Black Max Derek Speare Button Box

[Jav]

Hey guys! I got this nice freebie from Derek about a month ago and wanted to share with you my thoughts! So, here we go!

I've been wanting one of this button boxes for quite some time now but couldn't come up with the cash (or an excuse to spend it).So I was browsing trough the iRacing forums and saw on one of his posts the add for a give away, offcourse I entered Derek's giveaway in the iRacing forums and a few weeks later to my surprise I recieved the e-mail from him giving me the great news! I was stunned as I had completely for got about it, he said he would ship it the next week and before I knew it 9 days later it was waiting for me at my door!

I had already made a base for a button box as I was anticipating getting one of them for xmass!

A bit banged up from beign shubbed under the bead for a month Lol!! But it will serve it's purpose just fine!

This is where is gonna be mounted:

So steering wheel removed this is how the base is gonna be mounted:

Holes drilled and base secured:

Now my solution for attaching the button box to the mounting base:

It's pretty solidly mounted and ready to go!

After a month of using this thing I can tell you there is no going back! This thing is awesome! On iRacing I have different functions assigned to the box like sit possition(FOV), the different black box displays, the ignition and starter, mute button, ARB settings, brake bias settings and a lot of other functions wich frees up the wheel's buttons for the more crucial functions! This thing was amazing at the Spa 2.4 as I never once had to reach over to the keyboard for anything! This pretty much eliminates the need for a keyboard!
For rFactor this thing becomes even more valuable as there are so much more necessary functions than there are buttons on the steering wheel and with this thing there's no need for the keyboard again! I did a Mount Panorama 2hr endurance at the start of January and this beauty was my savior! All pit adjustments, all on track functions within reach and easily distunguishable buttons makes it very intuitive and easy to learn what button is what!
Like I said before, I can't imagine going back to the keyboard now. This button box makes things so much easier and gives you that extra touch of immersion that a keyboard takes away from the whole experience!
I highly recomend this, it will make your life so much easier!
Special thanks to Derek Speare for beign such a great guy and helping out the community! Exellent service and support!
That's all for now! Hope you guys like it!

 

[Coxis]

His boxes are incredibly sexy, but on iRacing I feel that there are so few functions that I could map there. In other sims, like LFS you can map functions such as changing view, horn, left blinker, right blinker, hazard lights, headlights, traction control, ABS, I could go on...

But iRacing in its pursuit of realism (which is a good thing) doesn't have a lot of these functions. I feel like other sims could take more advantage of these boxes, but not iRacing.

 

[msrfrog]

cool. can this be used on gt5?

 

[left888]

I purchased his "Track Boss" which is pretty much the exact same layout as yours but mine has the colored buttons. I too use mine for iRacing and they give our rigs that much more immersion.

On mine I labeled all the buttons and switches, -brake bias+, Engine braking, Fuel mixture, black boxes, etc.. I also purchased his Pro Sequential Shifter and it is awesome, Derek is a very unselfish individual who is an asset to the sim community.

But iRacing in its pursuit of realism (which is a good thing) doesn't have a lot of these functions. I feel like other sims could take more advantage of these boxes, but not iRacing.

Actually there are a ton of functions in iRacing when you start looking at black boxes and such, in fact I use Xppadder because even the Track Boss doesn't have enough buttons and switches for iRacing.

 

[Jav]

I purchased his "Track Boss" which is pretty much the exact same layout as yours but mine has the colored buttons. I too use mine for iRacing and they give our rigs that much more immersion.

On mine I labeled all the buttons and switches, -brake bias+, Engine braking, Fuel mixture, black boxes, etc.. I also purchased his Pro Sequential Shifter and it is awesome, Derek is a very unselfish individual who is an asset to the sim community.

Man I've been wanting to do some nice labels for mine! Any advice? What labels did you used?

 

[the_greeze]

@Jav: I used a Brother P-Touch labelling machine for mine; white text on black tape. Looks cool and I really must update my thread with some pictures

 

[left888]

I have been using Photoshop since version 6, I have CS4 now and made up my own. Go to Derek's website, bottom of FAQ page and he has a bunch you just need to print out on to a label sheet. I'll post a pic of mine in the next day or so. I can send you a few sheets I made up.

 

[superbike81]

I purchased his "Track Boss" which is pretty much the exact same layout as yours but mine has the colored buttons. I too use mine for iRacing and they give our rigs that much more immersion.

On mine I labeled all the buttons and switches, -brake bias+, Engine braking, Fuel mixture, black boxes, etc.. I also purchased his Pro Sequential Shifter and it is awesome, Derek is a very unselfish individual who is an asset to the sim community.



Actually there are a ton of functions in iRacing when you start looking at black boxes and such, in fact I use Xppadder because even the Track Boss doesn't have enough buttons and switches for iRacing.

Yup XPadder is a great program for mapping keystrokes to buttons.

 

[Jav]

@Jav: I used a Brother P-Touch labelling machine for mine; white text on black tape. Looks cool and I really must update my thread with some pictures

Sweet! I'd like to see those pics!

I have been using Photoshop since version 6, I have CS4 now and made up my own. Go to Derek's website, bottom of FAQ page and he has a bunch you just need to print out on to a label sheet. I'll post a pic of mine in the next day or so. I can send you a few sheets I made up.

Saw that, looks real good! Is that what you used? Please let me know when you get those pics up, I'd like to see what others are using for inspiration.

Yup XPadder is a great program for mapping keystrokes to buttons.

What exactly is XPadder? Not sure I'm getting the concept... You mean like programing words to certain buttons? That would be extremely helpful for multiclass! A <=======Pass Left Pass Right=======> button would be so useful when driving the Ford or Vette!

 

[left888]

Xpadder is used for macros, giving buttons dual functions. If you find the thread at iRacing on Derek Speares button boxes there are a couple Xpadder profiles posted from users.

I use my own and have experimented with and without Xpadder. I am still not 100% set with my button box, I have been changing functions around to what works best for me.

I did not use any of Derek's decals for my button box, I made all mine in Photoshop and as I mentioned I am still moving them around, I pretty much stick to Road Racing but also set my box up for Ovals which I have been practicing a little now. I also am trying different color decals for different functions.

 

[Jav]

Looks pretty sweet!