Whatever I end up doing for more immersion I want it to be compatible with both flying and racing
Whatever I end up doing for more immersion I want it to be compatible with both flying and racing
PI was thinking when I start getting some decent sim racing gear I might just buy another cheap gaming chair like I have & just swap out chairs when going from flight to racing. I have my throttle mounted to the side arm of my 'flight' chair & have the mount on the right for a side stick or hosas for space sim.
JAs someone in the process of figuring out how I want to add flight to my racing cockpit it can definitely be a pain to merge the two together. Definitely making compromises for both and you end up with something somewhat suboptimal across the board, but it can be super convenient too with minimal time or effort on your part to change from one to the other
Pactually this made me think I need to sort out a floor mount for my truck sim gear shifter & jump back into some ETS2 
I love driving through Europe listening to the radio stations of the country I'm in
I love driving through Europe listening to the radio stations of the country I'm in JIf I had the physical space I would have a dedicated flight sim cockpit and dedicated racing sim cockpit, and on flight sim I'd have at least a semi instrument panel dash (which isn't really achievable with a racing wheel mounted on the cockpit)
PWell one way I was wondering about merging flight & racing is if I ever get to build a ffb yoke, via VPforce motor kit ofc, I was thinking if it'd be possible to build it with the idea of being able to attach a wheel to too. though it wouldn't be a direct drive wheel 
maybe not then
maybe not thenJBest way would be to have it mounted in such a way to easily swap out yoke for racing
PYeah if you add things like instrument panels it can get a bit harder I guess, I'd love one of WW's F-18 sets!
JMe too
JI'd love a panel for each of the major planes I fly
Jto just swap out at will
Pwell I have my racing pedals (just g27) mounted inverted above my rudder pedals, so they can coexist, I was putting a flat bit of ply on the rudder pedals & that let me use the racing pedals fine enough, but yeah no other way to get around swapping yoke & wheel, although tbh the Rhino & ffb have spoiled my Honeycomb Alpha yoke for me & I haven't been using it lately, looks like it'll be a candidate for a VPforce kit!
Jthats one way to do it
MThx I cannot wait to try it out
JLooking a lot more like I'll be next month 
SCan anyone recommend a budget 80/20 frame for flight sim or instructions on building my own (ill just need the mounting plates) as I dont think my desk mount will cut it anymore.
Jhttps://www.motedis.com/en/SimRacing-Configurator?products_id=9688 (this template is for racing but could be a great starting point for reference)
✓ SimRacing configurator at the best price ✓ MOTEDIS experts in the sector ✓
Jdiy using a place like motedis would be one option, would have to source your own chair
Jwithout a chair you'd be looking at around $400-500usd once you factor in shipping
Jyou probably won't find anything cheaper than that in 80/20 t slot because at that point the majority of the cost is the materials + machining, and shipping
SQuestion is shipping to the UK!
JMaybe UK has a more local solution available 
JSince the parts are universal could rip part list from motedis and order from anywhere that offers them
SYes, but the effects are quite subtle. There is stiffening of controls with speed and aileron trim moving the stick. With full trim the stick is displaced around 1cm from center.
Tis the waiting time still 12 months ?
Jprobably that or longer if you aren't yet in line. 300+ people in line atm iirc
Jon avg ships out around 20 a month it might increase over time
KI’m looking for some details on the DIY kits. I just finished my own gimbal / electronics that I use with XPlane, Condor 2, and MSFS. It runs mainly on I2C on a RPi Pico. In the DIY motor kit, how do the buttons / normal electronics integrate in with the system?
Tthanks for the info
S777 rudder pedals with a 4" scale for scaling purposes
S
PHey m8 not a kit owner but the basic idea is that you choose what motor size you'd like, with the 57BLF03 being the motor kit in the Rhino peaks @9Nm torque with the Rhino's gear ratio & power pack, the kit also includes the VPforce usb pcb (thingy) to connect the motor to the PC but power pack is byo, usually a laptop power pack. Walmis carefully chose the motors & also did some black magic in the software/firmware? for anti-cogging etc. There are some options for chassis & gimbals I believe one or two guys on the discord here are creating chassis kits for sale to work with the 57BLF03 motor kits. The wait time on a motor kit is usually a couple days at most from what I've seen. Also Walmis & likely any other ppl that have the VPforce kit are usually more than happy to help with any trouble during the build & testing process.
KThanks, I've got the 57BLF04 on order as I plan to build from scratch again and have the machine shop to make this a fun project. I'm mainly confused about how to integrate the existing joystick controller board with the VPforce USB device. It seems like it would make things more difficult if the FFB signals had to go to a different device than the joystick that actually gives the values for those axis. For example: If my X axis is from an I2C sensor (as it actually is) and that I2C sensor's position is converted into a USB HID Joystick by an RPi Pico, then how do I integrate the two USB devices in games like Condor/Xplane/MSFS?
Pwhen you say "existing joystick controller board" do you mean for your grip's buttons etc?
KYes.
K*I have a joystick that I custom built and I'm wanting to use the VPForce DIY kit to add FFB to it.
PVPforce also has a loopback app, so any joystick can be "looped-back" to the Rhino base, games etc. will see them as one device, I use this with my vkb kg12 grip in IL2
T@kingjamez_rf I have a motor kit on the way. The motors have integrated sensors so you won’t need your current X&Y axis sensors. Your flightsim will read the axes positions from the VP Force board that powers and controls the motors.
GHave you checked Trak Racer? They sell the complete rig, but also all parts as Spare Parts too. I understood more about 8020 profiles after checking them. Download the TR80 lite model manual for example and you will see all the parts used to assemble it to have an idea for a DYI or you recognize you can get the TR80 lite "barebone" without extras since it is a base for a flight sim, just need to add the FLIGHT SIM CONTROL MOUNTS WITH 2 SIDE SUPPORTS FOR ALL ALUMINUM COCKPITS
TR80-2SMEX-FS-EU for side hotas or/and a couple of profiles for center mount. Even if you go with a different brand you can add the Spare Parts from Track Racer you want. I found it a very customizable brand. They have warehouses in Netherlands and US. The TR80 lite barebone should cost around 420 euros + the flight sim arms 145 euros + shipping and tax (not so cheap unfortunatelly and depends on your country). One advantage is that it is also a sim racing rig.
TR80-2SMEX-FS-EU for side hotas or/and a couple of profiles for center mount. Even if you go with a different brand you can add the Spare Parts from Track Racer you want. I found it a very customizable brand. They have warehouses in Netherlands and US. The TR80 lite barebone should cost around 420 euros + the flight sim arms 145 euros + shipping and tax (not so cheap unfortunatelly and depends on your country). One advantage is that it is also a sim racing rig.
YOr Monstertech out of Germany.
Not really budget but you can get some ideas there
Not really budget but you can get some ideas there
TThe grip communicates with the VPforce main board through SPI. It’s the same way TM and Virpil communicate. If you have a debolestis shift register for the buttons it should be plug and play (just wire the adapter correctly). If you don’t have a shift register internally, walmis can supply one with your kit for $10 extra and then you just need to put that board inside the grip or somewhere between the grip and the mainboard and wire the buttons to it. If you have axis on your custom grip like a thumb stick you can pair the shift register with an arduino nano to handle the SPI conversion and pass that through the shift register. I’ve got the code worked out for that but I just haven’t shared it yet since I am in the middle of building my gimbal right now so haven’t been able to test it fully.
TI chose VPForce partly because I could make my custom grips in a way that I could also get commercial grips like the virpil or TM in the future and use both. You can have up to 4 axis on your custom grip (thumb stick, brake lever, etc) if you go the arduino/shift register route or only buttons with just the shift register.
KThanks @t_oll and @theamazingreat ! That clears up a lot for me. Really appreciate it. It sounds like I can easily adapt my grips into the system. Super helpful. Looking forward to getting the kit in and starting the build of the gimbal.
RJust put a DD wheel on a single axis slider with a lock for racing.
JTwo pits. No issue.
JJI know, My space has grown more than it should over the last decade. Two stations for flying, one VR and one F-18 pit with TrackIR. I have seen many contraptions posted with so many parts nestled here and there, must take a half to full hour to reconfigure between the two hobbies.
NIn my imagination, the first idea that came to mind was a racing wheel attached to an arm or some sort of support that you can push and pull and lock in place, so you can have the wheel in the right position when in use and the unlock and push forwards when not
NNot sure how to work around the stick if it’s center mounted, though
PI've seen a video with that, guy was more trying to make a yoke/ffb yoke. Got a linier pot & some desk draw sliders & bolted the whole thing to some ply base