Wooden 2 DOF Sim with integrated G-Seat, Fans, and Vibration

Dear all,

after introducing myself yesterday, let's get started with my brand new building thread.

As you can see in the title, I am going to build a 2 DOF seat mover based on jrk 12v12 controllers.

What I already did:

1. I quickly built a 2 DOF seat mover model with Fischertechnik, soldered the JRKs and connected them with motors and potentiometers. (The reason for building the model instead of starting with the big thing right away is that I want to see the complete setup working before spending weeks of construction.)
   
2. I configured the JRKs with the JRK Configuration Utility.
3. I did the interface settings and axis assignments in the SimTools software.

Now I am able to control the motors with the SimTools Game Engine (Output Testing).

All together I have spent about 4 evenings up to now. So far so good.

The next step will be going into the first game and see my model mover move in sync with some virtual vehicle. My first choice is the No Limits 2 rollercoaster. I already patched the game, but got stuck with the error message "Motion not supported, &H1B048D45".
In another thread I read that I may have a non-supported version of the game (it is the Steam-based version). Maybe I find some other hints.

After I have managed to get NLR2 running, I will connect a third JRK for producing an airstream.

And then I will finally start building the real thing! I have already bought most of the equipment, like wiper motors, a cardan joint, a power supply etc.

That's all for now.

No, wait. I forgot the most important thing which is to express my excitement about the phantastic SimTools software and this incredibly supportive community which enables non-pros like me to get a (model) system running in a couple of hours. You are doing a phantastic job, folks!

I will keep you updated about my progress and I am sure that I will also ask you for some support soon.
Due to my limited spare time I will have to pause from time to time, so don't expect new posts every day.

@MarkusB , cool stuff . When you can, please post some photos of your current model setup.
Wiper motors make sure you earth isolate them. They are usually ground in the case and that will cause back current issues if you do not fix it.
With NLR2, just dig through the threads, the NLR guys update so often it stuffs most peoples motion plugins.

Hi David,

here are two images of the model.

About isolating earth from the wiper motors: Thanks for the hint. I read about it and already had mine open for checking all the earth contacts, but did not cut them yet.
Actually this should only be needed if the two wiper motors are connected via a metal parts, right? I will probably build a wooden platform and make sure that the motors do not have any electrical contact with each other.

And thanks about the NLR2 hint. For today I gave up, since I have to get up early tomorrow. I updated the plugin and at least got rid of the error message. However, no motion yet. Maybe I am overlooking something obvious. Guess I will check the threads as you suggested.

With NLR2 you need to turn on the telemetry in the game, you need to launch NLR2 with the option --telemetry

You do this in steam by right clicking on the game and going to properties and then to the startup parameters.

with putting wipers on wood, not sure, because these motors get reverse power, I think it can cause issues with the JRKS still. That and you will still be connecting them together via meta rod arms, hence creating a complete circuit. and BOOM jrks. But I could be wrong.

David,

you convinced me. It's really not woth risking 200€ just because I am too lazy for isolating the earth connections. I'll do it.

@Avenga76: You just won my hero-of-the-day award! This was indeed the missing piece. I used the 5 minutes I had this morning for trying the telemetry parameter, and now it works: The motors are moving in sync with NLR2. Thanks a lot!!

After some fine tuning I will post a little video.

If you make in wooden is not necesary isolating, but is a easy task and i recomed you made it if you later change you mind and make in metal

Awesome! I'm glad it was an easy fix. Look forward to seeing the video. NLR2 is great with the Oculus but I haven't spent enough time tuning my simulator for it.

Hi again!

In the meantime I successfully finished the feasibility study with my Fischertechnik seat mover model. I spent some time with configuring the axis/forces mapping, so that you can now recognize that the seat movements are fairly aligned to the coaster ride. I ended up with a combination of 50% sway and 70% surge which is still far from being perfect, but my stuffed panda test pilot was satisfied, and so was I. I also made a little video before noticing that it is far to big for uploading it here (even after downsampling), and actually it is not worth creating a youtube channel just for this movie.

Now I will turn my attention to my actual seat mover project. Since I will be very busy with other activities for the next weeks, it may take some time before I get started.

Besides I am rethinking some aspects, like whether I really want to use wiper motors or rather look for something stronger from the beginning on. We will see.

what the heck is a "Fischertechnik seat mover"?

@bsft: Please see my posts and pictures above. This thing was just meant for increasing my confidence that I will manage to get it technically running. And it worked indeed: confidence level is at 90%.

And here is a link to the video I mentioned:

Thats cool man. No offence directed. I just didnt know what it was. Thats all

@bsft: No offence taken, really.

Oh, I just see that you are from Australia. Lucky one, with the MotionDynamics folks in your neighborhood. I am still looking for a provider of strong 12V motors in Europe for avoiding the >200$ shipping costs. The motor you are using seems to be perfect regarding the combination of speed, torque, and price. Even with including the shipping costs + taxes I did not find anything comparable. Well, I will continue checking the Web for a day or 2, and then place my order.

The idea with the model is genius - Probably should do something similar with servos and the Arduino.

Keep us posted!

Man, I should be spending some more time in the FAQ section...

And I thought I was the first one with this approach.
For Anduino this really seems to be advisable because from what I read so far, this setup is much more complicated than with JRKs.