Showroom Its not pretty and probably not DIY but it was cheap and it works.....

Hi All,
after a few years of thinking about buying or building a sim I finally bit the bullet and built the most basic one I could think of. I have no patience or skill for a complicated build so I wanted something that I could put together in a few hours.

Here is what I bought:

2 SNC5s from eBay. I got them really cheap which is the main reason I started.
MDF
Universal Motion Seat Kit from Simexperience
24v power supply
2x Devantech USB-RS485
4 port USB hub
USB cables
A box to put it all in so I don't electrocute the cat.
Racing Seat

Already using........
G27 Racing Wheel bolted to desk
Oculus Rift. Brilliant....Breathtaking....I will never use a screen again......
PC with 2x980 GTX SLI does not work on PCars so 1x980GTX is enough........

So really all I did was bolt the seat kit to a bit of MDF, wire it up, and shove it up to my desk. Not really DIY but a fast and cheap way to experience a racing simulator for those who have no time or skill.



Many thanks to those out there that did spend the time to write guides on how to wire up the SNC5s. I tried to find a wiring kit but in the end I opened up the SNC5s and made my own cables. That was my stupid mistake. Really stupid, It took me ages and in the end it wasn't really worth it.

The next problem was that the actuator would not work with Simtools. So rather than take everything apart I tried X-Sim 3. It quickly found that the ILK was not connected which caused a bit of frantic googling which was when I discovered that I had Japanese spec SNC5s and the ILK was on the GND. I originally followed the wiring diagram but ended up removing the Z-Diode and resistor and just connecting the ILK to the GND. Once I did this X-Sim 3 found the actuators and I was good to go. Well I would have been if X-Sim 3 wasn’t such a baffling complicated beast. Its brilliant and beautiful but all I want is a "Go" button.

So back to Simtools and I had everything running in about 10 minutes! It’s a great feeling to get the actuators to move for the first time!!!!

So now the questions:

1. Do I need the resistor and Z-Diode to the ILK? It all works fine as it is...
2. Can anyone explain the profiles in Simtools. I get axis 1 and 2 but the DOF settings are a bit baffling. I am sure I will have an epiphany at some point but I think I need a nudge in the right direction.
3. Is there a perfect racing profile out there for the SCN5s?

Many many thanks to all those that spent time and effort contributing to this forum. I really would be lost without your collective genius and hopefully I can contribute when I have more knowledge and experience.

And before you say anything about my sim I can confirm that MDF is not the best and I will replace it with steel once I clean out the garage and learn how to weld. In the meantime I will keep the settings on the low side to avoid being thrown out of my window... and no its not funny crashing into me at the start of every race in PCARS......

Nice setup on a budget !!

With the aluminium chassis it also looks the part now!

Replaced ugly traction loss wooden slider thing with £15 appliance rollers from amazon. 32 wheels in total.