I think I need a cockpit... (7th November 2012)

  • Thread starter the_greeze
  • 347 comments
  • 71,858 views
Absolutely brilliant stuff the_greeze 👍

As you say, once you experience motion it's hard to look back It really is like using tactile or FFB on wheels, once you've raced with it you cant imagine playing without it.

I was so close to getting a simxperience starter kit but I decided customs would kill it (cost wise) so I picked my stuff up from x-sim forums..and even though I'm still finishing stuff off, I manage to play it almost everyday :)
 
the_greeze
Cheers for the info Left 👍 I've just joined the SymProjects forum and posted in this thread regarding the forthcoming control board. Until this is released, I'm probably a bit stuck but I could proceed with designing the dash. :)
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You are better off starting a new thread over their I think. Sometimes those older threads get dusty and no one looks at them anymore. Once that new board releases we will see some very cool dash's. Oil pressure, water temp and the likes.

I might ask you lots of questions about making a dash. :) You noticed Mike Perry had his dash in there too huh, I can see yours will be a first class build.
 
museumsteve
Absolutely brilliant stuff the_greeze 👍

As you say, once you experience motion it's hard to look back It really is like using tactile or FFB on wheels, once you've raced with it you cant imagine playing without it.

I was so close to getting a simxperience starter kit but I decided customs would kill it (cost wise) so I picked my stuff up from x-sim forums..and even though I'm still finishing stuff off, I manage to play it almost everyday :)
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Thanks for the kudos Steve 👍

How are you getting on with your motion setup? It's all Frex stuff, if I'm not mistaken? Going well? :)
 
left888
You are better off starting a new thread over their I think. Sometimes those older threads get dusty and no one looks at them anymore. Once that new board releases we will see some very cool dash's. Oil pressure, water temp and the likes.

I might ask you lots of questions about making a dash. :) You noticed Mike Perry had his dash in there too huh, I can see yours will be a first class build.
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Yeah, maybe I should start a new one. It's not the most active forum though is it?! lol

Mike's is a very cool dash for sure. He needs this new board badly! And if we could get functionality along the lines of oil pressure, water temp etc I'd be a happy bunny. Tell 'em to hurry up :)

Any questions, please don't hesitate. I'll help (anyone) where I can... 👍
 
No it is not an active forum but if you start a new thread and ask a question Christian? will answer within 1 day usually and he is very helpful. He is the designer and owner operator of symprojects.

I'm not sure how far I will take my build, right now I'm just working on improving my racecraft. I have a few ideas for improving my dash area. Perhaps next fall I'll start on it. I'm very happy watching your rig progress. I have not seen a better rig. Thanks for the offer of assistance btw 👍

Ya, that new board will be sweet, he'll sell a bundle of them when he releases them.
 
the_greeze
Thanks for the kudos Steve 👍

How are you getting on with your motion setup? It's all Frex stuff, if I'm not mistaken? Going well? :)
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I'm only using Frex aluminium profile for the frame. I'm using DIY control boards, 100mm SCN5's and x-sim..and lovin' it :)
I'm hoping to finish this week and get new pics up on my thread this weekend :)
 
the_greeze
Some photos of my custom-built button boxes. Uses an iPac keyboard encoder to handle the input to the PC. Illuminated pushbuttons fitted into two black, ABS enclosures. All mapped for basic iRacing commands but I've made the boxes fully upgradable (they can be 'stacked' basically) should I need to add anything else. Plugging into the back of the boxes (not pictured) are the shifter and handbrake inputs. :)



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Looks amazing! 👍 Maybe someday I'll have a need for those kind of button boxes, it's good to know here are people that I can ask if there's any questions. :cheers:
 
museumsteve
I'm only using Frex aluminium profile for the frame. I'm using DIY control boards, 100mm SCN5's and x-sim..and lovin' it :)
I'm hoping to finish this week and get new pics up on my thread this weekend :)
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Good stuff 👍 Those DIY boards, did you build those yourself too? I have no knowledge of electronics like that! :dunce:
 
Timppaq
Looks amazing! 👍 Maybe someday I'll have a need for those kind of button boxes, it's good to know here are people that I can ask if there's any questions. :cheers:
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Thanks Timppaq :) I'll help where I can... 👍
 
the_greeze
Good stuff 👍 Those DIY boards, did you build those yourself too? I have no knowledge of electronics like that! :dunce:
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Unfortunately not mate..I bought them ready made from a nice chap in germany from x-sim forums. Infact due to me being impatient I ended up with 2 sets of controllers so I should sell one set on.
To be honest, if I was starting again I'd definately just go for a simxperience kit ;)
 
museumsteve
Unfortunately not mate..I bought them ready made from a nice chap in germany from x-sim forums. Infact due to me being impatient I ended up with 2 sets of controllers so I should sell one set on.
To be honest, if I was starting again I'd definately just go for a simxperience kit ;)
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I really can't fault the SimXperience stuff; really good quality and it literally was plug-and-play. :) UK Customs took a big ol' slice though but I was prepared for that...
 
greeze I'm surprised you havn't talked much about the SimXperience software yet.
Particularly how you can use a touch screen for real-time controls. Also neat that you can create your own rev/speedo etc for a display similar to previously talked about or shown apps for phone/tablets.

Maybe their package is similar to D-Box offering (in a plug n play perspective). X-Sim seems more for the hardcore and enthusiast and d.i.y certainly is more challenging.

The plug and play functionality I'd say is worth a lot but I'm unsure what the differences are really in the route Steve has went on the software/setup end. Can you still use the "Sim Commander" software Steve with the SimXperience actuators you have?

I get the idea of wanting a physical option too regards tach/button boxes etc. Yours are great too.
Did any of you order one of these yet, thought they might of got more attention/discussion on the forums than they have so far.



Appearence wise they look fantastic, will upload shots of mine compared to the D-Speares one I got and give some feedback on how each feels when it arrives and in my own thread not to de rail things, if any are interested.
 
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I'm surprised you havn't talked much about the SimXperience software yet. Particularly how you can use a touch screen for real-time controls. Also neat that you can create your own rev/speedo etc for a display similar to previously talked about or shown apps for phone/tablets.

Maybe their package is similar to D-Box offering and X-Sim seems more for the hardcore and enthusiast. The plug and play functionality Id say is worth a lot but Im unsure what the differences are really in the route Steve has went on the software/setup end. Can you still use the software Steve with the SimXperience actuators you have?

I get the idea of wanting a physical option too.
Did any of you order one of these yet, thought they might of got more attention/discussion on the forums than they have so far.

Appearence wise they look fantastic, will upload shots of mine compared to the D-Speares one I got and give some feedback on how each feels.
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Well, I haven't had that much spare time (only got the motion fully working late last Sunday) to really mess with the software to be fair! :) However, I'm using the version 3 Beta of SimXperience's 'Commander' software. V3 doesn't require the old X-Sim software to work (whereas V2 and 1 did, as far as I know). V3 is 'cleaner' in appearance and X-Sim is pretty old and very complicated. I'm sure it's very powerful too but it's not easy to figure out! It's certainly 'hardcore'. In fact, V2 with X-Sim wouldn't even work for me. It kept throwing up all sorts of errors.

From what I've seen of the version 3 software it's pretty comprehensive. All the parameters for the actuators can be set with sliders etc. There're a lot of options and configurations possible. Give me a few weeks to get my head around it all and I'll post up some findings and perhaps screen shots etc :)

Those RMK boxes do look very nice but I prefer to make my own stuff where possible. If I hadn't already built my boxes, I would be very interested though. :)
 
Thanks, their front end with V3 is superb but having the ability to use an additional screen for motion settings without having to alt/tab is maybe something you will end up considering? The range of settings I know is quite comprehensive but unlike X-Sim as you said its all simple to understand and laid out.

Hey I showed the RMK units as I'm sure others might be interested, not to interfere with your own thread. You have good skills in building as this rig showed many times.

I still yet need to find a solution on what you did/used for activating a brake light. I'd buy one of those if your interested in making another that activates a 12v light.
 
You can still have the config screen (for the motion settings) open on a different screen if you wish (infact, this is exactly what I was doing last night!) I have a 10" USB touchscreen that I use primarily for iSpeed but it's also ideal for stuff like this 👍

As for lighting, if it's just a brake light you want all you need is a simple switch (I placed mine under the pedal on the Clubsports. If you want to switch the backlighting (like mine perhaps, blue to red) then you'll need to incorporate a relay into the circuit. I can't build you one unfortunately but I'll try and let you know what I used and how I did it!
 
the_greeze
I will certainly share the file (and also the dimensions) once I've actually built the frame. I just want to make sure it all works out okay before I post the plans! 👍
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Have you posted the sketchup files anywhere as I can't find them and would love to have a look at them. Great job on the rig by the way! :D
 
Ben789
Ok fair enough, can see how you wouldn't just give away hours of hard work.
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Well, that is part of it 👍 The other aspect is that although the build was inspired by Chilicokes design, all the measurements are tailored to me. I basically went and sat in my road car with a tape measure and measured out where things were in relation to my seating position. From this all the other dimensions could be made / worked out. Hope that is some help to you? :)
 
the_greeze
Cheers for the info Left 👍 I've just joined the SymProjects forum and posted in this thread regarding the forthcoming control board. Until this is released, I'm probably a bit stuck but I could proceed with designing the dash. :)
Click to expand...

Not sure if you seen Cristiano's reply when asked when the new board would be ready and that was on February 18th I believe.

Cristiano
Work is still in progress. Sorry if I haven't more to say or show.
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Thread is Here
 
I've just enjoyed a nice long Easter weekend and had a chance for a bit of an update, read on... :)

Now the SimXperience 2-DOF motion system has been implemented, I was able to get around to mounting the 10” USB monitor and carrying out the enhancements I had planned for the tactile feedback. 👍

The monitor is used for running iSpeed, an excellent utility that not only displays your timings, fuel etc but also features a very useful Lap Analyser tool. I’ve had the monitor for a while but it’s been waiting on me finishing up the other stuff and sorting out a monitor-arm. Anyway, it’s up-and-running now in its rightful place. Lookin’ good. Check out the Button Boxes & Telemetry section on my website (the link is in my signature). :)

On to the tactile; within the changes in the supporting steelwork for the 2-DOF motion system, I have been able to overhaul the old tactile arrangement. Gone are the two Aura Pro’s from their left & right places below the seat and gone is the Buttkicker Gamer 2 that was fed from the subwoofer output. In their place are three Buttkicker Mini LFE’s (please see the Work-In-Progress section on my site for more photos) two of which are fed the left & right rear channels (and side-mounted in the seat-support) and the other is fed the subwoofer channel (mounted centrally, under the seat). This is a much better arrangement and the Mini LFE’s are very responsive. Adds a lot to the tactile immersion and I’m very happy with the results.

Another couple of changes that came out of the tactile enhancements was the re-positioning of Aura Pro’s to under the shifter / handbrake plate and also directly behind the steering wheel. The Aura under the shifter is fed from the centre channel of the amp (responsible for engine SFX in iRacing) to excellent effect (the centre channel is split to feed the Buttkicker Gamer 2 under the pedals too). The Aura mounted behind the wheel is fed from the subwoofer channel (road noise, mainly). In my website's Sound & Tactile photo section, along with photos of the newly-positioned Aura’s, there is a Tactile Configuration diagram showing the full setup that you might wish to check out (also attached as a PDF to this post). I especially want to thank GTPlanet's "djustiz" for this post and his research 👍

That's it for now, thanks for reading!

 

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  • Tactile Layout.pdf
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the_greeze
...and the fact that there is no room under the wheel plate :)
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That too but I have hooked 2 Aura Pros under my pedals facing up and the effect is not that good but unfortunately I have no space to place them facing down :)
 
I got all the steelwork for the motion section back from the powder-coaters last week so here are some pictures of it all bolted together. 👍



















Let me know what you think! :) My website has also been updated, click on the link in my signature for more info...
 
museumsteve
I think I really want one of those seats ;)

Looks incredible mate. I love my red setup...but I'm more in love with your black one :)
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Cheers Steve 👍

I forgot to mention that the seat is new! Same style as the old one but this one is synthetic leather as opposed to fabric. I changed it out as the original one was two years old and was getting tatty and worn. Hopefully this one will wear a bit better...
 
Where's the seat from mate? I tried an OMP seat without doing any research, I sold it after using it for 30 minutes cos it was too small :ouch: Your's is the sort of thing I wanted....
I enjoy my GT Omega seat cos it's comfy but being a recliner it's not as stable as a one piece..

Do you fix the upright of the seat mover frame to the back of the seat? I'm always puzzled as to whether people do or not and it's never really clear in pictures.

I love the black actuator covers, they look really meaty 👍

EDIT - Scratch that...just looked on your site and that's the same seat I had lol :(
 
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