DIY Wind Generator

[ears]

I have a bit of spare time next week as the family are all away so I decided to have a go at this.

I had seen a review of a commercial product (linked below) and the 'two fan' version together with delivery and all the extras was over £200 - a bit much for something that's just a bit of fun.

Now I realise that most of the time I race in cars with windscreens and even open wheeler drivers wear helmets so whether this introduces any realism is up for debate.

However, realism and immersion are not necessarily the same thing and I'm open to this adding some immersion to the experience.

Additionally, summer has come early and I do get very hot and sweaty inside that VR hat, so the idea of some cool wind blowing at me is appealing.

I managed to pick up everything I needed for this project on Amazon for around £80.

If it works, I'm a progremmer by trade, so might take a look at connecting to APIs in other sims to see if I can use the fans on those two - the scripts provided only work with AC so far.

If anyone's interested, I'll post updates. Should be building it over the weekend, early next week.

 

[Insert Coin]

A 'low speed boost' would be nice. Now the fan curve is linear, starting at 0%. This means if you are driving away or drive slowly, the fans hardly spin. It may be better to use a linear curve starting at 30% or so (but still 0% when standing still). An adjustable low speed boost is even better . I Haven't tried it yet, it's just an idea.

 

[Insert Coin]

Tried a different approach, now with a higher minimum speed of the fan (and a flatter curve), but still 0% fan speed when the car doesn't move:
if (val < 63)
{
myval = 0; // fans to 0% when the car isn't moving
}
else {
myval = (val - 35) * 1.25;
// To get a variance between 0 and 79 instead of 61 and 100.
// 1.25 = max speed around 250 km/h, decrease this value for faster cars.
// Higher minimum speed of the fans.
}

I will update my project page too.

 

[Mr Latte]

Simtools is a one time purchase of 69,99 dollar. Not an anunual fee. The plug-ins are free as long as you regular post on the forums (and collect coins)

Im confused with different options people are mentioning and across various threads.
Are the Seaflo fans not just 2 wires, therefore they are not PWM 4 wire based?

I am struggling to understand how these can be used with whatever board they connect to as do not have 4 wire PWM with PC style connection and will use more amps. So why can't a motorsports based or branded fans @1.6 Amp also with only 2 wires be suitable?

Somebody enlighten me..........
I thought this would be a breeze

 

[HoiHman]

They are connected to a motoshield which let's you connect up to 30A devices per side.

 

[Mr Latte]

Henk thats great, thanks for clarifying as I friggin new this had to be possible or done before.

Had seen in research that many of the fans used in cars were PWM for various speeds (not just fixed speeds) but we needed to convert PC based PWM signals for I believe DC voltage control.

Any links to purchase it from to get the exact components or guides you know or can recommend?

 

[HoiHman]

Everything you need here Rodney

https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/simulated-wind-using-monstermoto-and-arduinouno.6876/

 

[Mr Latte]

Thank You, lots of very smart guys over on those forums.
I'm out of my comfort zone with this but keen to do my own thing or creativity with it.

Does seem more complexed than alternatives here...

 

[HoiHman]

Thank You, lots of very smart guys over on those forums.
I'm out of my comfort zone with this but keen to do my own thing or creativity with it.

Does seem more complexed than alternatives here...

At first perhaps yes, but it's worth it. The Seaflows are the "LFE's" of the windsimulators

 

[Insert Coin]

To the next level!

 

[Mr Latte]

At first perhaps yes, but it's worth it. The Seaflows are the "LFE's" of the windsimulators

What I wanted to know, from your recommended preference is.....

Can we buy the required PCB(s) and connect 12v power, USB and fan(s). Run the software and then be good to go as simple as 1,2,3? I really don't want to get into pages, upon pages in a thread to get this to work.

If so where are the PCB and PSU sold to purchase?

 

[nobby91010]

i use a
Igenix DF0030 Oscillating Tower Fan has 4 settings + rotate

 

[HoiHman]

What I wanted to know, from your recommended preference is.....

Can we buy the required PCB(s) and connect 12v power, USB and fan(s). Run the software and then be good to go as simple as 1,2,3? I really don't want to get into pages, upon pages in a thread to get this to work.

If so where are the PCB and PSU sold to purchase?

Setting everything up is not that difficult, but i do advise you to read the thread i posted in the link above which basically holds all the info.

The powersupply, Arduino uno, monster motoshield and the seaflows can all easily be found on ebay.

 

[Mr Latte]

Setting everything up is not that difficult, but i do advise you to read the thread i posted in the link above which basically holds all the info.

The powersupply, Arduino uno, monster motoshield and the seaflows can all easily be found on ebay.

PAH, (grumbles)
See, still too much hassle, Im getting lazy in this summer heat. I had hoped with your own experience and own recommendation of what you went for. That you would of copied like what @Ceolmor did in post 3.

How do we know the Seaflows are the best for noise/performance to other makes/models inline blower based fans used in motorsport or others for indoor garden ventilation. I didn't see within quick glances people trying many alternatives? That's the area I would like to look more into and do proper readings of perhaps several fans. They are easily bought and returned but the question is really what is adequate here?

We can easily convert cfm ratings into m3/h as different companies use different methods of measuring. However what % of output is a typical Seaflow user running? What is the output rating either in cfm/m3/h they find good enough? Sure they got loads more air pressure but I expect the noise is one factor and whats the point in having loads of power if you only use @60% of it?

Looking more closely into options, the Seaflow 270cfm is approx 458 m3/h, therefore, is quite a bit higher than even some of the strongest PC fan PWM offerings of around 289 m3/h (170cfm) that I can find for 120mm PC fan at (51dB).

This growing area of immersion is quite tricky then.
Most will want simple easy route into this, but the option you recommend is far it seems from simple with confusion on what parts, where to buy, how to wire, etc. Simtools also looks ancient and worse than Simvibe interface.

A question then is, can the Symprojects option have an additional board to enable DC fans to be used? Doubtful, so I find myself asking, okay who has looked seriously into what the best PWM Pc based fans are and has done actual comparisons and readings in tests? Do we really need so high powered fans like SeaFlows or the additional noise they may bring? Also how do the software options vary in UI terms of use, support and features?

I can't believe some thread or Sim based channel has not sought to fully cover this in such fashion to really help people determine and understand MORE, all the factors and pros/cons involved.

My own installation approach would be a preference to have the fans away from the wheel deck, to use appropriate tubing and connections like real cars use or some others have done than just the fans beside the wheel. So looking the part but also to then enable soundproofing materials to reduce the noise of the fan and intake areas with a bit of experimentation.

The question in my mind then is, can a PC PWM fan rated at 200+ - 289 m3/h produce sufficient wind pressure to travel up approx 3/4 meter of ducting and reach the user with adequete force?

 

[Insert Coin]

Sanyo San Ace 120 9SG1212P1G03: PWM fan, 120 mm, 260 CFM, 64 dB. Serious wind power. You didn't read my project page, did you?

 

[Mr Latte]

Sanyo San Ace 120 9SG1212P1G03: PWM fan, 120 mm, 260 CFM, 64 dB. Serious wind power. You didn't read my project page, did you?

Ahhh but, have you seen the price for it?
I found it listed at £48 compared to £18 for that model I mentioned.

Posted specs are not an assurance of real-world operating as some companies may use potential peak figures. So really comparisons in real-world usage are needed with proper measuring via an anemometer and at different power % settings. We could of course place two fans opposite to see which overpowers the other but noise and cost have to be considered too.

I quite fancied buying an anemometer for such measurements thats compatible with using ipad/iphone with this or similar. Although a decent unit is only £20 - £30.

This fan you rate is almost to the 270cfm rating of the Seaflo options that some deem the way to go. Yet who/how many people have compared each option or has experience of the Sanyo Ace model and other 200+cfm fans. I don't see readings/measurements or video comparisons for all the options you tried. You could of potentially suppressed the noise of it if you wanted max airflow?

There are still many many unknowns regards this wind immersion on what is the ideal options to consider for fans, software etc. The noise factor can be reduced controlled with soundproofing.

Most people are recommending what they have, sure thats good if they are happy with what they have or tried. Yet my point is where are the actual measurements for performance and comparisons from extended tests to form a better idea of the options as to what really is best or how the pros/cons really stack up. Your own work thus far by all means helps but really Im no wiser as to what option to choose.

 

[HoiHman]

Rodney if you're serious about actually having all the info, read the topic of which i posted the link above.

This topic even includes tests with an anemometer

About using a 3-4 tubing , most likely the PCM fan will loose too much over such a long distance and it will surely impact the performance of the seaflow.

Tubing will add latency, since the air has to travel 3-4m longer, which will result in a significant delay.

Add to that the instant speed and stop ability of the marine blowers compared to the pc fans they are much more responsive

This burst speed gives an awesome sense of acceleration.

Noise levels:
The marine blowers make more noise at 100%, but... i usually run the around 65-75% at night without any problems. Even with the on ear headphones of the rift i hardly hear them

If you want the highest wind speed, forget the seaflo's and buy the TMC blowers instead. They give even higher wind speeds, but draw a lot more amps.

Simtools interface
Once windsim is installed, you never have to enter the simtools interface again. Only if you want to change the windspeed you have to alter the calculation value in simdash.

Again all the info you seek is here:

https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/simulated-wind-using-monstermoto-and-arduinouno.6876/

 

[Mr Latte]

Henk, thanks again on more info regards simtools interface and windsim.
I have seen some of Avengas videos and work he done, clearly he has an excellent understanding with electronics etc and yes he used an anemometer for some interesting tests. Just that I didn't go through every page of that thread to take it all in.

The more I think about it the less I want the hassle of this Arduino solution with the d.i.y boards and the simprojects option becomes more appealing also with its clean and simple software. I'm not that bothered about the speed up/down of some fans with the comparison Avenga showed as likely even with PWM models this will vary and we may find some not so bad as others.

We then have the air pressure factor, You have 270cfm but using 60-70% of this. So its safe to say that a PWM based fan close to 200cfm should offer a decent performance yet still work on a simprojects board. Obviously, those already with that solution and decent fans are stating they are happy with the results.

A question for me is, how much will ducting affect the performance and is the potential delay you mention a factor with mono and not stereo based wind interaction? Gamermuscle highlighted this in his video but even that example reviewed appeared to have plenty of airflow for an enjoyable effect.

My own preference would be for ducting to be used and noise reduction for the housing/enclosure of the fans. I guess the only way to find out how much this affects performance is to test some options, buy several fans, take measurements to find my own most suitable combination.

 

[HoiHman]

Whatever works for you Rodney, the only important thing is that you do decide to add a windsimulator to your rig.

You can see the seaflo's as the "OSW of wind simulators".

They offer greater performance, but it takes more work to get them going than standard offered alternatives. ( which are great too)

 

[BrainsBush]

Is this something that could work if someone is handy enough to change Skyrim to a simracer?

https://www.*********.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/18346

 

[Insert Coin]

Is this something that could work if someone is handy enough to change Skyrim to a simracer?

https://www.*********.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/18346

I'd rather use PWM fans than switching 230V fans on and off all the time.