Inexpensive transducers for simvibe

JeffL · Aug 20, 2014

Some of the guys in the club were asking about some affordable transducers for Simvibe.

I have $50 sub and the 4 pack 16 0hm minis ($44) drive in 2 zones by 2 - $20 lepai amps and not even close to using all the power. Actually just the large shaker and one amp would be sufficient but....

The company that makes the transducers is Dayton Audio but the best price is from Parts Express

http://www.parts-express.com/cat/tactile-transducers-exciters-bass-shakers/18
Have fun.

William Wester · Aug 22, 2014

Tal Segal said:
Thanks William, at least now I have an Idea of how things should look.
So, Ideally, How do I mount the transducer on the chair? One on the backrest and one under the chair? I was thinking of buying maybe two big ones for the chair and one small one for the pedals. Which brings another question: How necessary is it to have a transducer on the pedals? Is it something I could do without?

Also, wiring: Do I need to buy specials cables or do they come with the transducers? And those quick disconnect connectors, are they something I have to buy seperately, or construct on my own?

Lastly, I want to see If I understood this correctly:
I plug the amp to the soundcard, and the transducers to the amp, right? and what then?

Thanks a lot for the info guys, by the way.

As Jeff mentioned, you are "connected" by your hands (FFB wheel), feet (pedals), and butt (seat/chair), they all add to the feel. If you need to start small, I would start with the seat. How much you feel will be dependent on the power or efficiency of the amp and efficiency or isolation/mounting of the transducers. One method of mounting a transducer may translate the vibrations very well, while another not so much. It will be more critical if you don't have a powerful amp or an efficient transducer.
Wiring for the transducers is just speaker cable and the cable from your sound card to your amp is just a mini stereo (card) to Left/Right RCA (amp).
The connected I used (love these for wiring projects), work very well. Of course not necessary but in my case I use my computer and area for more than just racing and I can disconnect in seconds. Also, these are not the cheapest solution by any means but are very well designed and easy to crimp/assemble. They make them in a number of sizes, 30 AMP are proper size for speaker wire (others too big or small).

Anderson Powerpole Connectors
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AM4VF9O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

morsify · Aug 27, 2014

Jeff, can I ask a couple more questions before I take the plunge and start ordering bits, in relation to power drain -

I assume the Sabrent is usb powered only? I already have 3 usb devices for racing which are permanently plugged in, and then a few others (HD, xbox controller, flight stick) which I can plug in and remove as needed. have you experienced any issue with number of devices?
This leads to my second question - is there any noticeable drop off in performance in Game Stock Car, caused by Simvibe running in the background, or by the extra soundcard?

Many thanks for the help,
Keith

JeffL · Aug 27, 2014

I run like 8 usb device if you start getting usb power limits just buy a cheap usb powered hub that has it's own ac power but run your controllers from on board hub. . and I don't seem to have a problem with simvibe I am sure you will get some processing drain from but I don't n't see a difference in the FPS and I don't have the most powerful system

morsify · Aug 27, 2014

Thanks again Jeff, all ordered, looking forward to getting it & setting it all up

morsify · Sep 6, 2014

Jeff Lasecki said:
I don't seem to have a problem with simvibe I am sure you will get some processing drain from but I don't n't see a difference in the FPS and I don't have the most powerful system

All the bits arrived quite quickly. I ended up paying excise duty on the transducers, and the shipping for the Sabrent soundcard was as much as the card, so that was another $45, so all in all it was not as cheap as first thought:

About $180 for the transducers (incl shipping & duty), but it was the only way I could get them. Delivery was amusing - using tracking I saw the parcel go from Ohio to Kentucky to Pennsylvania and across the Atlantic in less than 24hrs. Then it sat at East Midlands Airport for 3 days! But still less than 5 days and I would use Parts Express again, no problem there.

Sabrent soundcard arrived a few days later, from California.

Amplifier was bought from Amazon UK for £23 ($35)

And finally the Simvibe software was $89.

So $350 in all, or £210

But for anyone else considering it, now I'm a bit more confident about what I should buy, I could have gone for a 5.1 USB soundcard in UK for just £10, and I could have bought just 4 small transducers but I also bought the larger one for the seat.

So it can be done in UK for about £170, although, I figured, since I would probably have to pay the excise I might as well get 5 at once.

Anyway, Jeff I am extremely grateful to you for the details that helped me buy these parts. I am part way through fixing them to my seat and under the pedals, and an intial test on just two transducers under my seat have immediately made it all worth while.

If I wasn't addicted to Game Stock Car before, then I definitely am now.

And I have seen no effect at all on my pc, with the extra soundcard. When my wife recovers from the costs, I will add a second soundcard and amp(s) so that I can have vibe at four corners plus an engine, and I think that will suit me just fine

Tal · Sep 6, 2014

Lucky bastard !

My parts would only get here around the 1st of october

JeffL · Sep 6, 2014

Congrats on your new stuff, I think you made right decision with larger transducer. The smaller ones don't have nearly the kick of the larger one.

Willforger · Sep 7, 2014

So to clarify what transducer did you end up using for your seat? The Aura 4 ohms one?

morsify · Sep 7, 2014

Yes, the exact same one Jeff mentioned earlier in this thread.
http://www.parts-express.com/aurasound-ast-2b-4-pro-bass-shaker-tactile-transducer--299-028
and the same 4 small ones.

I'm still experimenting, but following on from Jeff's advice, here would be my minimum setup & it is very enjoyable to drive:
One USB 5.1 soundcard £9.99 Amazon
One Lepai 2020A mini Amp with UK power supply £23.99
4 Dayton Audio TT25-16 Puck Transducers (Parts Express USA $44.50 / £28 plus shipping)
Simvibe software download $89 / £55
Grand total: £145

1) Install soundcard
2) connect mini amp to soundcard (green 3.5mm socket of soundcard --> the two phono sockets of the mini amp)
4) connect pucks to your rig - I won't go into this, it depends on your setup and your own creativity & experimentation, & I am no expert, but fix two front (under pedals)and two rear(under/behind seat).
3) connect front left and rear left puck cables into left channel of amp.
4) connect front right and rear right puck cables into right channel of amp.
5) install software and follow instructions to get up and running - in Windows control panel, set the soundcard to quadrophonic; and in simvibe software, use chassis mode.

With only one mini amp, the effects have to be combined so you do not get the 4 corner effects, but after a couple of hours of adjusting, I had an engine/road/rumble feel that really added immersion to my game.

Future addons: I have the large Aura shaker bolted on but still waiting to be included in the mix, so I may well buy an extra soundcard & two more mini amps to expand it all. Then I can have two amps (4 channels) for the corners of the car, and the third amp will control the engine (and shifter) under the seat.

A further option would be to add another transducer under the pedals for extra engine/shifter feel.

My only concern is whether the next soundcard will use the same drivers as the first and cause conflict with the first one -, but time will tell.

Jason · Oct 30, 2014

Was think about getting a butt kicker but looks like I can do this for a lot less . nice thanks Jeff.

How could I get this to work with my usb headset tho?

JeffL · Oct 30, 2014

Your usb headset is basically a sound card, when you get the second usb sound card it's just a matter of mapping after that.

Ken Rodriguez · Nov 14, 2014

@Jeff Lasecki I have a question. My computer rig has two sound options. First is nVidia HD Audio with outputs on the front of the casing and then there is the on-board audio with connections at the rear. Would I still need to purchase a sound card? I do have one laying around also (Pretty high end stuff). I purchased a Lepai P268 amp and am going for one bass shaker transducer for under the seat (for right now).

Guess I will catch up with you on Ventrilo one day soon and pick your brain a little bit.

JeffL · Nov 14, 2014

Ken Rodriguez said:
@Jeff Lasecki I have a question. My computer rig has two sound options. First is nVidia HD Audio with outputs on the front of the casing and then there is the on-board audio with connections at the rear. Would I still need to purchase a sound card? I do have one laying around also (Pretty high end stuff). I purchased a Lepai P268 amp and am going for one bass shaker transducer for under the seat (for right now).

Guess I will catch up with you on Ventrilo one day soon and pick your brain a little bit.

Running around today.

As long as it shows up as 2 separate sound output devices. Sound manager or device manager should tell you. Hdmi has sound outputs too.

Ken Rodriguez · Nov 20, 2014

Jeff Lasecki said:
Running around today. As long as it shows up as 2 separate sound output devices. Sound manager or device manager should tell you. Hdmi has sound outputs too.

Okay, cool. I'm ordering the bass module today. I have 1/8 to 1/8 cables and speaker wire galore. Just need the transducer now and I should be good to go.

Should I run into issues, I'll try and catch up with you on T/S.

Regards,
Ken

Ken Rodriguez · Nov 20, 2014

@Jeff Lasecki Okay, one more question. I have 18 gauge AWG speaker wire. Is that sufficient for a Bass Transducer or should I be looking to go thicker gauge?

Thanks.