SIMUCUBE Direct Drive Wheel With Electronics Integrated Into The Motor

[Deleted member 197115]

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...electronics-integrated-into-the-motor.386410/
April 3rd official announcement
https://www.simucu.be/

 

[Deleted member 197115]

I was hoping to see some comparisons of SC2 by SC1 users by now.

Or Podium with SC2.
Guess Barry didn't get his review unit from Fanatec, interesting.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Or Podium with SC2.
Guess Barry didn't get his review unit from Fanatec, interesting.

Even if he did, SimPit got one a month ago and we haven't got a review there either. I think the software needs to be complete before a real review and comparison can be made.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I just saw the Precision Sim Engineering wheel uses wireless USB connectors like my current 2.5GHz wireless keyboard and mouse do.

https://www.precisionsimengineering.com/shop-online/gt3-wireless-wheel

The cool thing about this is that you don't need BT support or anything on the wheelbase what-so-ever.
This means that this wheel would work the same on both a DD2 with adapter or a SC2 wheelbase or any OSW wheel for that matter.

I still like Fanatec's wireless powered solution that doesn't require batteries the best, but otherwise I think this is a much more robust way to go than BT.

Why would any wheel company want to make wireless BT devices that only work with the SC2 when something like this is available and makes their wheel completely functional attached to any wheelbase out there?

Compare and contrast

Wireless USB uses less power so the battery lasts longer and it's an instant on device and tends to be more responsive.

BT is more likely to drop a connection and must stay on for longer periods to avoid losing connection also using more power. BT takes a longer to startup and the same happens when coming out of sleep.

My personal experience has always been that wireless USB devices are extremely reliable and just work. My personal experience with BT devices has been that they are less reliable.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Interesting, guess extra dongle on PC USB port is a nuisance, even Logitech and MS XBox controller switched to dongle less BT connection nowadays.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I have an 8 port USB 3 hub on my rig and plenty of USB ports.

I suspect most people with high end rigs are using many USB ports and think nothing of them.

The cool thing is that you could go wireless right now if you wanted.

BTW there are smart ways to use wireless USB connectivity. For example my Logitech mouse and keyboard share a single USB wireless plug. The plugs are tiny and many devices can be paired to them.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

I have closet full or wireless keyboards and mice, including ones with Logitech Unifying receiver. They all got replaced with BT based. More convenient.

 

[RobertR1]

USB is actually an easy area to have issues. I made it a point to minimze my USB usage:
2 simucube
1 pimax
1 pedals
1 wheel
1 kb/m
Nothing else. All running of the same mobo chipset to further reduce any chance of conflicts.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Robert,
I've never had a USB conflict, but I'll take your comment at face value.

Simple question. If BT really worked that well why does the SC2 need it's own BT receiver?
Why wouldn't you just pair a BT steering wheel directly to your computer and skip the middleman?
That seems like a chunk of wasted hardware.

I know that my wireless keyboard and mouse work perfectly and they are further away from my computer than any steering whee I used would be.

I'm legitimately curious about the whole point of that. One could argue that the SC2 introduces yet an unnecessary standard with Wheels specifically saying they are SC2 compatible. Why wouldn't they just be BT compatible so that I could use them on any wheelbase?

 

[RobertR1]

Robert,
I've never had a USB conflict, but I'll take your comment at face value.

Simple question. If BT really worked that well why does the SC2 need it's own BT receiver?
Why wouldn't you just pair a BT steering wheel directly to your computer and skip the middleman?
That seems like a chunk of wasted hardware.

I asked Mika the same thing:

https://community.granitedevices.com/t/simucube-wireless-wheel-support/1951/182?u=robertr1

 

[RCHeliguy]

So they have another potential point of failure with BT receiver firmware updates of its own, and numerous people commenting about having signal strength issues. So how are all of these wheels having such trouble communicating to a receiver a couple feet away?

Not only that, but it appears they are already looking to replace their BT module according to Mika.

"We are gathering ideas for the second version of the module, and we invite all interested wheel builder businesses to design the required features."​

As it stands right now all the buttons don't even work on some wheels since Granite State's current BT solution doesn't support them. So as it stands now I would consider the current BT unit in the SC2 a failure. It doesn't handle existing hardware adequately and is already slated for replacement.

If I were to go this route I'd be much more likely to get a wireless USB wheel like the one I listed. You know the Precision Engineering wheels work well and all the buttons will work. They were standard on Leo Bodnars for a while. No muss, no fuss!

I will admit that the SC2 and high end wheel solutions look sexy, and frankly I don't care if they have a built in BT solution since I can completely skip using it. My experience with BT devices has been very poor and I simply have not seen one thing to change my mind on this subject including the thread above which only reinforces my feelings on this subject.

For the SC2 it will just be one more device to upgrade and replace.

I should probably just try to close my eyes for 6 months and see where things are then.

 

[RaceNut]

I've had PC's that are very prone to constant USB issues and my current one is quite the opposite so, I think it has much to do with the mobo more than anything else. Still, having a simplified connection scheme should prove more reliable overall. Utilizing good quality USB-hubs with on-off switches can be another way to simplify your system when needed.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Same reason Samsung included on board BT receiver into Odyssey+, they have learned their lesson with original Odyssey.

 

[RobertR1]

I think it's important to stick with known facts and avoid too many "what if's":

- Current version has a limitation of 10 buttons for battery purposes and no LCD support
- Certain V1 wheels had enclosures that suffocated the signal
- *Any* tech product will involved and go through iterations
- V2 would be on the wheel side, not the wheelbase side
- If success continues there will be a SC3 wheelbase one day as there will be a better CPU than the 9900k one day and so on
- None of the above means that the previous version are subject to planned obsolescence

 

[Deleted member 197115]

redacted

 

[RCHeliguy]

Sounds like I may need to wait for the direct drive products to mature a bit more.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

"DD Solutions" were more matured in 2014, when OSW started gaining traction, than VR today.
Perfect will never happen, something better comes every year.
There was Argon, then IONICube, then SimuCube1, and finally SimuCube2.
And SC2 is certainly not the last revision from Granity, if they manage to stay in sim racing business.
Wireless is just nice to have gadget, race cars use coiled cords.
it could be more critical for Fanatec users since their wheels are not corded. If you heavily invested into those, perhaps Podium is a better solution so you can stay in walled garden ecosystem and not to worry about compatibility, battery life, BT connectivity, etc.

 

[RCHeliguy]

It's not about the investment. I just don't want to deal with cords. I don't care what they use in race cars. This is sitting in my house.

It appears I'm not alone or BT and wireless USB high end wheels would not exist.

I've even heard you complain about wearing out cables and what a pain they can be.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

It's not about the investment. I just don't want to deal with cords. I don't care what they use in race cars. This is sitting in my house.

It appears I'm not alone or BT and wireless USB high end wheels would not exist.

I've even heard you complain about wearing out cables and what a pain they can be.

Not sure when that happened, my 4 years in heavy service coiled cable is same as on day one.
Granted, wireless would be nice but I do not see myself replacing my wheels just for the sake of that questionable convenience that adds a slew of other problems.
Opting out of this useless debate.

 

[RCHeliguy]

The key there is slew of problems.

That said this is the only real downside I've seen. Otherwise it seems very robust and well sorted.

 

[Furnace Inferno]

It's not about the investment. I just don't want to deal with cords. I don't care what they use in race cars. This is sitting in my house.

It appears I'm not alone or BT and wireless USB high end wheels would not exist.

I've even heard you complain about wearing out cables and what a pain they can be.

I had more issues with the CSW V2 cordless connection/firmware than I ever had with the current coiled cables. The buttons would quite often be completely non-functional and/or I’d have no FFB until I restarted it, it happened a lot when switching from Xbox to PC mode.

I thought the cable would be an issue myself but once you use one, you quickly realise you don’t even notice it.