Any way to make Rift (non-S) controllers and lighthouses work without headset?

[silentcircuit]

Basically, I've got a PSVR2 (and no PS5) and hope to use it on PC with the upcoming iVRy driver, which the creator is planning to release before end of year. Already have a BizLink adapter on the way and have been promised one of the converters needed to get it working as a Patron. Great!

The issue is, while head tracking and even HDR are working there's little to no progress getting Sony's controllers working, and no ETA. So I have to figure out an alternative.

I'll probably end up biting the bullet and getting a pair of the Valve Knuckles, but then I've got to get at least 2 Base Stations and at that point I suspect I'm better off saving up a little more and getting the Valve Deckard or whatever they call it. I /am/ keeping a lookout on FB marketplace and Craigslist for a cheap Index kit, and if I can get that for like $400 it's the simplest solution. No luck yet.

So I'm stuck spending significantly more money getting this "cheap" (relative to other modern OLED headsets) setup working...

... Unless I can get the original Rift controllers working without the headset. Or there's a cheaper but nearly as good option out there - if so, please share!

Looked in to this briefly before and couldn't manage it - if I remember right the controllers connect to the Rift headset wirelessly so it had to be plugged in to USB for power and data, and they did work, but the headset would go to sleep pretty quickly (since it was sitting on the floor and I was using a Lenovo Explorer headset which has better image quality but worse controllers) which killed the connection and broke everything.

I realize this is a super niche use case, just asking on the off chance someone here knows how to make it work.

I've also got original PSVR and its controllers if using them would be more straightforward. Or again, if someone knows of a relatively cheap (like under $200) alternative for stand-alone congrats l controllers I'm all ears.

Some things like racing and flight sim will work fine, of course, but I really want to play some of the more complex stuff I never could with the Rift cause it made me so sick.

 

[CraptacularOne]

So you spent $600 on a PSVR2 when you could have just spent $300 on a Quest 2 and not had to deal with this for what reason? You could have also just got a Quest 3 for $500 with far better lenses and working controllers. I'm struggling to understand why you decided to with with a PSVR2 here.

 

[silentcircuit]

So you spent $600 on a PSVR2 when you could have just spent $300 on a Quest 2 and not had to deal with this for what reason? You could have also just got a Quest 3 for $500 with far better lenses and working controllers. I'm struggling to understand why you decided to with with a PSVR2 here.

I got it for $200 from a friend, it made her sick but was fine for me playing on her PS5. Yes, I could have picked up a Quest 2 or 3, and there are regularly Valve Index full kits for around $600 used near me, but I really want OLED displays.

$200 for the headset (and maybe the controllers work one day), another ~$200 making it work (BizLink adapter, converter once available), plus whatever controllers end up costing me.

Would it make more sense to buy a used Index? Yes, almost certainly. This is going to be kind of janky and will cost $2-300 more all told. I don't know, may still just sell the headset since I can make $100 or so on it easily, sell the BizLink adapter for what I paid for it (they are in demand and take a long time to ship), turn around and get an Index.

If I can make something I already own work, great.

 

[Darunion]

Correct, controllers bind and communicate to the rift headset with a custom protocol. I cant myself think of any way this would work in your specific request. The headset feeds all the data back to the pc.

 

[sharknice]

I would just sell it. You're going to have major issues getting everything to work correctly. And you said you got sick with VR in the past, the PSVR2 isn't going to be any better, probably worse.

You could get a used Quest 2 for $200 that actually works properly with controllers, and if that doesn't make you sick you could look to upgrading to something better.

 

[silentcircuit]

Found a full Index kit locally for a good price, supposed to meet the guy some time this week. Assuming I'm not robbed or murdered I'll give that a shot. If I like it I'll sell the PSVR2 and BizLink adapter to offset the cost, if the headset doesn't do it for me but the PSVR2 is better I can always just eBay the Index headset and use the base stations and controllers.

 

[Poatan]

You could get a used Quest 2 for $200 that actually works properly with controllers, and if that doesn't make you sick you could look to upgrading to something better.

$200 for used Quest 2 in a good shape is hard to find. Second hand VRs always in rough condition being hand held face wearing device people put on many hours daily.

 

[sharknice]

$200 for used Quest 2 in a good shape is hard to find. Second hand VRs always in rough condition being hand held face wearing device people put on many hours daily.

Really? A brand new Q2 is $250. Quest 3 just came out so a lot of people are selling their Q2s that would have taken good care of them. Also Q2 is just extremely durable and repairable, the only real permanent damage I would worry about is a burnt screen from someone leaving it in the sun.

 

[Poatan]

Really? A brand new Q2 is $250. Quest 3 just came out so a lot of people are selling their Q2s that would have taken good care of them. Also Q2 is just extremely durable and repairable, the only real permanent damage I would worry about is a burnt screen from someone leaving it in the sun.

The ones I've seen on Facebook market is like that, maybe on EBay it would be better. True about Q2 being solid out of the box, however Q2 has cons I couldn't convince myself to buy one such as limited FoV, low resolution per eye, and subpar LCD lens. As a former PC GFX enthusiast, I kinda want perfect AIO package. Primax 8K X I think answer to almost everything.