Pan view with coolie hat not working

[Swordmaster]

Hello, while I am not new to MSFS, having owned every version since 1 in 1984, I just installed FSX and Accellerator this weekend.

My issue is panning in external views. I use the TrackIR4, and it works perfectly (as always) in the virtual cockpit. However, when I switch to any outside camera view or spot view, I must pan around by moving my head around. The coolie hat does not respond. The hat is working on the CH yoke, when I test or calibrate it. It is programmed in CH control mgr as pan.

I've looked through the control settings in FSX but cannot find anything to point at thte coolie hat for outside view panning.

Everything else is working fine. Just really strange panning around outside the aircraft with my head movements.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

[lnuss]

When you bring up the TrackIR software, click on the Profiles tab. Then click the Edit button at the bottom of the window. Now click on the Hotkeys tab. Whatever you see listed as PAUSE is the hotkey that temporarily disables TrackIR and lets your other viewing controls operate without being overridden by TrackIR. I have it set to a button on my joystick, which is handy to push anytime I leave the virtual cockpit.

[Swordmaster]

Tried that first thing. Have been using the Track IR for 2 years with FS9.
Never saw the head tracker panning in external view before.

[opcartmell]

Track IR has precedence in FSX. You must turn it off in order to let the hat switch take over in outside views. Don't know why; that's just the way it is. Using the CH program with my CH yoke I have configured the shift position of the left rocker switch to turn the tracker on and off. Works great and only takes a microsecond to switch Track IR on and off. BTW. I've never used Track IR in FS2005 so I wasn't aware of the difference.

[jdoon5261]

Great discussion. I just recently started using FreeTrack and have the same issue. I thought it was odd that outside views were still controlled by tracking. That's just one more thing to assign a keystroke to...
John

[Swordmaster]

Thanks for the responses. I have the tracker pause on a button on the yoke. It is nice to be able to freeze the tracker when changing radio freqs and such. However, on my set up, even with the tracker locked it still does not seem to see the coolie hat.

When in spot view, if I pan around with my head then freeze the tracker, the view will hold at that point. When I release the tracker the view snaps to wherever my head is pointing.

What is the CH program set to for the hat on your system, opcartmell?

My name is Jim by the way.

[opcartmell]

Jim,
Using the CH Control Manager I have done the following

Button 1 is the shift button
Button 2 brings up the ATC window, Shift Button 2 responds to ATC with a 1 (most common response)
Button 3 is left rudder trim, Shift Button 3 (Becomes button 14 in FS) is left aileron trim
Button 4 is right rudder trim, Shift Button 4 (Becomes button 15 in FS) is right aileron trim
Button 5 is unused, Button 6 is gear up or down (the shift positions on these are unused0
Button 7 is flaps up, Shift Button 7 (Button 18) is outside view
Button 8 is flaps down, Shift Button 8 (Button 19) is unused
Button 9 is virtual cockpit, Shift Button 9 (Button 20) radio stack
Button 10 is 2d cockpit, Shift Button 10 (Button 21) is GPS
Button 11 is down trim, Shift Button 11 (Button 22) is Map view
Button 12 is up trim, Shift Button 12 (Button 23) is TrackIR4 on or off

With the CH program, every button can become 2 buttons. One is chosen as the shift button (I chose button 1 because it's easy to hit and hold while pressing a second button with your left thumb or your right hand. Each of the other buttons then becomes 2 buttons incremented in shift mode by 11. So button 2 will show up in the FS control panels as button 2 and shift button 2 becomes button 13. Most can be programmed in the FS control selection; however, the ATC responses and the Track IR button must be programmed to send key strokes using the CH Control Manager. It's not the easiest thing I've done 'cause the programming documentation is not the easiest thing I've read lately, but there's lots of help on the CH forums. Since discovering this and adding a few GF modules, I only need the keyboard for to pause the program, turn on a few lights, and center the Track IR view. I've put the centering command on the space bar since it's easy to hit and always in reach of my left hand. I'm still trying to figure out something to do with the extra shift buttons on the CH yoke.

[Swordmaster]

I know what you mean, FS does not recognize the CH MFP in key stroke set up. So I have had to program each button to output the keyboard commends FS is expecting.