Mobile Driving/Flying Cockpit with Motion and Tactile ( Build )
RCHeliguy
Premium
I have a small bandsaw with a cheap blade I cut aluminum with some times. My large bandsaw has a really nice blade on it for resawing thick lumber so I don't touch that.
I have a special blade for cutting aluminum on my table saw. It does a great job. I use a Woodworker II blade for wood and I don't want to mess it up. That's an expensive blade.
I just use a little belt sander to smooth out corners and I have a full set of jobber bits for drilling metric sizes for pass through or threading. A little WD-40 is all you need for drilling aluminum to make your bits last a while.
I have a number of hand sanding blocks. There is a green and blue one in the first picture. A bit of WD40 and 220 or 400 will put a nice finish on aluminum. I tried my random orbital sander with a 400 grit for this plate just for grins it came out pretty nicely.
It's time to eat lunch and clean up this mess. My rig is all setup and ready to try out as soon as I'm done.
I have a special blade for cutting aluminum on my table saw. It does a great job. I use a Woodworker II blade for wood and I don't want to mess it up. That's an expensive blade.
I just use a little belt sander to smooth out corners and I have a full set of jobber bits for drilling metric sizes for pass through or threading. A little WD-40 is all you need for drilling aluminum to make your bits last a while.
I have a number of hand sanding blocks. There is a green and blue one in the first picture. A bit of WD40 and 220 or 400 will put a nice finish on aluminum. I tried my random orbital sander with a 400 grit for this plate just for grins it came out pretty nicely.
It's time to eat lunch and clean up this mess. My rig is all setup and ready to try out as soon as I'm done.
RCHeliguy
Premium
I tested it out and it all works. The transducer under the seat is not as satisfying as when it was attached to a spring loaded seat cushion section. I turned up the power to it and it still works, but the dense foam while comfortable is absorbing a lot. Probably what I would want in a real car. I think I'll need to find out where the new hotspots are for frequency. The seat transducer is playing to a completely different structure.
Also the NLRv3 motion seems a bit muted since the seat is closer to the pivot point. So I'll increase the gain a bit.
Otherwise it feels tight! There is less slop in the motion. I feel better on the brakes and I just need to tweak things and get used to it.
Also the NLRv3 motion seems a bit muted since the seat is closer to the pivot point. So I'll increase the gain a bit.
Otherwise it feels tight! There is less slop in the motion. I feel better on the brakes and I just need to tweak things and get used to it.
RCHeliguy
Premium
My transducer fell off my seat overnight. Even after cleaning the bottom of the seat with denatured alcohol, it didn't stick. So I'll be working on another mounting solution.
I'm going to tilt my pedal deck forward raising my heels a bit more to see how that feels. I'm still working on getting the ergonomics dialed in. I've dropped the handbrake and trackball mouse mount a bit.
I'm going to tilt my pedal deck forward raising my heels a bit more to see how that feels. I'm still working on getting the ergonomics dialed in. I've dropped the handbrake and trackball mouse mount a bit.
Couple things
Currently, how level is the deck with your seat bottom? If lower, what if you swapped the 40x40 add on profile, with 2 40x80 profiles to raise it a bit more?
About the transducer, Why not just drill into the seat bottom? You could make a thin square aluminum backup plate on top if needed for strength.
Currently, how level is the deck with your seat bottom? If lower, what if you swapped the 40x40 add on profile, with 2 40x80 profiles to raise it a bit more?
About the transducer, Why not just drill into the seat bottom? You could make a thin square aluminum backup plate on top if needed for strength.
RCHeliguy
Premium
I temporarily mounted the transducer to the frame. It actually feels better here than it did under the seat. That tells me that the industrial velcro was absorbing a lot. It's almost good enough. I may leave it there and see if I can dial it in enough to leave the seat intact. That also means less sprung weight for the NLRv3.
I tilted the pedals up all the way and LOVE IT !!!! My heals are nearly as high as my butt now.
I'm happy with how it feels for now. This is definitely a winner!
Also notice that my VR headset isn't even remotely close to touching the seat back!
The side wings are right behind my shoulders giving them good support as well.
I tilted the pedals up all the way and LOVE IT !!!! My heals are nearly as high as my butt now.
I'm happy with how it feels for now. This is definitely a winner!
Also notice that my VR headset isn't even remotely close to touching the seat back!
The side wings are right behind my shoulders giving them good support as well.
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Hi, great thread.
Could I ask what the brackets for angling your pedals are please and can I get them in Europe?
Thanks.
Could I ask what the brackets for angling your pedals are please and can I get them in Europe?
Thanks.
RCHeliguy
Premium
The brackets are from the Sim-Lab P1. They now make the P1-X and have a completely different design. Some people have actually sold them here. You might look at the P1-X upgrade kit and see if you think that would work well for you otherwise you might find the "old style" I have come up for sale as some people are upgrading to the X version.
Ah, ok thanks.
Doesn't look like much of an upgrade to me?
I'll keep an eye out on Ebay.
Doesn't look like much of an upgrade to me?
I'll keep an eye out on Ebay.
Are you quite a tall person? I am 6'2" and hopping in both my rig with a sparco evo 2 and my kids rig with a more generic seat I have more leg support, i.e. the seat goes out farther towards my knees.
I cant tell by the picture but one other suggestion if you want to try is to actually lower the pedals a little bit and see what that is like but only if lowering them gives you better support under your thighs. Its hard to see from that picture if your legs at the front of the seat are coming up off the seat because of the angle. If they are you are asking more of your tail to take the weight. It can be altered by moving the pedals away or lower. Dont move them away if you are happy with how much bend is in your legs..
It's only a suggestion based on a pic that I cant really tell from so ignore it, you will know if I am wrong EDIT. actually I think becuse the seat cushion is black I couldnt see it well in photo and it does look pretty good after all! legs look supported.
One thing though... when you have it right you will forget about other people and how well they fit in your rig or not.. Once mine was done and it fit me so well it was easy to tell myself that friends will either fit in it or they wont. If they dont, they cant use it because it's far to comfy to compromise it for someone that may only ever get in it once for 15 mins
I cant tell by the picture but one other suggestion if you want to try is to actually lower the pedals a little bit and see what that is like but only if lowering them gives you better support under your thighs. Its hard to see from that picture if your legs at the front of the seat are coming up off the seat because of the angle. If they are you are asking more of your tail to take the weight. It can be altered by moving the pedals away or lower. Dont move them away if you are happy with how much bend is in your legs..
It's only a suggestion based on a pic that I cant really tell from so ignore it, you will know if I am wrong
EDIT. actually I think becuse the seat cushion is black I couldnt see it well in photo and it does look pretty good after all! legs look supported.One thing though... when you have it right you will forget about other people and how well they fit in your rig or not.. Once mine was done and it fit me so well it was easy to tell myself that friends will either fit in it or they wont. If they dont, they cant use it because it's far to comfy to compromise it for someone that may only ever get in it once for 15 mins
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I agreed with @metalnwood
The more you adjust your rig to your personal liking the less you (need to) care what other might think about your adjustments.
I also spend quite some time tweaking my seat position to my own liking. Because of the nature of my rig it's still very easy to adjust the seat slider and the pedals for others and even the seat belt tensioner works for everyone.. But i have made choices that benefit my personal preferences above the overall compatibility.
Love your button box and you are making great progress.
Have you considered going SFX100 instead of the NLMv3? Seems like a 'logical" upgrade. (coming for a previous NLMv3 owner)
The more you adjust your rig to your personal liking the less you (need to) care what other might think about your adjustments.
I also spend quite some time tweaking my seat position to my own liking. Because of the nature of my rig it's still very easy to adjust the seat slider and the pedals for others and even the seat belt tensioner works for everyone.. But i have made choices that benefit my personal preferences above the overall compatibility.
Love your button box and you are making great progress.
Have you considered going SFX100 instead of the NLMv3? Seems like a 'logical" upgrade. (coming for a previous NLMv3 owner)
RCHeliguy
Premium
All these "good" influences around me
I'm planning to stick with what I have for a while. (Yes, I've said those exact words before)
My thoughts on motion systems are that they are advancing quickly and I'm going to hold while they mature a bit more. I'm not suggesting they don't work, but I am somewhat limited in terms of form factor and it seems like there is a lot of interesting activity in that space.
It does feel pretty darn good! I'll get some more seat time in tomorrow morning.
I'm planning to stick with what I have for a while. (Yes, I've said those exact words before)
My thoughts on motion systems are that they are advancing quickly and I'm going to hold while they mature a bit more. I'm not suggesting they don't work, but I am somewhat limited in terms of form factor and it seems like there is a lot of interesting activity in that space.
It does feel pretty darn good! I'll get some more seat time in tomorrow morning.
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RCHeliguy
Premium
I raised the pedal deck another 40mm and reduced the pedal deck tilt a bit. I think this feels more natural.
However I tilted the brake and clutch forward one notch, reduced the throttle travel to the shortest distance, increased the clutch to the strongest setting, and tried the softest brake cushions. I feel comfortable enough with how things feel to experiment a bit. Not sure about the soft brake setting, time will tell.
I've also decided that I like centering the throttle pedal a bit more when driving with 2 pedals.
I'm currently working on a solution to get the seat transducer mounted to the back seat of the pants. I did not like the transducer vibrations centered under my legs. It was very unsatisfying.
However I tilted the brake and clutch forward one notch, reduced the throttle travel to the shortest distance, increased the clutch to the strongest setting, and tried the softest brake cushions. I feel comfortable enough with how things feel to experiment a bit. Not sure about the soft brake setting, time will tell.
I've also decided that I like centering the throttle pedal a bit more when driving with 2 pedals.
I'm currently working on a solution to get the seat transducer mounted to the back seat of the pants. I did not like the transducer vibrations centered under my legs. It was very unsatisfying.
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RCHeliguy
Premium
One more thing. I saw how @HoiHman has cooling fan functionality in his button box, but after looking into a solution like that I decided to take the lazy way out and ordered a table fan with a remote
I'll find a way to mount the remote on my rig. Yesterday it was cool in my basement and I started out without the fan going and after I warmed up I didn't want to get up and turn the fan on. Laziness always finds a way.
I got this fan. It's a lot quieter than my other fan.
I'll find a way to mount the remote on my rig. Yesterday it was cool in my basement and I started out without the fan going and after I warmed up I didn't want to get up and turn the fan on. Laziness always finds a way.
I got this fan. It's a lot quieter than my other fan.
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RCHeliguy
Premium
Are you quite a tall person? I am 6'2" and hopping in both my rig with a sparco evo 2 and my kids rig with a more generic seat I have more leg support, i.e. the seat goes out farther towards my knees.
I cant tell by the picture but one other suggestion if you want to try is to actually lower the pedals a little bit and see what that is like but only if lowering them gives you better support under your thighs. Its hard to see from that picture if your legs at the front of the seat are coming up off the seat because of the angle. If they are you are asking more of your tail to take the weight. It can be altered by moving the pedals away or lower. Dont move them away if you are happy with how much bend is in your legs..
It's only a suggestion based on a pic that I cant really tell from so ignore it, you will know if I am wrong
One thing though... when you have it right you will forget about other people and how well they fit in your rig or not.. Once mine was done and it fit me so well it was easy to tell myself that friends will either fit in it or they wont. If they dont, they cant use it because it's far to comfy to compromise it for someone that may only ever get in it once for 15 mins
I'm maybe half an inch over 6'. Your comments about leg support didn't go unheeded. After the last increase in height of my pedal deck, my legs did have quite a bit of bend in them and I noticed that my legs were not being supported as much. I moved the pedals a bit further away which lowered my legs to the point where they got good support.
I appreciate your comments, I hadn't given leg support any thought what-so-ever. So if I happened to have decent leg support in any of my pictures, that was pure luck.
I can see that there is a balancing act that I need to be aware off.
RCHeliguy
Premium
The Aura that I had previously mounted to the metal plate under my old seat worked WONDERFULLY! The transducer was sprung and all the energy went into the seat cushion or directly into the seat of my pants.
I'm wanting to mount to my new seat in a similar way angled at maybe 30-45 degrees off horizontal. I've seen a solution using multiple strips of aluminum. I'm thinking about using pivots and having a left and right mount below the seat, and left and right on the back with contact in the center at the bend.
RCHeliguy
Premium
Tried out the non-destructive proof of concept below.
It feels better than having the transducer bolted to the frame and I think for now it's what I'm going to go with so I don't drill holes in my seat since I still don't have another solution that I like.
To complete this I will modify my 1/4" aluminum plate with 8mm holes to bolt to the 40x40 and a couple corner braces above it. I used the NLRv3 software to move the seat into the furthest back position it is capable of reaching and will mount the plate so it is about 1/3" above this lowest position to help center the transducer as much as possible.
My messy scribble before I worked things out.
So 6 x 8mm holes, trim the plate to the green lines, smooth and refinish.
Glad I left my aluminum cutting blade on my table saw
It feels better than having the transducer bolted to the frame and I think for now it's what I'm going to go with so I don't drill holes in my seat since I still don't have another solution that I like.
To complete this I will modify my 1/4" aluminum plate with 8mm holes to bolt to the 40x40 and a couple corner braces above it. I used the NLRv3 software to move the seat into the furthest back position it is capable of reaching and will mount the plate so it is about 1/3" above this lowest position to help center the transducer as much as possible.
My messy scribble before I worked things out.
So 6 x 8mm holes, trim the plate to the green lines, smooth and refinish.
Glad I left my aluminum cutting blade on my table saw
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