After what has been years of flipping inline power switches off and on, I finally found a way to do it that is a simple as clicking install in the google app store.
If you are like me, you have been faced with the fact steam doesn’t care about any bluetooth device not built into one of their HMDs. You may have tried buying a link box from a vive and that didn’t work either. Search the internet, search the forums, nothing. The only thing close to a work around I found is running primitive batch files and crossing your fingers.
Well, this app has been a thing since 2020, and no, I didn’t think to look for a phone app to control my VR gear, who would. While once again searching for a way to control my base stations, hoping some boffin moded steam to stop being so stuck up, I found the lighthouse app link via google. I thought it would be nice to share it as it’s own thread, as I’m sure there are many like myself who didn’t get an email or notification that such a quality of life improvement existed.
I really don’t understand why this couldn’t be implemented via pitool if my random android phone can do it. It could be in the settings tab, with some simple options. “auto wake on pitool startup/sleep on close” “wake” “sleep” “standby”
…I’ve bought these link boxes (v1 and v2, blindly hoping :D), I compiled some services I found at github or somewhere else opensource, I tried driver hacking, or a special steamvr driver which fakes index headsets or something… nothing xD until only some months ago when I found this app too, I wasn’t able to switch them on / off other than unplugging. BUT: your idea to just integrate this into pimax play software would of course be the (easiest) way. did someone already tell them this? maybe we just should somehow…
something new, respectively old: mann1x wrote (for older pimax headsets with the pitool) on an app called BSManager (BaseStation Manager), which is capable of switching your basestations on depending on power state of your headset (pimax Crystal). unfortunately he stopped three years ago, but the sources are there, available and can be used for your setup, after some edits done to it
in the state it is on github it is not usable for our crystal it needed edits, for the services, pimax play software and the headset itself. what came out is very practical little tool, which also has an RuntimeManager included. means, you can activate an option in the tool to let it autostart with your machine and watch out for your headset being powered on. it then switches the basestations automatically on and starts pimax play, if you want to. or only the basestations; and when you switch your crystal off, it will close all the services and shut down the basestations too. it needs a bluetooth LE device, this is used for connecting to the lighthouses.
I’ve compiled a version of it for our Crystal headsets. just try it out if you want or need to, I personally find it very useful. it needs .net framework 3.1, which is included in the zip file. it’s scanned and virus free of course, available for download here:
virustotal from downloadable file:
basestation manager, original sources mann1x (thanks! :)), edited for crystal (only crystal, added to the older headsets which are already available in this software):
source, it’s explained much more detailed there of course::
maybe we just should 
somehow…
it needed edits, for the services, pimax play software and the headset itself. what came out is very practical little tool, which also has an RuntimeManager included. means, you can activate an option in the tool to let it autostart with your machine and watch out for your headset being powered on. it then switches the basestations automatically on and starts pimax play, if you want to. or only the basestations; and when you switch your crystal off, it will close all the services and shut down the basestations too. it needs a bluetooth LE device, this is used for connecting to the lighthouses.