Added Simvibe - low budget info

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by ElNino, Jan 27, 2017.

  1. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    I made the plunge into SimVibe. I'm cheap by nature when it comes to extra curricular activities, so as usual i wanted to get this done on the cheap, but i had concerns about producing tactile feedback with minimal wattage and low end drivers.

    Turns out they do the job pretty well!

    Here's what I spent for those considering Simvibe but don't want to break the bank...
    1. Software - $80 - ouch, but it's more than just the controller for the driver. It also makes launching your sim and all auxiliary apps a one button affair. You can set it up to open and close every app you need for each sim. So now anyone could sit down in my rig, start up any game, and have all the bells and whistles working as they should right away. Sure you could do this with a batch file, but it's well done here. TrackIR, Logitech Gaming, Dashmeter, Telemetry Translator, and CrewChief all start right up and close when i exit. No fiddling around!!

    2, Amp - $69 - SMSL SA50 50Wx2 - I probably could have gone cheaper on this, but didn't want to risk it with 4ohm drivers. This does the job for left and right rear chassis feedback. It drives the shakers plenty hard and somehow stays cool, even driving 2x4ohm pucks. It's small too, so i have it in my center console for easy on/off and volume adjustment


    3. Transducers (speakers) - $80 ($40 x 2) - MCM 4ohm 50w puck - So far so good, these provide plenty of feedback through my rig, not sure i want anymore vibration than these provide.


    Total for left and right chassis mode, rear only, w/ shipping = $229.

    extra needed - speaker cable, 8 screws for mounting pucks, 1xRCA to 3.5mm cable from sound card to amp. Also 2nd sound card , $20-$30, thanks to @Kollo for reminder, I happened to have one lying around so I didn't include in expense.

    I have the transducers mounted to the plates that hold up my chair on either side, so they are in fact on the chassis, rather than in the seat, and i can feel them nicely. Bumps give a nice jolt, and if you get into a spin and start skipping the tires, things really start thumping. The engine vibration is a really nice immersion feature - much more natural than when you turned up the engine FFB on your first FFB wheel :)

    Overall, it's a nice addition and really adds immersion and even some useful feedback for possible better driving. The software is good enough with it's launch capabilities that it makes a great control center for all your sim racing apps and titles.

    if you want to go cheaper on drivers, these are $18 each shipped - have not tried them myself but plan to maybe give them a shot for the front chassis L and R down by the pedals, with a less powerful amp. In the meantime, for general ambience i'm using a powered sub i've had for awhile in the simvibe front channel, set pretty low - mainly to add a little low end to the engine note from the audio sound channel.
     
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    Last edited: Jan 28, 2017
  2. Kollo

    Kollo Active Member

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    So you don't need a second sound card? Or already had one?
     
  3. Tuborg

    Tuborg Well-Known Member

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  4. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    Already had one...so that's another $30 for most folks....good point.
     
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  5. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    Update: First off, the two rear larger buttkickers are doing great...loving Simvibe, even with this meager setup. I can't imagine needing more power, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt!

    Second - I sprung for a single one of the $18 Dayton pucks. Smaller than I expected, but no matter. I hooked up the single smaller puck up to the front chassis output, receiving both left and right signals (used homemade y cable from pc to amp). The amp I used is a PYLE PCA1...real piece of junk for $20. Advertised as 30w, actual RMS is 5w per channel. I'm only using one side of the amp since I only have one puck up front, but it actually does the job OK. Certainly still shakes the front of the rig at times. I have it mounted right to back of the Logitech pedals.

    I don't think I would want a rig only with the smaller pucks, but to augment the bigger rears, which really rumble nicely, they work fantastic. If someone wanted to start with one in the seat, that would probably do ok too.

    So with the two larger $40 shakers out back, and the single $18 shaker up front, the sum is a great experience! What is cool is being able to feel the bumps pass from front to back now....very convincing, especially in Assetto Corsa. Main thing that surprised me is you don't need 100w per shaker, or even 50w, to get some decent rumbling going.
     
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  6. Kollo

    Kollo Active Member

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    Just a quick question:
    Do buttkickers cause some noise? My wife is a little bit annoyed because i don't like to use headphones but i like the subwoofer vibrations during racing. So can i combine buttkicker with headphones to play racing titles silently?
     
  7. Vojvoda

    Vojvoda Well-Known Member

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    Low noise. On youtube there are several examples.
     
  8. Blanes

    Blanes Well-Known Member

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    Your setup sounds very nice ElNino :cool: I used to have 2 buttkickers, they are relatively quiet though you can hear them going hard out, no matter though wife always hears ! :rolleyes:
    Since I got my motion setup I only kept one and just have roa bump and wind via Simvibe, which also runs my wheel and is an excellent piece of software.
     
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  9. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    When run properly, only vibrations, which can travel if they get big enough.

    If they get too much power and start clipping, they will make a loud tapping noise, but once you are setup right, this should not happen. Also if you don't use the simvibe software and try to run off audio without full crossover setup, youll get some audible sound, but not worth doing without simvibe software IMO.
     
  10. Cuba

    Cuba Member

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    @ElNino ,
    Once Simvib is set up, do you have to adjust the volume on the Buttkicker amps? I currently own one BKG2 and wish I didn't have to adjust the volume of the amp every time I start the game.
     
  11. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    By the way, after a lot of fiddling, I got simvibe working in ETS and ATS, and it's great! Engine rumble and gear shifts mainly in this title, but still adds immersion nicely. I'm excited all over again to make some long deliveries in both games.

    R3E, AC and Dirt Rally work nicely, even fired up F1 2013. Overall has me revisiting my entire sim library. After awhile on the same title it becomes a bit natural and you almost forget it's there (which I'd call a good thing, because it feels natural), but you certainly would miss it if turned off.
     
  12. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    @Cuba - I do adjust amp volume from game to game, but feel with more settings tweaking I could avoid that. My amps are right in my cockpit so it has not bothered me, more like I can't resist urge to tweak for each game. It's normally when one game is "louder" than another, so I'll adjust the amp output to tone it down or turn it back up for another game.
     
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  13. Cuba

    Cuba Member

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    Thanks! I'm more concerned about overall volume (my BKG2 always defaults to zero volume when I power it up so I have to adjust the volume just to get BKG2 to work at all). Sounds like yours is at least set to some volume and then you make slight adjustments.
     
  14. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    ^^^ oh yeah I understand now, these amps just have straight up volume knobs, and a power switch. No fancy auto off or anything. Only issue is forgetting to turn them off, but they don't get warm unless signal being fed through them so not too worried.
     
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  15. ElNino

    ElNino Well-Known Member

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    One more thing I'll share for the budget minded. On the small 18$ puck I used for the front chassis (blended L and R channels), to mount it behind the G27 pedals, I actually used Shoe Goo!

    Sounds odd, but due to the non-flat surface, it works perfectly to create a solid bond between the puck and pedals (and ultimately whole rig) It's a tough, flexibile adhesive so it handles the vibrations fine, and also passes them on decently. It also comes off fairly easily with pliers without leaving any residue for removal or remounting. Another benefit is the top of the puck us free to get pushed up by the shaker mechanism, meaning the puck should not wear out so fast.

    The larger 50w shakers in the rear are mounted with sheet metal screws, mainly because they are visible. I actually think the Shoe Goo would work nicely for those too....amazing stuff really.
     
  16. Tuborg

    Tuborg Well-Known Member

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    I have done this diy and it works really good. From ButtKicker to buttmover :D

     
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  17. Blanes

    Blanes Well-Known Member

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    Looks interesting, is that a dumbell weight ? If only I could read ?german? I would understand ! :confused:
     
  18. Tuborg

    Tuborg Well-Known Member

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    Yes it is. I used this kind.
    134737005077519958.png
     
  19. Fleskebacon

    Fleskebacon Well-Known Member

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    Another nice, cheap tweak is buying a set of these:
    [​IMG]
    Rubber vibration isolators. They do just what they claim - they isolate vibration, and keep all of the vibration right where you want it - in the seat. With low power shakers, you won't get enough shaking to shake an entire rig properly. So I've mounted two shakers underneath my seat, and put these rubber isolators between the seat and the rig, makes a world of difference. :)
     
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  20. Cuba

    Cuba Member

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    SimVibe question. I want to run in Extension mode but plan on using 2 Amps that have 3 channels total (one amp is single and the other is 2 channel). Can I split one of the two inputs from the PC front audio (green) port to connect to both channels on my 2 channel amp? Idea is to get a total of 3 channels (Seat, Shifter & Pedals) using the two inputs from the front (green) audio port.