Mobile Driving/Flying Cockpit with Motion and Tactile ( Build )

RCHeliguy · Mar 23, 2019

Now that I have a button box in place, I can't just grab the wheelbase support easily.
So I decided to add a VERY small piece of real race car to my rig so I could TOW my rig into the middle of the floor.

I now have an OMP bumper tow strap on my rig to tow it with

It's the little touches, right?

RCHeliguy · Apr 5, 2019

In the name of mobility and quick setup, the 8 individual banana cables on the back for transducers have been replaced by a single 8 pin connector and receiver. It's not only faster, I don't even have to pay attention to what goes where anymore. It just inserts and with about a 30 degree twist locks securely into place.

These are speaker connections typically used by bands to plug in 4 channels/8 wires at a time. They are rated at 30A x 250V and 3mOhm resistance. In the process I got rid of a number of connectors.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BEVX5E
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M56SPRC

Fil140 · Apr 17, 2019

brilliant work bud, im super impressed, i went with 6 auras too, i think the performance is spot on. the whole rig looks great man, it really does.
Hats off to you heli!!!

RCHeliguy · May 1, 2019

This should be the last build update for a while since I've decide not to get a direct drive wheel at this time.

I've reversed the foot pedal transducer isolators, countersunk the bolts holding it in place and installed the new Heusinkveld Sprint pedals as well as the Heusinkveld handbrake and sequential shifter.

So far I like the new controls a lot. They do provide better feel and the pedals and hand brake are extremely adjustable. I also picked up a new wheel.

I have no complaints. Everything works well together. It's all very comfortable. All the controls fall readily to hand. It is very easy and quick to setup and stow and I can't think of anything else to say about it.

I've added some neoprene around the black bolt cover of the side of the sequential shifter.
Not shown in this picture. I bumped my knee against it a couple times.

nolive721 · May 2, 2019

glad I found your thread.I am starting to plan a 2DOF motion update to my PLAYSEAT rig and want to maintain existing mobility and bass shakers set-up as well (I have opened my own thread for that purpose).
I have currently industrial caster type set at ecah corner and in the center of teh plywoodboard supporting my PLAYSEAT.the 2 at the back have brakes since I was concerned with possible wobbling with the strong FFB I am getting from my TS PC racer wheel.

But the ones you are using seem like a pretty neat Option that I will consider for my build, that was inspiring.

Nothing related to the rig build but I am curious how do you mix the NLV V3 tactile with the Bass shakers you have built in additionally.

Once I am clear with my own build upgrade,I am thinking that the motion (pitch and roll) will be driven by the seat mover software and I will leave all tactile effects from telemetry input to SIMHUB as I am driving it today.

If you can share your views without going too much Off Topic its appreciated

RCHeliguy · May 2, 2019

nolive721 said:
Nothing related to the rig build but I am curious how do you mix the NLV V3 tactile with the Bass shakers you have built in additionally.
I am thinking that the motion (pitch and roll) will be driven by the seat mover software and I will leave all tactile effects from telemetry input to SIMHUB as I am driving it today.

I tried the NLRv3 tactile software and it works ok and supports 6 or 8 channels so you can do a function check with it initially and play with it but I disabled it and like the results using SimHub better.

I donated to SimHub which unlocks a few features. It automatically detects the game I'm running. I have been starting my games inside the NLRv3 software, Simhub

Note: The NLRv3 software will connect to the software and modify the ini files for things like Dirt Rally. If you already have Simhub going you should be good to go. I installed Simhub 2nd and it auto configured itself to work which beats manually modifying text files, but it broke the NLRv3 connection. However just rerunning the connection from the NLRv3 software re-established the connection and then they both worked well together.

I'm using all the motion effects to drive the seat, but the transducer under the seat adds more texture for some bumps and wheel traction. I also have gear shifts in the seat.
The transducers at the pedals help make the road texture and bumps more believable otherwise your feet feel isolated from the action and I have engine revs there too.
The transducer attached with the shifters and hand brake has engine rpm and a bit of road texture. You can feel that when you grab a control and some of that comes through to the wheel.

All together it works well.

nolive721 · May 2, 2019

Thanks,much appreciated
I also have the donated version of SIMHUB so I will make use of it as you confirmed

Regarding the seat mover, I continue to look around with some more cost competitive options like DOFreality before making the call
The NLR V3 is quite tempting though....

RCHeliguy · May 2, 2019

What I can tell you is that the NLRv3 just works out of the box and supports a lot of titles. A lot of people have used this system here and the majority like it a lot. They have good support and are constantly updating the software driving the system. Some NLRv3 owners have gone on to build SFX-100 motion systems and have sold their system. You might find a good deal on a used system.

I don't actually know anyone using the DOFreality system, so you might want to talk with people who use it first. Make sure the software works well, that they support the product etc..

RCHeliguy · May 12, 2019

I thought I was done, but I've gotten conflicting reports on whether you should put a seatbelt on an NLRv3 seat mover. I thought I would try it out.

Yes it does put more motion into your body. Given my seat isn't a rigid racing seat, I'm hoping this still doesn't put a strain on the NLRv3 motors. I'm still well below the weight limits for the system and I did turn the effects down from the stock settings that were too much for me. I just got a serious workout playing some Rally Cross in PC2. Fun stuff!

Edit: After driving a while, I need some shoulder belt cushions. The 2" webbing was really digging into my collar bones. I'm surprised by how much I like being held in place while driving.

The only reason I put the headrest back on was for straps to hold the shoulder belts in place.

Edit: I've added shoulder belt pads since the webbing was digging into my collar bones.

Important!!!! On a seat mover your seatbelt attachment points must move with the seat!

I'm still not condoning this until I officially find out from Next Level Racing that this is supported.

RCHeliguy · May 16, 2019

I finally made the videos I mentioned earlier.

RCHeliguy · Jun 19, 2019

I had been on the fence about this upgrade for a while. The Fanatec CS 1.5 works pretty well, but for my taste the centering spring was not strong enough and I would sometimes hit the wrong gear because of that, typically a 2nd to 5th up shift when I wanted 3rd.

The Pro-Sim H pattern shifter is as close as you can get to a realistic feeling manual gear box. The center spring can be adjusted to feel perfect. The adjustable stick extension gives me the perfect amount of throw.

Shifting is much more precise and I find I'm shifting more frequently and enjoying it. The only small thing I noticed is that coming out of reverse you have to let it fully spring back up fully before pushing it into 1st gear. This is a split second delay, but the CS 1.5 can go from reverse to 1st slightly quicker. For everything else the Pro-Sim shifter feels much better and I find faster.

As you can see from the pictures I have it angled down in front and have it canted in to match my arm's motion better. I've seen people mount this control with extremely beefy support, but what I have below feels solid as a rock and has no movement or flex that I can see or feel.

Alvaro de la Orden · Jun 19, 2019

awesome stuff sir, thanks for sharing
I love those aluminium profiles, pity they are expensive.

north · Jun 20, 2019

Awesome setup with many good solutions that I might shamelessly steal. Thanks for sharing.

RCHeliguy · Jun 20, 2019

Edit (8/22/2019) I'll leave this here, but I highlighted the last sentence in red. LOL!

I feel like I've hit nirvana at this point. Everything feels great and is very believable in VR. Hopefully I'll see my Valve Index VR headset in about a month which should only improve things.

What may appear noticeably missing from my rig is a direct drive wheel.

So far I have replaced controls because of limitations and things that bothered me. The Heusinkveld Sprint pedals feel more realistic, allow better brake modulation and are extremely adjustable. I felt the springs on the Fanatec pedals were too weak. The Heusinkveld hand brake feels very solid and isn't affected by my transducers like the Fanatec hand brake was. The new H pattern shifter feels more realistic and has stronger centering spring which dramatically reduces miss shifts at least for me.

I understand the potential for improved detail with a direct drive wheel. However there are downsides as well. There is the safety issue and emergency cut off switch which I wouldn't worry about for myself, but for others who use my system I would be worried. There is software compatibility. I have things feeling very good right now and can enjoy a wide variety of games. However with a direct drive wheel, there is a learning process with each game and many people flat out reject a number of games because they either are too amped up because they cater to weaker wheelbases or their FFB is no longer considered acceptable after experiencing a few games that have excellent FFB. I frequently hear about certain effects making games hard to play and lots of iteration to get a particular wheel feeling good on a specific game. I'm loving Dirt Rally with my CS 2.5 and I've been told Dirt Rally isn't that great with a DD wheel. I've read accounts of people trying to get their direct drive wheels feeling as good as the CS 2.5. In addition to that there would be a huge trickledown to my rig and control placement. I would probably need to get the P1X pedal deck because of how far the wheelbase supports would have to move and have to re-engineer placement of many controls.

A direct drive wheel is currently an adventure in itself with lots of trickle down. If it ain't broke and I'm enjoying it, I'm not going to fix it. So I plan to stick with my CS 2.5 wheelbase for a while.

I can see that direct drive technology is evolving and improving and maybe at some point it will be compelling to me, but for now I'm extremely happy with my rig as it is.

I've also looked at the SFX-100 system in some depth and it looks like a great system, however I'm very happy with the NLRv3 system which is turn key, works well out of the box and has excellent software support for any game I would want to use with it.

My rig is built based on my priorities and constraints and I'm happy if people can take anything I've done and use it or tailor it for their own use.

This is a hobby for fun. There is no right or wrong. There is just what is right for you. This is what works for me "right now". I would be crazy to think I won't change my mind about anything going forward.

nolive721 · Jun 21, 2019

still following your thread and must say your rig looks superb. i am adding motion to mine this year,its clear but will go the cheap seat mover route with the DOFreality competitor of your V3

One thing I am wondering reading some posts on the v3 feature, it suggests traction loss is somehow simulated although only 2DOF are physically happening with this design

how do YOU actually feel traction loss, if any?

this is the way my rig is fitted, to ensure maneuverability like you did with your casters on your 80/20.

what I am thinking to do when the seat mover is added, is to get only one caster in the center at the front instead of the 2 I have today(in red), block this front caster to create a pivot point and leave 2 casters at the back unlocked(in blue).

My image is that the seat motion would somehow creates traction loss through the roll movement.

what do you think from your own rig experience, did you try at all running your v3 with the casters you have set in free position, not the rig sitting on the floor?

RCHeliguy · Jun 21, 2019

The NLRv3 does a bit of a jiggle to register loss of traction. All I can say is that it works.

From what I saw of Barry's review of the DoF product I think it would be disappointing at least to me. The big issue seemed to be that it wasn't very well dampened and required a lot of futzing to try to get it to work well.

The NLRv3 was very easy to configure and feels very good.

nolive721 · Jun 22, 2019

appreciate the quick reply

I also follow Barry,s YT channel, quite informative in the level of details he is going into. but he might have missed the proper software solution to smoothen up the pitch effect.thats what DOFreality is suggesting by using Simtools and some users I have read comments from

I would love the v3 but I cant justify the costs for the actual time I spent on this rig so its DOFreality for me.

but thanks again for this thread and valuable comments, this has sold me on the seat mover solution rather than full rig motion