blog/content/posts/diy-slimevr.md

title	date	draft	description	category	image
Building SlimeVR Trackers for Full Body Tracking	2023-03-29	false	From the cost, parts, and expectations. A full tutorial	article	/media/thumbnails/slimevr.png

Goal

To build a Full body set of trackers:

• 7 trackers
• 3 extensions

Parts List & Prices

NOTE: Some extra components were purchased in case of defects

⚠️ Huge caveats about the purchase list below ⚠️

1. Buy more parts than I did, ( especially BMI's ) because some of these have a horrible failure rate. 15+

2. Maybe throw in an extra D1 ( 11 total ) because these can fail too.

3. Batter chargers tend to be fine but can be prone to getting burned so be careful when soldering.

Main parts from AliExpress:

• 10 D1 Mini for 20.53$
• 13 BMI 160 for 18.99$
• 10 18650 Battery chargers for 6.81$
  • Keep in mind that this will also work for regular LIPO batteries
• See battery section for explanation

Small parts from AliExpress:

• 10 pack of DPDT 2P2T Panel Mount Switches for 2.99$
• 100 pack of 30K ohms for 4.05$
• 5 pack of 4Pin JST connections for 4.93$
• 50 pack of diodes for 2.53$

Batteries

For reference I bought:

• 1 ( 10 piece ) EHAO 804040 3.7V 18mAh for 32.77$

While these do work, shipping time is pretty awful compared to everything else. Looking at the order of a few months for some vendors. To deal with this problem we can swap those out for some 18650's:

• 10 pack of battery clips 7.99$

• Set of 10 batteries for 33.32$

• Total with taxes: 41.14$

I can attest that 18650batteries.com is a reputable place to get batteries. SideNote: includes shipping but you're mileage may vary depending on source

Total Initial Cost With Shipping and Taxes

If you buy the 804040 batteries: 93.60$

With the 18650's: 101.97$

Assembly

Assumptions

That the parts list above is being used however the points below are kept somewhat general.

Equipment

Important to note that if you don't have soldering equipment you'll need to get some. Cheap kits can be found for under 50$ but make sure you have plenty of solder.

1. 18650's are heavy so if possible

For this reason it's not a bad idea to get some battery clips and mount everything to that to keep things compact. When the weight of a tracker is imbalanced then it's much harder to mount as it tends to "swing" more.

2. Heat shrink of varying sizes to clean up splices is basically required.

3. *Flux if you want however this is really not required at all.