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Bug DOF Reality P3 - Inconsistent Connection with Game Engine & iRacing

Discussion in 'SimTools Pro & Entertainment Version' started by Greg Savoie, Dec 7, 2018.

  1. Greg Savoie

    Greg Savoie New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    Simulator

    1. Commercial or DIY: DOF Reality P3
    2. DOF (Number of axles ): 3
    3. Actuators (DIY, SCN5 etc.): SMC3 Mode2 motors
    4. Interface (Arduino, SCN, Mega, DIY etc. ): Arduino UNO SMC3, DOF Reality

    SimTools

    1. Version: V2.3
    2. Game Plugin: iRacing
    3. Settings (Relevant ones) ; Serial Com Port 5
    4. SimTools Licence type: Pro

    The connection between SimTools and DOF Reality P3 is inconsistent. I use the rig for iRacing I almost always need to exit and restart game manager and game engine after starting the iRacing simulation. Sometimes I get motion and other times I don't. If I exit iRacing simulation and go into another session, I do not get motion. I need to exit and restart Game Engine and Game Manager. I often hear a beep indicating that I will not get motion. Sometimes I need to reboot the computer (often more than once) to get motion.

    I changed USB cables. I've tried from 5 different USB ports all with the same results.

    Occasionally, the iRacing simulation crashes while in use. It has occurred 5 separate times. I've never had an iRacing simulation crash without connected to motion.

    If I use the Game Manager Off button, it beeps when I put it back on and I get no motion. I need to exit and restart Game Manager and Game Engine to have it work again.

    Please let me know any additional information you need.



    Thank you.

    Greg Savoie
  2. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    The beep suggests a hardware disconnect. So given you have tried different cables and USB ports it would likely be a good idea to contact DOFreality for support.
  3. Greg Savoie

    Greg Savoie New Member

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    Thank you for your advice. I have tried different USB cables and multiple USB ports. I have worked with DOFreality support. They sent me here after they were not able to discover the problem.
  4. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    Well as already suggested the beep is indicative of a hardware issue.

    Some things you can do:

    Is use clip on ferrite magnets to reduce interference.

    You can also use something like USB Tree Viewer to better investigate your USB, particularlyu if you are using motherboad USB ports, as there are usually shared controllers, even between different ports: https://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbtreeview_e.html

    If you are using onboard USB then you may want to consider a PCI USB card with dedicated controllers for each port.

    It is also possible that there could be an issue related to the Arduino and associated hardware. Even an over-stressed PSU can contribute to disconnects.

    You have not mentioned the context in which the disconnects occur, if they are just random or associated with something like a crash? In the case of the latter lowering the Game Manager % a bit, say to 95%, may help. The other possible related issue on the SimTools side, that may contribute to the latter, is that DOFreality owners tend to run Axis Allocations of many hundreds of percet in total, in other words a movement allocation that the rig is not physically capable of and which wil result in a spike during heavy hits or crashes.
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2018
  5. yobuddy

    yobuddy Well-Known Member Staff Member Moderator SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    I think noorbeast is on to something here.
    Please goto your axis assignments and set all the axis you use to 90% (be sure to hit save.)
    ed.jpg

    If you then get no errors, it's probably a motor not stopping in time and turning a pot to far?
    Anyway, please try this and report your results buddy.
    Take care,
    yobuddy
  6. Greg Savoie

    Greg Savoie New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    1. I ordered a PCI USB card with dedicated controllers for each port. It will arrive on Wednesday.
    2. I will change the limit the axis to 90%

    I do not know anything about Arduino. I am sorry for my ignorance. I tried to figure out what that means and still do not understand. Would you mind letting me know what Arduino hardware I am using and how to test if it is working right.

    My computer Power supply is described as Corsair CX750 750 Watts Bronze Certified SLI Ready Power Supply.

    As far as when disconnects occur:

    SMC testing - it either connects to the port for testing or it doesn't. When it doesn't connect, I just keep trying until it does. Sometimes it connects right away and sometimes I need to try 2-5 times.

    Game Engine Testing - it either connects or it doesn't. I get a beep if I will not get motion. Sometimes it will connect for testing and I will get motion; however, if I try to test a second time, it will not connect.

    Iracing testing: It either works or it doesn't work. If it works, it works perfectly through the entire session; however, if I leave one session and go to another session, it doesn't usually connect. I usually need to restart Game Engine and Game Manager once or twice. If that doesn't work, I need to reboot the computer and start over. That works sometimes, but not everytime.

    I am having what I believe is a separate issue with iRacing crashing; however, I no longer believe it has anything to do with SimTools. iRacing dump file indicates it is the RTX2080ti graphics card. iRacing is crashing even if SimTools is not running and the DOF Reality Rig is not turned on.

    I do not know anything about ferrite magnets or how to use them. Please give advice. I'm willing to try anything to make this whole thing work.

    Thank you very much for your help.
  7. yobuddy

    yobuddy Well-Known Member Staff Member Moderator SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    @Greg Savoie,
    A test that really should be done is connecting the simulator to a different PC.
    If the second PC does exactly the same thing, it would be very telling I think.
    Do you have another PC for a test?

    Chat soon,
    yobuddy
    • Agree Agree x 1
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2018
  8. mastrohead

    mastrohead New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    as usually... :-(
  9. Marcel Brunschwiler

    Marcel Brunschwiler New Member

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    My Motion Simulator:
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    I have the problem that on my Z370-E it is not recognized AT ALL... no usb connect beep (or disconnect beep)... works fine on a notebook though.
  10. yobuddy

    yobuddy Well-Known Member Staff Member Moderator SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    Is .net up to date?
  11. Marcel Brunschwiler

    Marcel Brunschwiler New Member

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    yep.... and just installed 4.8... no difference... that is the oddest behaviour I ever had. Nothing happens when plug-in/out. Works perfectly normal, when plugged in on one of my Notebooks though...
  12. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Sounds like your computer has a significant usb issue/conflict.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  13. Marcel Brunschwiler

    Marcel Brunschwiler New Member

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    Well, every other USB device I have - EVERY one - runs just fine without any problems... I will install a dualboot windows 10 over the weekend -> then I know if it is just a software issue of the current Win 10 installation (quite probable I guess)
  14. Marcel Brunschwiler

    Marcel Brunschwiler New Member

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    I can only recommend you to replace the P3 Arduino "copy" with an original Arduino Uno italian board and let it program it by remote session from dofreality service. The boards they use in the P3 have sometimes bad quality. I had one that was not recognized AT ALL on 2 PC's, yet on two other (older) PC's it worked.
    Do this before anything else and you potentially spare a lot of time!
    I replaced mine - and it worked perfectly fine immediately (so my Game PC was fine all the way)!!
    Last edited: May 3, 2019
  15. yobuddy

    yobuddy Well-Known Member Staff Member Moderator SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    One thing to note is that the Arduino clones that I have seen, require a driver to be installed, where the originals don't.
    So this could be one reason for this problem.
    Take care,
    yobuddy