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Author Topic: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)  (Read 14264 times)

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Empo

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Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« on: December 30, 2018, 01:04:23 pm »
Hello!   :)
New to the forum and have just purchased a twin driving cab. It was not meant, is was a impulse purchase at a very good price  :applaud:

The machine itself is like new condition, has probably never been out in the "public". Its made by IGS in Taiwan 2008 with the 2005 game "Speed Driver Evolution" that i think is a "clone" of another arcade game. The cab also looks like a clone from a SEGA cab. 29" CRT screens with trisync. The "brain" in this thing is 1 ordinary PC with a 64gb SD card as HDD, but the card is empty so i can not start it upp.

So my plan is to install emulator in this twin cab as i think its perfect for that!. But i am going to need some help down the road i am sure of..  :cheers:

First thing i need to solve is interfacing the controls, steering and so on. And that i think can do witout any bigger problems. But the force feedback is another question, and for others i have read in this forum. So tips and hints on what soulotion i should look into would be great!

The "original" PC has a PCI card connected to both cabīs  I/O and FFB board with one type "COM" port, and one type "Printer" port. I think the boards looks a lot like the ones i have seen in pictures of SEGA cabs. I will probably never find drivers and so for this setup i think, i will probably have to fix this with another solution..right?




« Last Edit: January 19, 2022, 04:40:44 pm by Empo »

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2022, 04:45:11 pm »
After some years i decided to make something out of this machine finally.

Started to experiment with Arduino projects for I/O. I got Modell 2-3 games running in it emulated. But there was i bit of problems always. And i am unfortunately not an expert on CRTīs. Then it stood still for some years. I have decided to make this a machine running Teknoparrot with newer games. And convert to LCDs (donīt kill me yet.. ) The CRTīs will surely come in handy in other projects in the future.

For the I/O to controllers i will test and use EMC development (FB) solution with an Arduino Leonardo board to integrate controllers and hopefully get the original FFB mechanism in the cab working. I have all the PCBīs and so on for it at my workshop right now. This solution requires a rotary encoder to work. So i started out by dismount the potīs in the steering assembly and adapting in rotary encoders instead.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2022, 01:30:50 pm by Empo »

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2022, 04:46:47 pm »
2 x PSUīs for FFB and motor driver boards, and LCDīs i found cheap in the after christmas sales for the project. :cheers:

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2022, 04:50:46 pm »
Well... the 32" LCD is quite larger than the original bezel.. of course. But i want it to look so much original i could make it. Inspired by a french guy who did this already. (delo delo on YT)

This model of cab has around 730mm -ish between the panels of room for a screen. My newly purchased LCDs are 720mm wide. Thought at first that i had to dismantle the LCDs housings. But i think now that i dont need to that. (i tried to...but it was hell. Think i will broke them before i got the plastics gone..)

So what to do. Start modifying the original bezels. As this is somewhat an asian "clone" or what it is from the SEGA Modell3 cabs i did not bother so much about preserving it original. As it is not an original. So i started to cutting it up. Glue. Polyester fiberglass. Welding. Cutting. Grinding. Plastics. and so on.... many hours spent on this.

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2022, 05:15:39 pm »
The modified bezel that is going to hold the LCD screen is beginning to be finished. I think it looks very OK and has a "original look " despite the heavy modification.

I cutted the plastics around the original OSD buttons on the back, to solder in a remote panel that i am going to mount in the cabinets little service door for the original monitors potīs PCB. Tested and working  :)

buttersoft

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2022, 06:01:06 pm »
Such a shame. Every time someone converts a CRT cab to LCD, baby jeebus strangles a penguin :(

My personal preferences aside, i will admit that getting TP running and looking good on a CRT can be a mission, though having a trisync to do it on might be alright.

Apart from that, the project looks pretty awesome. Would keen to hear how the FFB part goes as well!

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2022, 06:33:29 pm »
Such a shame. Every time someone converts a CRT cab to LCD, baby jeebus strangles a penguin :(

My personal preferences aside, i will admit that getting TP running and looking good on a CRT can be a mission, though having a trisync to do it on might be alright.

Apart from that, the project looks pretty awesome. Would keen to hear how the FFB part goes as well!

Sorry buttersoft  :notworthy:  But you know my knowledge about the CRTīs is low. But hopefully they will awaken other projects and ideas as i have one of them for sale here in Sweden. Thought it would sell fast as these CRTīs in like new condition. Never been out in operation, clean as hell like from factory etc. It is Wei-Ya i know... but nowadays getting a like new 29" CRT feels like mission impossible. So i am bit confused nobody snatched it yet. Well well.. i still have them. One day i maybe want to get back to CRTīs. It is still possible. The bezels i have modified but these i can find and purchase then if so.

I wanted to run newer games. I like to have friends over and play and it tends to be the newer games being played on a game evening. So thats why i made this decision.


buttersoft

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2022, 06:47:32 pm »
Nah, no need for the apology, I know I'm weird in my love of CRT's. At least, on this subforum I am :D

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2022, 07:13:05 pm »
Nah, no need for the apology, I know I'm weird in my love of CRT's. At least, on this subforum I am :D
   :lol :cheers:

Well my upcoming project is restoration of a Blast City cab i have sitting.. it will NOT have LCD i promise you  :)
But that is a another project. I am digging in information and researching to do a full recap and so on myself for the monitor. That now dont even start.. but i got some tips to check.

Test mounted the LCD with the modified bezel. I am satisfied. I also placed a 3mm thick "plexiglass?" between monitor and the bezel/frame i built. Going to do some more finishing on the bezel so the final painting is not finished. For example i am going to incorporate 2 speaker grills in the upper of the bezel. But i am still waiting for them to be delivered.

And of course i will update about how the FFB solution will work out. Thats i concern i have....

I am awating 2 PC computers right now to be delivered.. over a month today from UK  :banghead: :banghead:  eBay global shipping program is ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---... my opinion. But it looks like a have the tomorrow. Then i can really start to test and config everything properly.

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2022, 08:38:36 pm »
For the I/O to controllers i will test and use EMC development (FB) solution with an Arduino Leonardo board to integrate controllers and hopefully get the original FFB mechanism in the cab working. I have all the PCBīs and so on for it at my workshop right now. This solution requires a rotary encoder to work. So i started out by dismount the potīs in the steering assembly and adapting in rotary encoders instead.
Maybe I'm missing something, but substituting a relative position optical rotary encoder for the absolute position analog potentiometer makes no sense.   :dizzy:
- You put a sensor for an unlimited rotation 360 degree wheel in a limited rotation 270 degree wheel.

Have you tested this modified setup with actual gameplay in a variety of games?

I don't see how you won't have serious problems with gameplay.   :banghead:

In 360 degree games like Pole Position, you won't have the needed amount of rotation due to physical stops on the wheel.
- When you crash, the game sets the current wheel position as center.  If you were turning hard  when you crashed, you'll need to continue turning exactly that hard to go straight.

In 270 degree games like Daytona, having a relative position encoder means that the FFB doesn't know where center is.
- You could work around this using a properly centered absolute position rotary encoder, but that would involve a third data line like the two notches on the second encoder wheel of the 720 degree controller that signal the game PCB when the controller passes through the "up" position and adjusts your skater's rotational position accordingly.




Scott
« Last Edit: January 19, 2022, 08:40:34 pm by PL1 »

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #10 on: January 20, 2022, 05:16:34 am »
Awesome work mate, I'm doing a similar conversion on a single Namco racing cab from around the same generation (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,165806.0.html). Yours looks similar to the original Initial D cabs which were one of my favorites.

I like how you have fitted the LCD it looks great, I need to rig something up like that for mine. I'm hoping I can squeeze a 32 inch, I'm using a 27inch monitor at the moment but it just not the same...

PL1 I think the use of the optical rotary encoder is to get FFB working relatively easily using solutions like EMC or MMOS which are preconfigured to have inputs from a optical encoder, example - . I may be completely wrong so please correct me if I am. I'm also looking for a FFB solution, my arcade wheel uses a pot and the wheel is connected directly to a motor, I'm all ears if you know of a way to get some FFB action using a pot with Arduino.
I'm waiting for my motor driver to arrive to start trialing different things to see if I can make it work with the analogue pot.

Keen to see how you go with FFB and see the finished product, good luck!  :cheers:

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #11 on: January 20, 2022, 06:21:37 am »
I’m going to go with PL1 and recommend against the rotary encoder as a course of action. 

For the control interface, all you need is VERY cheap arduino mega and this:

https://github.com/njz3/vJoyIOFeederWithFFB

You connect your pots (driving and pedal) up to the analog inputs on the board, and the buttons to the digital inputs. Easy. Everything works perfectly, it comes with a calibration and setup program, and it feeds FFB to controllers if you have one connected.  For the FFB, go over to gamoover.net and look in the driving controls forum.  (Use Google translate). 

There are MULTIPLE proven solutions from a board member named Aganyte.  You can buy FFB driver boards from him, and that board is pretty much ground zero for driving cab FFB/interface solutions.  I had all of my conversations by Google translating back and forth, and they are very helpful and accommodating.

Link to my project:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,162932.0/all.html
« Last Edit: January 20, 2022, 06:26:44 am by nipsmg »

Vee21

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2022, 07:28:55 am »
I’m going to go with PL1 and recommend against the rotary encoder as a course of action. 

For the control interface, all you need is VERY cheap arduino mega and this:

https://github.com/njz3/vJoyIOFeederWithFFB

You connect your pots (driving and pedal) up to the analog inputs on the board, and the buttons to the digital inputs. Easy. Everything works perfectly, it comes with a calibration and setup program, and it feeds FFB to controllers if you have one connected.  For the FFB, go over to gamoover.net and look in the driving controls forum.  (Use Google translate). 

There are MULTIPLE proven solutions from a board member named Aganyte.  You can buy FFB driver boards from him, and that board is pretty much ground zero for driving cab FFB/interface solutions.  I had all of my conversations by Google translating back and forth, and they are very helpful and accommodating.

Link to my project:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,162932.0/all.html

Thanks for sharing! vJoyIOFeederWithFFB looks like a winner and exactly what I was looking for, I'm keen to test that one out.

From the photos it looks like Empo has a BTS7960 motor driver module (https://www.handsontec.com/dataspecs/module/BTS7960%20Motor%20Driver.pdf) or something similar which is what I have ordered, from reading the readme on njz3 GitHub it looks like we could wire the Arduino D10 and D11 output pins to the input pins on the BTS7960 and configure vJoyIOFeederWithFFB for the DIY Wheel mode - based on:

Model 1/2, Happ or DC-based motors (DIY wheel): analog or digital PWM mode on Arduino Mega2560 or Leonardo
Analog PWM or Dual PWM output can be used for DIY steering wheels
.

For PWM2M2 or PWM2HAPP installation (Sega Model 1/2, Midway cabinets), crawl on the web for information. The system shall be configured with PWM_CENTERED and digital PWM enabled (serial communication).

Hardcoded wiring on the Arduino Leonardo:

12 Buttons are mapped to D2-D8 (seven inputs), D12 (plus one) and D0/D1/A4/A5 (four more)
Wheel "volume" potentiometer is A0
Accel "volume" is A1
Brake "volume" is A2
Clutch "volume" is A3
analog PWM output is D9 (configured for fast PWM at 15,6kHz), either 0-100% or centered value.
dual analog PWM output on D9/D10 for
digital ouput for Direction is D10 for forward, D11 for backward.
for digital PWM: use SerialPort 0's Tx on D1


Would that work or am I completely off the mark? I'm still newish to all the electronics side of things  :dizzy:

Cheers

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2022, 07:48:18 am »
That may be possible, but I don't know anything about that driver module.  In my cabinet, the driver board was completely dead, so I bought one from that forum (PWM2HAPP) that connects to the arduino mega via data tx/rx pins and drives the motor.  If you have an intact motor board it may work.  I'd reach out to njz3 -- he's active over at gamoover.net and I think I've seen him post here too. he knows his stuff and seems very helpful.

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2022, 12:06:23 pm »
I think the use of the optical rotary encoder is to get FFB working relatively easily using solutions like EMC or MMOS which are preconfigured to have inputs from a optical encoder
My earlier concerns were because almost all optical rotary encoder firmwares take the quadrature waveform and translate it into relative (mouse) movements.

For example, This is the pattern you would see on the data lines if you slowly turned the rotary encoder clockwise.
- If these are the X-axis data lines then changing from Phase 1 to Phase 2 is one step right while changing from Phase 1 to Phase 4 is one step left.



Looks like the setup in the video is running a firmware that takes the relative motion information from the phase changes of the quadrature waveform and applies it to an analog output that simulates a potentiometer output.

The good news is that by using that approach, the 270 degree wheel games should work fine. (Firmware keeps track of the absolute wheel position.)

The downside is that 360 degree wheel games like Pole Position will run into the problems mentioned earlier.


Scott

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #15 on: January 20, 2022, 12:07:52 pm »
I’m going to go with PL1 and recommend against the rotary encoder as a course of action. 

For the control interface, all you need is VERY cheap arduino mega and this:

https://github.com/njz3/vJoyIOFeederWithFFB

You connect your pots (driving and pedal) up to the analog inputs on the board, and the buttons to the digital inputs. Easy. Everything works perfectly, it comes with a calibration and setup program, and it feeds FFB to controllers if you have one connected.  For the FFB, go over to gamoover.net and look in the driving controls forum.  (Use Google translate). 

There are MULTIPLE proven solutions from a board member named Aganyte.  You can buy FFB driver boards from him, and that board is pretty much ground zero for driving cab FFB/interface solutions.  I had all of my conversations by Google translating back and forth, and they are very helpful and accommodating.

Link to my project:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,162932.0/all.html

Oh, i did not know about that way to go for FFB.  :o  I will do some reading and look into it, and of course go trough reading about your project  :cheers:
Well i have the part for the EMC / Leonardo solution now already. So i will try it out to see how it works. I can always mount back the pot it is easy.

It is the BTS7960 motor driver board i have!

Honestly i think whole this game/cab is a taiwanese clone of Initial D.

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #16 on: January 20, 2022, 06:40:45 pm »
I have done some research now. And reading. The vJoyIOFeederWithFFB  with Aganyteīs board project seems great. Wish i found it earlier.  :o

But i will try the route im on to begin with, as i have all the stuff. The Arduino LEO is actually half the price of the MEGA. The encoders i bought cheap from like Aliexpress. And the BTS7960 boards donīt cost much either actually. So the cost of this EMC/MMOS solution i do not see as the dealbreaker at all. And i am not concerned either, what will make my cab work great and without problems i do not have problems paying for.

And if i have to make a turn in my project i saw that the vJoyIOFeederWithFFB solution works with the Arduino LEO boards also. And i have two of them now.

My concern is PL1īs very good and technical input that this may not work. But i think it should do for my 270 wheel. (..and as i am only to run games with 270 wheel originally)

What also catch my interest was the following text on the vJoyIOFeederWithFFB github:
""
What is next?
The next steps I plan are:

add schematics to help people do their cabling
add I2c support for lowcost digital IO extensions (mainly for Leonardo)
support encoder feedback to get very fine angle resolution, perhaps making a better FFB feeling.
""
I dont know much about electronic/programming more than basic stuff. But he seems to reason there is in fact a advantage of using an encoder ?!? :dunno


I also take the opportunity to thank everyone answering and giving me feedback on my project here, many thanks to you all!  :)
Very nice linking to your own driving cab projects also, i am going trough them all and will surely send you questions  >:D.
English is not my native as you surely have noticed, so please have that in mind with my spelling and so  :laugh2:

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #17 on: January 20, 2022, 07:08:27 pm »
That may be possible, but I don't know anything about that driver module.  In my cabinet, the driver board was completely dead, so I bought one from that forum (PWM2HAPP) that connects to the arduino mega via data tx/rx pins and drives the motor.  If you have an intact motor board it may work.  I'd reach out to njz3 -- he's active over at gamoover.net and I think I've seen him post here too. he knows his stuff and seems very helpful.

My thought was the BT7960 would be used as the motor board / motor driver, vJoyIOFeederWithFFB loaded on the Arduino would send the BT7960 instructions for the FFB effects (this could be wishful thinking) and this would save me from trying to interface the existing Namco FFB arcade board. In any case I'll be trying this setup out to see what it does I'll let you all know how it goes.

The optical encoder is a very popular option for the DIY racing sim guys, which is how I heard about it. It could well be overkill or not suited to the motors/wheel setups in arcade racing cabs but we shall find out! Keen to hear how it goes, keep us posted.

Cheers

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #18 on: January 21, 2022, 12:35:33 am »
Quote
The Arduino LEO is actually half the price of the MEGA.
A MEGA 2560 cinese clone will work well: they are priced in the 15 euro range  ;)
You have not space constrains, so I would suggest to get the Mega for your project

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #19 on: January 21, 2022, 10:12:55 am »
The mega 2560 clones are an INSANELY cheap option for a control encoder, and they work amazingly well.  The vJoyIOFeederWithFFB project is spectacular.


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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #20 on: January 21, 2022, 01:28:24 pm »
Ok so the chinese clones are fine - Nice to hear!. And very good prices also. But thatīs was not my issue. The thing is that i already have 2 of the leonardo boards at home. But i will buy MEGA boards if i am moving over to the Aganyte ffb board solution. I will test the solution i have prepared materials for at first.

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #21 on: January 21, 2022, 03:21:40 pm »
Awesome work mate, I'm doing a similar conversion on a single Namco racing cab from around the same generation (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,165806.0.html). Yours looks similar to the original Initial D cabs which were one of my favorites.

I like how you have fitted the LCD it looks great, I need to rig something up like that for mine. I'm hoping I can squeeze a 32 inch, I'm using a 27inch monitor at the moment but it just not the same...

Thanks! I will follow your project also!  :applaud:. It was very tight and precisely i could fit the 32" LCD. These type of cabs has ca 730mm of room between the panels. The LCDs i bought is 729mm  ;D So its precise!

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #22 on: January 26, 2022, 03:53:16 pm »
Hi again  :)

Now for the first time i have tested the setup as in my initial plan, this may change on the road...
It involves following:
Rotary encoder (30usd)
Arduino Leo
BTS7960 motor driver board (5usd)
EMC Lite software

Havenīt tested ingame yet, but seems to work perfectly as seen by Windows as a wheel. Seems to working smooth and fine.
Also got the FFB running, good to know the motor works  :applaud:  Tested FFB effects in wheelconfig program only, but seemed to work nicely.
Video:


« Last Edit: January 26, 2022, 04:17:29 pm by Empo »

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #23 on: January 27, 2022, 06:58:48 pm »
Finally today after very much shipping troubles the PCīs arrived. Downside with a twin racing build... you need two of almost everything..  :banghead:
The 2 graphic boards i already had at home ready to mount, bought them a few months ago.

2 refurbished old DELL optiplex PCīs. Everything incl. the new GPU boards cost me around 5-600 USD. The specs is:

3.4 GHz 3rd gen IntelŪ Core™ i7-3770
8GB RAM
GeForce GT 1030
128 GB SSD drive (+ 240GB SSD that i mounted as i had 2 new drives laying)

And of course i had to test right away! So after updating everything i installed Teknoparrot right away. And then Sega Rally 3 - runs perfectly!  :cheers: Didnīt even had to install any patches/mods whatsoever? Well feels very nice. Now i can concentrate more at installing everything in the cabinet and making everything more permanent. And then start tweaking/adjusting FFB etc.







Vee21

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #24 on: January 27, 2022, 08:51:05 pm »
Awesome work mate glad to hear it all worked out as planned  :cheers:. So Sega Rally in Teknoparrot worked with FFB without any other further config changes?

I’m still waiting on my motor driver…I’m even more keen now to get mine working after reading about your success.

Would you have a link to the power supply that you used for the motor? And do your buttons have LEDs? I’m trying to get mine to light up but haven’t had any success yet.

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #25 on: January 28, 2022, 02:33:04 pm »
Awesome work mate glad to hear it all worked out as planned  :cheers:. So Sega Rally in Teknoparrot worked with FFB without any other further config changes?

I’m still waiting on my motor driver…I’m even more keen now to get mine working after reading about your success.

Would you have a link to the power supply that you used for the motor? And do your buttons have LEDs? I’m trying to get mine to light up but haven’t had any success yet.

I have not tested FFB in any game yet. I am setting up and configuring the PCīs now at home. I have my cabs at my workshop a minute away. So i will test everything "live" in my cab very soon!!. I am also waiting for some small parts, like connectors and so to do the connections properly in the cab.

Unfortunately no link to the PSUīs i bought for the FFB, it was a few years ago. It was from Ebay or Aliexpress. Spec is AC 110V-220V TO DC 5V 12V 24V Switch Power Supply Driver Adapter LED Strip Light [24V 16.5A 400W]  I paid total 48 usd for 2 units incl. shipping

About LED/Lamps, exterior and so i havenīt concerned about so much yet. Will look into this later on when i have controls and games up and running.

As i have twin cabinets im thinking about maybe test out the vJoyIOFeederWithFFB solution in the other, to compare :P  After some research i know that there is several routes to go in enabling FFB. I have talked a bit with Aganyte also in Gamoover forum. He has made very great products for this. But for my twin setup it would be 360 Euro for all the boards. And thatīs fine i think as he surely put very much of his time and effort in it. But i will try other options first, in the future maybe i choose his solution. We will see. And i have to admit liking the idea of getting it to work without using special made PCBīs etc. and instead using "standard" products easily available. Like the BTS7960 for example.

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #26 on: January 30, 2022, 06:05:00 pm »
Sunday night....  :'(

Didnīt get so much done this weekend. But some small steps in my project. (All in cab no:1 for now) The twin cab will be started with later on, just copying what i have done in no:1. Was a storm here so woke up to no mainpower 6 in the morning. Power was back around 6 in the evening...12 hours.. :banghead:

Done some routing and planning for the wiring and cabling in the cab. Also installed the PSU for the FFB motor.
 ;D Haha this cab have a wide variety of voltage options now;
AC 240V
AC 110V
AC 32V
AC 26V
AC 20V
AC 14V
and..

DC 24V
DC 12V
DC 5V

Also mounted and fixed new speaker mesh/grilleīs in my bezel for the 32" LCD. As i had to cut out the original speaker mounting for the LCD screen fitment. Going to place the speakers above screen instead now, thats my plan anyway.

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #27 on: January 31, 2022, 08:31:45 pm »
Seeing this makes me wish more emulated games had proper networking support. Other than that, glad to see things working in your favor. Decided to look into what this "Speed Driver Evolution" game is and it doesn't look like anything special.

Ironically, a Dreamcast emulator known as Flycast is getting Naomi 2 support soon so it'd be nice to see some actual Initial D 1-3 in this copy Initial D cab.

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #28 on: February 01, 2022, 06:04:19 am »
Seeing this makes me wish more emulated games had proper networking support. Other than that, glad to see things working in your favor. Decided to look into what this "Speed Driver Evolution" game is and it doesn't look like anything special.

I actually quite like the look of Speed Driver Evolution, though i'd never heard of it until this thread :)

What games were you wishing would run over network? And hasn't Flycast got Naomi2 been pending for a few years now? TBH i'd love it if they got it and networking up and running, that would be amazing. I'm really hoping to get an ID3 link going.
« Last Edit: February 01, 2022, 06:08:59 pm by buttersoft »

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #29 on: February 01, 2022, 07:08:14 am »

I have not tested FFB in any game yet. I am setting up and configuring the PCīs now at home. I have my cabs at my workshop a minute away. So i will test everything "live" in my cab very soon!!. I am also waiting for some small parts, like connectors and so to do the connections properly in the cab.

Unfortunately no link to the PSUīs i bought for the FFB, it was a few years ago. It was from Ebay or Aliexpress. Spec is AC 110V-220V TO DC 5V 12V 24V Switch Power Supply Driver Adapter LED Strip Light [24V 16.5A 400W]  I paid total 48 usd for 2 units incl. shipping

About LED/Lamps, exterior and so i havenīt concerned about so much yet. Will look into this later on when i have controls and games up and running.

As i have twin cabinets im thinking about maybe test out the vJoyIOFeederWithFFB solution in the other, to compare :P  After some research i know that there is several routes to go in enabling FFB. I have talked a bit with Aganyte also in Gamoover forum. He has made very great products for this. But for my twin setup it would be 360 Euro for all the boards. And thatīs fine i think as he surely put very much of his time and effort in it. But i will try other options first, in the future maybe i choose his solution. We will see. And i have to admit liking the idea of getting it to work without using special made PCBīs etc. and instead using "standard" products easily available. Like the BTS7960 for example.

Thanks for the specs, everything looks like its coming together  :applaud: That would be awesome if you were to test out the vJoyIOFeederWithFFB solution and compare. My BTS7960 just arrived so now its time for me to source a power supply, I'm a little confused as to what power supply my FFB motor will need, the motor specs are:
Model: DTM-7060
Watts: 40
Volts: 100
RPM: 390
Rating: Cont
AMPS: 0.6

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #30 on: February 01, 2022, 04:23:52 pm »
Tonight i got the speakers mounted. As i had to move them away from the sides were they originally was mounted. I have now placed them above the LCD screen towards the speaker grilles i mounted in the bezel. I made a bracket out of 16x3mm metal and welded mounts to tighten fast the speakers. Some black paint also on the bracket  :cheers:
Also made new brackets to hold the LCD against the bezel. Now they are more slim and sturdy.

Also i tested to start up a few games, Daytona, SR3 and Mario Kart. Very nice and if you want very loud sound in this cab!  :applaud: Video will come!. The amplifier in the cab is quite a big piece.

The picīs  i take i know are quite bad quality. The camera in my budget phone is not the best..  :(


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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #31 on: February 01, 2022, 04:44:43 pm »

I actually quite like the look of Speed Driver Evolution, though i'd never heard of it until this thread :)


Never heard of it either  :)  I donīt think many of them was sent away out of Asia, maybe not so many there either? I do not know much about the game either. In my machine the hardware was not working, and was probably not working from early in beginning as both of the machines is in like "new" condition and seems to never been used. I still have the original PCB boards for I/O and FFB. The game seems to have been running on 1 PC with a PCI board connected to 2 boards with I/O and FFB in each machine. And running in Linux.  ((If someone with knowledge and skills in making arcade things helpful for us others think these PCBīs can be interesting for developing purposes - please let me know and i will donate them))

I wonder sometimes how this machine ended up i Sweden..  :o  Anyway, it is the perfect machine to build an emulator machine out of i think  :)

Haha, sometimes i laugh and wonder how the actual game performed and played. The "sideart slogans" makes me laugh at times when im looking at them.  They are somewhat funny/crazy i think?  :lol :lol

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #32 on: February 01, 2022, 06:06:56 pm »
omg those slogans! lol.

If you wanted to donate the PCBs to Reaver, who is the head of the Teknoparrot Project and lives in Finland, he might be interested. Jump onto their discord, if you can. I don't even know if there's a dump of the main game though, so that might be the first hurdle.

https://discord.com/invite/bntkyXZ
« Last Edit: February 01, 2022, 06:09:55 pm by buttersoft »

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #33 on: February 01, 2022, 06:21:13 pm »
omg those slogans! lol.

If you wanted to donate the PCBs to Reaver, who is the head of the Teknoparrot Project and lives in Finland, he might be interested. Jump onto their discord, if you can. I don't even know if there's a dump of the main game though, so that might be the first hurdle.

https://discord.com/invite/bntkyXZ

Great feedback buttersoft! I will try to reach him. I am on TP discord. Would be nice if the PCBīs could do something useful. I just canīt throw them away.

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #34 on: February 02, 2022, 01:22:14 am »
Decided to look into what this "Speed Driver Evolution" game is and it doesn't look like anything special.

I found some more vids, and i have to disagree. Maybe i'd hate it if i played it, but i'm really liking the style of this... Take a look at the drifting in that second vid! (EDIT: still, you never know. This is from IGS/WAHLAP, and Storm Racer G, also by them, ain't great, and it has drifting.)

With apologies to Empo for derailing his build thread!



« Last Edit: February 03, 2022, 02:45:30 am by buttersoft »

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #35 on: February 02, 2022, 01:41:04 pm »

Thanks for the specs, everything looks like its coming together  :applaud: That would be awesome if you were to test out the vJoyIOFeederWithFFB solution and compare. My BTS7960 just arrived so now its time for me to source a power supply, I'm a little confused as to what power supply my FFB motor will need, the motor specs are:
Model: DTM-7060
Watts: 40
Volts: 100
RPM: 390
Rating: Cont
AMPS: 0.6

I assume it is a DC motor? You should look for something outputting 24V DC, i would say minimum 6A. But better safe than sorry so look for something that handles 10A or more. Something like this maybe: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32825039716.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_home.productList_4176612.subject_0

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #36 on: February 03, 2022, 06:25:52 pm »
OK! Now i have tested EMC Development FFB

Setup:
Arduino Leonardo "flashed"
BTS7960 motor driver board - PSU 24vdc 16amps
Rotary Encoder 1000 ppr
My wheel i think is a chinese clone/copy of HAPP wheel.

Boomslangz FFB plugin.

In EMC software i had to limit FFB effect to around 50%. It goes bananas otherwise(loosing center etc). But with 50% FFB effect in EMC it worked out pretty well i think. FFB Worked very well in MK DX. And also Sega Rally 3. The FFB in SR3 was not so impressive ? but it is the game i think



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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #37 on: February 03, 2022, 09:53:28 pm »
The FFB in SR3 was not so impressive ? but it is the game i think

There's the alternative FFB for SR3 three, called SR3 "other" in the FFB pack. Did you try that? Did it make any difference?
« Last Edit: February 04, 2022, 05:36:41 am by buttersoft »

Empo

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #38 on: February 04, 2022, 11:57:12 am »
There's the alternative FFB for SR3 three, called SR3 "other" in the FFB pack. Did you try that? Did it make any difference?

Thanks buttersoft! Did not notice that, must test it tonight!!  :cheers:

Now i have changed setup to the vJoyIOFeederWithFFB solution made by nj3z  https://github.com/njz3/vJoyIOFeederWithFFB/blob/master/README.md
Better to use software developed by an arcade enthusiast its a great project, and he is very helpful.  Please donate - i did.

Still using my Leonardo, and BTS7960 motor driver. Switched back to potentiometer in the steering assembly.

Great software this BackForceFeeder! You can tweak and tune everything you need.

And the results is fantastic  :applaud: :applaud: Great FFB experience! Mario Kart is double the fun now  :notworthy:

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Re: Driving twincabinet project (Emulator)
« Reply #39 on: February 04, 2022, 04:37:02 pm »
Well did try the Sega Rally 3 "other". But i didnīt get any FFB at all ?

But now with vJoyIOFeederWithFFB software the FFB is greatly improved in SR3 anyway. Could rip my arms of if i want to  :laugh2:  VERY powerful. No need to increase gain there. But in MKDX i had to do it, it was quite "tame" from start. But there you also have many tuning options in the FFBplugin. So it is also starting to feeling great.

Anyway, here is a video running SR3  :applaud:  No need to comment my driving skills  :laugh2:


 :cheers: Cheers and have a nice weekend!