DIY Tactile Transducer

[eSEA One]

This is my first of several projects to making a DIY simulator. I was given a Creative Labs Inspire 2.1 2400 speaker set that has a 4Ω 20W BASS speaker. Fair enough this is only a fraction the power of the commercial ButtKicker 90W transducer but without having to buy anything and having an amplifier that matches the speaker there is little to loose and experience to gain.
I will be using the Motion Simulation Software SimTools from http://www.xsimulator.net/ so that I can get the telemetry from the game to the transducer.

As you can see it gives a bit of a kick. It works as a great enhancer for video/audio but the challenge now is to get it to work with game telemetry using the XSimulator Sim Tools any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Cool! Please keep us updated on the progress and more importantly whether it lasts!

 

[eSEA One]

Some folks have been saying that it has not enough power. Well I beg to differ, this one has plenty and I do not even have the Bass volume on the amp on the high end and the higher I turn the system volume up (increasing volume on both outputs) I have to turn the Bass down otherwise there is too much as the seat itself makes too much audible volume.
I have some thoughts on this that make the 20W transducer work.

• Due to the cross beam installed being polyurethane allows the main part of the speaker, (magnets and basket) move sufficiently relative to the voice coil, what is remaining of the cone, dust cap, epoxy and bolt assembly yet giving enough support for the hole unit.
• Seeing the ButtKicker have a long mounting arm, I see would have a leaver action that helps vibration amplification. I have mounted my transducer on one of the arm rest brackets (arms removed long ago, taking up too much space in my little 1.7m x1.7m man cave) these are solid steel brackets spanning half the seat to the center column.

 

[sgspenceley]

Looking forward to seeing the final results.

 

[eSEA One]

Looking forward to seeing the final results.

It is finished in principle and the video show the result in the vibrations. I was quite surprised that the feedback is as strong as it is, despite, as mentioned before, the difference relative to the "Buttkicker"
I believe the flexible cross brace (the flat white plastic piece) is key, it allows the heavy magnets and basket to do the moving.
I still have plans to take the electronics and put it in a smaller box or in the button box I am planning to make whatever route I take the bass volume control needs to placed close to the wheel for easy access.

 

[Alberto Casado]

It is finished in principle and the video show the result in the vibrations. I was quite surprised that the feedback is as strong as it is, despite, as mentioned before, the difference relative to the "Buttkicker"
I believe the flexible cross brace (the flat white plastic piece) is key, it allows the heavy magnets and basket to do the moving.
I still have plans to take the electronics and put it in a smaller box or in the button box I am planning to make whatever route I take the bass volume control needs to placed close to the wheel for easy access.

I believe some of the rules from audio have seeped into the tactile transducer world, and in that context they do not make any sense.
For a loudspeaker you want some spare power not because you want to run the 100W ever, but to stay way clear of distortion, which can be heard.
For a transducer your ass is not likely to feel that you are clipping some frequency. That is why all the extra power of the buttkicker, run at for example half output, makes no perceivable difference compared to your DIY, because for kicks in the butt you don't really need high fidelity

If the power of your DIY is enough to not break the transducer / overheat at your running conditions, you are golden.

 

[eSEA One]

For the moment I am running it through a "Y" off the sound card so all queues are coming from the low frequency sound. I do not need to pump the bass up to its full volume to get a respectable ass massage or should I say message. If I do then I get the whole seat acting like a speaker.
I have tried getting input via software -http://www.x-sim.de/ and http://www.xsimulator.net/ but with no result; the forums ther tell me that the software for bass shakers is still in developement. Some have mentioned the "Simvibe" software but that is not an option at its price of €89, in this project that is going against the budget DIY ethos.

 

[eSEA One]

Aaagh! broke my transducer, it was not anything to do with the power or the way it was connecter, just brute force ignorant clumsiness!! I have opened up the coil to see where it is broken only damage is the coil tube is a little damaged at the edge but even after straightening it up, I still can not get it to work
Well! I have now bought a cheap "Bodyshaker" 100 Watts 4 Ohm. Now this is where for me things get fuzzy. The Creative Inspire 2400 amp is rated at 4.5watts RMS per channel ( not using these for the moment) and 12 Watts RMS for the subwoofer ( this drives the transducer ) The speaker I had originally used (now broken) was 20watts 4Ohm.
Now my question is will I blow the amp with the 100watt "bodyshaker" ? I have run the setup and it works well, unless it is a placebo effect, it feels better than my DIY transducer. After running it for some time on a low bass volume setting the heat sink got warm but not that hot ( well what do I know ) . In reality I do not need to crank the volume up as the affect on my seat then becomes unrealistic. Oh BTW when measuring the voltage out of the amp I am reading around 9volts
I appreciate your comments.

 

[asteroulis]

Let aside the diy ethos. Buying the simvibe software is an apocalypse, whether you have a diy transducer or a full 7 channel buttkicker array. Feeding your shaker with the right kind of information makes all the difference in the world. I started with a diy shaker like you, and I still use it along with some dsyton pucks, aura pro's and planning to expand it when I am able. Having buttkickers is like using an accuforce vs g25, but even low powered tactile effects is the difference between a ffb wheel and a low budget supermarket wheel.
My point is :spend your money on simvibe and cut on the shakers if you need to.
you won't burn that easily your amp, as long as you are on the right ohms. You probably would need more juice to make full use of your new shaker, but a new low budget amp will safice.