R-Pod MkII Racing Simulator: Now VR Enabled

[SpaceHedgehog]

Thanks very much yotsuya and Rick - after the MKI, I wanted something which was more mean looking and also 'chunkier' - the deep bevels on the edges and the use of double width panels helped to create that imho.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Short video tour:

[DGP]

 

Now for the MK III we need it to look just as kick-A but fold up and slide under a bed.

 

Jason

[Malenko]

make https into http and you can hot link the video in the thread, like so:



looks fantastic. 

[SpaceHedgehog]

I think my wife would not be pleased with a MKIII ... just yet

Thanks for that Malenko 

[Rick]

I think my wife would not be pleased with a MKIII ... just yet

Oh, but it folds away! You could build it, and then hide it, so she never knows it's even there! (Unless your "MKIII" is a HEAD TO HEAD driving kit! I can picture it now, a WHOLE ROW of these, playing together...)

[SpaceHedgehog]

Funny you should say that! Someone actually built 8 of the R-Pod MK1s based on plans I'd posted:

http://www.thewayiplay.com/mainforum/index.php?topic=443.15

[wicketnezz]

I just have to say, that is an amazing job, I am floored by your skills.  I have just recently started working on my first stand up mame cabinet, and got the idea in my head that i wanted to toy around with building a cockpit style cab as well down the line, I can see i have a lot to learn before I take that plunge.  Congratulations sir.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Thanks wicketnezz - go crazy and don't be afraid to experiment! Relative to others, I don't have that much experience. It's only been through a few project builds that I've assembled some level of capability.

Thanks for the Hall of Fame nomination Malenko 

[Malenko]

Thanks for the Hall of Fame nomination Malenko 

You deserve it, not only is the build quality amazing, so is the thread quality. You really took your time and documented everything so well. When the UCA's come out later I'll be nominating you for that too.

[Insano2]

Hello, first off, let me say its an absolutely amazing build you've got there! Now some questions:

- how did you join the sides of the panels to the front panels? Do you use a plunger router or a fixed router, or a router table? Do you know of any good router books/tutorials you would recommend?
- you say you used a roller, is there a reason not to use spray painting?
- the vinyl used, is it like a leather imitation - i'm afraid i dont know what blackboard vinyl is.

thanks for any feedback on the questions - and again, absolutely awesome build!

/Insano

[SpaceHedgehog]

Thanks Insano2 The answers to your questions are as follows:

-The side panels at the front are screwed in place from the inside of the nose. I was careful to ensure that these went through into the thick parts of the panels avoiding the cutouts/windows. The screw heads are hidden by black plastic screw covers.

-I do have a plunge router but I don't often make use of that facility. A non-plunge would have sufficed for this build. I use a Trend T5 with a 1/4 inch collet:



-All work was done by hand - I didn't use a router table.

-I can recommend this as a good router book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Woodworking-Router-American-Woodworker-Edition/dp/1565234383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409377681&sr=8-1&keywords=woodworking+with+a+router

-I used a roller purely because I'm not very efficient at spray painting. I don't have all the equipment necessary to get a good finish and using cans can take an age. I did spray the side panels for my modified desk which came out great but took about 6 weeks in total to get to a position where I was happy with them.





I would have loved to go the spray route but I knew it was likely to cause me too much hassle.

-The blackboard vinyl isn't a leather type finish but does have a really nice texture. It looks many times better than standard self adhesive vinyl.

Picture from my Vewlix control panel showing the texture:



I ordered it from here:

http://www.mdpsupplies.co.uk/blackboard.asp

-The leather for the dash and shifter pod panels was sourced from ebay and is simply a leather material - not self adhesive so I used a mixture of carpet tile adhesive and epoxy (at the edges) to stick in-place.

Hope that helps.

[Insano2]

Ok, thx SH for the great info on the book and providing those details! Awesome rig.

[The Lumberjackass]

Nice job !!!!

I spotted this cab in a sticky thread for finished projects and had to come here for a look.
Great ideas and well executed ! Top marks

Dave.

[ChanceKJ]

You know what i was just thinking this thing needs?  (Aside from my repeated calls for 2 more displays )  a matching helmet with integrated sound system. Just something simple and black with a pair of nice gaming headphones gutted and installed into the inside.

[Generic Eric]

You know what i was just thinking this thing needs?  (Aside from my repeated calls for 2 more displays )  a matching helmet with integrated sound system. Just something simple and black with a pair of nice gaming headphones gutted and installed into the inside.

I've been thinking of something similar for Elite:D  I'd like to intergrate the google cardboard and headphones and mic into something like this:


Lemme see if they have that at the army surplus. 

You might be surprised to hear of the people that race simpits with socks to get greater feel on their toes. 

[ChanceKJ]

Those JSF helmets are BALLS crazy! Too bad they fail and could cause the jets to be one big blind missile of DEATH.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2485533/Technical-fault-left-RAF-pilots-unable-flying-100-million-aircraft.html

[Generic Eric]

Those JSF helmets are BALLS crazy! Too bad they fail and could cause the jets to be one big blind missile of DEATH.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2485533/Technical-fault-left-RAF-pilots-unable-flying-100-million-aircraft.html

It is bad all around.

I'm a sad panda when it comes to this.  The helmet looks cool though.

[ChanceKJ]

Agreed.

Something about them reminds me of LT's Asteroids cab... but i can't, quite, put my finger on... why...... 

[fr_303]

Awesome build  .

[SpaceHedgehog]

Really enjoying using this at the moment and am in the process of adding a few bits.

Harness, £15 off ebay (still needs to be fitted / bolted in place):



New, dedicated 5 inch Android phone running DashMeterPro. I will be making a proper dashboard mount for this and may add another as well:





Need to start saving for triple screens now I have a GTX980 ...

[SpaceHedgehog]

I've made a dashboard mount for my Android DashMeterPro display:

3mm Aluminium bent to shape with the edges rounded off slightly:



Mounting hole drilled:



Underside of the aluminium covered with vinyl with some thin foam also added:



Top surface covered with real carbon fibre:



Phone case covered with blackboard vinyl and trimmed:



Rear view of mount (this needs to be epoxy'd in place):



Aluminium edges painted (still needs another coat:)

[jaharr01]

Hey awesome build. What driving games do you normally play with your pod? 

[SpaceHedgehog]

Hey awesome build. What driving games do you normally play with your pod? 

Thanks  It's mainly for sim racing so Assetto Corsa, R3E, Stock Car Extreme, Project CARS etc but I also have the GRID series and a few other more arcade oriented installed as well.

Fitted to the dash. I can rotate it to a degree too.

[Superfrog]

Again, you did a great job with this    cool build   

I think you have more fun playing with it, then watching the F1 these days.... mannnnn  yesterday it was unbelievable boring, and they sound like scooters these days   

One day, I make my own play-seat   

ps: don't play to long, because there is a build on hold   

Greetings

[SpaceHedgehog]

Cheers Superfrog I'm having a blast with the rig atm but am only too aware of the other [stalled] project and will be back on that soon 

Yes, F1 is a shadow of its former self sadly.

[ChanceKJ]

Avoiding starting up a massive debate on F1, its current state and the sound of the new engines, comparing it to the old days, etc....

I honestly thought it was a decent race. WAY better the Sochi last season, (or any race held at the Hungaroring for that matter). And this is coming from a die-hard McLaren fan. That alone combined with our current state of affairs should win me this argument.

[Superfrog]

Avoiding starting up a massive debate on F1, its current state and the sound of the new engines, comparing it to the old days, etc....

I honestly thought it was a decent race. WAY better the Sochi last season, (or any race held at the Hungaroring for that matter). And this is coming from a die-hard McLaren fan. That alone combined with our current state of affairs should win me this argument.

I can't avoid this reaction 

I'm also a longtime McLaren fan and watch the F1 from end seventies with ups and downs.
But the last years with all kind of rules and tricks to got some action on the grid, it became a face show.
Years back the Australian GP was spectacular and fun to watch.... now you see some parade shots for position 8-11 where I did feel sorry for Jenson . and in front it was already done.
Only ACTION there was the pit-stop overtaking from Vettel on Massa 
Sounds gone and action is gone, I think the drs , so cald Actions, are fake and have nothing to do with a good overtaking in real life 
As you say, there are some circuits that are really boring, but Australia never did to me.

Plus all the new Tilke designed circuits are boring and they gone replace classic tracks for new once who died after a contract is over.

Anyone have a tip for me to see some good action in racing sport these days 
Or will it be a virtual F1 game to fill my need for action and speed 

[ChanceKJ]

DTM or Pirelli World Challenge maybe?  I caught a Pirelli challenge race last year in Long Beach as a support race for the Indy weekend, it was pretty bad ass. It definitely addresses any issues you'd have with engine noise, especially those Cadillac's. I'm still pretty deaf.   

Maybe GP2? More about the driver, less about the car.... Kinda...

[ChanceKJ]

And you can't dissagree that Button's fight with "Mr Smashy Smashy" at the back of the pack wasn't decent entertainment in the very least.

[SpaceHedgehog]

Still enjoying this build, particularly with the recent addition of the Oculus CV1 as it takes the experience to a whole new level. CV1 modelled by my daughter's boyfriend ...

[GSXRMovistar]

Haha I bet your daughter loves that, boyfriend comes over and then goes and plays video games with her dad. 

[SpaceHedgehog]

Haha I bet your daughter loves that, boyfriend comes over and then goes and plays video games with her dad. 

Yep, definitely a sore point. Hope we don't come to blows on that further down the line!

[Malenko]

all this time later and this is still one of my all time favorite builds. 

[SpaceHedgehog]

all this time later and this is still one of my all time favorite builds. 

Hey, thanks for that Malenko, it means a lot!

Well, my awesome wife bought me an Oculus Touch for Christmas. As well as being able to use it for its intended purpose, the other reason was to use the second receiver in a dedicated fashion on the rig (I can simply twist this to point in a different direction when using it for Touch purposes). I did need to remove the mounting pole from the stand (hacksaw job) to enable me to do this. Fortunately the rig itself has very little discernible flex or movement in it (largely due to the triple thickness sides and double thickness supporting panels along with various metal supporting braces on the wheel stem), so the operation is great with no wobbling of the receiver.

I still need to route to cabling inside the nose section but I designed the rig to be able to do that.







Just about to pull the trigger on a CSW V2 and thinking about adding an additional, large buttkicker as well.

Also, added a new PC fairly recently to power it (couldn't help but make a display stand for that):



Edit:

Cabling all done:

[somefunguy]

Mr spacehedgehog you are freakin amazing ... I am looking to build 2 things for my kids and you have done both perfectly ... blown away by the talent .....I am going to try and make plans based on your vewlix first .. thank you

[SpaceHedgehog]

Mr spacehedgehog you are freakin amazing ... I am looking to build 2 things for my kids and you have done both perfectly ... blown away by the talent .....I am going to try and make plans based on your vewlix first .. thank you

Thank you very much sir, appreciate the comment. Good luck with the build and don't forget to have fun doing it 

Well, I did manage to purchase the new V2 wheel base. Looks pretty much the same but boy does it feel and respond so much better:



Need to get back to the CP-1 space simulation seat project - warm weather required first unfortunately ...

[n3wt0n]

I love this build and am glad to see it pop up every now and then with an update because it means all the newer people get to revel in its awesomeness. 

[EssexMame]

I want your system (or at least your design/build skills), simple as that!

I'm trying to find out people's opinions on VR at the moment, if you've got the time (or anyone else interested reading this thread), please fill out a short questionnaire for me - https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6MLYT8S. (Sorry to hijack, but a thread on VR seemed a decent place to find the right people for the questions - hope you don't mind)

[SpaceHedgehog]

I love this build and am glad to see it pop up every now and then with an update because it means all the newer people get to revel in its awesomeness. 

Thanks n3wt0n 

I want your system (or at least your design/build skills), simple as that!

I'm trying to find out people's opinions on VR at the moment, if you've got the time (or anyone else interested reading this thread), please fill out a short questionnaire for me - https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6MLYT8S. (Sorry to hijack, but a thread on VR seemed a decent place to find the right people for the questions - hope you don't mind)

The build skills aren't too difficult to pull off really - I just stick to a few trusted and practised principles with a large dollop of patience!

I couldn't reach the survey unfortunately (page not found) but I can say, even despite the shortcomings of the technology, I can't go back to using a regular screen for racing / space simulations.