Silly(c)One's first 2DOF SCN5 racing sim

Hello all,

Finally I take the time to introduce myself and my current build.

I'm a 36 years old belgian geek. I used to be a web and industrial developer and linux sysadmin but had to quit working for health reasons (burnout). I'm a DIY kind of guy, I love to build things, and after building a few arcade sticks, I found a video of Chris using X-Sim in Dirt2 and I immediately knew what would be my next project... I had just received my Fanatec wheel and clubsport pedals and of course wanted to build something related to racing hardware ; X-Sim gives me the opportunity to build lots of things using many skills.

It's a constant work in progress, I find new things to do everyday
For the moment, this is the status of my project in Sketchup (I'll post my model when it's finished)


- 2DOF motion racing sim with SCN5 and a U-joint: waiting for the last parts (a few pieces of profile, the SCN5s, Silent Blocks) to add motion to the cockpit, expected in the next few days. (yay at last !!!)

- TV Support with Alu Profiles : done. (that was easy, one has to love those Alu Profiles !!!)

- Handbrake (digital) : done. A simple microswitch in a box with some tubing on a rose joint through a screw, a spring and a MINIPAC taken from an old dual arcade stick. Assigned to the letter H (of course :])



- Dashboard with a real 5 Rev Counter + Shift Light, digital gear indicator with rpm led bars and digital speedometer kmh, powered by an Arduino Mega : design and analysis are finished and parts are ordered, still waiting for some of them (Rev counter, 7 segment displays, led bar graphs), still figuring out the electronics aspect (powering and controlling the leds, which ICs to use - 74HC595/LM3914/ULN2003, etc.), still have to write the code and connect to X-Sim ;

- Statistics and buttons panel : analysis finished but waiting to find the perfect buttons to finish the design, all other parts already in stock. It will consist of 3 timers (current lap, last lap, best lap) in LEDs + a big LCD RGB character display (20x4) for all kind of secondary information that I can think of or that X-Sim can give me (lap num, lap total, actual position/total racers, water/oil temp, pit stop menu, whatever...) on USB -> Arduino + LM3914 + 74HC595 and a few customizable keys along with the basics (cursor/ENTER/ESC...) on the MINIPAC. Still have to build the electronics, analyze and write quite some code for the Arduino part, I will take care of that part after my dashboard probably in a few weeks (depending on the time it takes to setup the motion sim and finish the dashboard...)

I'll update this thread with more pictures in the next few days. In the meantime, feel free to comment or leave a suggestion

Cheers,
Silly(c)One.

Nice project!

Only one suggestion ... Assuming that you will reproduce your drawing, you should try to lower your screen height for more immersion. With this monitor size you could set it to match at least the center of your wheel or even the bottom...


Bleco

hi,
i agree with bleco with the screen.you can use the fanatic wheel with x-sim profil.make many better
ffb vor dirt.

Thanks for passing by

The TV in the Sketchup drawing is a bit off (didn't see that, tx btw), here's it looks in reality (from a lower and closer angle + realistic perspective):
I can assure you the immersion factor is there

Is that a 42 inch ?

Would you mind posting a pic from behind the wheel/seat so we have a better idea of your point of vue ?


Thx!




Bleco

Hello Bleco,

Yes that's my 42 (107 cm).
I can't take pictures right now because the rest of my profiles arrived today and I'm rebuilding the structure. As my seating position is 8cm lower in the new config, I'll have to readjust the monitor too (which isn't a problem due to the modularity of the alu profiles, damn I love them )

What I can tell you is that my eyes were approx. 8 inches from the top of the screen. Lower than that and the wheel is viewed higher than the hood (in the hood view that I prefer).

My rev counter arrived yesterday (it's a monster of 5/12.5cm) but I'm struggling a bit to move the needle with my Arduino.

I received the bill from the belgian customs for my SCN5's, that means they're close :yippiee:
The customs had them for 2 weeks before noticing me though, damn mafia those bastards

I think I forgot to mention one crucial element in my sim : the ButtKicker Gamer2. It should arrive from Germany soon... As well as the 2x Aura Interactor and 2x Bass Shaker 100W. I already had ordered the ButtKicker when I saw this thread in the hardware section giving the tip for the Bass Shaker, much cheaper (75€ for 2x Aura amp + 100w body shaker instead of 170€ for the ButtKicker Gamer2 alone.) I couldn't resist. I'll probably sell my ButtKicker on ebay if the 2 Bass Shakers are better...

Cheers,
Silly(c)One.

Ok, big pictures update...

First, the driver's view. I guess I'll lower the TV a little bit more (5 to 10cm).



Then the whole sim...








And a few details...








This is still largely under construction, pictures are not indicative of the final product

Feel free to comment...
Cheers,
Silly(c)One.

Great job so far

And it works !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gbAf5d_zwA (video still processing by Youtube...)

Well, at least I got that needle moving with the Arduino 8)
Now I have to test the connection with X-Sim and more challenging, connecting the 4 huge 7 segment digits and the led bar graphs with a MAX7219 coupled with 4 ULN2803A for the digits, due to the difference in voltage with the bar graphs (10V or 12V for the digits, depending on size - 4.5cm or 8cm tall, and probably around 3V for the bar graphs...)

Good news, I found some aluminium U profiles on ebay for the actuator arms (the bleco way) :yippiee:

Hey!

looking very good! and thx for the screen pic ;-)

now it's time to work on good motion profiles ... well if you finally get your scn5s!!

keep up the good work!



Bleco

Thanks !

I made another investment this week-end, and it's in the UPS plane : the Act-Labs RS Shifter 2006 with adapter rod for custom knobs 8)
Of course, a little visit to ebay right after got me a nice black chrome gear knob and the same leather gaiter I got for the handbrake to make it as real (and beautiful) as possible... All that for around half the price of the Sim-Gear in Europe. I know it's a matter of personnal preference, but when using the H-shifter, I'm not looking for Uber performance but for the pleasure of driving with it... I've driven a few hundred thousand kilometers in real cars with manual shifting (no race car though, hence the sim )

The SCN5's arrived :yippiee: 8)

As well as the Bass Shakers... 100W, they are HEAVY and I bet I will have my butt kicked enough :brows:

Damn, I still haven't got my U profiles and the missing rose joint (it's in the handbrake ), so I can't connect them today... Hmm I'll weld some quick replacement U profile in steel while I wait for the alu ones that should arrive @ the end of the week or next week... The rose joint should be there tomorrow or the next day... Damn I've been anticipating this day for so long :

That's it, I'm damned

1 SCN5 already stopped working !!!
I don't understand why, I did everything by the book, it worked at first, then I tested the second (with success) and when I tried connecting both, woops, the first one simply quit responding !

I've emailed egoexpress for help, I hope something can be done without sending the SCN5 back to Canada (took one month to arrive - more than 3 weeks stuck in customs and 193€ of import taxes )

On a positive note, the Act-Labs RS Shifter 2006 arrived yesterday (in just over 48h, Mirai Tech better change they shipping method ) and is working beautifully. I like the feeling a lot, it's very sturdy/mechanical (and noisy ).

I lowered the TV by 10cm and I think it's as low as it can get without missing half the screen behind the wheel

I'm also building a foot rest for comfort (I never know where to put my left foot when not using the clutch and haven't started left foot braking just yet )

And I'm starting to understand how X-Sim works, which is quite an achievement due to the (needed) complexity of the interface. I can't wait to solve my problems with the SCN5 to tickle with that powerful tool. In the meantime, I guess I'll keep working on my Rev Counter now that I know how to send values to it with the USO to the Arduino...

Cheers,
Silly(c)One.

YES !

Problem solved... I found the TBVST software on the web and found an alarm B9 code, hop in the manual, => shaft seized, I moved it by hand, reconnected it and voilà, working again

Back to the drill

:uups: :uups: :tape: :tape:

Hop, pardon Silly
De plus, il est conseillé d'uploader tes photos directement sur le forum d'X-Sim.
Peux-tu m'indiquer comment faire STP !? :

S'il-te-plait, crée ton propre post, ceci est dédié à ma config...

De plus, il est conseillé d'uploader tes photos directement sur le forum d'X-Sim.
Merci.

Bien à toi,
Silly(c)One.

J'ai, moi aussi, reçu mes SCN5 cette semaine (200€ de TVA ça fait mal, hein ?!) en provenance des USA.
Les tiens sont en 100 ou 150mm ? J'ai acheté l'ensemble vérins/interface USB chez simXperience (tout fonctionne très bien, il ne reste plus qu'à les monter !! J'ai créer un post pour cela (grâce à toi en fait !!))

...PARDON pour mon incursion mais je manque d'expérience sur les forums. (moi avoir vu 2DOF - SCN5 ... et toc c'est pour moi ça ..qu'il s'est dit le gô.... je découvre comment tout cela fonctionne. Étant autodidacte, je n'ai internet que depuis 3 mois dans ma campagne..)

J'ai regardé ton projet ! Très beau ! :clap:
En terme de réalisme, que dis-tu de l'idée de tout mouvoir et pas seulement le baquet.
Ton système de compte-tours est très intéressant.
Bon courage pour la suite...

Aplous' :hi:

uploading-and-posting-images-and-files-t2775.html

Hey!

cool that could fix your actuator issue ... I never had similar issues with mines and I wonder what could have made it seized ?? Is this a common issue ? What would be the cause ? ... Hope for you that it's not the first sign of a bigger problem ...



bleco

Well it seized again and this time I can't get it out of it

I've sent an email to Mirai, because following the manual, if it keeps seizing, it should be replaced... I guess it was defective from the start because all my tests were done without any load, and the second SCN5 is working perfectly with the exact same connexions...