Low cost 2DOF/3DOF/6DOF motion simulator - DOF REALITY

Thank you so much!

So you do have both the transducers and the butt kicker mounted at the same time?

What do you have for audio card inside your pc to connect to these devices ?

I am not sure I understand instead what u use for the pedals and the wheel to add vibration to them.

I have backed the feelvr wheel and pedals that are under development and should be released at some point in time.

Thanks so much, will be looking into this, very interesting!

My P3 Is comming this week, and i already have 2 buttkickers and 2 lighter transducers.

Maybe you can write down in the other forum how to built the G-seat?

Whats the total cost and built time you think?

Thanks!

Would you please share the locations where you will be mounting the 2 buttkickers and the 2 transducers, after you finish mounting/setting up your new p3?

My P3 setup. Logitech wheel and pedals. Seat is from a 2001 Chevy Cavalier.
Granddaughter's first driving lesson.

I simply disconnected the leads from the power supply to the fans and soldered the temperature controlled regulator in between.
Then attach the temperature sensor with thermal paste to a motor controller.

I have my DOF Reality seat mover M2 up and running. It is a good piece of hardware that provides a lot of seat movement. My challenge now is to find software settings that provide movements that best compliment running iRacing, the only sim I use. Anyone considering a seat mover should strongly consider the M2. Priced at $999 USD, shipped, the M2 costs much less than Next Level Racing’s V3. For years I wanted a V3, but just didn’t think paying $3,000 was worth it. Even the used ones I thought about buying were over $2,400. So, when I stumbled upon the M2 in the iRacing forums and then did some research about DOF Reality, I decided to give the M2 a try. I’m glad I did.

Anyone considering the M2, should also take a hard look at getting one of DOF Reality’s full motion rigs. I could have gotten their full motion H2 for $1,534 USD shipped. I had space considerations and did not want to have to buy new triple monitor stands, so I opted instead for the M2. In hindsight, I’m not sure that was the right move. There is always some buyer’s remorse with type purchases.



Ordering

The ordering process was very smooth. When I placed the order, DOF Reality emailed me that it would take about three weeks for it to be produced and delivered, and that is exactly how long it took.

September 3: M2 ordered
September 13: M2 shipped from Zaporizhia, Ukraine via TNT.
September 21: M2 delivered to me in Columbia, SC, USA via FedX (delivery was attempted the day before, but since no one was home, they left a door tag, which I signed and left on the door for delivery the next day)

There were no import issues or costs. It showed up at my door just like I had ordered it from a US retailer.

Packaging

The M2 and its controller came in one box with the contents encased in Styrofoam. It was very well packaged and was delivered with no damage to the box. Some of the Styrofoam was brittle, so keep a vacuum cleaner nearby when removing the contents (or better yet, do it in the garage).

Tale of the Tape

The M2 weighs about 19 pounds. The connecting cables are 4.5 feet long.
The control box is made of metal and is well constructed, but a little on the large size: 12” wide, 10.5” deep, 5.25” high, and weighs about 7 pounds. The fans in the control box are very loud, but I game with headphones, so it is not an issue for me.

Mounting Seat

I had a seat from an old rSeat RS EVO V3 that I needed to mount to the M2. The problem was the mounting holes on top of the M2 were only 13.5 inches apart, which was too narrow for the side seat mounts I was using. I had to place two 17 inches long flat steel bars on top of the M2 to give me the proper spacing. Not difficult, but a step I had not anticipated.
In order to position your seat in the best center of gravity position on the M2, you will need to have it mounted on seat slider rails, which fortunately I had.

Attaching M2 to Rig

I needed to attach the M2 to my Fast Track Sims’ GT-R2 rig. The GT-R2 has a very low seating position and I needed to attach the M2 without raising my seat too high, since my triple monitors were already near their highest point. I made a wood box and bolted the M2 to it, and then bolted the box sides to the side rails of the GT-R2. In order to get the right center of gravity for the seat on the M2, I had to move my seat much further forward that I had it previously, but fortunately I was able to move the wood box back far enough in the GT-R2 to make it all work. I am sitting higher than before, but think I can move the monitors slightly higher, but haven’t done so yet because of all the monitor mount disassembly I’ll have to do (a real pita).
DOF Reality has mounting options for the M2 for various cockpits, like the Playseat. I selected the floor mount version because of how low it sits so that I could keep my seat as low as possible. I ended up about 2 inches higher than my seat was previously. I’m finding that I like the angle of hitting my brake pedal better in the higher position, which has been an unexpected benefit of the higher seating position.

Connecting to Computer

DOF Reality makes it real easy to get the M2 up and running. They provide a good set of instructions and a software package that installs the driver and SimTools software and game plugins. It took minutes for me to have the M2 moving around. I was not getting much movement with me sitting in the seat, but after some emails with DOF Reality, I moved the forward and made a change in the SMC3 utility software and all was well.

Using SimTools

I’m now learning how to use SimTools. It’s not the most user friendly software. I’ve read the manual and have been scouring these forums, but still have lots of questions. I’ll be posting some of them to get help.

@xxpelle Can you post tuning settings for ED to https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...oject-cars-2-can-anyone-share-me-theirs.11273 ?

ED Tuning

I came across a 12-28V hourmeter in my debris, so decided to add it to the P3.
So I opened the box.
I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of workmanship.
I had the idea that DOF was kind of a garage operation, but the box and contents were very well designed and assembled.
I've been inside boxes from all of the big players, and DOF was as good as any and better than most.

I'm also interested on the M2 seat mover. Does anybody have experience with them that they would like to share?

Thanks!

https://www.xsimulator.net/communit...imulator-dof-reality.8570/page-40#post-164254

Thanks! but i would like to get more in depth review on it. Like how fast is the reaction time of the motors? is there any noticeable lag or play on the seat like others had mentioned? How does it compare to the NL V3? How is it with VR?

This is for anyone using the 3Dof for flight. How do you get on with mapping traction loss to Extra3 i.e. yaw per sec? I find the gear slack a bit frustrating especially on the ground with a twitchy plane. Gear slack isn't so bad for pitch and roll because there is often positive weight on each motor but for traction losss its pretty jerky on change of direction.

I've experimented with mods like attaching bungee to keep tension to one side but it hasn't been fery successful.

Thank you Nimzovich for your detailed experience with the M2, and welcome to the forums.

Having returned my defective NLRv3 to Best Buy for a refund I had taken a serious look at the M3, but in the end opted to go the DIY route.
If it had been $1000 Canadian shipped then I probably would have bought one myself.

Have you taken a look to confirm that all of the individual components such as the motors, motor controllers, electronics are easy to source for if/when repairs are needed?

What do they use for electronics, proprietary or off the shelf type stuff like Arduino, MonsterMoto, Sabertooth, Pololu JRK's, etc?

Also, are they using basic pots for feedback, or hall effect sensors?

I'm asking because I have yet to see any in-depth reviews, teardowns or detailed photos from either the public or any sim racing gear review sites.

Motor lag: Nothing you'd notice
Play: Some gearing play - I adjusted CoG forward so that I always have weight on all motors
VR: All I use it for
NL V3: No idea
Conclusion: Well built, good engineering, good value for money, 3rd DOF a bit iffy (doesn't apply to seat mover). Personally I might have considered the Simukit as I'd like a good heave force, probably more than a yaw.

More about the experience (I use it for flying) for anyone new to this stuff
Don't think you're getting close to the "real thing". You get the sensation of movement as you typically map acceleration forces to seat movements not your actual attitude. Lots of videos where the driver is thrown around like crazy make for a good video but in reality people dial down the movements for a more satisfying experience. There is no "real and accurate" configuration for motion platforms.

Thanks! I’ll be using this mainly for sim racing. I’ve seen reviews of the NL V3 on YouTube and from what I understand, the M2 has stronger and quicker motors. That in turn will have a better experience when racing. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

You could save yourself a lot of hassle and buy one of these - http://simracinggarage.com/sim-racing-studio-shakekit-review/

After adding one of your harness tensioners I quickly lashed up a test with these air bladders. I have only one set working for a quick test. In my case the seat is just the right size for me and simply the pressure of my body pushs the air back quickly, if you were much smaller than the seat it wouldn't work as well.

Thanks to xxpelle, had fun playing with this and will probably build a more permanent solution when I have time.

I am very pleased that someone recreates the pneumatic G-Seat.
I hope he spreads.

""