Main > Driving & Racing Cabinets
For those using both a gaming system and PC -How do you do it?
rvs0002:
I just ended up ordering the manual USB switcher I posted above (very similar to a KVM) which I will probably mount behind the dash so just the buttons are visible, and then I ordered an HDMI auto switch. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018DQYQ2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00).
The HDMI switch is nice as it automatically switches to whatever device was powered on last, so if I'm running my PC, it will show that, and then if I power up my PS3 it automatically switches to the video from that source, then when my PS3 is powered off it goes back to the pc video source.
I have one on my TV for my FireStick, DVD player and cable box and it works great.
My monitor is actually a 32 inch Samsung tv so it should all be good to go. Famous last words.
I already have several things I want to change, but I am going to get it up and running for the party we are having on Sunday (hopefully) and then I'll go back and actually take my time with the customizing.
nugarp:
A bit in the weeds here but here it goes.
My build incorporates a 360 and PC in there. The PC talks to the 360 via an arduino for polling power status and turning it on and off, and FTP to launch games. The arduino also turns on a relay to swap all of the input microswitches to 360 controllers, but that took a forever to wire up and too many relays to count. For the wheel, I used a fanatec gt2. The wheel used wireless comm to connect to a 360 but USB to connect to the PC, so no manual wire switching was needed. To swap modes there, the wheel needs the back button or Xbox buttons held on reboot...so when switching platforms from PC -> 360 or vice versa, an arduino sent a power off signal to a PowerTail II switch (basically a relay-controlled power plug) to reboot the wheel. I then opened up the wheel and soldered extra wires to the Xbox button (easy) and back button (massive pain in the ass as it had to go through the steering column and was a tight fit). I also put the arduino in charge of checking if the 360 turns off and if it does, restore the wheel to PC mode.
For video input switching, I used an HDMI switcher with an RS-232 port, which lets you send switching commands to it over a serial port (I used a USB-> serial adapter). My front-end was aware of if it needed to swap out the controls and video etc so just communicated w/the helper programs I wrote for that.
I should note the 360 was modded and set up to run an ftp server on boot that allowed for exec commands.
I haven't really put up much info on the driving "extension" of the cab, but the upright has a bunch of info in my thread for it.
Was a ton of work for all of that. Am I happy I did it? Absolutely - because I learned a bunch and its neat having everything be automatic. Would I do it again? Probably not; there are many more opportunities for failure with a more complex setup.
I know you've already ordered some stuff but if you or anyone else ever wants to try anything remotely similar, feel free to hit me up.
rvs0002:
--- Quote from: nugarp on February 01, 2016, 02:58:08 am ---A bit in the weeds here but here it goes.
My build incorporates a 360 and PC in there. The PC talks to the 360 via an arduino for polling power status and turning it on and off, and FTP to launch games. The arduino also turns on a relay to swap all of the input microswitches to 360 controllers, but that took a forever to wire up and too many relays to count. For the wheel, I used a fanatec gt2. The wheel used wireless comm to connect to a 360 but USB to connect to the PC, so no manual wire switching was needed. To swap modes there, the wheel needs the back button or Xbox buttons held on reboot...so when switching platforms from PC -> 360 or vice versa, an arduino sent a power off signal to a PowerTail II switch (basically a relay-controlled power plug) to reboot the wheel. I then opened up the wheel and soldered extra wires to the Xbox button (easy) and back button (massive pain in the ass as it had to go through the steering column and was a tight fit). I also put the arduino in charge of checking if the 360 turns off and if it does, restore the wheel to PC mode.
For video input switching, I used an HDMI switcher with an RS-232 port, which lets you send switching commands to it over a serial port (I used a USB-> serial adapter). My front-end was aware of if it needed to swap out the controls and video etc so just communicated w/the helper programs I wrote for that.
I should note the 360 was modded and set up to run an ftp server on boot that allowed for exec commands.
I haven't really put up much info on the driving "extension" of the cab, but the upright has a bunch of info in my thread for it.
Was a ton of work for all of that. Am I happy I did it? Absolutely - because I learned a bunch and its neat having everything be automatic. Would I do it again? Probably not; there are many more opportunities for failure with a more complex setup.
I know you've already ordered some stuff but if you or anyone else ever wants to try anything remotely similar, feel free to hit me up.
--- End quote ---
I am impressed. I would never even attempt anything like that as I know that it would be a massive fail for me. Not even close to being smart enough to pull something like that off. I'm always blown away with what you guys pull off on this forum.
Thanks for replying as well. I'm going to go check out your build.
Fursphere:
nugarp - What HDMI switch did you use that supports RS232 commands?
Boomslang:
Mine from a few years back
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