Obsessive hobbies....

[spkrdctr]

RC, I still marvel at your ability to make things that you have made and what I assume is an enormous amount of time it must take to do all this. I am VERY impressed. If I had your talents when I was a young pup, I would have started a company making something. You represent a guy with a great brain and hard work ethic. All I can say is WOW!

 

[RCHeliGuy]

RC, I still marvel at your ability to make things that you have made and what I assume is an enormous amount of time it must take to do all this. I am VERY impressed. If I had your talents when I was a young pup, I would have started a company making something. You represent a guy with a great brain and hard work ethic. All I can say is WOW!

I started my first company in 1999 and designed and had manufactured for me a steel fabricated indoor slalom ski trainer. I had a dealer network, an endorsement from a top waterskier and sold that product for 3 years. However I kept my full time job during all of this and didn't make that much money, but I learned a lot. I developed 3 more products and almost put my second, a fin calibration tool, into production.

I've been 100% self employed as a contractor for almost 13 years now. I've only traveled on site about 10 days over that period. My specialty is business process automation. I'm getting pulled into more on projects that have had 1 or more failed attempts. So far I have a 100% success rate with my projects. I'm interviewing with a hospital today and over the next week. for another large job that has had 2 failed attempts just like the last large project I finished a couple weeks ago. I've recently teamed up with an excellent Project Manager who tends to find himself on similar projects that can use someone with my skill set. He also has an excellent skill set and enjoys a good challenge.

I keep very busy with my software work which can be very challenging, which I like, and it pays well. Over the years I have became proficient at a number of things that could have been turned into a revenue stream, but manufacturing doesn't pay well enough.

So these projects are more a labor of love and a creative outlet that I share at no cost with others. Thingiverse - Digital Designs for Physical Objects

I found that while I enjoy my challenging work, that I also like to create things that are tangible. So I got into wood working and then a bit of metal working and 3D printing has been a great creative outlet for me.

Fusion 360 has become almost an extension of my consciousness and you might be surprised at how quickly some of these designs come together. The button box was the most time consuming because I was figuring out what worked and there were many many steps.

Some designs are incremental, like the one below. I started off making an integral mount for my flight stick, then I decided to make a cosmetic cover, then a guide to help it slide into position and stay there.

I've just added a Magswitch to the design which will speed things up further. I have 2x 95lb strength Magswitches coming tomorrow, some M4 threaded inserts and M4 SS bolts, along with some cold rolled steel that I'll need to cut to size, drill and bevel for the Magswitch to have something to secure to. I'm printing the test parts right now.

 

[Robert D]

I started my first company in 1999 and designed and had manufactured for me a steel fabricated indoor slalom ski trainer. I had a dealer network, an endorsement from a top waterskier and sold that product for 3 years. However I kept my full time job during all of this and didn't make that much money, but I learned a lot. I developed 3 more products and almost put my second, a fin calibration tool, into production.

I've been 100% self employed as a contractor for almost 13 years now. I've only traveled on site about 10 days over that period. My specialty is business process automation. I'm getting pulled into more on projects that have had 1 or more failed attempts. So far I have a 100% success rate with my projects. I'm interviewing with a hospital today and over the next week. for another large job that has had 2 failed attempts just like the last large project I finished a couple weeks ago. I've recently teamed up with an excellent Project Manager who tends to find himself on similar projects that can use someone with my skill set. He also has an excellent skill set and enjoys a good challenge.

I keep very busy with my software work which can be very challenging, which I like, and it pays well. Over the years I have became proficient at a number of things that could have been turned into a revenue stream, but manufacturing doesn't pay well enough.

So these projects are more a labor of love and a creative outlet that I share at no cost with others. Thingiverse - Digital Designs for Physical Objects

I found that while I enjoy my challenging work, that I also like to create things that are tangible. So I got into wood working and then a bit of metal working and 3D printing has been a great creative outlet for me.

Fusion 360 has become almost an extension of my consciousness and you might be surprised at how quickly some of these designs come together. The button box was the most time consuming because I was figuring out what worked and there were many many steps.

Some designs are incremental, like the one below. I started off making an integral mount for my flight stick, then I decided to make a cosmetic cover, then a guide to help it slide into position and stay there.

I've just added a Magswitch to the design which will speed things up further. I have 2x 95lb strength Magswitches coming tomorrow, some M4 threaded inserts and M4 SS bolts, along with some cold rolled steel that I'll need to cut to size, drill and bevel for the Magswitch to have something to secure to. I'm printing the test parts right now.

View attachment 21522

I've got a close friend that has been running his own IT company now between 25 and 30 years and he is similar. He does his main business but also fixes up old pinball machines. He then finds businesses like bars that would like to have his machines there and basically rents the space I guess you could say. The income from the coins on those pays for all of the pinball expenses and allows him to make more. It's a fun outlet for him. His business he enjoys too I think, but it's still more like work.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

The problem with many of these labor of loves, is that if you turn them in a money making venture, it becomes less fun. I tooled up and created a bunch of those Delrin wedges to hold wheels for SimuCube 2 owners. Creating the tooling and figuring out how to make them was the fun part. The actual manufacturing was just tedious and I got through the first batch knowing I would never make another batch.

 

[Robert D]

The problem with many of these labor of loves, is that if you turn them in a money making venture, it becomes less fun. I tooled up and created a bunch of those Delrin wedges to hold wheels for SimuCube 2 owners. Creating the tooling and figuring out how to make them was the fun part. The actual manufacturing was just tedious and I got through the first batch knowing I would never make another batch.

Exactly!

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I think I just figured out how to make this completely tool-less and have no loose parts
I'm pretty excited about this, and I think it will work!

 

[RCHeliGuy]

In case you were curious, here is how the Magswitch quick release works.



Also added a 2nd cable guide at the bottom to keep the cable from getting out where my feet are, then run it through an existing Velcro loop for good measure. I think it is all dialed in now

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I came to the realization yesterday that my sim rig was complete. I've dotted every i and crossed every t. There is nothing left to do until I move to a new home and have room to build a full 6 DOF motion system. This hit my like a ton of bricks.

Right now I'm refinishing the slightly water damaged ( because they were not finished properly ) solid wood Alderwood cabinets in the master bath under the double sinks. I've been cleaning my office and organizing things in the house. In one way I feel a bit freed because I don't have any more ideas that are compelling me to design things, but I also feel like there is something missing.

I may actually use my rig and listen to my stereo a bit more too

 

[Robert D]

I came to the realization yesterday that my sim rig was complete. I've dotted every i and crossed every t. There is nothing left to do until I move to a new home and have room to build a full 6 DOF motion system. This hit my like a ton of bricks.

Right now I'm refinishing the slightly water damaged ( because they were not finished properly ) solid wood Alderwood cabinets in the master bath under the double sinks. I've been cleaning my office and organizing things in the house. In one way I feel a bit freed because I don't have any more ideas that are compelling me to design things, but I also feel like there is something missing.

I may actually use my rig and listen to my stereo a bit more too

Makes sense. Is it the finished product or the path it takes to get there that supplies the satisfaction?

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I think I enjoyed the process of designing and building solutions to issues I found more than actually having it all complete.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I am still learning things about how all this works for flight. DCS is very deep.

For example the throttle has detents that can be set fairly high so you have an a push through detent just before the afterburners kick in and then another set at the idle, cutt-off threshold when you are on the runway. You can hear the afterburners kick in as well.

The motion is quite good and I'm impressed with how it handles barrel rolls.

The transducer support for effects with my NLRv3 is not as advanced as what I have in SimHub for racing, but it is still interesting. It is impressive when you depress the trigger and feel the gun/cannons spin up on the F18, fire and then spin down when you let off the trigger.

I also started mapping controls to my button box. I configured an eject button. You have to hit it 3 times. The first press lights things up, the 2nd press jettisons the canopy and the 3rd press launches you and your seat and the parachute opens.

So part of the adventure still awaits as I get things configured and actually start to see what my rig is capable of. I've barely scratched the surface.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

Went down a new path for immersion and feedback with a seat belt tensioning system.

Many people have been talking about how much the enjoy their new set belt tensioning systems, specifically SimXperience's G-Belt.

The way this works is that the two shoulder belts have actuators at the top of the seat that pull the belts tighter when you are braking and that force should be linear with the G forces you would feel if you were braking into a corner. In addition the left and right belts can be tightened independently which should convey body roll a bit. They also work to reinforce tactile if you are hitting a bump and being pushed into the seatbelt.

First I upgraded to 3" wide seat belts to distribute this new load to my body better. A pair of matching Sabelt rally pads have been ordered as well if these feel abusive on me. This is software configurable and can be dialed in to taste, but it may be that I want a certain level of feedback that hurts over time without padding.

Despite the expiration tags for racing these are cheap knockoffs and I would never use these in a real race car. But they are about 25-30% the cost of the real racing belts and since I'll never be in a 100mph crash in my sim rig, I doubt I'll ever push them to failure.

This is the G-Belt seat belt tensioning system that has two actuators. It has a control box that can drive up to 4 actuators.

Mounted on the seat these new belts are pretty stiff right now.

Currently I'm just passing the shoulder belts through the G-Belt. It has two arms that rotate pulling the belt.

 

[spkrdctr]

If you want it to be "realistic" then yes it should hurt. Whipping around in very high G race cars tends to make you "feel the pain". Plus when your done, you feel like you actually did something!. Your rig is unbelievable and amazing. I would never have thought that it could go to this level. I am impressed!

 

[JonFo]

The way this works is that the two shoulder belts have actuators at the top of the seat that pull the belts tighter when you are braking and that force should be linear with the G forces you would feel if you were braking into a corner

Ah, that is sooooo cool!

Between realistic brake pedal feedback and this belt system, I bet car driving sims are a blast.

One of the things that keep me from using my sim games more is the lack of realism in those two areas with my current setup.
I pretty much made the decision to wait until I can put together something much more realistic. Maybe when I retire.

Again, your rig is drool-worthy. Congrats.

 

[Robert D]

And you're doing the Sim in VR too, right? Which program is your favorite?

 

[RCHeliGuy]

And you're doing the Sim in VR too, right? Which program is your favorite?

I like to race in iRacing. It's an subscription service and you have to pay for the content, but you race against real people. They have a very good AI engine that you can use to hone your skills. I also use the VRS ( Virtual Racing School ). It provides video to show how to drive a specific car on the track for a given week in the series. You then drive the same track and get full telemetry back so you can compare your brake points and how hard you are braking, where you are on the track, when you hit the gas and by how much etc... So you can see where you need to work on things. Once I get within a couple seconds of the known good driver then I figure I'm ready to race in official races.

This older picture shows the VRS telemetry data comparison. The known good is in blue. I'm in red.
This is for a whole lap, but you can break it down by segments.
In this telemetry shot I'm still down by over 3 seconds per lap on this track, so I wasn't where I wanted to be yet before racing.

On the right side:
1. Relative Speed so you can see where I was slower than he was.
2. Shows how much I'm falling behind across a lap.
3. Shows my deviation from the more optimum line he was driving. The red boundaries are +/- 2 meters.
4. Throttle
5. Braking
6. (cut off) Steering angle

I also enjoy Dirt Rally 2.0 Not as realistic, but a completely blast especially with motion. Going airborne in Finland in a Rally B car is a blast. They are crazy fast and you are frequently drifting in the corners. This is where I use my h pattern shifter and handbrake the most.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

If you want it to be "realistic" then yes it should hurt. Whipping around in very high G race cars tends to make you "feel the pain". Plus when your done, you feel like you actually did something!. Your rig is unbelievable and amazing. I would never have thought that it could go to this level. I am impressed!

Yeah, hurt....

I tried out the stock slot for my anti-submarine belt to pull against the seatbelt tensioners. Oh hell no!
However I'm thinking of getting a split front cushion and running that anti-submarine belt in from a different position a bit further away from my tender bits. I would NEVER use an anti-submarine belt if I wasn't trying to give the G-Belt an anchor to pull against.

I was told that drivers do basically sit on their anti-submarine belt and it normally is back underneath you a ways. I've also heard some stories about uncomfortable race cars on a hot day, without AC obviously and some guys run without much padding. It doesn't sound like anything I want to actually try out in real life.

BTW this video show is how cheap knockoff seatbelts do in a real crash.
I will worry about that the first time I think I'm in danger of having a 100mph crash in my sim rig

 

[Robert D]

I like to race in iRacing. It's an subscription service and you have to pay for the content, but you race against real people. They have a very good AI engine that you can use to hone your skills. I also use the VRS ( Virtual Racing School ). It provides video to show how to drive a specific car on the track for a given week in the series. You then drive the same track and get full telemetry back so you can compare your brake points and how hard you are braking, where you are on the track, when you hit the gas and by how much etc... So you can see where you need to work on things. Once I get within a couple seconds of the known good driver then I figure I'm ready to race in official races.

This older picture shows the VRS telemetry data comparison. The known good is in blue. I'm in red.
This is for a whole lap, but you can break it down by segments.
In this telemetry shot I'm still down by over 3 seconds per lap on this track, so I wasn't where I wanted to be yet before racing.

On the right side:
1. Relative Speed so you can see where I was slower than he was.
2. Shows how much I'm falling behind across a lap.
3. Shows my deviation from the more optimum line he was driving. The red boundaries are +/- 2 meters.
4. Throttle
5. Braking
6. (cut off) Steering angle
View attachment 21685


I also enjoy Dirt Rally 2.0 Not as realistic, but a completely blast especially with motion. Going airborne in Finland in a Rally B car is a blast. They are crazy fast and you are frequently drifting in the corners. This is where I use my h pattern shifter and handbrake the most.

How does iracing integrate with vr headsets? Wondering what kind of frame rates you can get. I did project cars in vr and it made me sick. I think the frame rate was too slow.

My vr rig runs on a 1080ti. Just got a rtx 3080ti for my new regular gaming pc. Wondering what card you are running on yours, as you don't complain of sickness. Maybe you felt sick at first? I've heard it takes some time to get accustomed to.

 

[RCHeliGuy]

I'm running an i9-9900K, 32Gb 3600MHz DDR4 memory, 2080Ti and Valve Index.

In iRacing I can get 90 fps easy with settings set pretty high in a race with a full field. By myself I can get 120 fps and even 144fps on some tracks with very high settings.

Nausea is a very personal thing. My son never had any at all ever.

Initially with my early CV1 Rift and static rig, I had nausea at first. I played Dirt Rally 1.0 for about 20-30 minutes a day for 5 days at the end of it I was good. Dirt Rally is a known vomit bucket game. After this that period of earning my VR legs I was pretty good from then on.

However I've noticed with people visiting who have never used VR that since I added motion they tend to be able to drive longer without much less side effects.

And yes, I can play Dirt Rally 2.0 or iRacing for hours now with absolutely zero issues. I'm very comfortable with it.

 

[Robert D]

I tried Vr on project cars. Maybe it is poorly optimized for vr. The frame rate sucked on the 1080ti.

My new pc is damn fast, but it's upstairs in a small study and the vr is downstairs in a large room for room scale movement.

Managed to get the 3080ti by winning a drawing at my local Microcenter and then had them put a new rig together. Got the I9 10850k and 64 gb ram. Everything has the fancy lights on it now!