Happ Wheel wired to Xbox 360 Gamepad (Gameplay) No FFB

[shaolindrunkard]

So this is going to be the basis for my upcoming 3 cab racing setup. I've wired the left stick on an Xbox 360 controller directly to the pot on the original Happ wheel assembly. Obviously FFB is not possible with this setup but it doesn't really bother me, my plan is to make some sort of spring centering system for the wheel to add some resistance. Also as you may be able to tell I've used and adapter to convert the steering shaft to a standard 6 hole steering wheel pattern. This means you can use any aftermarket steering wheel you'd like with a 6 hole pattern.

In my opinion it works surprisingly well and is very inexpensive compared to other solutions.

I've found good deals on these Happ wheel assemblies on Ebay before and I think its pretty rad that you could just buy the assembly and
make yourself a nice heavy duty racing wheel...

I didn't want to have to buy a whole racing wheel and take it apart to hook up to this one, nor do I have the dough for 3 g27s. But I really wanted the durability of the original Happ wheel. One bonus is that the 360 gamepad is pretty universal as far as Emulators and PC games. Even games that don't officially support wheels work with this setup.

Anyway just wanted to share this, I think its pretty awesome. Please don't judge too harshly for the bad driving in spots, it really is my driving not the controls...

[BadMouth]

Sorry couldn't figure out how to embed the video...
https://www.youtube.com/embed/zujhzCM1ygA

just click share on youtube, copy and past the link in your post, and delete the s from https.
The forum software will do the rest, no formatting necessary



You could add rumble, but it would require you finding a bigger rumble motor, power supply for it, then using a NPN transistor or solid state relay to trigger it.
I have a big two handed positional gun from Wild Pilots that shakes the crap out of my hands.

[shaolindrunkard]

Thank you sir! Yeah I was gonna post to see if anybody knew anything about amplifying rumble. I guess your the one to ask... I've also read that you can wire a bass transducer to the rumble motor outputs but I think you need some sort of voltage transformer. If I have to I'll just wire up a couple bass transducers the old fashioned way, but I will be looking into using the rumble if its cost feasible.

[BadMouth]

something like this with 24V going to it would give you pretty decent vibration through the wheel: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cheap-12-24V-385-motor-eccentric-vibration-motors-DC-motor-massage-/331599180859?hash=item4d34d9f43b:g:JG0AAOSwgQ9VmjwX
(look at the "people also viewed" section)
The one in my gun is about that size and makes your hands numb after 20 minutes.
It's shaking the entire time the trigger is pulled though.

Not sure how much current the power supply would need to handle.
A 2A laptop brick might be enough.

[shaolindrunkard]

Hmm yeah that wouldn't be super expensive either. I guess I would need some sort of relay to switch on the power when the controller outputs voltage... Don't know much about relays though. Or something to change the low voltage from the controller to a higher voltage.

[Brian74]

You could use that brushless power amplifier that ppl used to do that logitech happ wheel hack. www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpicclick.ca%2FAdvanced-Motion-Controls-B126A6N-SY2-Brushless-PWM-Servo-Amplifier-322234949054.html&psig=AFQjCNH8FRbVf1Q-MllWTPKALPhjxn3sbA&ust=1480558387445454

[shaolindrunkard]

Yeah, I'm not sure how those work.

[BadMouth]

You could use that brushless power amplifier that ppl used to do that logitech happ wheel hack. www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpicclick.ca%2FAdvanced-Motion-Controls-B126A6N-SY2-Brushless-PWM-Servo-Amplifier-322234949054.html&psig=AFQjCNH8FRbVf1Q-MllWTPKALPhjxn3sbA&ust=1480558387445454

You don't need anything that expensive.  This is plain dumb on/off shaker motor that only turns one direction.  A $15 DC/DC solid state relay or $1 NPN transistor would do.

[Brian74]

Ohhh

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

[shaolindrunkard]

You could use that brushless power amplifier that ppl used to do that logitech happ wheel hack. www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpicclick.ca%2FAdvanced-Motion-Controls-B126A6N-SY2-Brushless-PWM-Servo-Amplifier-322234949054.html&psig=AFQjCNH8FRbVf1Q-MllWTPKALPhjxn3sbA&ust=1480558387445454

You don't need anything that expensive.  This is plain dumb on/off shaker motor that only turns one direction.  A $15 DC/DC solid state relay or $1 NPN transistor would do.

Yeah I think the tricky part is the output to the rumble motors is only like 2v peak I think. I'm having a tough time finding anything that will go from 2v to 12-24v. I did find a small step-up transformer that will take the 2v and output a steady 5v but that's probably not enough...

[BadMouth]

Yeah I think the tricky part is the output to the rumble motors is only like 2v peak I think. I'm having a tough time finding anything that will go from 2v to 12-24v. I did find a small step-up transformer that will take the 2v and output a steady 5v but that's probably not enough...

What you want is to use the low power coming from the controller to switch on higher power from a different power supply.
You don't want to step it up using only the power coming out of the controller.

Looking at the solid state relays, it does look like most of them require at least 3v to trigger.

Google "using NPN transistor as relay" and read up.
Also look up "protection diode"
That is what you want to do.
It sounds complicated, but all we're talking about here is running the lead from the xbox controller through a diode (which doesn't let anything move backwards through it) to one leg on a transistor.
Then you'll have a bigger power supply running to the motor with the power lead cut and routed through the other two legs on the transistor.
It's that simple.  The hardest part will be finding the correct values that you need.  If the transistor gets too hot, you may have to add a heat sink.

Are you sure the motors are only getting 2v?  That sounds low to me, but I haven't tested them.

EDIT: I tell you what...  I have these parts laying around.  Let me know how much voltage each vibration motor lead is putting out (IIRC there is a weak and strong motor) so I can do some testing.
If it works I'll mail you an already built circuit.

[shaolindrunkard]

Well that's very kind of you sir. I'll get on that as soon as I can.

[baritonomarchetto]

A chinese DC to DC solid state relay will work. I have that same setup in my racing rig. You can turn it on with the signal coming from the xbox360 pad (you measured 2V because you used a multimeter, not an oscilloscope, do you? )

[shaolindrunkard]

I do not own an oscilloscope, this is true.

[BadMouth]

A chinese DC to DC solid state relay will work. I have that same setup in my racing rig. You can turn it on with the signal coming from the xbox360 pad (you measured 2V because you used a multimeter, not an oscilloscope, do you? )

well, there you go.  Verified working.  Just use one of those then.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Plastic-Metal-Solid-State-Relay-SSR-DC-DC-25A-3-32VDC-5-60VDC-TS-/172167582253?hash=item2815fcd22d:g:CcIAAOSwHMJYMutw
If it were me, I'd probably spring for the slightly more solid looking ones:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Solid-State-Relay-SSR-40-DD-DC-DC-40A-3-32VDC-Input-5-60VDC-Output-X5RG-/251656361870?hash=item3a97e3578e:g:lj4AAOSw2GlXIe3w
That's what I'm using in my gun, but I don't recall how many AMPs it is rated for.  You really only need like 2-6A depending on which motors you're using.

[shaolindrunkard]

Well thanks guys, I'll give it a shot when I can. I'm a little bummed I cant find the DC-DC version from a US seller. For some reason US sellers only seem to sell the DC-AC versions. Weird. Guess I'll have to wait for them to come from China.

[shaolindrunkard]

Never mind I found one in the US. I've heard stories of these things melting on people, guessing that's probably at higher Amps then this project requires?

[baritonomarchetto]

Keep well under the amperage specs, and you are golden.
To be even safer, check the current actually draw (at start and in normal operation) at the voltage you are going to juice your motor with your multimeter