New here, few questions

You know, I always hated when people wouldn't use the search function and have no doubt I'll get flak for this, so flame suit is on. Anyhow, every time I try to use search I get the error Sorry but you cannot use search at this time. Please try again in a few minutes. So I can't search is what I'm saying. I have a few questions about building a motion cockpit.

1: Noise. How much noise is assosciated with a dual wiper motor setup? I live in an apartment and am upstairs so if there's a lot of noise I can't do this at all.
2: Plans. I've done some parusing through numerous threads looking for a set of plans with dimensions, if even for a baseline. Do they exist or is it strictly build your own?
3: Power. From what I've seen, people use computer power supplies, radio power supplies, and car batteries. How draining is a dual wiper motor setup, how much will it increase energy usage, and what is the most efficient in your opinion?
4: Response. A few videos that I've seen show a significant delay in movement. Is this due to slow computer, slow movement, or is this normal? I've seen one cockpit where there was almost a full 2 second delay in the movement, so if I'm not able to make a responsive cockpit I may not bother. I have to be able to justify cost and time and space usage to my wife, and if it's not responsive I'll never hear the end of it!

These are just the first few hurdles for me to even consider starting a project like this. I thank you for your time and consideration in posting replies, and hope that before too long I can start posting pictures of my new project!

.

And why not ???

Remaggib - I hope that these links might help. They were sent to me some time back by Bernard (bvillersjr) - might also be worth checking out the DIY options on Bernard's web site: www.simxperience.com.

scn5-hardware-thread-t1083.html

http://www.x-simulator.de/wiki/Racing_S ... y_Mr.Burns

post17446.html?hilit=wood#p17446


Fully agree with the comments about the Search function too by the way. It does seem to be a bit of a lottery these days, with this message being received many, many more times than obtaining search results.

Regards
Iain

Thank you Iain, I will begin looking into those links!

Shannonb1, I posted this here because I'm looking to start a project, and this IS the area for projects.

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Let those in charge decide what goes where and what makes sense or not...
In the meanwhile just say Welcome! and maybe give a little advice!

Remagibb: You have good questions, unfortunately the answers are (as with most of the general questions here): It depends.

1. The noise of an actuator/wiper motor will vary, but they are not loud. You can hear the high pitch noise of the SCN5's in most videos. Most of the noise is suppressed by the speakers during gameplay. The other factor to noise is the mechanical construction. For example, backlash in gearing or pivot points will give loud clicking sounds, which would be much worse for those living under you because these are mechanical sounds.

2. There are plans out there, mostly for seatmover sims like the SimXperience products. DIY sims are not straight forward because everyone does them differently.

3. Power greatly depends on the actuators and the weight they have to carry. Wiper motors draw more than stepper motors (SCN5), but the over all power consumption won't be that high to worry about the cost of electricity, ~250W - ~500W peaks, average depends on how you drive . SCN5's will be more efficient.

4. I'm glad you asked about response, because it is often the most overlooked and important aspect of a simulator. This will again greatly depend on the whole system, and it is only as good as the weakest link. Just like in audio, if you start with an mp3 file, no matter how good your sound system is, music from the speakers will never be top quality. Most of the time however, you can greatly improve the sound by investing in the amp (controller) and speakers (actuators). This applies to a simulator as well, a good actuator with a good controller will make the difference.

I'm glad you are thinking with the end in mind, and you are absolutely correct. This brings me back to Roadster2's post. There is really no comparison between SCN5's and wiper motors (or other low cost actuators). At the moment nothing can match the performance and responsiveness of those actuators once set up properly. I also recommend SimXperience products, the best deals you will find, easy to set up, good customer support, highly modular, very good quality design. You can decide how much you want to build to save money, and how much you want to buy to save time.

I'll retract my statement then, but I for one can vouch for the crappy search engine on this site, putting things in better organized fashion will only help for new folks finding informaiton.

Plus I think I was a lil cranky when I posted.

I'm in for the ride also ill soon be starting my rig, right now i have some sad 2X4 setup. So the more newbie questions the better.
Thanks guys!

Not to worry - we've all been there !!

Regards
Iain

Thanks for sharing.Recent times Cheap Nike Free Run 2 is very popular and hot.I think you'd better have a look no matter you will buy or not.

Hey people I am new to this site and i am interested in building a car stimulation machine. I need to find a step by step guide on how to do this.. any suggestions?

Go through the motion sim projects, take notes and think about what sort you would like, then ask questions

To tell you the truth i wouldnt have a clue were to start lol'.. I have only heard u can build these in the last couple of days

Fair enough, there is help, but you would need to decide what you would like to build, joyrider with screen on? Frex with scree static and wheel and pedals moving with you? or seat mover, you move, everything else stays still.

I want to build one were the screen stays still and the wheel, pedals and gearbox moves with me

Frex.
Start reading please.

2dof-simple-wipermotor-chair-by-ua6aak-t2512.html
2dof-wiper-motor-car-simulator-by-deriy-sato-t2405.html
2dof-redesigned-big-worm-gear-motor-sim-t3640.html
rafbr-2dof-wiper-motor-cockpit-t3024.html

For control boards, use http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1393 one per motor, easy to set up and they are tougher than they look. I push mine over 38 amp spikes.
Motors, wipers second hand from car wreckers or what I use http://www.motiondynamics.com.au/worm-d ... orque.html they are a golf buggy motor.
Frame, built from what ever you like, steel ,wood , aluminium.
Cheers, David.

Mate Your a legend.. thanks for the help

You are welcome :thbup:

hi guys!!
I posted on a forum (i didnt created the tread) a few monts ago, is there a way to find back that post with my name?, cant recall which one and there was info on that post that i would like to recover... tks in advance