It seems there is a recurring pattern of problems the people who received the lighthouses from Pimax face. This post will address some:
Only one lighthouse is tracking
(one is solid blue and one is blinking in PiTool)This is because both the lighthouses are configured for channel #1. v2 lighthouses are capable of running on one of 16 channels (numbered 1-16). The only requirement is that all active ones must be on different channels.
To confirm that you can run SteamVR and check a pop up above the Lighthouse or you can use hmdq
tool (which displays the channel number as “Mode” property).
Switching the channel is possible through the pin hole on the back side. One click moves the channel one up.
The LED is white, while SteamVR support says it should be green
It seems that the lighthouses Pimax is distributing are coming with an archaic firmware 2001
, which manifests itself with: blue = LH booting up, white = running/stand-by. The latest firmware available through SteamVR is 3008
, which uses different color codes: blue = booting-up/stand-by, green = running.
EDIT: Another difference is in appearance. The lighthouses Pimax distributes read “SteamVR” on the backside and have an additional connector for the sync cable, while the ones Valve is selling have “Valve” on the back and no connector. “SteamVR” lighthouses are 0x0009000e
hardware rev, while "Valve"s are 0x0009000f
.
The only supported way to upgrade the firmware is by using an “officially” supported SteamVR headset (with officially supported BT LE controller), i.e. Index, Vive Pro, etc.
While SteamVR will tell you that your Index controller needs an update, it will not tell you that your v2 lighthouse needs an update, if you are not using the supported headset (with the right BT LE controller), even if the FW upgrade is available. Using 3rd party BT LE dongle will not help.
I was able to upgrade mine (while using Vive Pro) to the FW 3008
and would recommend to anyone to do the same, because the latest firmware has the BT LE implementation much more polished. On the other hand, even if you do not upgrade, the LHs should be usable. Just keep in mind to mention it to SteamVR support if you need to talk to them.
v2 LH remote control (over BT LE)
First thing I would like to emphasize is that the lighthouses (both v1 and v2) do not need BT LE to operate correctly. The headset receives the tracking data and the LH’s telemetry from the lighthouse either by an IR transmission (v1) or modulated on a laser (v2).
What does not work without BT LE is the power management and the channel configuration. There is a separate thread about how to access the lighthouses over BT LE (without the approved headset, or SteamVR built-in support) here (https://community.openmr.ai/t/how-to-power-off-basestations-remotely-solved/15205).
For v2 lighthouses there has been solutions posted by @nouser2019 (in the OP of the thread) or by @karajzk (https://community.openmr.ai/t/how-to-power-off-basestations-remotely-solved/15205/290).
I am not aware of any solution for the firmware upgrade though.