Question SCN Home position when GameEngine starts is incorrect

Hi All,
I am having an issue where my SCN6's are not correctly centering when GameEngine loads.
If I run the homing routine before running GameEngine it finds the endpoints of each SCN and centers as expected, however, when I load GameEngine and it does its initializing routine, the "home" points are off center on all 3 DOF.
The sim is usable and has full motion as expected (running iRacing) but the "home" position is not correct.
I can go into Output Testing and move each axis into the correct position but once Output testing is turned off, all actuators go back to the "fake" home.

Hardware Details:
1. DIY
2. 3 DOF (roll, pitch & yaw)
3. SCN6 actuators
4. SCN interface

Software Details:
1. Simtools 2.2
2. iRacing 64bit plugin
3. Settings are as per attached.

Thanks.

Hi noorbeast,

The physical design of our rig is 1 actuator per axis in a pitch/yaw/roll. Here is a video from testing earlier today using the settings above:



I understand about potential issues with percentages being over 100% total, however this homing issue occurs when I first start GameEngine, long before I even start iRacing. I believe the issues lies in the startup sequence when GameEngine is first loaded. From what I have watched in other builders videos, GameEngine startup should drive each axis to the end points and then return to the middle "home" position, however this doesn't happen.

I have made sure that there are no mechanical binding issues with the rig, and when I use a testing program, all axis home correctly.

Does GameEngine allow access to the startup script when using SCN's?
Does GameEngine HAVE to re-home the actuators on startup or can it run from a "pre-homed" position?

Finally, I appreciate any and all feedback you can give on the axis assignments and profile I am using.

Cheers.

Hi yobuddy,

Thanks for your reply. The homing method for SCN's is to drive to the extents, detect peak torque and then halve the distance to give the "home" position. What seems to be happening on GameEngine startup is that it doesn't get all the way to the first extent (e.g. yaw Right), but is DOES get all the way to the second (yaw Left), and then when GameEngine calculates the mid point it is mechanically off center. We use Axis Limiting set to 90% to protect the actuator end points (as per the SimTools documentation) during game run, but to know where that 90% is, the actuators MUST find the absolute end points during the homing sequence.

If the homing sequence doesn't find the end points, we end up using only a fraction of the available safe movement, and have varying "home" positions depending on where the actuators were positioned when GameEngine was started.

Hi yobuddy,

A little more information... This rig has been running with these actuators for about a year using previous versions of SimTools. The end detection and centering in the older versions was perfect and the mechanical design of these SCN mounts, lever arms and the actual SCN's hasn't changed. I don't want to be forced to re-engineer all 3 actuator mounts and lever geometry.

Is it possible to "pre-home" the SCN's before starting GameEngine and then have it run from that position without needing to re-home?

Hi yobuddy,

That is the software I have been using to check whether the issue with the SCN's or with GameEngine. I used it to troubleshoot error codes and jog the actuators to confirm they had full travel. I didn't use this software to check the homing though. For all applications using SCN's (prior to building this sim rig) we have written a VB tool that allows us to connect, home and jog as needed. Using this bit of software allows us to check that the SCN's are exactly at their midpoint prior to designing mounts and lever arms. For previous versions of SimTools the homing in GameEngine has always matched what our software did.

You mentioned a new SCN interface. I downloaded a fresh copy of v2.2 on the weekend... would this be included in the latest release? If not, s there a link where I can download this to test?

If you are able to write an SCN interface that acts the same as previous versions that would be awesome.

Enjoy your LAN party

@Jeremy Corbett heave doesnt work in iracing plugin
use extra2 for heave

Thank you! Are you able to share your axis settings for iRacing?

@yobuddy, is there a possibility to change the scn plugin to have a servo gain setting in simtools ?
I have changed this with the "Dyadic/Miraiintertech TBVST/Termi-BUS command output tool" and the gain setting.
I think this would be a very welcome feature for those who want to bring down the noise level on theirs SCNs.

I remembered @Historiker had an issue with the plugin awhile ago where heave was causing his rig to go to the top of the heave axis. If im not mistaken it has to do with the way Iracing reports gravity calc. its not zero it reports a 1 as 0
yes ill take a screenshot l8r today. my heave/extra2 is only at 1 or 2 tho because of sensitivity.

@Jeremy Corbett I would also suggest using sway instead of roll. roll will give you track angle but it doesnt degrade as it should with the addition or increase of sway thru the turns. this is most evident at higher banked high speed turns. it may just be the way the game reports at this time.

@yobuddy Have you had a chance to look at the updated startup routine that homes the same as previous version and external tools?
Thanks,

@yobuddy Thank you! I will let you know the results ASAP.
Cheers

@yobuddy

I have the same problem.

SCN's TBVST and Simtools 1.3 are located exactly in the center.

In 2.2, the position is slightly out of place.