custom VART 3DOF VR Racing Sim

Picked up an abused VART 3dof. The previous owner got it from a mall after a VR arcade shut down and abandoned their equipment. Got it at a steal, but it had been stored outside for a few months in a coastal region. Had a bit of water damage and interior and electronics where caked in damp dust.

Spoiler: Seller's Images

Loaded the thing up, that took some doing, and brought it home. First thig was to brush it out and wipe it down.

Spoiler: Cleaned up OK

Cleaned up the electronics next. Disassembling the low voltage poer supplies, servo driver and interface and scrubbed them down with alcohol to remove curosion.

All the low voltage equipment was switchable 110v / 220v so I could run it no prob on my 120v 60hz home electricity. The servo driver however is AC 220v 50hz, so with a line filter and some very scary wiring I placed it all in the shell and temporarily wired. Everything powered up and the servos homed to start position. This is when I came here after exhausting myself trying to get software from the Chinese manufacturer or one of their resellers.

@yobuddy and @noorbeast were immediately helpfull and with some back and forth and plenty of testing we got a SimTool 3 interface plugin for the SC-MBOX / MD-MBOX interface.

During this back and forth I dropped the frame and mounted the cockpit.

Spoiler: Assembled

Just recently we nailed down the interface plugin settings. And with the arrival of some parts I ordered I whent to work re mounting and re wiring the electronics. Now just waiting on a face plate to mount the network ports.

Spoiler: Final Wiring

Probably whent over board with the onboard switch and accompanying ports, but this way I can run it as it is now, wired to remote pc, or drop an onboard rig in, or connect to rear with laptop for testing. Have 1 network port seperate for USB over ethernet extender to run remote periferals. Now just need to figure out mounting solutions for e-brake, shifter, throttle and stick.

Just took my first ride. Booted Project Cars and did a few laps of Laguna Seca in a Focus RS. Wow that was disconcerting. Cockpit has some geometry issues, definitely made for Asians or children. With chair all the way back the pedals are just a bit to close ant the wheel is just a bit far away. Seatbelt had some routing issues, just needed to rethread a couple buckles. Need to figure out how to force the Quest controlers to stay active. Without them being used as tracking for motion compensation you end up drifting around the car, head poking into the wheel well or floating above the roof. Having controller go inactive gives far worse results than having no motion componsation to begin with.

Ok got project cars tuned in with the rs. Then tried a cart race and was battered by the motion sim. Need to make some softer profiles for stiffer rides.

Well got an update. Shortly after my last post I got it tuned in for project cars 1/2 and dirt. Put alot of time in the sim and am loving it. However with the accessories I have not bothered installing ( Vanity shell, side steps, motor cages) it takes up a ton of space. I will be listing it for sale locally and then using the funds to buy the same MBOX driver and pistons and making a custom rig that takes up less space as I am very happy with performance of the electronics especialy as a larger fellow. Here is a use video I took for the sales ad.