HAPP WHEEL / SERVO / FFB HACK - 1st Racing Cab Build. My Notes

[ScottoKong]

HI ALL

I've added my notes at the bottom of this thread.
Somehow I've managed to do this hack and not get the dreaded SHAKES.
Not sure how I've managed this while others with more knowledge than me haven't.
Hope my collated info can help others - I'll add some pics and tidy it up soon hopefully!

Scott


Hi All - Long Time lurker around these parts - pretty sure this is my first post!

I've been following a few builds here - especially gbeef's and badmouths.  

At this stage I'm just looking to run the model 2 and supermodel racers.

I've given up trying to buy an old cabinet (daytona/rally) - all the operators I talk to don't really want to sell anything as daytona is still a good earner and they want the parts!

I've found a guy that will sell me a a Daytona dashboard and another guy with a sega shifter.

My initial BIG question:
I want to jam my logitech momo wheel in behind the Daytona dash?  
Good idea?
Potential problems?
Any advice would be appreciated.

If that's not too hard to do I'll then worry about how to make the Sega Shifter interface (they only have 3 switches right?) and the VR & start buttons.

Thanks heaps
Scott

[BadMouth]

How much of the dash are you getting, just the plastic, or the metal bracket that goes behind it also?

The metal bracket is needed to hold the shifter.
There are also special bolts that hold the shifter in place that are drilled out for other screws to hold the cover on top the shifter.
See if you can get those from one of those guys also.

I'd just use a keyboard encoder for the shifter and all the other buttons.
You can get an encoder cheaper that will show up as a gamepad, but a lot of PC games limit you to ONE controller and the keyboard.

To mount the momo behind the dash, you'll just have to fabricate a longer steering shaft and maybe extend the wires.
gbeef did something similar, so he can probably offer better advice on that.

I threw away most of the momo wheel that I got the pcb out of for my new dash.  Those parts would have come in handy for this.  

[gbeef]

Hey good luck with your build as for what to do.
What your attempting is what i did with the G27 wheel i had. There's pros and cons to what i did, You need to hack up your momo, the only reason why i went with a G27 wheel was because i want to play PC's games with a clutch and a 6 way shifter.

Yes i did mount and cut my shift to fit. But.. im not happy with it i going to mod a SEGA shifter so it can go 6 ways. Because your building a custom cab you should have a problem mounting the wheel you can design the cabinet around it. But make sure to rip apart to the wheel to see the dimensions you dealing with. The front dash hole will be your limitation.


Also check out Badmouths driving thread in his signature.

[SNAAKE]

I have 2 random questions(sorry minor thread highjacking lol)

- xbox360 wheels work with emulators?
- is sega super GT emulated yet?

[BadMouth]

I have 2 random questions(sorry minor thread highjacking lol)
- xbox360 wheels work with emulators?

Not sure.  Most support x-input, so they should, but most also only have vibration feedback for x-input, so you might get screwed out of FFB.
Maybe someone with one can chime in?
(generic eric?)

- is sega super GT emulated yet?

Where you been?  

(didn't want to embedd off-topic video)

[gbeef]

If the Xbox 360 wheel works on a PC  then it would work for some.
The problem is for some emulators you need to run a driving profile. Logitech for example comes with software that you can use to set a profile per game because each game uses different control scheme.

[Generic Eric]

I have 2 random questions(sorry minor thread highjacking lol)
- xbox360 wheels work with emulators?

Not sure.  Most support x-input, so they should, but most also only have vibration feedback for x-input, so you might get screwed out of FFB.
Maybe someone with one can chime in?
(generic eric?)

My wireless wheel will not connect using either of the two usb wireless xbox dongles (not correct term)  But I had a bear of a time getting the driver to load on WIN7x64.  YMMV   

OTOH, the new xbox360 wheel is coming out soon, that might work???

[ScottoKong]

Thanks for the replies gbeef and badmouth.

I'll get started now - now doubt I'll be chasing you up for advice.

I just realised thatI've got a spare ipac2 laying around - so I should use that for the shifter and the VR, start etc.

Any advice regarding the wiring of the shifter and the 3 switches?
Is it just a matter of setting up the ini (software), or do I have to add another switch to the shifter?

Thanks again for the quick responses!
Scott

[BadMouth]

Any advice regarding the wiring of the shifter and the 3 switches?
Is it just a matter of setting up the ini (software), or do I have to add another switch to the shifter?

I'm not familiar with the original Daytona shifter.  I have a Ketz from later model 3 games that only uses 3 switches.
I'm assuming they are similar.

You can wire it like this:

and it will work, but one gear will always be registering.
You'll have to install a switch on the ground to disable it while mapping other keys.
I'm also not sure if it will cause headaches if it is wired to a keyboard encoderrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It's probably best to install another switch like I did here so nothing registers when the shifter isn't in gear:

The switch is a few bucks at Radio Shack.  I don't have a diagram, but I'll make you one when your build progresses.
(don't go by the wiring in the picture of my shifter above, it's set up to be hacked into the MOMO, which works differently.  If you aren't going to use the buttons on the wheel, you could do it that way also, but the keyboard encoder would be easiest)

[ScottoKong]

Ok I was just about to go down the path of a custom build when I managed to score an empty Cruis'n USA cab for a decent price!!!  
It needs a good clean but it should look great if I can manage to pull this off!

I was planning on just jamming my Logitech MOMO in there until the cab turned up with a motor and a 270 degree wheel - Looks similar to the happ ones???

I kinda think I have to at least try and use the motor with a servo amp like Badmouth and others.

I'm venturing into an area I've got very little experience in so I'd really appreciate advice re the following:

1. Does the motor look usable for a hack? - Model 4z140  Any ideas/advice guys?

2. I should ditch the MOMO and look for a pot based wheel to hack - so what are POTential donors?    Logitech EX?

3. I'd also really appreciate some info re the necessary pots for the pedal and the hack - the more info the better? Where to buy?

4. Can someone recommend me a servo amp - exact brand and model would be appreciated. I'm assuming Ebay?

I can see this project taking me forever and living in the middle of Queensland means I'll probably me lengthy postage times.  
I'd love to be able to get everything I need ordered so I can get stuck in to it over the Christmas holidays!

Thanks heaps
Scotto

[brad808]

.

[gbeef]

1. Does the motor look usable for a hack? - Model 4z140  Any ideas/advice guys?
i've never seen that one before, and i have both versions.

2. I should ditch the MOMO and look for a pot based wheel to hack - so what are POTential donors?  LOL  Logitech EX?
Badmouth did the MOMO hack sounded like it was a ton of work.

3. I'd also really appreciate some info re the necessary pots for the pedal and the hack - the more info the better? Where to buy?
100K and 50K electronics shop

[BadMouth]

That's definitely a Happ setup.  It's a DC motor, it will work the same as any other.  The model # isn't important.

Although the pot-based hack is simpler, the MOMO hack isn't too bad if you can find an 800CPR optical encoder for a decent price.
If you can find a used driving force ex for $30 though, definitely go that route.

Most of the problems that I had were me learning from my mistakes because there weren't any examples to go by.

Here's the same model encoder that I used in mine (same seller)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOTION-CONTROL-DEVICES-ENCODER-C-0173-800-SBO-/360259463974?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e1232b26
The seller included a wiring diagram.
You'll have to find a way to attach it.  There are two very small screw holes on the front of it. I widened out the center hole on the arm that holds the pot and drilled another hole above it to secured it with ONE screw.  Sounds half-arsed, but there isn't really any force on it.  It's held in place by the shaft.

Here's my tutorial on hacking the MOMO.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=113040.0

What potentiometers you need depends on what wheel you are hacking.  Some used 100k, some use 10k, some use 50k.
(The arcade pots are 5k)
The numbers Gbeef gave were for the Driving Force EX.  The momo uses 10k pots on the pedals.
You'll have to wait until you know what wheel you're hacking before getting the pots.


EDIT: Not really relevant, but I believe Dayton makes the feedback motors for Logitech wheels.

[ScottoKong]

Hi All - Thanks for the advice.

Looks like I should be able to pick up a pot based logitech wheel delivered for around $50.

I've stumbled across some info at Mark's Basement Arcade. http://home.comcast.net/~mshaker/marks_arcade_006.htm
He makes it sound fairly straight forward.

I need to have a good read of the thesharkfactor's HowToGuide.

Looks like the hardest part will be finding a Servo Amp - I'm hoping the US eBay guys will post me 1 to Australia.

I'll keep you posted!


Scotto

[ScottoKong]

Hi All

I've been reading everything I can.
Translating Dutch and French like crazy!

A couple of questions.

1. Everything I read talks about powering the HAPP Motor with 24V.
From the manuals I've seen for Cruis'n USA the cab motor was driven by 18V.  
My question is why 24V and not 18V?
If I could go with 18V I'd use the PSU already in the cab and save $100.


2. Also is it possible to get rid of the rattling when going straight that I've read about on some forums?
I just want to be able to play daytona and sega rally on model 2.
I've read where others have ended up giving up on this mod and decided to save their dollars and look at modding a sega motor.


I'm now off to get stuck into cleaning the cab - 17 years worth of dust  

Scotto  

[brad808]

18v should work fine. If not get a new ps at that time. Try what you already have though.

You can get rid of the rattle through software. Part of the reason I've taken the ps2 out if my cab right now. Too much of a headache. Set the amc perfect for one game and then switch games it's way off. No software control. The only way to get it to work with all was to have the ffb strength too low to be any fun. On the computer same thing set it for one game and load up another it's off. I set the amc so it worked well with the test ffb settings in windows/ logitech profiler. Make that sort of home base, then mess around with ffb settings per game/ emulator from there too remove any rattle.


Just to clarify the stock logitech wheel has the same issue.

[BadMouth]

Would it be possible to put some kind of "on the fly" voltage adjustment between the pcb and the servo amp inputs?
It would be nice to be able to adjust the feedback strength with a hidden knob.

[brad808]

Would it be possible to put some kind of "on the fly" voltage adjustment between the pcb and the servo amp inputs?
It would be nice to be able to adjust the feedback strength with a hidden knob.

That was sort if my initial thinking as well i mentioned in my thread a few Weeks ago i was considering putting a put with the same values as the reference in On the amc in a place easily accessible. The problems I've thought of so far regarding a pot there is first nobody else would be able to use it except for me, not a big deal. The other problem is that the offset needs to be adjusted as the voyage changes to read 0 at center. I would be curious though if a pot like you mentioned would be the hardware equivalent of "overall feedback effects strength" in software.



Sort of a side note from that. Has anyone powered logitech board with 24v 6amp power supply and went directly too motor by pass servo? I assume it might be too much for the logitech board to draw. then a pot would be ideal i would think. Not sure what the power rating on logitech are but that might be Ann alternative route beefing that up.


Hopefully collectively we can tweak and make small changes to the hack to get a more ideal setup.


Phone = spelling mistakes sorry

[BadMouth]

Has anyone powered logitech board with 24v 6amp power supply and went directly too motor by pass servo? I assume it might be too much for the logitech board to draw. then a pot would be ideal i would think. Not sure what the power rating on logitech are but that might be Ann alternative route beefing that up.

There is a company that makes a kit to run that size power supply to a G27 (still using the original motors and using fans to keep them cool).  It involves replacing a bunch of surface mount components on the G27 PCB, so I'd assume that the original components can't handle the current.  I doubt it's pulling as much current as the happ motor would.
Search for "Arc Team G27-E mod" for more info.

EDIT: The G27 mod uses a 36V supply.

[brad808]

Has anyone powered logitech board with 24v 6amp power supply and went directly too motor by pass servo? I assume it might be too much for the logitech board to draw. then a pot would be ideal i would think. Not sure what the power rating on logitech are but that might be Ann alternative route beefing that up.

There is a company that makes a kit to run that size power supply to a G27 (still using the original motors and using fans to keep them cool).  It involves replacing a bunch of surface mount components on the G27 PCB, so I'd assume that the original components can't handle the current.  I doubt it's pulling as much current as the happ motor would.
Search for "Arc Team G27-E mod" for more info.

EDIT: The G27 mod uses a 36V supply.

hmm now that looks interesting. I'd be willing to swap out some parts on one of my boards if we can find a chip/ circuit that can handle that much current. I already have the one pcb that has a blown chip that powers the ffb. Obviously the g27/25 hack is quite a bit different as a whole but the idea of changing a few components regarding the ffb is an eye opener. Anyway I'll keep that in the back of my head. I'll put that on the back burner with all the other little projects

[gbeef]

If your are planning on using a G27 or G25 it does have 2 motors inside in the side. Im not sure if that matters but just a  heads up

[brad808]

If your are planning on using a G27 or G25 it does have 2 motors inside in the side. Im not sure if that matters but just a  heads up

Not planning on using a g27 myself. Was just pondering the idea of trying to mod the driving force to be able to handle the large current that the happ motor would require

[brad808]

Hi All

I've been reading everything I can.
Translating Dutch and French like crazy!

A couple of questions.

1. Everything I read talks about powering the HAPP Motor with 24V.
From the manuals I've seen for Cruis'n USA the cab motor was driven by 18V. 
My question is why 24V and not 18V?
If I could go with 18V I'd use the PSU already in the cab and save $100.


2. Also is it possible to get rid of the rattling when going straight that I've read about on some forums?
I just want to be able to play daytona and sega rally on model 2.
I've read where others have ended up giving up on this mod and decided to save their dollars and look at modding a sega motor.


I'm now off to get stuck into cleaning the cab - 17 years worth of dust 

Scotto 

So I was just reading in the manual for the amc servo amp I have and it needs at least 20volt power supply. Double check the manual fir the model you got

[ScottoKong]

Hi All

I'm still waiting for my servo amp to arrive.  While I'm waiting I've managed to hack a Logitech driving force wheel to use the Crusin USA wheel and pedals.  I only hope I can get the FFB working so easily!

I've tried to wire the 4 speed shifter (with 4 microswitches) using the info over at Marks Arcade. http://home.comcast.net/~mshaker/marks_arcade_006.htm 
I've got the gears registering in the profiler and in the configuration settings in Model2 but they're fairly unusable - looks like I'll need diodes like Mark talks about.  I hadn't planned on going down that path - I'm planning on using an ipac2 down the track when I upgrade my 1/2 finished MAME cab to 4 players.
I'm a little confused by Mark's instructions.  All 4  switches are daisy chained and enter the PCB via pin 8, and use pins 12 through 15.  Do I need to ditch the daisy chain, rewire and put a diode on the common of each microswitch?

Here's a couple of pics of my heavily faded dash and 17 years of dust.

As always - Thanks heaps

[brad808]

"All 4  switches are daisy chained and enter the PCB via pin 8, and use pins 12 through 15.  Do I need to ditch the daisy chain, rewire and put a diode on the common of each microswitch?"


Yes you should be connecting each switch common with a diode to pin 8 and then connect the n.o. to either 12,13,14,15. Otherwise you will get cross between the buttons. Is that what you mean by unusable? You are getting multiple/ random button presses?

[ScottoKong]

Hi All

After waiting ages for my parts to arrive I'm about to wire everything up.   
I just want to double check the wiring from the PSU to the servo.
Should it look like this?



Also I've got what I assume are ceramic resistors wired to the HAPP motor (originally wired into the Crusin USA cab).
Do I need them?
Nobody else has mentioned them in their builds?



As always thanks for all the advice!
Scott

[brad808]

Hi All

After waiting ages for my parts to arrive I'm about to wire everything up.  
I just want to double check the wiring from the PSU to the servo.
Should it look like this?



Also I've got what I assume are ceramic resistors wired to the HAPP motor (originally wired into the Crusin USA cab).
Do I need them?
Nobody else has mentioned them in their builds?



As always thanks for all the advice!
Scott

Looks good to me. If you have a voltmeter/multimeter (if not pick one up - $10, really handy) and put it on the V+ and V- you plan on using. It should read 24V. If it is slightly off 24V you should use the V. Adj pot to adjust it up to proper 24V. This will also tripple check that you are using the correct outputs from the power supply. That psu is slightly different from the one I'm using as it has two V+ and two V-. They might be mirror outputs so you have two places to connect to 24V (My guess is this one) or the power supply might have different voltage outputs such as 24V/ 12V (It should say somewhere if it is). You have to check with a multimeter or manual if it came with one to be positive.

As far as the ceramic components I can't comment because mine simply doesn't have them. I haven't seen them on any other pictures I've seen of other peoples' hacks either. That might be the answer you need?

[ScottoKong]

Thanks heaps Brad

Got a multimeter from my days mucking about with pinball machines. Just gotta find it!

I'll triple check everything and measure the signal after the resistors.

I've read so many posts on half a dozen forums and nobody has mentioned or photographed resistors like these?

Wish me luck and I'll post the results!
Scott

[jammin0]

Those big resistors look like 1 or 5W resistors.  The little ones that are more common are generally 1/8 or 1/4 Watts.  I wouldn't take them out because they are probably bringing your current down quite a bit.  The only way to know for sure what is going on is to measure how much current your motor pulls in the circuit.  It's a little bit harder then checking for voltage because your circuit has to be live and you put your multimeter in series with it.

I wouldn't remove them until you know what your motor can handle. 

[ScottoKong]

Howdy Guys - I've managed to get everything wired up without zapping myself!

Been testing with Daytona on Model2.
I'm not experiencing any of the centering issues some others have mentioned.
I've got resistance when turning - probably a little too much so I need to do some adjusting of the trim pots.

But when I run into the wall, or nudge another car I get nothing.  No rumbling or shaking.
That's not right is it??? It's been years sine I played a real Daytona cab.

Have I got to adjust the ini file?
Or is the Logitech profiler the issue?

Thanks again!
Scott

[BadMouth]

Been testing with Daytona on Model2.
I'm not experiencing any of the centering issues some others have mentioned.
I've got resistance when turning - probably a little too much so I need to do some adjusting of the trim pots.

But when I run into the wall, or nudge another car I get nothing.  No rumbling or shaking.
That's not right is it??? It's been years sine I played a real Daytona cab.

Have I got to adjust the ini file?
Or is the Logitech profiler the issue?

FFB has to be enabled.
EnableFF=1
in emulator.cfg

For most Logitech wheels, if you bring up the wheel under game controllers in the windows control panel and press the various buttons on the steering wheel, it will demo different FFB effects such as a crash, or driving over a wooden bridge.
That will at least tell you if your hack is working.

[ScottoKong]

It's Alive!!!

I literally spent 2 minutes setting this thing up once it was all wired (and I enabled FFB in the ini - rookie error I know!!!)
It really is so simple. 

I might try and post a quick vid or pics this weekend once I get it all housed in the Crusin cab.

I've gotta thank Brad808, Gbeef, and Badmouth for putting up with my noob questions and continually responding so quickly.

I think I'll be hassling you again in the coming weeks as I struggle to get my front end setup! 

Again - Thanks so much.
Scott


 

[brad808]

Glad you got it working ok. Out of curiosity what ever became of those resistors? Did you take them off or leave them on? Did you try it with them on/off and notice any differences?

Sent from my Desire HD

[BadMouth]

Glad it's working. 
I'd like to see more pics of that cab!
It's sooooo different than the Cruis'n cabs that we have here in the U.S.

[ScottoKong]

Well after pretty good about myself I've hit a snag.

I've got Daytona playing better than I'd hoped it would so I thought I'd just finish the night of with a quick game of Sega Rally.

As soon as I insert a coin SR has the centering wobbles that others have mentioned, and it wants to go hard left and right - uncentering???.
I initially had Daytona doing this (prior to activating FFB in the ini).
When I turned on the FFB I also reversed the polarity going to the motor which left me with a really playable version of Daytona.

Just did some quick testing:
Sega GT 24 - works fine (just a little slow on my PC)
Sega Touring Car Champ. wants to pull left and right - no wobbles.
BTW - I have my steering inverted on all these games - could this mean my steering pot it backwards? Could that be part of the problem?
I took the invert off Daytona - nothing odd started happening


Any ideas guys?

[BadMouth]

BTW - I have my steering inverted on all these games - could this mean my steering pot it backwards? Could that be part of the problem?

Yup.  You shouldn't need to have steering inverted on any of the games.  Pedals are another story.
You should verify that the steering is working right by opening it up under game controllers in the windows control panel.

[ScottoKong]

Hi All

I haven't had much time of late to spend on the racing cab.   Got a week off work so I should be able to make some progress. 
I've installed a new gxf card with s-video - got it running into an old CRT TV.  I know many people don't think much of s-video but I'm really happy with the results.

I'm gonna get brave and decase the TV - any advice is welcomed.  From my measurements it will sneak in by a bee's dick.





Happy Easter!

[BadMouth]

Glad you are still on it!

My busy season at work is almost over, so I be able to get back to fiddling with various steering wheel hacks again.
For now, I went back to the old CP in my cab.

[ScottoKong]

Hi All

It's been awhile since I've been poking around here.
Good to see a few people are continuing to have a crack at this.
I've simply documented what I did, hopefully saving others a bit of research. 
This write-up isn't 100% finished - needs a few pics....but a couple of you out there have asked to see what I've come up with.



Happ Wheel / Logitech Force Feedback / Servo Amplifier Hack - BE CAREFUL - ELECTRICITY CAN KILL.  DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!

I’m not taking any credit for this.  I’m just collating the best bits of all the reading I did, and some learnings – just the info needed to get this thing working.  It’s all thanks to a handful of guys that have really helped me out; namely Badmouth, Brad808, Gbeef, and the posts of Sharkfactor.  Sharkfactor had a lovely Initial D cab that he told me he sold in late 2010 and he couldn’t recall too many of the finer details. 

Taking this on might seem a little scary.  From my experience it wasn’t that hard.  If you can get the parts cheaply it’s really worth it.  I didn’t solder a single wire thanks to the wonders of heatshrink (I’m in the middle of going back and tidying everything up).

I also gotta thank JohnBatley.com – Electrician and Guitar Picker extradonaire. 
He gave my project the final once over before I dared turn it on, and was a keen Daytona tester!

Also I got to say that originally I was never planning on doing this hack of a Logitech wheel to a Servo Amplifier.  All I wanted to do was jam my Logitech MOMO wheel behind a Daytona Dash, build a cab to house a decent monitor/TV and find a racing seat, so that I could play Model 2 racers with some feeling of authenticity. 

As I was about to buy a Daytona dash I scored an empty Crusin USA cab nearby on eBay for the price I was going to have to pay for a Seat and the Daytona dash. 

Long story short, the Crusin cab turned up with a HAPP wheel and motor.  After reading as much as I could, across at least 6 forums, in 3 different languages, I decided I had to give it a shot. 

At the last minute a guy over at Arcadeotaku nearly talked me out of having a go at this…telling me the hack isn’t usable (quoting the shakes issue – “why do you think Sharkfactor sold his so quickly?”).  He suggested I save my money and invest in a Sega Wheel with a clutch, and build the PCB detailed on a French Forum.
Thankfully I didn’t listen to this guy; besides my servo was already on its way from the US!!! 


WHAT I USED:
HAPP Wheel & Pedals
1.   Mine turned up unexpectedly in a Crusin USA cabinet I bought on eBay. 
Some people have bought new ones here http://www.happcontrols.com/driving/50010200.htm 

Donor Wheel:
2.   Logitech Driving Force Steering Wheel for the Playstation 2 also works for PC.  Got mine on eBay for $40 delivered.  It’s worth noting that the steering on this wheel uses a Potentiometer. 
Newer Logitech wheels use an optical encoder.  Pot based wheels are much easier to hack.  Badmouth has made this work with a Logitech MOMO and an optical encoder. 
If you’re a rookie like me go and get a pot based wheel!
 
3.   12v PSU for the Wheel.  Most that have done this hack recommend not using the original Logitech 24v PSU.   Doesn’t need to be anything fancy, mine is from an old printer.  Just make sure the polarity is the same.  I’ve never tried the 24v PSU on my rig.  Apparently the 12v PSU just softens everything up, and from memory the AMC Servo doesn’t like anything over 15v (pretty sure Sharkfactor gave me this advice).

Servo Amplifier:
4.   Got my “Advanced Motion Control” 30A8T on eBay for $35 (US Seller: Dannony09) – cost me more for postage to Australia!  This is the 10 dip switch version.  It needs to have 1, 3 & 5 dips ON – more on the settings below.  You need a Brush Servo, NOT BRUSHLESS.  There are other brands that people have used, but most use an AMC.

PSU for the Servo Amplifier:
5.   I used a a 24v 6.5A PSU to power the HAPP motor.  I got mine at JAYCAR (an Australian Electronics Store).  I’m sure the exact same thing is on eBay for half the price I paid, including delivery from China.

Potentimeters:
6.   The donor Driving Force wheel uses:
o   Two 50k linear pots for the Pedals, and
o   One 100k linear pot for the Steering Wheel

Misc Bits & Pieces:
While you’re grabbing the pots pick up:
o   Heat shrink – I didn’t solder anything, and the heat shrink works a treat.  One day I’ll go back and solder everything up nicely.
o   Some wire – a couple of meters of a few colours.
o   A pack of terminal connectors – I think I used 9 from memory, so a 12 pack should do (for wiring up the PSU).
o   Wire stripper / Terminal Crimper – I used my old faithful $5 one.


WIRING EVERYTHING UP:

1.   Wiring the POTS.
I started by installing the 3 pots and getting them interfaced with the Logitech PCB, and working properly in the Logitech profiler before I started messing with hooking up the Servo and PSU etc.  This is all pretty straight forward – just take note of the colours coming from the original pots in the Logitech wheel.

Start with the pedals.  Get them wired up and working with the Logitech software.
I initially wired my steering wheel pot backwards.  At the time I didn’t worry about it too much – I simply reversed the settings in the Model 2 configuration.  However I eventually had to go back and fix this as it caused problems with Sega Rally, and most likely PC games etc.

2.   Wiring the Servo Amplifier
Need to add pics
Pics in previous post - LINK

3.   Wiring the 24v 6.5A PSU
Need to add pics



About an hour later I had the arcade wheel and pedals interfaced with the guts of the donor wheel and pedals.



Here is a picture of the wiring of the PSU – ie from the Wall Socket to the PSU, and the 24v out to the AMC Servo Amplifier.












TUNING THE SERVO AMP
Basically after everything is wired up correctly you have to set DIP Switches and Fine Tune Trim Pots.

Dip Switches:
The AMC 30A8T Servo Amp I have has 10 dip switches. 
This model needs 1, 3 and 5 on; the rest off.

Trim Pots:
There are 4 trim pots to fine tune.  They have no end, ie. when they are fully in or out they will keep spinning.  Here’s the settings that everyone seems to recommend.
1.   Fully CCW - Off
2.   Fully CW.  This determines the power going to the motor. 
3.   CW 4 to 6 turns.  Start out all the way CCW and adjust this to taste.
4.   Adjust to bring balance to the wheel.  It controls the bias.  Adjust to eliminate drifting left or right, or if it is easier to turn one way than another.


TROUBLE SHOOTING
o   Be sure to enable FFB in the Model 2 ini file.  The FFB value needs to be changed from 0 to 1.

o   Early on when I wired up my steering pot I had it wired backwards.  This presented no problem (I simply inverted the controls in the Model 2 controller configuration) until I hooked up the Servo Amp.  Daytona played excellently, but Sega Rally had the shakes, and was pulling full left and right (some have called this uncentering) as soon as I inserted a credit.  I simply had to re-wire the steering pot so that the controls weren’t inverted. 

o   The uncentering problem usually means that you’ll need to reverse the polarity of the power going to the HAPP motor.  I simply swapped the two leads going to the HAPP motor on the Servo Amp.  Problem solved.  From what I’ve read nearly everyone has to make this change.

o   From all my reading it seems most people have abandoned the idea of using this setup to run PS2 games.  I’ve never tried but it seems that the lack of software control means that new Servo settings / tweaks of the Trim Pots are needed for each game.   

MY RESULTS
FFB on Model 2 racers works great.  There is some funny stuff that goes on with SEGA Rally on Model 2 that everyone experiences between games.  I’ve never experienced the centring shakes that some have experienced.  I think Badmouth talked about having it and then curing it, but couldn’t remember exactly what he did.  I’ve got a couple of PC games working great with FFB.  I haven’t messed with Supermodel (and I’m not sure FFB is supported yet).

Now with everything running I’m starting to look at some PC games, upgrading the PC to run Supermodel, running DEMUL, and trying to get FFB working in Outrun.  Update – months have passed and I still haven’t done much!

LINKS
Mark’s Basement.  http://home.comcast.net/~mshaker/marks_arcade_001.ht
Mark seems to be one of the first to undertake this hack.  I emailed him a couple of times during my build but never had a response, and the site doesn’t appear to have been updated for quite a while.  Mark has documented how to hack the buttons on the Logitech PBC.  I haven’t worried about any of these buttons yet.  I think I can get away with using an IPAC keyboard encoder for my service buttons, and 4 speed shifter.  Again I only really want to play the Model 2 racers, and this should suffice. 
I’ve recently bought a 2nd Logitech Driving Force wheel that will get me around some programming/button assignment issues for now.  Some PC games require you to allocate a button for all actions; for example I couldn’t just reassign the brake.     

Badmouth’s MOMO hack.  The Logitech MOMO wheel uses an optical encoder which seems heaps harder than it is to hack a pot based Logitech wheel like the one I used.  Looks like he’s done all the hard work, and he makes it seem fairly easy.  The hardest thing seems sourcing an optical encoder.  They turn up on eBay for around $50.     

[BadMouth]

Thanks for posting that man. 

The recent questions about the shifters and servo amp hack have made me realize how scattered the info is and that the driving cab thread is in need of an overhaul and some restructuring.  It's also missing some recent developments.  I'm just too busy at the moment and have to be in the mood to do it.