Are YOU a NEW MEMBER? Introduce HERE!

Hey guys!
Fred here (aka ricthot... don't ask! ).

I've been drawn to the simulation world for so long that I prefer not thinking about when it started exactly, it makes me feel too old ... vague memories of FA18 Interceptor on my Amiga 500 comes to mind as I'm typing this .

I have mostly been into military flying simulation on and off and still remember the first time I saw a motion platform used with MS Flight Simulator at a local game convention... I was in awe!
Fast track to today... I started sim raing a few months ago, mostly on Assetto Cora and F1 2020 / F1 2021 and can't get enough of it.

I'm in a place in my life now where I have more time for myself, and in a better financial position to start thinking about a project I never imagined would be accessible... Building a sim racing rig with motion capabilities.

I'm not looking for a super sophisticated setup. I literally watched hundred of videos, and read countless topics here on the forum so have a pretty good idea of where I want to go. I'd like it to be as silent as possible, not take too much space and pretty much just give some additional feedback as I'm racing virtually.

I don't know if I can qualify this as a project yet, as I'm still at the reading stage and trying to collect as much data as I can, but I'm pretty motivated to move forward. If you notice my avatar... this is what I see right now when thinking about this motion hobby... a long winding road hopefully going somewhere.

So what did I achieve so far? Well, as sasid above, beside watching hours of videos and reading hundreds of posts, (oh, and finally posting something here on the forum), I have dug out the old box of electronics from the storage room, plugged in the Arduino, a couple servos and a potentiometer, and started gettin my brain back in geeky stuff . My progress so far? LOL, not much... I have successfully ran a pre-made sketch that moves a servo back and forth 180 degress... ok I know I know, a monkey could do that, but the idea was to get back into the right mindset and make sure I could still connect 6 wires to an Arduino!!!
Next, I wrote my own mind boggling 20 lines long sketch that control the servo using a potentiometer... wooohooo, that is as close as I got to a motion platofrm so far... twisting that pot back and forth, fast, slow, slow-fast, fast fast, slooooow, and imagining it being a full fledge motion rig.

Baby steps!!! The whole point is that before diving in that deep rabbit hole that seems to be the motion platform hobby, I will build a POC that can run on the corner of my desk. The 3D printer is currently printing a few bits, servo holders, miniature sim racing seat, and the next step of the journey will be to TRY to make this work with an actual game.

I have what to do next, I'll keep on reading. I guess I'm at the point where I must choose a software and try to get that miniature seat moving.

Anyhow, sorry for the long intro post, thanks for reading!

Cheers!

Fred, from Quebec, Canada.

Hi guys,

Wolle from Germany here. I'm in the process of converting one of my old dirtbikes for indoor "riding".

So far, most of the basic things work in games like throttle, brake (just 1 so far), clutch, shifting, horn, lights, signals etc (added stuff from electric scooters). It has a bass shaker, a dash, and a soundbar inside the exhaust for the right feeling. Now it's time to add some motion, which will probably keep me busy for a long time.

Obviously, motorcycle sims will always be arcadish due to physical restrictions without real movement, but it's already fun to ride so who cares, right?

Looking forward to do some indoor wheelies.

Hello everyone. Long time lurker. Figured it was time to dive in a bit deeper. Got my feet with with some basic shakeit/rumble motors for racing and now I was given, what I hope, are some decent parts to build a DD wheel so that will be my next stop. Thanks for all the information that I have already gone through and I look forward to deeper learning and in depth discussions.

Hello everyone, first off what a great website for people to share their projects and ideas. I've looked at quite a few projects and read through some other forums to get an idea of the things that are successful and things that are not. I plan on making a 6 DOF and will take some inspiration from CLEOPHUS and SILENTCHILL but I would really like to have a much smaller footprint than theirs (perhaps like a DOF Reality H6/P6) but we'll see. Currently making a spreadsheet of the materials I need to keep track as well as get a sense of the cost. Right now the hardest decision I'm trying to make is the type of worm gear drive and motor I want to use that has that good mix of speed and power.

Will do and thanks for the friendly welcome!

Hi from London UK,

im building a budget 3 dof motion platform using repurposed machinery, I've been collecting parts for the last few months, I have already assembled most of the mechanical drive train for the first two axis' .

i haven't seen a design quite like mine attempted.. I am using 24v geared motors from an electric wheel chair, directly driven, with rotary encoders on the end of the shafts and a feedback loop within an arduino, I have basic movement commands working...I stumbled on this site and simtools, whilst researching telemetry outputs from games, as this is the only field I haven't worked in previously,

I hope to get a new thread up for my build in the upcoming weeks.

Thanks for the warm welcome, My thread starts today!

Hello everybody.

I've been flirting with the idea of having a Motion Sim as early as 2015, but never did anything. I mean, not until today. I've been tinkering around and I'm considering an ambitious 4DOF for my first design. This is my very first step into it and I'm excited for the adventure such project will have!

You can all me Culik as it is both my profile and last name. Now, a little background of myself
I'm a brazilian mechanical engineer who took a liking on programming and electronics whilst on college. I was an atypical guy from the very beggining when comparing to my classmates and ended working with healthcare equipments as a consequence. I currently do maitenance work with medical imaging equipments ranging from smaller radiography readers to CT Scanners and MRI.

As I'm still a busy guy myself, any posts, updates, etc, will take place on weekends which will also give plenty of time for me to study and avoid unnecessary costs and stress.

Thanks!

Hey all.

Just started on the motion sim project after watchingDMAX videos on YouTube I currently have a static rig with the thrustmaster tmx Pro wheel and pedals and a home made h pattern shifter. I've also ordered some wheelchair motors arduino and some ibt 2 motors to start the ball rolling looking forward to getting some more tips and info on here. Cheers

Hi, not new member but first post after trying to do my first thread too. I'm from Barcelona

Thank you, great community, anxious to test simtools with my new rig

Hello,
My name is Dan, I've been a member for some time but finally purchased my pro license and unlimited profile downloads. I also own an old Frex simconmotion and purchased the single box to change over to xsimulator.
I've had it for years now but just didn't get around to trying this process yet. I'm a general contractor by trade.
Mostly installing commercial spray paint booths, conveyors and ovens for powder coating. I also build computers for friends and family. Where I lack is software. I'm sure I will have questions at some point to get this working. I live in Syracuse NY. Looking forward to getting to know some of you!