FreeTrack Forum

Firstly, Thanks so much for your great app! I couldn't afford Track IR and this works great. What a great community effort.

I wanted to try a build using a 3-point clip that could attach to the side of a hat or on glasses.

EDIT: the pictures dont fit in the frame of this site. You may want to right-click on them and save them.

I used the following as shown in the picture:
- radio shack red LEDs (part number 276-330)
- radio shack project box ( part # 270-1801 - 3" X 2" 50mm X 80mm)
- 9 volt battery
- 9v battery connector form radio shack
- 220 ohm resistor (only one because the configurator called for serial wiring)
- aluminum rods used for securing chain-link fencing to poles
- small plug from a PC (allows for me to try different LEDs without soldering)
- a micro switch from radio shack (no part number sorry)
- hot glue gun
- radio shack heat shrink tubing from radio shack (assortment bag)
- a small wiring clip with an adhesive backing (doesn't work too well)
-Microsoft Lifecam VX1000 (Unmodded)






a picture of the aluminum rods bent into position. They fit snugly and wer later hot glued into place. Note: the holes were drilled oversize and at a 45 degree angle. Make sure the glue doesn't cover them until after the wires are put through. Also not the small switch on top.




Here I am adjusting the aluminum rods and getting their angles equal




I traced out the box and made sure it was centered




Now the rods are bent to allow a mount point for the small plugs that i used. this isn't necessary if you plan on simply gluing the LEDs in place. Note the small plastic clip I used. I initially mounted it high on the box (the switch is on top) but  had to lower it to about 1/2" below center becasue the  unit tilts a bit.




Detail showing the how small plugs are attatched. I ran the wire through the shrink tube. pulled it up over the plug, put in a dab of hot glue, the put a slightly larger peice of shrink tube over the plug and shrunk it. this last part really locked the plug onto the aluminum rod.




A Close up of the little plugs and LED. I hot glues the plug in place.  I didn't use sanded down LEDs. I tried one and the light dispersion seemed the same. The beauty of using plugs is that it allows for very fast changing of  the LEDs if changes are needed. Sometimes, it pays to be a packrat and keep these little things lying around!




The completed unit back on the legal pad getting its final bending and measurements. all were done in metric.




the completed unit with the cover off. The battery fits in their perfectly with a small bit of shaving on the posts. the foam is to hold the battery down.



Project build time was about 3 hours due to headscratchng... I could build it now in about 1 hour. The tedious part was soldering them damn tiny wires. God i hate that.

The unit operates fairly well... The only problem is it tends to tilt out a bit which screws up some of the translations. its not bad though. but it definitely does happen. I will likely try putting a small bit of foam under the clip and let it rest on my ear. Otherwise I will remove the battery and set it on the back of my hat or make a 3 point hat model.

I had decided to use these cheap LEDs because I didnt want to mod my MS Lifecam VX 1000 in case i ever wanted to use it for normal stuff (like making porn!... I own a bar in Pennsylvania, USA by the way   ).

I have tested it in Falcon 4 Red Viper and it works well. the room should be fairly dark but I haven't had a chance to seriously test this yet. I will be testing in GTR2 as well but my intended primary usage is Falcon & FSX.

Hope this helps and gives people ideas. Questions are welcome

thanks again to the FreeTrack Team... Great Job!

Thanks for sharing!