Showroom DX - Compact Simulator

Yes if you recall I asked you about the balls screws @SeatTime, as a potential solution. I think I will go that way in future, both for the efficiency gain, unpowered holding capacity which I think you said was around 70kg and likely much better capacity to take constant high torque reversals.

Yep I will suck and see how the approaches I have taken to addressing the same issues you have picked up on go in actual practice @bsft.

I wired up the JRKs today. If I can get some time tomorrow I can throw it all back together and test some movement.

The wiring box the three JRKs sit on also houses the Arduino and two BECs for the surge table underneath, with the fuse box on one end. It looks a bit of a mess at the moment as there is a fair bit of cable management still to come, some of which hinges on how I decide to do the HOTAS and control box mounts. I am still playing with some different options there.

Can any of you Aussie RC fans recommend a supplier for these ball posts? I broke one when removing it from the surge plate.

Interesting @SeatTime, do you have the link where that can be found?

There is always Murphy's Law and I have been caught out with this one in the past where the USB cage on a brand new JRK is not properly attached to the board. I have notified the supplier and am waiting on a response.

I notified the Aussie supplier this morning @bsft once I did the video so it was clear what the issue is. I have found direct dealings with Pololu in the past have been pretty good.

The first time I struck this it was really difficult to pick as the JRKs were mounted under the fan inside the frame and you could not observe the LEDs.

The other thing is that vibration can either keep the usb connected for a while, or keep it from connecting, which is a real pain of a gremlin as it is inconsistent and as per the video it only takes a small amount of pressure one way or the other.

Not that I can see, the cage looks OK so I am guessing it is the pins, it only takes slight pressure to alter the contact.

I have struck the same problem before with a JRK from Pololu, more likely it is a batch issue.

I have actually been pretty impressed with the rapid responses from Peter Simmonds at the Aussie supplier Ocean Controls. Peter was happy for the JRK to be returned and a full refund being given on verification. Peter also offered to repair it, but I did not want to do so, both because of time and possible quality implications.

Some slow progress. I upgraded the motherboard for the sim computer.



I was not really happy with the mount for the 3 JRKs so I made up a new box to replace it...much neater. I just need to notch the surge plate a little more tomorrow to fit the fan and billet cover. The new box also houses the Arduino under the JRK mount plate and the fan speed and LED controls on the front. Air exits out of 2 alloy plates facing the inside of the sim.

The original mount was messy.



The new box is much neater and can be unplugged as a unit for servicing.

The fan speed control and LED light change switches are accessible on the front outside face of the housing.

Air exits toward the inside.

Thanks all for the encouragement.

The other bit I am focusing on is serviceability.

To make getting the control box in and out as a unit a bit easier the JRK USB hub has been relocated today, with a 2 part cover made for the left hand side of the sim base, which makes it easier to place the wiring loom inside the limited space of the sim base frame. The 500x500 base frame houses 3 PSUs, 2 USB hubs, an amp and subwoofer down the middle, plus the Fanatec power supply, so there is only a small space for the wiring loom and snap in loom connectors.