name on the box it came packaged in.

Anyways .. the ONLY problem I am having is with my Bluetooth software .... the remote works great with Blusoleil, but trial only verion.  My Targus Dongle and the Widcomm Software it came with won't let me SKIP the keycode on pairing, whereas Blusoleil does .... however bumping me out of Bluetooth as it flashes up that it's a trial only verion .... I am working this problem currently ... Threaded here .....



Other than that, I have successfully linked the Shiro remote with the Targus Bluetooth Dongle and can operate Freetrack and it's options successfully in 2DOF.
I have also tested the TrackIR output in 2 games so far .. ARMA and IL2 1946 (in 2DOF) and all works great ... barr the Blusoleil shutting down my bluetooth every 10 mins.

I don't even have a Joystick yet rofl .... gonna have to buy one now .. my interest in Flight Sims has been re-awoken.

k .. off to work on my 3 Point Headclip piece now


EDITTED NOTE :- ahaaa 1st problem with Shiro Remote surfacing, on my 3 point clip build it picks up no more than 2 of the three LED's.  I can even cover each one individually causing the other 2 to show yet when all three are on Freetrack and I THINK the Shiro Remote only sees 2.    Will be updating soon .... have a friend bringin me a Genuine Wii remote over the weekend.


Edit Addition :-   Absolutley confirmed ...... The OFFICIAL Nintendo WII remote can track up to 4 IR LED's Simultaneously .... The second I fired up my 3 point clip, bingo .. 3 led's .. grabbed my 1 point cap, changed it to 4 point and BINGO .. 4 leds ..... my SHIRO Wii remote ,,, fails ..... it ONLY picks up 2 of the LED's.



Conclusion :-  If you're gonna only use 2DOF then maybe u can make do and suffice with a Shiro remote, however, if you want to possibly delve into 6DOF, then as per normal .. you get what you pay for.

Either which way the Nintendo remote uses literally no CPU, which was critical on my single core AGED PC, which would not have been able to handle a Camera stream and run any game.

From what I've seen so far of IL2 in 2DOF, Wii mote is the way to go if your wanting low cpu usage and 100 fps.  Will be playing around this weekend with my radioshack IR LED's on my 3 point build to see if they will do until my proper LED's arrive from China .. * sigh    


Jax

Will make a video for the site of my builds and findings when I have all my ducks in a row and successfully am using 2 Dof and 6 Dof in at least 2 games.


Once again thank you all for your postings and input which has got me this far.

PS.. This is more fun than you can shake a stick at lol !!!!  

I don't know really how forums work , but since this thread seems to get a few hits and HOPEFULLY helping people, would it be a good idea to get a sticky about the Nintendo WII remote .v. COPIES ???  from the findings I have made so far ?

Sorry if this is inappropriate way of asking or a stoopid idea, don't know how to go about it ......

Just wanna help people     and save them time screwing up like I did lols.

Cheers
Jax

I use both the official Nintendo Wiimote and a copy of the Big Ben. The Big Ben is working well but I have not tested with 3 mounting points (the weakness of copies as the Nintendo Wii uses only 2 points in the sensor bar, copies do not usually go beyond)

The Big Ben is able to monitor the visible light spots while the  official Wiimote can track Ir sources .

FreeTrack + Wiimote rules!  

Finally took the plunge and set up my FT system, via 3 point clip (temporarily).  Used a second-hand official wiimote ($25 Australian) and a cheap-as-chips Bluetooth dongle (some unheard of generic brand, Cambridge Silicon chipset) bought for $15 Australian, had a bit of drama getting it connected under Vista using the supplied Blue Soleil sofware, v2.something.  Tried the v6 software, which seems to now require an additional plugin for wiimotes.  Upgraded back to v5 and it worked straight away!  Loving it so far, using it for flying in Condor.  3 point cap under construction now with some brighter, wide angle IR LED's... pics to follow.

Would like to thank all the other posters on here for the excellent advice, getting up and running really was incredibly easy.

Hi, i new to this and i'm a little be confuse about how to use the wii remote. To see if i understand how this work is  when i connect the bluetooth dongle and the software it should be recognize the wii remote? an OEM wii remote sell on ebay that be ok? I will appreciate any help here. I'm ready to start building my cap but i confuse about the wii remote. any help be appreciate
thanks

Hi To answer your question,

Yes the sofware is the connection between the BT device and the Wii mote so the software should recognise it.

Some Wii motes that are 3rd party can only track 2 leds so if your doing a 3 point cap or clip you will need a Genuine Wii mote a nintendo one as it can track 4 leds

That should see you right.

Thats only what i need? There is no configuration to the wiimote? and thanks for your rapid response

I'm sorry is me again but i want to be sure that i'm going to buy what i exactly need. What BT do you recomend me?
thanks

I use a Belkin it's the only one they do about the size of your thumb nail, what ever you get it must be BT 2.x version capable.

thanks

Please check this site out for a list of known BT Dongles that work with the Wii remote.

There are so many variations to consider ... operating system and also the software that you get with the Dongle.

http://wiibrew.org/wiki/List_of_Working_Bluetooth_Devices


The basics are ......

Install the Dongle to a USB port on your PC
  This enables your PC to communicate with Bluetooth devices.  It requires
  software (called A STACK) to do so and usually packaged with your dongle.
  Widcomm and Blusoleil are the 2 MAJOR brands, although there are others
  out there.  Again checking the above list will help you decide.

Use the software to search for BT devices whilst you put the Wii remote into search mode and hopefully your Stack software will pick it up.

Once the above is done, it is then FREETRACK that uses the WII remote as an option for picking up the LED's.


NOTE *******

I had MAJOR problems with the software working with my Dongle and ended up having to purchase Blusoleil.  VERY advisable to try and get a dongle that comes with Blusoleil software.

>>>>SEE my thread problem on Widcomm here <<<<<


Have a good detailed look through ALL of these forums ... they are not huge and you should be able to hit all the threads in about an hour.  Well worth doing.

Good Luck and Hope this helps  

ZOOM model 4322 (comes with an older version of Blue Soleil) works perfectly with Wiimote.  The Wiimote is very sensitive to daylight.  Even adding 6 layer of IR filter (film negative) to the front of it and almost unusable during the daytime.  Friend of mine has the same problem with the Track IR.  He said you need to basically black out the room or daylight messes it up.  Any suggestions for IR filtering?