Heusinkveld Sprint pedals occasionally stops responding mid race !

[SultanZuul]

I got my new Heusinkveld Sprint pedals a couple of weeks ago and they are amazing! I almost exclusively race Assetto Corsa Competizione. However, twice they have started to act up mid race! Either you get stuck in full throttle or they do not respond at all and same with the breaks. If you wait a few seconds they respond again for a second and then they act up again!? It is like they get stuck in on/off loop. Anyone have the same issue or suggestion on what is happening?

 

[blekenbleu]

Based on the images, it appears that power might be supplied from more than one electrical outlet,
which can provoke ground loops.
Repurposing a home theater line conditioner for sim devices works for me.

 

[rikirk]

I'm having peripherals randomly disconnect and I came to the conclusion it's an operating system conflict with the usb drivers, but I still don't know the actual cause.

If I move around the usb connections without a specific criteria it all becomes stable until I get a windows update or I disconnect any cable from the pc rear panel.

In my case the regular victim is the wheel button box, but after I installed a new wheel it also moved to the actual button box that now disconnects randomly after few seconds.

Also, it can affect one game vs. another, which is crazy. For a while I gave up on iracing because after few turns I could not shift, while on ACC I could start without the shifters working and a quick reconnect was enough for a stable signal for an entire endurance.

The ground loop suggested in the post here in above is something to be considered.

Also, any USB cable longer than 2m/3ft it's cause of excessive jitter, something well-known in the audio industry.

Another EMI issue I had for a long time going into the VR headset was coming from each multichannel headphones I owned with an internal DAC (sennheiser, creative, audeze), which I now solved by using a regular 2 channel attached to a cheap USB/trss adapter with internal DAC.

 

[achanonier]

Thx again for all comments !
I thought about ground loops but that room has a dedicated electrical switchboard, that I asked the electrician to take a particular attention to current phases and groundloops because yeah that can be a bitch for audio and video... So I'm pretty sure I'm clean here... PC on one outlet and RIg on another outlet.
Now along th eextender I only run 1 other usb cable,1 hmdi cable and one audio cable for the bass shakers. I separated the current cable so it's furter apart....

I'm crossing finger the 5m cable has been working for 60 hours straight...

 

[achanonier]

Ok I report again !
Seems that the 5m passive A to B cable is working without issues
Now I'm testing a 10m USB A to B cable that seems to wkork too. (4 days 24/24 without issues now)
So here are my findings

So that the 10m working cable

https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B07Q8XZGVC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thats the 5m working cable

https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B00P0FO0ZG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's the unstable 10m extender

https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B00B2HP3A2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And here is also another 10m extender that I bought but did not test because the connector felt so loose that I would not trust it anyway..

https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B073JC1M4Z/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I will report in another week to confirm.
I hope it can help others!

 

[RedBull48]

Great to hear your making progress, I know how frustrating those technical gremlins can be. Happy racing

 

[achanonier]

Hell Yeah !
I hope I can help others with my findings ! Those pedals are really awesome !!

 

[RedBull48]

Agreed, I upgraded from Fanatec V3's and I was already beating my pb's the first day I used them. The software controls and custom curves is amazing.

 

[HugoB]

I had very similar problems with USB extenders, tried a few, active, passive, 5M, 10M etc. and finally found one that is stable. I have my whole rig going over that one USB cable: OSW, HE Sprint, SFX100, external soundcard going to amp for Buttkickers, SeatTime's Belt-tensioners system, FA SQ Shifter, Ignition button box, wheel button box, all in all 8 devices on a very powerful 10 port hub, at the end of said 5M USB extender. Works flawlessly now, but I've tried many different USB extenders and powered hubs, and just like you had problems mainly with the HE Sprints becoming extremely laggy, jittery or delayed, until I unplugged them and replugged them etc. Now to be sure I've added very large Ferrite cores to both sides of all my USB cables. My Valve Index had the most problems with greyed out screens when touching, this was not solvable with different USB cables, but was ultimately solvable with an extremely large Ferrite core, about 1 kilo heavy thing, now it's pretty fine 90% of the time. EMI is a bitch. And USB is an even bigger bitch. I don't blame HE for any of my problems, it's my responsibility to optimize USB connections and limit EMI. HE doesn't emit EMI, like any proper built, CE certified device should. It's all my DIY high powered MiGe's, unshielded cables, grounding problems and motor drivers to blame. Glad it's been working for a year now, the Ferrite's are like a symptom suppression, not the best solution but they work. The USB powered hub and good USB extender are apparently good enough.

 

[HugoB]

This is the powered 10-port USB hub I'm using btw:
"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00Q4RF1UC"

And this is the USB extender cable:
"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01701CMQ6"

These are the Ferrite cores I've added to everything:
"https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08BZC34HB"

This is the large Ferrite core I've added to the PC side of my Valve Index USB:
"https://www.digikey.at/product-detail/en/fair-rite-products-corp/0431177081/1934-1176-ND/8594003"

 

[Robert Bollocks]

can I just make a statement, that Heusinkveld after-sales service is really great and very fair. My loadcell was damaged after around 2 years and I got it replaced quickly and conveniently.
I could always recommend HE Sprint Pedals from a product point of view and now also from a after-sales perspective.

 

[Novopaine]

I just got my Sprints yesterday and I've noticed a disconnect issue. In my case the disconnects happened when I climb out of the rig! I have a new P1-X with an NRG seat. I suspect this has to do with static electricity. To correct the issue, I have to unplug and reconnect the USB cable.

I will admit there are cables hanging everywhere as I'm still in the build/configure mode. I don't even have a DD wheel yet (Simucube Pro expected to arrive later today). My early testing suggests that EMI is going to be a big issue once the wheel is installed. I'll probably have to experiment with a few USB cables.

I've never had a static charge affect a USB device before. Would a Ferrite equipped cable help with this type of disconnect? Or should I attempt to ground the entire frame?

 

[anton_Chez]

What other hardware are you running? Motion at all? Sounds really strange to have to reconnect the device to get the PC to pick it up again. I've had the Pro's for ages now and through all the issues I've had with various things they were the one input device that I've barely had a problem with, ever. I remember a solitary time where the pedals dropped out completely mid corner but that was related to something else that triggered it and was not really the fault of the pedals themselves.

 

[Novopaine]

What other hardware are you running? Motion at all? Sounds really strange to have to reconnect the device to get the PC to pick it up again. I've had the Pro's for ages now and through all the issues I've had with various things they were the one input device that I've barely had a problem with, ever. I remember a solitary time where the pedals dropped out completely mid corner but that was related to something else that triggered it and was not really the fault of the pedals themselves.

I'm not running any motion. I could get it to occur with nothing but the pedals plugged in, and then climbing out of the rig. Note, I had to sit in the rig for a few minutes. What is odd is when the disconnection occurred, unplugging the cable gave me a second disconnect sound from Windows. Odd.

The good news is this issue hasn't happened since installing my Simucube 2 Pro wheel base. I suspect that the Simucube has a proper ground and providing a path for any static electricity to leave the rig.

 

[blekenbleu]

I will report in another week to confirm.
I hope it can help others!

One supposes that "no news == good news"..
Several recently acquired USB<>Lightning cables behaved badly
until treating contacts with DeoxIT Gold (from CAIG K-2C sampler kit).
No issues with those cable since...

 

[5mokey]

I just got my Sprints yesterday and I've noticed a disconnect issue. In my case the disconnects happened when I climb out of the rig! I have a new P1-X with an NRG seat. I suspect this has to do with static electricity. To correct the issue, I have to unplug and reconnect the USB cable.

I will admit there are cables hanging everywhere as I'm still in the build/configure mode. I don't even have a DD wheel yet (Simucube Pro expected to arrive later today). My early testing suggests that EMI is going to be a big issue once the wheel is installed. I'll probably have to experiment with a few USB cables.

I've never had a static charge affect a USB device before. Would a Ferrite equipped cable help with this type of disconnect? Or should I attempt to ground the entire frame?

I'm having this exact issue.
Have just redone all my cable management and also replaced the usb cable to the sprints.
When I lean forward in my rig, the sprints momentarily disconnect.

 

[blekenbleu]

When I lean forward

While aluminum is a good conductor, aluminum oxide is a good insulator.
Going around extruded aluminum structures with an Ohmmeter,
one can discover intermittent or no continuity among members.
Ideally, for safety and reliable operation, all metal components should be
electrically bonded to ground and connected to a GFCI outlet,
providing substantial immunity to interference from static electricity,
but many sim racing hobbyists try to avoid marring aluminum surfaces,
increasing likelihood of poor electrical continuity.

Changing forces applied to extruded aluminum assemblies
can make and break different electrical connections.

Many sim racing accessories employ e.g. 12 and/or 5 Volt DC power,
with one side of those DC powers tied to ground.
DC power supplies are typically expected to isolate their DC from
incoming AC mains, but DC isolation is often less than perfect.
In some instances, EMI filters deliberately shunt radio frequency energy
to ground using capacitors, leading to ground currents.
That issue can be addressed by supplying all DC-powered accessories
from a single bulk DC power supply, with buck regulators to individual accessories.

Complex sim racing cockpits may have e.g. PC power supplied from one AC outlet
while tactile, wheel base or other accessories are powered from another outlet.
Depending on what other electrical devices run from the same AC breaker box,
measurable differences between grounds arise,
and connecting those grounds can provoke appreciable ground currents.

 

[Novopaine]

I'm having this exact issue.
Have just redone all my cable management and also replaced the usb cable to the sprints.
When I lean forward in my rig, the sprints momentarily disconnect.

Just to be clear, this issue completely vanished once I got my Simucube 2 Pro wheel, which would have grounded the entire rig (it has the ground pin on the AC plug). It's been over 5 months now without a blip.

I'm not a certified electrician, so I don't want to start making suggestions on how to go about grounding your rig to your power mains, but you could try something simple like connecting a wire to one of the screws on the back of your PC case and attach it to your rig in a central location (on metal of course). This assumes your house or apartment has the 3rd pin for ground.

 

[blekenbleu]

Simucube 2 Pro wheel, which would have grounded the entire rig

Unless there are e.g. star washers between all brackets and extrusions.
there is a good chance that at least some cockpit extrusions are NOT grounded.

For EMC, having PC, chassis and all accessories grounded together
is more important than so-called green wire mains ground,
which is a safety issue for other than double-insulated devices.

 

[Novopaine]

Unless there are e.g. star washers between all brackets and extrusions.
there is a good chance that at least some cockpit extrusions are NOT grounded.

For EMC, having PC, chassis and all accessories grounded together
is more important than so-called green wire mains ground,
which is a safety issue for other than double-insulated devices.

Keep in mind, we're talking about static electricity, which will even use air as a conduit.

 

[blekenbleu]

static electricity, which will even use air as a conduit

I read your suspicions, but described symptoms IMO
are more likely caused by oxidation causing poor/intermittent connections.

Static electricity requires insulation, such as air.