any way to improve tracking on vive?

H3RBSKI · 19 Dec 2016 at 23:59

my vive works great 90% of the time but then others the tracking on the controllers and sometimes the headset just screws up my hands start doing what they want and every now and then the head set does a barrel roll...
i have my light houses in the right place with them pointing at the centre of the room but this keeps happening.
any body else get this or anyone know how to sort it?

nacho_man1 · 20 Dec 2016 at 08:43

No issues like that with mine, double check the set up , try usb 2.0 ports , other hardware issue ? could be motherboard issue?

RoyMi6 · 20 Dec 2016 at 08:46

Yeah, tracking totally solid in both my setups.

Try plugging in the sync cable (and setting the channels to A & b - http://www.tomsguide.com/faq/id-3102396/set-vive-base-stations-cabled-sync.html)

If the two base stations get out of sync by loosing line of sight tracking.

If the base stations are too low, just walking between them is enough to cause this. If the base stations are high enough that a ceiling light gets in the way this can also cause problems that the sync cable will resolve.

Additionally, if either base station moves (even just the slightest amount) they'll disable tracking to protect the moving parts. So if you've got them on tripods, or just sitting on book shelves be aware that walking around the room can be enough to cause this. Get them wall mounted to fix this issue.

nacho_man1 · 20 Dec 2016 at 08:51

Might be worth checking the environment remove any mirrors and or highly reflective surfaces. Does this only happen when your in one spot or anywhere in the marked gaming area ?

H3RBSKI · 20 Dec 2016 at 12:11

It can be anywhere in the area. I'll try the cable tonight and see if it helps. We have no mirrors in the front room and I only really play it at night with the curtains closed so no reflections from the window.
Base stations are mounted to the wall and secure.
as with the height I'm 6ft 6 so I didn't measure when I put them up is just put them at head height ad it reccomend 6.5ft in the manual. I may try playing in the dark and see if it's the light that's causing it. If I use the base station skin from the workshop that shows all the directions of the lazers the main central one on both are aiming down into the centre of my play area.

ArmitageShanks · 20 Dec 2016 at 12:32

H3RBSKI said:
It can be anywhere in the area. I'll try the cable tonight and see if it helps. We have no mirrors in the front room and I only really play it at night with the curtains closed so no reflections from the window.
Base stations are mounted to the wall and secure.
as with the height I'm 6ft 6 so I didn't measure when I put them up is just put them at head height ad it reccomend 6.5ft in the manual. I may try playing in the dark and see if it's the light that's causing it. If I use the base station skin from the workshop that shows all the directions of the lazers the main central one on both are aiming down into the centre of my play area.

The base stations have a huge fov (120 degrees on both X and Y), so as long as they're vaguely pointing towards one another and angled downwards at about a 45 degree angle, it should work.

Check that they are syncing correctly (hover your mouse over the base station icons on the SteamVR panel to see if they're reporting anything weird or are too far apart). Other than that, it's most likely a USB issue - try using USB 2.0 instead of 3 or vice-versa.

danoliver1 · 20 Dec 2016 at 13:09

Try turning the camera off. I had tracking issues at first but turning the camera off sorted it been solid ever since.

RoyMi6 · 20 Dec 2016 at 13:42

If the base stations are below head height when you walk between them you'll loose tracking for sure.

Disabling the camera is another good point. At the very least turn the refresh rate down but there's plenty of people having trouble with the amount of data over a single USB cable causing issues.

Rezident · 20 Dec 2016 at 14:17

Woah sounds broken to me, never happens with mine. the only time I had an issue it was using USB 3.0 ports, when I switched to USB 2 it was fine.

H3RBSKI · 20 Dec 2016 at 15:30

RoyMi6 said:
If the base stations are below head height when you walk between them you'll loose tracking for sure.

Disabling the camera is another good point. At the very least turn the refresh rate down but there's plenty of people having trouble with the amount of data over a single USB cable causing issues.

I watched a video earlier about height of base stations. The guy did them correct height, waist height and then on the floor. All 3 positions worked perfectly so not sure it's that. When I get back I'm just gonna disable the cam, move to a USB 2.0 and use the connection cable for the base stations. If it works then great if not I'll see if I can rma it

stooeh · 20 Dec 2016 at 19:39

H3RBSKI said:
I watched a video earlier about height of base stations. The guy did them correct height, waist height and then on the floor. All 3 positions worked perfectly so not sure it's that. When I get back I'm just gonna disable the cam, move to a USB 2.0 and use the connection cable for the base stations. If it works then great if not I'll see if I can rma it

The issue with a low height could be if you are blocking line of sight between the base stations and you are also positioned in such a way you are also blocking the vive sensors from one of the base stations as well.

CapitalOne · 20 Dec 2016 at 20:34

Can you post a picture of your vivarium? (vive room)

edzieba · 21 Dec 2016 at 09:11

Lighthouse can have issues with any reflective surface. Shiny floors, windows, tables, TVs, certain wallpapers (those high-end glossy patterned ones) and monitors can all be an issue depending on their location and angle. The other big culprit of tracking issues is mounting: because the Lighthouse basestations contain multiple spinning masses, they are very vulnerable to vibration, and ANY moment of the basestations (or cameras for Constellation) means your tracking will be noticeably disrupted. The included plastic mounds are at best 'ok'. You really need to torque them down to get them stiff enough they they don't vibrate, and because they;re a pretty cheap plastic there's not much margin between 'gud-n-tite' and 'tighten till you hear the snap, then back a quarter turn'. If they're just sitting on a flat surface like a shelf, you're almost guaranteed some vibration and a slowly shifting basestation.

derv · 21 Dec 2016 at 12:10

Check that you removed the protective film from both the lighthouses.

H3RBSKI · 21 Dec 2016 at 16:10

yeah protective film removed. both bases are mounted to the wall and tight, tested buy jumping up and down in front of them or knocking on the wall they are attatched to but then never went blue.
ive done whats suggested in the posts above, disabled cam, moved to usb 2.0 and used link cable. just had a game on golf club vr and had no issues which i would have several issues on this game before. so hopefully its fixed it

nacho_man1 · 21 Dec 2016 at 16:30

Thats a good sign hope it stays like that for you.