Simulated Wind using MonsterMoto and ArduinoUno

For me is sufficient to connect this kit to simhub.
I have not simtools by now.
Is it possible to work with only simhub?
Thc

Dear @noorbeast
Unfortunately I am completely not skilled on these things.
Is there a link where I can follow steps in order to do the correct setup for simhub?
Thx a lot

No idea about stetch, (sketch?) but if it works under SimTools, it probably just uses the standard “S” commands.

Look up Arduino and get the free compiler. It has a terminal program you can use to talk to a com port and if you enter S100 your fans should run a bit under full speed. S255 is full speed. S000 is off. Note the command is an S followed by three digits. To send a 10 it’s S010. 5 is S005. Useful for testing. Obviously to use with Simhub you need to sort them communicating but you can at least test with the Arduino compiler monitor.

Can’t help you with Simhub, though.

dear ALL
thx u so much

done, followed instructions in simhub wiki, helped by the discussion about the simwind kit here .....
helped by wonderful @Keith
i have uploaded a sketch in arduino.
working perfectly... wind till real 80kmh on my face and ocuculs.
thx a lot to everyone.
now next task belt-tensioner....

Hey guys I set up my wind sim using Arduino and motor shield but I couldn’t get sim hub and simtool to work at the same time so now I would love to us simtool v3 wind sim software. My question is can I use the same Arduino and motorsheild driver from sim hub on simtool v3. Do I need to send a different code to Arduino? Or do I need to buy another motor driver. In the pic is what I have.

I basically have the same issue/question. A couple weeks ago I followed the video you referenced and have a working wind sim with SimHub, but I would prefer to use SimTools because of the port conflicts between the two programs. Right now I can only use one program or the other, motion and vibe on SimTools or close SimTools and load up SimHub to experience Wind. I cannot get the two programs to work together due to port issues. Anyway, I made the switch to wind with SimTools and loaded the most recent sketch into the Arduino Uno and I have confirmed that I have output from LFS to GameDash and I also can see the data coming into the Arduino (S001, S002, S003+ as speed goes up) with a port sniffer. However I get no movement at all from the fans. One thing that is different, the hardware in the video and pictured in the post by stanley johnson is the Adafruit Motor Shield V2, which is what I have. It is not the Monster Motor Shield mentioned throughout the posts I have seen for building a wind sim with SimTools. Could this be the problem? Does the Arduino sketch only work for the Monster Motor Shield and not the Adafruit Motor Shield V2? Thanks for any input.

Thanks! I have been searching through the various wind posts and FAQ, but did not see that adafruit post! I am going to give this a go, if it works out well I will post the code.

Based on your advice I made a sketch for the Adafruit Motor Shield V2 (AMSv2) using all the hard work of sallerding, Zed, SilentChill, Avenga76, and others. It's an option for people who do not have a Monster Moto or who may have started with a wind sim built for SimHub using the AMSV2 and wish to use their existing hardware with SimTools. The procedures and settings in GameDash remain the same, you just need to load this sketch and it should work with AMSV2. I tested the sketch using the EZDIY 120mm 200CFM 1.3A fans that are recommended in the DIY video tutorials for SimHub like this one:

You should change the Idlespeed setting in the sketch to what you prefer for your rig after you get it running. I left a small Idlespeed value in the sketch so that the fans come on when you load it. That may help with determining if your fans and hardware are wired/working properly without having to load a game. If anyone has any questions I will try to help. The attached file is .txt extension you can change the extension to .ino or copy and paste it into IDE and save. Here is the sketch text in case the file does not work for you:

// Arduino code to achieve wind simulation with the Adafruit Motor Shield V2 instead of the Monster Moto
// Based on the work of sallerding, Zed, SilentChill, Avenga76, and others with inspiration from noorbeast
// Supports right,left and traditional serial speed output from GameDash (R000, L000, S000)
// Adafruit Motor Shield V2 library is required to be added to Arduino IDE interface prior to uploading sketch
// Please wire your two fans to motor ports M1 and M3 on the adafruit Motor Shield V2 (Not M1 and M2)
// This will utilize both mosfets on the board and reduce the potential for overheating with 1.3 Amp fans

// Version Date 01_28_2023

#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_MotorShield.h>

#define FALSE 0
#define TRUE 1
#define BOTH 0
#define LEFT 1
#define RIGHT 2

// Define a fan idlespeed here if you prefer to have your fans on all the time for ventilation
// A default idlespeed is set so that you know the sketch is working, set to 0 for no fans at idle
#define Idlespeed 20

int Speed = 0;
int bufferArray[4];
int whichFan = BOTH;

// Create the motor shield object with the default I2C address
Adafruit_MotorShield AFMS = Adafruit_MotorShield();

// Set port M1 for Motor 1 (Left fan)
Adafruit_DCMotor *Motor1 = AFMS.getMotor(1);
// Set port M3 for Motor 3 (Right fan)
Adafruit_DCMotor *Motor3 = AFMS.getMotor(3);

void setup()
{
AFMS.begin(); // Initialize the shield
Serial.begin(9600); // Initialize serial communication

// Initialize motors at idlespeed
Motor1->setSpeed(Idlespeed);
Motor1->run(FORWARD);
Motor3->setSpeed(Idlespeed);
Motor3->run(FORWARD);
}

void loop()
{
ReadData();

if (whichFan == BOTH)
{
Motor1->setSpeed(Speed);
Motor3->setSpeed(Speed);
Motor1->run(FORWARD);
Motor3->run(FORWARD);
if (Speed == 0)
{
Motor1->run(RELEASE); // Release the motor
Motor3->run(RELEASE); // Release the motor
}
}

if (whichFan == LEFT)
{
Motor1->setSpeed(Speed);
Motor1->run(FORWARD);
if (Speed == 0)
{
Motor1->run(RELEASE); // Release the motor
}
}

if (whichFan == RIGHT)
{
Motor3->setSpeed(Speed);
Motor3->run(FORWARD);
if (Speed == 0)
{
Motor3->run(RELEASE); // Release the motor
}
}
}

void ReadData()
{
// We need 4 characters - the command followed by three digits

bool haveCommand = FALSE;
bool haveStart = FALSE;

while (haveCommand == FALSE) // can't exit until have a full valid cddd command
{
// where c is a valid char and ddd is a valid 3
// character representation of three digits

// Valid command always starts with an S (legacy for both fans), L (left fan), or R (right fan)
while (haveStart == FALSE)
{
while (Serial.available() == 0); // spin and wait for data
bufferArray[0] = Serial.read(); // have data, read it

if (bufferArray[0] == 'S') //S
{
whichFan = BOTH;
haveStart = TRUE;
}
else if (bufferArray[0] == 'L') //L
{
whichFan = LEFT;
haveStart = TRUE;
}
else if (bufferArray[0] == 'R') //R
{
whichFan = RIGHT;
haveStart = TRUE;
}
}

// Now need the numbers - will just read three and throw them away if any don't qualify
// if we unsynchronize, it will fail valid digits and go back to waiting for command char
for (int i = 1; i < 4; i++) // read and label each byte.
{
while (Serial.available() == 0); // spin and wait for each character to arrive
bufferArray = Serial.read(); // store as they come in
}

// Check the numbers for validity
if (isDigit(bufferArray[1]) && isDigit(bufferArray[2]) && isDigit(bufferArray[3]))
// all are numbers - have a full cddd command
haveCommand = TRUE; // otherwise start over looking for a new and valid command
}
// Now turn that into a number and clip to 255 - rely on Game Dash for proper scaling
Speed = ((bufferArray[1]-48)*100) + ((bufferArray[2]-48)*10) + ((bufferArray[3]-48)*1);
//Serial.println(SpeedGameDash);
if (Speed > 255)
Speed = 255;
// Add logic for idle speed defined above by user
if (Speed < Idlespeed)
Speed = Idlespeed;
}

ok guys i got the fans to come when i downloaded the sketch and changed defined idlespeed to 0 to get them to stop and not run all the time for ventilation. now what do i need to do in simtool v3 to get the fans to work with the car speed?

Stanley, I am using SimTools V2, but from what I can tell the process is about the same but easier. Enable GameDash output (it comes standard in V3), configure an arduino interface with the standard settings pointed to your com port, and edit the config file with the data seen in the image below. Maybe you can provide a post on the specifics of V3 when you get it running. I tested mine in LFS first as its the easiest to test in. Good luck!

Great summary! Thanks for posting. Unfortunately, I cannot locate the place in SimTools V3 where I would enter the "S<Dash1>" line in Interface - Output. Also in SimTools V3, I cannot find where I actually enter the Output Rules like I would in the Command Editor. Can anyone assist?

@Chipless

@Chipless If you click on the pencil I guess under speed it will take you to the next screen where you can type in math*1 Round0 and pad30. but still have not got the fans to work

I'm not on V3, but just looking at the overview it seems pretty easy. Do you have the licensed version? You should see Dashboard Settings. Here as a screen grab showing where you would input the data for wind simulation, under speed click the little pencil and input the same 3 lines in Dash Outputs 1.