Sorry about this rant. I just need to vent. Was setting up and testing my Steam VR tracking lighthouses to see if they would allow me to use my Quest 2 without having to turn on all the lights. I think it will work, but wasn't entirely sure anymore. Signs pointed to this being the case, so good news. Anyway, I had the Quest 2 plugged into my computer via the official Link Cable. Yes, I know there are cheaper ones. But when I bought it last year I did research, and it was the highest build quality of the known "this works with Oculus Link" usb-c cables. This was before Link was improved to work with lower quality cables too. I've been getting good use out of the cable too.
Anyway, while I was finishing up my tests my social worker showed up for a weekly check-in. And Fumblefoot McGee (not his actual name) couldn't grasp the concept of "lift your feet, there's a cord running across the floor". Even after I mentioned this fact to him. He SAW the cable, pointed it out and asked about it, and still tripped over the link cable while I was putting something away. So imagine my horror when he asks "Is this suppose to bend" while holding up the jack that had been plugged into the computer. The connector was sitting at a 45 degree angle, which it's NOT suppose to be doing. He then asks "Can it be bent back into position?" I immediately told him the answer was no. Instead I hear "Here, let me try... oops?" He broke off the connector entirely.
That was the $80 official Link Cable he just ruined. AARRRRRGH! I don't have that kind of money on me right now. Or enough for one of the cheaper cables Amazon sells. I also don't have "clumsy idiot" insurance.
Okay, fine. I can deal with this. I have other USB-C cables. None long enough for roomscale VR though. Which means I'll have to move my tower back over near the router so I can use Air Link again. Gork gram clumsy oaf! Arrgh!
Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.
On the positive side, just be thankful Link doesn't use a BNC connector. Otherwise the whole computer may have ended up on the floor. I've seen someone trip on coax network cable with BNCs on each end. 🙂
I also almost had a laptop go airborn when my boss at the time was trying my DK2 headset and got startled (by the Tuscany demo fireplace) and kicked back in their office chair. The DK2 has a rather short cable, the laptop luckily ended up hanging off the table edge but didn't fall.
Anyway, for lighthouse... I assume it's not going to work well. Lighthouse is a sweeping laser dot. The Quest's cameras aren't going to be in sync with it, so they will just see a dot at random, nothing consistent to track movement. They need stationary objects. Plus every time the laser sweeps over the Quest's lenses it will blind it.
On the other hand, a Kinect 360 might work. It shines out a fixed pattern of IR dots. Since they are consistent, the Quest's cameras can probably track using them.
Oh, not wanting to use the lighthouses for tracking. I was thinking of using them for illumination, so I don't have to have 3 lamps and/or overhead lights on regardless of time of day. I remembered it working fine with the Quest 1, but wasn't entirely sure. So I was testing it out again after blacking out my window via hanging a bed spread across it.
EDIT: When the soc worker showed up, I took down the blanket and turned on the lights cause he's apparently blind enough that without 2 lamps, an overhead light, and the blinds opened he "can't see anything". I don't believe that, cause if he was that blind he wouldn't have a drivers license.
Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.
I guess Lighthouse 1 does have the flash pulse to start the timing cycle, so there's a bit of IR light besides the dot, but sync is going to be an issue again (it's not continuous, just a very short pulse at 60Hz or so IIRC). Lighthouse 2 got rid of that, it's just the dot (with encoded angle data in the laser dot).
It's like trying to find your way in the dark using a laser pointer while a strobe light sometimes goes off, instead of a flashlight.
But it's free to try since you already have the stuff, so why not give it a go? 🙂
With both Lighthouse 1.0 trackers set up in opposite corners of the room, I recall it worked pretty well for Quest 1. Granted, I tried it at the time because I am not a fan of the vive wand controllers, and my Vive Cosmos's lenses have really visible rings. Kind of distracting. So I'd figured "why not give it a shot?"
Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.
I'm pleased to note that yes, the 1.0 Steam Trackers do work nicely for providing the Quest 2 with enough illumination for reliable tracking. Still rather annoyed with Bumblefoot McGee for destroying my Link cable. But his boss did decide that since he broke it on company time, they would pay to replace it. Not the official Link Cable, not that I expected that due to it's price. Remains to be seen if the replacement will be 16 feet long or USB-C But as long as it's USB 3.0, I have 3.0 to USB-C adapters.
Lo, a quest! I seek the threads of my future in the seeds of the past.
