People often ask me what kind of equipment I use. I’ve been thinking about making a video of my installation for a long time, but unfortunately it’s impossible for three reasons:
- Lack of time. A lot of projects are in progress, and I have a fuller personal life than before
- My installation is a living laboratory: it changes from one week to the next.
- I operate in an absolute mess (because of 1. and 2.)
So I prefer to write an article that can evolve quietly, and be enriched with quality pictures from time to time. I also take the opportunity to show you what I used to use in the past, and what I recommend or not to buy.
The steering wheel.
The big difference! I started with a G27 (the best value for money EVER!!!). Then when my pedals started to be perfect, I switched to a second hand Simucube 1: 700€ without the steering wheel with the big rod and a good encoder. So I won’t have any advice to give on the “middle” of the range, which I don’t know at all.
I strongly advise against starting a DIY Direct Drive today. You might as well buy a second hand SC1, or wait for the little Fanatec, which in my opinion will be as good as an SC1.
There is nothing special on this side, I just integrated the electronics to the chassis in a compact case.
As for the steering wheel, I first made this LMP1 steering wheel. Then as time went on I developed my own wheels. I mainly use a round wheel. And all my steering wheels are based on the wireless simucube board, which is excellent. I also have a nice wooden steering wheel… Well, I don’t use it every morning…
The pedal set.
I started with the G27, then I developed my hydraulic pedals. Now I’m using a Doppler base that NSH gave me and that brought me a lot of ideas. I’m progressively switching back to SRT as I update it.
The gearbox
One SRT of course ! Currently in cable version.
The rig.
In the days of the g27, I simply had a wooden box that was attached to the sofa. For my first motion simulator I welded steel bars with a go-kart bucket. Very nice but difficult to evolve.
I am now using the NSH Spyder rig. It’s really an excellent chassis. No real flaw: it’s solid, clean, modulable (and I did mod it a lot ^^). I’ll write a complete article about the chassis itself.
I also maximized the integration of the components: there is only one power outlet for the whole chassis.
The pedals are connected to the Simucube. Then I have two USB cables for the jacks and tensioner control boxes. So one power outlet, three USB cables, and two jacks for the bass shakers. There are also relays that cut the power when a device is not in use. It took a long time to integrate all the electronics, but it makes for a very clean setup, and very quick to start.
Recently I installed four retractable casters that make it easy to move the simulator. I printed a callout to be able to lower the casters. Thus, the lowered position of the caster corresponds to the height of the chassis with the actuators using the “linear bearing mount EASY MOUNT”. The small white block houses a magnet that holds the black lever when the caster is raised. The bottom middle hole has been re-drilled to 8mm diameter to let through an M8 screw that holds a 40×40 bracket. The 3D files and the shopping list are on Thingiverse.
The actuators.
3 SRT100 V2.
The VR :
For me VR was a revolution, impossible to go back. In comparison, even the best triple screens are “tinkering” (sorry…). I have had many headsets: Vive, Lenovo Explorer, 5k+, 8KX. I’m currently using the 8KX.
Bass shakers :
4 bass shakers controlled by Simhub
Seatbelt Tensionner
My seatbelt tensionner.
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