Headset for Freetrack Trackir 'Track Clip Pro' clone

This is a quick guide on how I made my USB headset for Freetrack and saved myself a lot of money by avoiding buying the Trackir track clip pro.

I printed off a pic of the tracker track clip pro and used its dimensions to make my own. First thing to do is plan the shape of your design on paper measuring things properly and double checking measurements.

Then I went on the scavenge for materials, I decided to start with the box that would house the components and support the LEDs, I used a clear plastic memory card case, the kind you find with small memory cards. I cut holes on it for the usb cable to go in and for the arms that would support the LEDs.

Then I took some rounded lengths of wood and cut them to size, I then glued them in the memory card box with epoxy resin glue. To mount the middle light I used a small stopper from the end of a felt tip pen, I cut a hole in it and glued it into position.

Next I cut an old usb extension cable and wired in the PTC fuse and resistor (the pct fuse prevents damage to your motherboard), after this I used heat shrink tubing to insulate any exposed wires. I fitted a cable tie to the usb cable near the top so it wouldn’t fall out of the small hole I made in the memory card case. Its worth noting that the fuse and resistor can be fitted either way as they do not have polarity.

Track clip pro dimensions:

Wiring the LEDs was up next, this was easy. I twisted the exposed wire from my network cables round the leg of the LED and applied solder then I used heat shrink tubing to cover the exposed wires. To secure the LEDs to the wooden arms I used a little glue and heat shrink tubing. It was a little awkward doing the final soldering after I trimmed the wire length to fit but not hard. The LED legs are flexible so they can be bent easily to face forward.

I used this circuit diagram (parts listed are also what i used) from the Freetrack forum (click for bigger):

Source: This Thread

When the circuit was complete I plugged in the device and used my iphone camera to check that the lights where working. All being ok I used more heat shrink to cover the wooden arms and LEDs and wires, this secured everything in place and made it look neater.

I sealed the case shut with epoxy resin then painted it with modelling paint, I fitted small plastic washers to the LEDs to make them look a bit neater.

All in all, not to hard to do the above. Its so much cheaper than buying Trackir track clip pro.

The Track Clip Assembly

To make the adjustable clip assembly I used the clip from a trouser coat hanger (dont remove the rail part of the hanger) and an old windscreen mount from a TomTom. I cut out the clip from the coat hanger with a hot knife, and then I cut the sucker off the TomTom and cut the ball joint part down to size. I filed everything down and used a Stanley knife to make it neater.

Next I used epoxy resin to bond the clip to the TomTom mount. After it dried I had to file the curve out of the TomTom mount part so the light assembly could be bonded to it. I had a problem in that the ball joint on the TomTom mount did not allow the light assembly to sit at a straight angle so I took some wooden pegs and cut off the wedge end and bonded it to the flattened TomTom mount, this fixed the angle problem.

Finally I bonded the light assembly to the clip and TomTom part, once dried I painted everything with modelling paint and left to dry. 

Now I have a Trackir ‘Track Clip Pro’ clone that cost only a couple of quid. I set it up with the Freetrack software using my Wii remote as a webcam.