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Author Topic: Fursphere's driving cabinet build  (Read 41750 times)

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Fursphere

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #80 on: June 15, 2013, 04:45:51 pm »
I need to do a little finish sanding, and I might spray it with a coat of varathane to give it a little shine, but overall I'm happy with it. 

I wanted to go a lot more pre-sanding work, but I realized that I just don't have the time.   I'd rather get it back together and actually play games then keep ignoring it because I don't to work on it. 

The whole passion vs. bandwidth thing.  :)

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #81 on: June 15, 2013, 07:23:33 pm »
My original plan was to paint it up like a police car and put a working lightbar on it, in the spirit of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit

After chasing down light bars for about two months, I found that they are outrageously expensive.  ($800+).  Way too much for a cosmetic feature, no matter how cool it would have been. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #82 on: June 15, 2013, 10:44:53 pm »
Well as long as you don't want a real police light bar dx.com sells a bunch of "police style" kits.  It's China so it isn't illegal for them to sell red/blue lights for cars. 

Here's the first one that popped up... they have more:

http://dx.com/p/police-style-car-12v-12-led-red-blue-stroboscopic-light-with-3-mode-controller-15729

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #83 on: June 15, 2013, 11:02:36 pm »
Never seen that site.  Interesting.

I was looking for a more traditional "police" style bar.  Not sure how I would incorporate those into the cabinet to make it "feel" right.

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #84 on: June 15, 2013, 11:18:17 pm »
It's a great site, they carry everything, even arcade parts. 

What that kit contains are the mini light arrays that make up the light bar.  You'd have to find/build an aluminum bar to put them in.  They are about 3/4 sized I think, but that might actually be a good thing for your purposes. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #85 on: June 15, 2013, 11:28:11 pm »
They have a variety  on there... for the budget conscience get a couple of these.

http://dx.com/p/police-style-car-dc-12v-12-led-red-blue-white-waterproof-stroboscopic-light-pair-25921

here's a middle of the road

http://dx.com/p/police-style-car-dc-12v-36-led-red-blue-stroboscopic-light-with-3-mode-controller-15751

and if you are willing to pay for it, these are official strobes for audi police cars

http://dx.com/p/police-style-car-dc-12v-16-led-red-blue-stroboscopic-light-with-controller-for-audi-a6l-15983

here's another budget model with a bit more of an enclosure. 

http://dx.com/p/1w-multi-purpose-vehicle-decoration-lights-2-lights-5992

Here is what modern, American plice cars use to build their light bars

http://dx.com/p/police-style-car-dc-12v-96-led-red-blue-stroboscopic-light-with-3-mode-controller-15985

And if you like the old fashioned, 80's style ones, you can pick up a couple of these

http://dx.com/p/police-style-car-dc-12v-red-blue-high-intensity-stroboscopic-light-with-speed-controller-15984

They also have the removable dome lights that you'd see on Starsky and Hutch. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #86 on: June 17, 2013, 01:36:26 pm »
too.many.options

head.exploded

:)

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #87 on: June 17, 2013, 06:23:31 pm »
Heh... I was just letting you know, while you can't find a ready-made light bar for a reasonable price, you can make one (one of the modern ones anyway) for well under 100 bucks. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #88 on: June 19, 2013, 09:07:17 am »
What about the 'retro' beacon style light? Like the magnetic ones used by cops who drive their own car? You could get or make one of those pretty cheap...and the car wouldn't necessarily need to be painted like a cop car.

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #89 on: June 19, 2013, 12:24:27 pm »
What about the 'retro' beacon style light? Like the magnetic ones used by cops who drive their own car? You could get or make one of those pretty cheap...and the car wouldn't necessarily need to be painted like a cop car.

They make small versions of those that are USB powered.  I bought a pair for my driving cab with the intention of using MAMEhooker to interface them, but then I dropped and broke one.  :-\   Wasn't sure how the flashing would translate to the rotating reflector of them anyway.

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #90 on: June 19, 2013, 12:59:47 pm »
They've got some of those on the site as well, I just got sick of linking everything. 

You know, in the 70's city cop cars uses the beacons to make their bars.  They just had a simple steel frame in the shape of a V with 4 blue on one side and 4 red on another. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #91 on: September 04, 2013, 09:24:33 am »
Was able to get get back to this thing last weekend.  Between work, wife, and kids - I've had zero time to even look at the cabinet lately.  :(  But as of last night its actually operational again.  Played Outrun 2006 for about an hour with my 3 year old son - I think he thinks the point of the game is bumper cars.  hehe

So I think I mentioned it before - but I was given a set of Logitech x530 speakers and told to do whatever I want with them - so I did.  :)

I gutted the front and center speakers, then grafted them into the plate above the monitor.  Then took what was left of the front right speaker "control" area and made and under-dash volume control out of it, as well as re-wiring the front right speaker output. 

I'm still working on the rear speakers, but I think I came up with a plan last night that you can see in the pictures - just need to finish it.

And lastly - I debated a long time about mounting things to the rear of the cabinet - specifically the power supply and amplifier for the bass shaker under the seat.  After exploring many "inside" mounting options, I hated them all because I couldn't tweak the settings on the amp.  (I still think I need to turn it up a little more)

Logitech needs to get kicked in the head for making all the G27 connections underneath the steering wheel - so you have to unclamp (unbolt!) it to unplug it.  Stupid!  I did get the pedals bolted down as well - so they're nice and secure now.

The dash still needs to be finished, and t-molding needs to be installed - and lots of other little things.  :)



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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #92 on: September 04, 2013, 12:55:00 pm »
What are your impressions of that seat?

I need to order a pair of seats soon and the price on those is attractive, but I was a bit disappointed in the last cheap seat I bought.
(I won't get the exact same one)

Fursphere

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #93 on: September 04, 2013, 01:16:46 pm »
Mixed.  The seat is comfortable and adjustable.  So far it's holding up just fine.  I can sit in it for at least an hour of two without wanting to get out because its bothering me.

The material though. Felt.  Never ever get felt.  EVERYTHING sticks to it.  My son dumped saw dust on it and I'm sure I'll never get it all out.  The Velcro on my shorts rear pocket sticks to it too.  Very annoying. 

Leather.  Pleather.  Vinyl.   Anything but felt. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #94 on: September 04, 2013, 04:46:57 pm »
Mixed.  The seat is comfortable and adjustable.  So far it's holding up just fine.  I can sit in it for at least an hour of two without wanting to get out because its bothering me.

The material though. Felt.  Never ever get felt.  EVERYTHING sticks to it.  My son dumped saw dust on it and I'm sure I'll never get it all out.  The Velcro on my shorts rear pocket sticks to it too.  Very annoying. 

Leather.  Pleather.  Vinyl.   Anything but felt.

Yeah, that's how the one I have is and I was a little disappointed when I received it. 
I was expecting something like the automotive upholstery that I'm accustomed to.
I'd never go for pleather though! 

I'd still use the one I have if I could find a matching one, but it's been discontinued.
I have a red one and can only find the same model in blue.  I really don't want a red vs blue driving setup.



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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #95 on: September 04, 2013, 04:53:44 pm »
Was able to get get back to this thing last weekend.  Between work, wife, and kids - I've had zero time to even look at the cabinet lately.  :(  But as of last night its actually operational again.  Played Outrun 2006 for about an hour with my 3 year old son - I think he thinks the point of the game is bumper cars.  hehe

So I think I mentioned it before - but I was given a set of Logitech x530 speakers and told to do whatever I want with them - so I did.  :)

I gutted the front and center speakers, then grafted them into the plate above the monitor.  Then took what was left of the front right speaker "control" area and made and under-dash volume control out of it, as well as re-wiring the front right speaker output. 

I'm still working on the rear speakers, but I think I came up with a plan last night that you can see in the pictures - just need to finish it.

And lastly - I debated a long time about mounting things to the rear of the cabinet - specifically the power supply and amplifier for the bass shaker under the seat.  After exploring many "inside" mounting options, I hated them all because I couldn't tweak the settings on the amp.  (I still think I need to turn it up a little more)

Logitech needs to get kicked in the head for making all the G27 connections underneath the steering wheel - so you have to unclamp (unbolt!) it to unplug it.  Stupid!  I did get the pedals bolted down as well - so they're nice and secure now.

The dash still needs to be finished, and t-molding needs to be installed - and lots of other little things.  :)

The front speakers look awesome.  I bet it sounds great too!  I'm new here and I have started to build a replica Sega "Grid" or "Classic" cabinet too.  It's nice to know others are struggling to find time between work and family life too.  I'm watching with great enthusiasm!  I'm especially watching to see how the dashboard works out w/ the G27 and Sega's dash as I'm getting close to the point of where I'd have to figure that out too.  I'm hoping I can have an extended shaft made to go through the dashboard and hide the Logitech shell.

Great job!

Fursphere

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #96 on: September 04, 2013, 09:09:37 pm »
Mixed.  The seat is comfortable and adjustable.  So far it's holding up just fine.  I can sit in it for at least an hour of two without wanting to get out because its bothering me.

The material though. Felt.  Never ever get felt.  EVERYTHING sticks to it.  My son dumped saw dust on it and I'm sure I'll never get it all out.  The Velcro on my shorts rear pocket sticks to it too.  Very annoying. 

Leather.  Pleather.  Vinyl.   Anything but felt.

Yeah, that's how the one I have is and I was a little disappointed when I received it. 
I was expecting something like the automotive upholstery that I'm accustomed to.
I'd never go for pleather though! 

I'd still use the one I have if I could find a matching one, but it's been discontinued.
I have a red one and can only find the same model in blue.  I really don't want a red vs blue driving setup.

Bummer. 

The way I see it - at $125 its really not the end of the world if I end up not using it / junking it for something else in the future. 

I mean - I don't like the idea of buying ANOTHER seat, but its not such a huge expensive that it would break me.

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #97 on: September 05, 2013, 07:07:23 pm »
Was able to get get back to this thing last weekend.  Between work, wife, and kids - I've had zero time to even look at the cabinet lately.  :(  But as of last night its actually operational again.  Played Outrun 2006 for about an hour with my 3 year old son - I think he thinks the point of the game is bumper cars.  hehe

So I think I mentioned it before - but I was given a set of Logitech x530 speakers and told to do whatever I want with them - so I did.  :)

I gutted the front and center speakers, then grafted them into the plate above the monitor.  Then took what was left of the front right speaker "control" area and made and under-dash volume control out of it, as well as re-wiring the front right speaker output. 

I'm still working on the rear speakers, but I think I came up with a plan last night that you can see in the pictures - just need to finish it.

And lastly - I debated a long time about mounting things to the rear of the cabinet - specifically the power supply and amplifier for the bass shaker under the seat.  After exploring many "inside" mounting options, I hated them all because I couldn't tweak the settings on the amp.  (I still think I need to turn it up a little more)

Logitech needs to get kicked in the head for making all the G27 connections underneath the steering wheel - so you have to unclamp (unbolt!) it to unplug it.  Stupid!  I did get the pedals bolted down as well - so they're nice and secure now.

The dash still needs to be finished, and t-molding needs to be installed - and lots of other little things.  :)

The front speakers look awesome.  I bet it sounds great too!  I'm new here and I have started to build a replica Sega "Grid" or "Classic" cabinet too.  It's nice to know others are struggling to find time between work and family life too.  I'm watching with great enthusiasm!  I'm especially watching to see how the dashboard works out w/ the G27 and Sega's dash as I'm getting close to the point of where I'd have to figure that out too.  I'm hoping I can have an extended shaft made to go through the dashboard and hide the Logitech shell.

Great job!

thanks.

There is a another member here that did the steering shaft extension on a G25 I think.  Worked out pretty well.   I may go down that route in the future - I dunno. 

Speakers sounds good, even with only the fronts hooked up right now.  Having the bass speaker under the dash..  in the pedal "cavity" makes it resoate really well through the entire cabinet.  Sounds great.   And the bass shaker under the seat adds the physical feedback that the bass speaker sounds like it *should* be providing.  :)

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #98 on: September 07, 2013, 10:12:54 pm »
Got the rear speakers hooked up today and was promptly underwhelmed with the results. 

I've been using my Core2Duo machine with onboard audio, and while it sounded "good" it didn't have the "power" or "presence" that I was looking for.  So I went and stole the Sound Blaster Z out of my i5 (which has recently become the "office" computer...) and swapped it into the Core2Duo.

Much better!   At half volume (sound card volume) it's putting out more power than the onboard ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- at full power. And the bass shaker is rumbling again. 

I know a lot of folks in this threat earlier said that aftermarket sound cards were a waste of money and to not bother with them.  Well, I dare you to try one.  The results are not short of amazing in comparison to the onboard Audio on both my systems.   

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Re: Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #99 on: September 08, 2013, 12:15:11 am »
Was able to get get back to this thing last weekend.  Between work, wife, and kids - I've had zero time to even look at the cabinet lately.  :(  But as of last night its actually operational again.  Played Outrun 2006 for about an hour with my 3 year old son - I think he thinks the point of the game is bumper cars.  hehe

So I think I mentioned it before - but I was given a set of Logitech x530 speakers and told to do whatever I want with them - so I did.  :)

I gutted the front and center speakers, then grafted them into the plate above the monitor.  Then took what was left of the front right speaker "control" area and made and under-dash volume control out of it, as well as re-wiring the front right speaker output. 

I'm still working on the rear speakers, but I think I came up with a plan last night that you can see in the pictures - just need to finish it.

And lastly - I debated a long time about mounting things to the rear of the cabinet - specifically the power supply and amplifier for the bass shaker under the seat.  After exploring many "inside" mounting options, I hated them all because I couldn't tweak the settings on the amp.  (I still think I need to turn it up a little more)

Logitech needs to get kicked in the head for making all the G27 connections underneath the steering wheel - so you have to unclamp (unbolt!) it to unplug it.  Stupid!  I did get the pedals bolted down as well - so they're nice and secure now.

The dash still needs to be finished, and t-molding needs to be installed - and lots of other little things.  :)

The front speakers look awesome.  I bet it sounds great too!  I'm new here and I have started to build a replica Sega "Grid" or "Classic" cabinet too.  It's nice to know others are struggling to find time between work and family life too.  I'm watching with great enthusiasm!  I'm especially watching to see how the dashboard works out w/ the G27 and Sega's dash as I'm getting close to the point of where I'd have to figure that out too.  I'm hoping I can have an extended shaft made to go through the dashboard and hide the Logitech shell.

Great job!

thanks.

There is a another member here that did the steering shaft extension on a G25 I think.  Worked out pretty well.   I may go down that route in the future - I dunno. 

Speakers sounds good, even with only the fronts hooked up right now.  Having the bass speaker under the dash..  in the pedal "cavity" makes it resoate really well through the entire cabinet.  Sounds great.   And the bass shaker under the seat adds the physical feedback that the bass speaker sounds like it *should* be providing.  :)
Im the guy that extended the shaft on my g25.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

         

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Re: Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #100 on: September 11, 2013, 05:08:38 pm »

Im the guy that extended the shaft on my g25.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

Do you have a link to your build?  Has anyone successfully extended the shaft on a G27?  I'm guessing it has more problems w/ the added wires or is it basically the same?  I have yet to take my wheel apart.  Do you have to do anything for the wire rotation & wire breakage or is that not a concern?

Thanks!

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Re: Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #101 on: September 14, 2013, 12:27:40 am »
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130821.msg1344963.html#msg1344963

Im the guy that extended the shaft on my g25.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

Do you have a link to your build?  Has anyone successfully extended the shaft on a G27?  I'm guessing it has more problems w/ the added wires or is it basically the same?  I have yet to take my wheel apart.  Do you have to do anything for the wire rotation & wire breakage or is that not a concern?

Thanks!
         

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #102 on: October 29, 2013, 02:25:46 pm »
Quote
I know a lot of folks in this threat earlier said that aftermarket sound cards were a waste of money and to not bother with them.  Well, I dare you to try one.  The results are not short of amazing in comparison to the onboard Audio on both my systems.   

 I Agree.

  I believe the problem is that a lot of peoples ears are not very sensitive.. and so what sounds great to them... is a disaster to the rest.

 Similar to how many people here, whom took a color match test, came back with a score of like 15 to 40%    They are not color blind.. but, their eyes were unable to make out the variances in subtle shades.

 Still, Ive had others whom thought their hearing was bad... and I had them try my Sennheiser HD500 headphones... and they were blown away by how much better they sounded compared to anything they had heard before.   These were the bottom of their Audiophile headphone lineup, probably 13+ yrs ago.  Still sound fantastic to this day.  So good in fact, and so comfortable, that I rarely use my house speakers anymore.  (My first experience with them via a DVD, and they fooled me to think that I accidentally left my entire surround sound system on!  Incredible)

 As for external speakers... Ive started getting into vintage speakers.  EPI speakers have a unique tweeter, thats inverted. (cone rather than dome)  The 3d sound stage is insane.  As is the clarity and accuracy of the woofer.  The tweeters also have a high frequency range, and play the midranges, with that clarity and precision.  Ive never heard anything like it, especially for the low price I paid for them.  Definitely beats the hell out of overpriced PC audio speakers.

 
 One think to note... is that the car based  Aura Bass shakers..  I believe they are 4ohm.  If you run them with an 8ohm amp.. it can eventually kill the amp.   To run them with 8ohms... run two of them, and wire them appropriately.   I cant recall off the top of my head, whether its parallel of series, to create 8ohm.  If you get it wrong, it will drop it to 2ohm.. making it even worse for the amp.


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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #103 on: October 29, 2013, 03:05:37 pm »
I added a $30 Xonar card to my upright cab and can hear the difference. 
It's even running at a lower sample rate than I was running the onboard sound.
The music is just more detailed and the high end sounds spacious instead of capped.

I knew how I wanted the cab to sound and just couldn't get it there with the onboard audio no matter what adjustments I made outside the PC.
It's pretty close now, but the cheap mylar tweeters in it are too directional and could be slightly smoother. 
(the highs are brighter when seated on a stool vs standing)
I might replace them with silk domes if some that will fit turn up cheap on parts express.

Oddly enough, I'm not as picky with the driving cabs since they don't have as many orchestrated soundtracks as newer shmups. (Outrun 2006, but that's about it)
I do still like my speakers at ear level, but not sure I can make that happen with the design I'm heading towards.

One think to note... is that the car based  Aura Bass shakers..  I believe they are 4ohm.  If you run them with an 8ohm amp.. it can eventually kill the amp.   To run them with 8ohms... run two of them, and wire them appropriately.   I cant recall off the top of my head, whether its parallel of series, to create 8ohm.  If you get it wrong, it will drop it to 2ohm.. making it even worse for the amp.

Running them in series (+ from amp to + of first speaker, then - of that speaker to the + of the next speaker, then - of that terminal back to the - on the amp) will result in an 8 ohm load, at least with two 4 ohm speakers.

Running them in parallel, from + of amp to + of both speakers and from - of amp to - of both speakers will drop it to two ohm.

Basically, the amp can only handle so much current coming back into it.
If you give it two channels to flow through instead of one, a lot more is flowing back in.

The lower the resistance, the closer to a dead short (0 ohm) you are getting.

Fursphere

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #104 on: October 29, 2013, 03:44:43 pm »
I've found that I need to install some plexi or glass in front of the monitor.  My kids just won't stop trying to touch the screen (especially my 1 year old - its amazing how fast he climbs into the seat and grabs the wheel).

Any recommendations for glass mounting on a monitor with a negative pitch to it?

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #105 on: October 29, 2013, 03:56:01 pm »
I've found that I need to install some plexi or glass in front of the monitor.  My kids just won't stop trying to touch the screen (especially my 1 year old - its amazing how fast he climbs into the seat and grabs the wheel).

Any recommendations for glass mounting on a monitor with a negative pitch to it?

I still have the framework that held the glass in the Initial D cab that I disassembled.  I can take a look at how it worked.
Pretty sure it was just four pieces of channel.  You might be able to do something with J-channel used to hang mirrors that will result in no bolts showing from the front.

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #106 on: October 29, 2013, 04:19:36 pm »
I've found that I need to install some plexi or glass in front of the monitor.  My kids just won't stop trying to touch the screen (especially my 1 year old - its amazing how fast he climbs into the seat and grabs the wheel).

Any recommendations for glass mounting on a monitor with a negative pitch to it?

My two children think everything is touch screen (1yr & 4yr old). :)  Lucky for them that they've experienced joysticks, buttons, and trackballs.  It seams everything is going touch screen, for no good reason.  The other weekend we shopped at  JCPenny's and they remodeled the store.  We were in the furnishing area and they had a touch screen grafted into the holding table instead of a cash register.  It took so d#$@ long it was comical!  I understand learning a new system, no problem, but under the table was a cash register drawer and a regular keyboard.  Hmmm!  Not everything works better as a touch screen.   :banghead:

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #107 on: October 29, 2013, 09:49:19 pm »
I've found that I need to install some plexi or glass in front of the monitor.  My kids just won't stop trying to touch the screen (especially my 1 year old - its amazing how fast he climbs into the seat and grabs the wheel).

Any recommendations for glass mounting on a monitor with a negative pitch to it?

I still have the framework that held the glass in the Initial D cab that I disassembled.  I can take a look at how it worked.
Pretty sure it was just four pieces of channel.  You might be able to do something with J-channel used to hang mirrors that will result in no bolts showing from the front.

That would probably be best - although I have to think about how to remove the glass/plexi too.  Which might be a challenge with the way I built the cabinet.   :dunno

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #108 on: October 31, 2013, 06:17:44 am »
Most arcade machines use a very simple system for front glass / plexi.

 A few blocks of wood, or, in some cases, a few metal strips.   

 1) Just grab a few aluminum metal L-strips. 
 2) Cut strips for top and bottom, then drill holes for mounting.  Countersink them if you want to get fancy, and they are thick enough for it.

*The most important part, is the length needed for the screw holes... so, if one side is too high and impacts monitor visibility too much, then simply cut it down a bit.


 3) Paint them a few coats of flat black spray paint, then let them dry and cure for a few days.

 4) Glue a few internal wood strips internal glass back-stops.

 4a) Optionally, you can also route a groove into the wood where the glass will rest.  Make sure to also route a grove up top, so that you can still lift and pull the glass out, if you choose this method.  You will still need the side strips.

 5) Place the well cleaned glass into place, then simply screw the top and bottom L-strips in place.

 Make sure that you do NOT use plate glass.  If plate glass gets broken, it will shatter into razor sharp shards, and could slice someone seriously bad.. possibly even causing a fatal injury.    Tempered glass is very hard to break.. and even if it does break.. it does so into fairly dull squarish shaped pieces.  Usually it only breaks if someone nicks a corner or edge.  People have been known to try to break it head on in the center.. with a sledgehammer... and were unsuccessful.

 If you cant get tempered glass... use Plexiglass.   Not lexan.   Lexan can flex more... but its softer, and will scratch much easier than plexi.



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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #109 on: October 31, 2013, 10:20:07 am »
Hinged J-channel on the bottom that tilts out and J-channel on the top with a strip of magnets or Velcro on the back?
...or even lightweight plexi with magnets glued to the corners?
Use suction cups to remove.  :lol

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #110 on: October 31, 2013, 03:56:40 pm »
Hinged J-channel on the bottom that tilts out and J-channel on the top with a strip of magnets or Velcro on the back?
...or even lightweight plexi with magnets glued to the corners?
Use suction cups to remove.  :lol

Ya....  its going to be a challenge all right.  :)   Since there is a gap between the monitor and the dashboard, I might be able to drop in "down" in there (into a channel), then lean it forward into something that secures it up top near the speakers.   I could tweak the entire dash / wheel mount to make it come out faily easy too, but its a lot of work. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #111 on: November 09, 2014, 11:18:28 am »
Has it been a year already? 

I'm still (xtrememly slowly) working on the cab.  Since I got it working, the kids don't let me actually work on it much - just play.  :) 

Has anyone added a joystick / throttle (HOTAS) setup to their driving rigs?   I bought a Saitek x55 to get back into flying sims, and I'm playing with mounting the setup to the driving cabinet somehow.  Here is a quick snap of playing with the layout yesterday.  Only problem is getting in and out of the thing with the throttle hard mounted.   It would be right in the way...

Any ideas?

SpaceHedgehog's shift pod system might be the answer?   http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,138146.0.html   

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #112 on: November 09, 2014, 02:24:57 pm »
nice addition. How are the towers for the flight stick attached to the base? I would think putting the throttle tower on a rail to slide it back to get in and out.

btw i had been meaning to buy a flight stick. i just ordered on amazon after seeing your post. The star wars trilogy is not as fun using my gun as a joystick. Also Naomi (Demul) has a fun but simple flight simulator called airline pilots if you dont have in your cab.

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #113 on: November 09, 2014, 02:34:45 pm »
Those two "stands" you see in the picture are actually old generic ATX rack mount computer cases.   I was just using them to get a feel for the whole thing.

I really wanted to buy the Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog setup, but at $250 - $300 US MORE than the Saitek x55, I just couldn't do it.  It feels like its going to be a really good stick so far.  I compared it to a Saitek x52 in the store, and the x52 felt too "toyish" for me.  I borrowed an older x45 from a friend, and the x45 is a lot better feeling than the x52 was.  Anyway...  lol

I was thinking of using either a threaded rod that goes all the way through the base at the rear, then each "pod" could rotate up and back to make room to get in the cabinet.  But I have concerns about strength around the pivot point. 

Also I'd like to move the gearshit off the dash board and onto the pod so its more natural - but I'd have to make it coexist with the joystick. 

And lastly, I'd like to be able to move the joystick / gearshift and throttle out of the way to put down a Logitech G13 gamepad and a mouse on the other side if I wanted to use them.  But that just might be too complicated. 

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #114 on: February 28, 2015, 10:52:25 am »
One think to note... is that the car based  Aura Bass shakers..  I believe they are 4ohm.  If you run them with an 8ohm amp.. it can eventually kill the amp.   To run them with 8ohms... run two of them, and wire them appropriately.   I cant recall off the top of my head, whether its parallel of series, to create 8ohm.  If you get it wrong, it will drop it to 2ohm.. making it even worse for the amp.

I missed this first time around.

I'm actually running a car audio based amp, with a 12v 50amp PSU for source power.   The amp is the Crutchfield house brand. 

When I mounted the bass shaker, I mounted it under the wooden platform that the seat rails bolt too.  It worked, but I think the wood absorbed a lot and basically lessened the effect.  I'm in the process of redoing all of that, and I'm going to try and put a metal plate on top of the seat rails and mount the shaker to that.  Get it as close to the driver as possible.    Which requires some re-engineering of things...   :dizzy:    (which I had to do anyway to get the joystick and throttle mounted)

Pics later today.

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #115 on: March 01, 2015, 12:03:50 am »
So here's what I've been working on lately.  I built two "pods" to mount the joystick and throttle on.  The actual mounting points will flip 180 degrees to hide the joystick and throttle setup when I'm not using it.  I'm playing with the idea of mounting a Logitech M570 trackball and G13 gaming keyboard on the flip side of those mounting surfaces - so when not in flight sim mode the mouse and keypad will be accessible. 

I had to remove the chair and chair mounting platform to mount the rails for the "pods", so that's why its just a mess right now.  :)   Each pod will have flip up hatches to fill in the space behind the sticks when I'm not rotating things.  The random color wood panels are because I was recycling left over panels from rebuilding my MAME cabinet.   :P

The real challenge I have right now is getting in and out of the thing.  Adding the pods - where they need to be (they're not bolted down yet) makes is to you basically have to climb over the left side one to get in and out (easy to get in, hard to get out).  I tried mounting it on a big hinge (gate hinge) but there was still too much flex in the hinge for that to work.  I'll figure something out.




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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #116 on: March 01, 2015, 10:35:41 am »
Quick follow up from the last post...

Here are pics of the G13 and M570 in place.  These would be on the "other side" of the rotating joystick platforms (probably adhesive velcro).  They're a little low, so I'm not sure if I'll be doing this or not.   

The second pic shows one option for getting in and out of the cab.  I should be able to make the "pod" slide back and forth (I'll have to re-engineer the rear speaker mounts though), giving enough room to step in and out of the cab.  Its a bit awkward, but it should work.  Might have to add some grab bars or something to assist.


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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #117 on: May 31, 2015, 10:48:59 pm »
Quick update on the cabinet. 

I wanted to remount the bass transducer closer to the actual seat, so that required me to rebuild the seat mounts.  And I picked up a second transducer for fun.  :)

The having two transducers on the seat is much better.  I can run the amp (gain) lower and the feedback is great.  But I had this problem with fine tuning the amp while sitting in the seat.  So I remounted the amp and power supply (and everything else) inside the cabinet.  Much cleaner.  Now I have an access port to the amp adjustments behind the daytona dash's button panel.

Someday I'll actually finish the cosmetics of the cabinet...  someday.... :p  Here are some pics of what I did...


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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #118 on: October 02, 2015, 04:22:59 pm »
Some updates:

1) FlightSim stuff (Saitek x55) didn't work out at all.  Just too clunky.  I removed all of it.

2) I added SimVibe to my rig with one bass shaker under the seat, and one under the pedals.  Running in "Extensions" mode.  Really awesome stuff for the games that support it.  $90 for the software is a bit pricey, but in the end it was worth it.  I'd recommend it if you play games that support it.

3) I start playing Dirt Rally and Project CARS a lot.  These games are awesome.  I can't stress that enough. 

4) And just recently (last weekend) I upgraded to a Thrustmaster T300 RS wheel, T3PA-Pro pedals, and TH8A shifter.  I purchased the T300 RS (not cheap) to see what all the belt drive force feedback fuss was all about.  It came with a 30 day return policy, so if it didn't thrill me, I'd return it. 

Well, I'm keeping it.  Its just better it almost every way than the G27.  Hard to describe, but I'm not looking back.  Unfortunately the pedals it comes with are GARBAGE.  They're really a joke.  So I bought the T3PA Pro pedals.  And it didn't have a shifter (I play Dirt Rally with an H pattern shifter - really fun), so I just picked up the TH8A shifter.  Which is also amazing. 

The only thing the G27 has going for it is the price.  Its crazy cheap compared to everything else.  (the G29 didn't improve things, and increased the price.....  so no thanks)

If you don't mind the price tag (its steep - I debated for weeks), the Thrustmaster line is very nice.

The downside is I had to tear my entire dashboard area apart to fit the new wheel base - its a lot bigger than the G27.   And it doesn't work at all with the Daytona plastic dash.  (anybody need a Daytona dash?)

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Re: Fursphere's driving cabinet build
« Reply #119 on: October 03, 2015, 05:03:04 pm »
I need a dash!!