Tactile Immersion - General Discussion - Hardware & Software

Hi, I'm looking to 'shortcut' research hours and try to get an answer here as to whether I can get a three shaker system (amp and transducers) for around £100.

I am looking to add road feel mainly on my diy wooden rig and feel like one unit on pedal deck one on wheel deck and one on seat would be the best way to sync up the effect. I am using simhub and have onboard audio free or could swap back to using it and use my Xonar Dg card if needed.
 
But I have very little if any understanding of all this electric/ sound jiggery pokery.( An Idiots guide would help) The more threads I read , the more confused I get???

You aren't alone in finding it all confusing. I've read this whole thread, start to finish and I still only manage to retain whatever was written in the last few pages or so :redface:

All I seem to see is those with a "great set up" have spent loads(to me) of money on good stuff... but I cant buy a race horse with Donkey money.

You certainly can blow large amounts to get the kind of setup that many here have but I would like to think that you can still have a great experience if you follow the budget end recommendations from @Mr Latte. As an example, a couple of those Vidsonix units must have set you back close to £50 which is in the same ballpark as a single Reckhorn or two Dayton exiters. Those are easily going to be much more capable of giving you the effects you're seeking.

can you explain in (very) simple terms why the shaker I have ordered is no good and the Reckhorn/Dayton's are better.

See the post above from @jamescarruthers He explains it far better than I ever could :)
 
It's only the low Hz range that's of interest here. If they'll go down to 15Hz then they'll work great. SimHub effects can be setup to work at certain frequencies (or frequency ranges), so the higher frequency rating can be ignored. Beyond that, there's also the option through SimHub to set High and Low pass filters for each sound card.
It's only the low Hz range that's of interest here. If they'll go down to 15Hz then they'll work great. SimHub effects can be setup to work at certain frequencies (or frequency ranges), so the higher frequency rating can be ignored. Beyond that, there's also the option through SimHub to set High and Low pass filters for each sound card.

Well even I can grasp that many thanks. just had a look at sim hub high and low pass filter low shows 200 high shows 20. by default what would be the best to them set at, I assume 200 is way to high woulde 60 hz high 20 hz low be a good start
 
You can feel any frequency if it's loud enough — and depending on where the transducer is placed.

Try 200 or so as the high point and start moving it down from there.

Truth is the filters only make a difference if the effects you're using get up that high.

It's very much trial and error — see what you like.
 
I think so, yes. If I added two more then for sure those things have more than enough power to add energy into the seat.

I have a plan to try out some bobbin style mounts instead of the rubber washers. Isolating the seat further means that more energy will go into the seat instead of the rig.

I think I may also try mounting the seat using the bottom mounts and thus remove the huge weight of the steel side mounts. In the way that I have mounted the exciters on penny washers and bolts, it means that I can quite easily then attach these to the seats side mounts. It's in a different plane, but to some degree vibration is vibration for what I want to do with it.

But I'll reiterate again, I am looking into recreating the vibrations in a seat rather than pseudo car or suspension movement.

I too need to find a solution to isolate the seat from the rig. I have heard that with 8020 you won't necessarily feel the effects go into the floor, but if the rig is eating it up, that's wasted energy for sure.

I had looked into something like this to put between the seat and the sliders. They are weight rated for much more than a person sitting on the seat. It's just the design that could either be a hit or a miss.


I did like Mr. Latte cone washers, if only I could find them as rubber washers, that might work too.

I have 8 exciters coming, and I'm in the same boat as you, just looking for feeling in the seat to get that dialed in exactly as I want first.
 
Well even I can grasp that many thanks. just had a look at sim hub high and low pass filter low shows 200 high shows 20. by default what would be the best to them set at, I assume 200 is way to high woulde 60 hz high 20 hz low be a good start

I just punched into eBay the product name and the link that I seen was this.

It may not be the one you may of purchased from.

There is nothing wrong with not understanding all this and asking but, I see people make pretty poor or less than ideal purchases with this stuff all the time. It gets to me as to why not ask first before buying. Or at least determine from a few product recommendations that might suit your budget and requirements.

It appears that different places linking the product have very different specifications. As clearly both these links are different on the one that rates to15Hz is also misleading as that is meant to be upto15Khz. Im sure you can get this returned/refunded but yes quite a lot of garbage out there that is mis-sold.

I understand if it's advertised as a Bass Shaker when really it is an exciter. Technically one is for turning objects into a speaker and some exciters like ones we recommend here can offer decent bass as well as work with higher frequencies. Generally, tactile transducers in the budget range will work well from 40Hz upto about 100Hz. Some units specs are only rated as 40Hz-60Hz which is also bad as its a very narrow range to try and create different effects with.

Bass frequencies are generally from 1-200Hz for most subwoofers and upto 250Hz at most.
Like I said if you go with products people have owned/use or recommend then you are going to be making a better purchase decision.

Another easy way is to use headphones and for you to use an online tone generator. Or even a tone generator on a phone/tablet.
You can type in start/stop values for the Hz or have a static Hz play to get more accustomed to these ranges and then try the 350Hz frequency as it's going to create more noise than vibrations. Generally, once you go beyond 100Hz the vibration will be quite weak. These tones can still be used for harmonic or certain effects like RPM. Most punch on cheaper units will be between 35-55Hz and gradually become less strong as they increase.

Hope its some help, apologies if I came off a bit snarly too as Im just back to work.
In my opinion, the Reckhorn model I mentioned for the money is a better purchase than the BassPump3 or Dayton BST-1 Bass Shaker which are also quite popular.
 
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I mounted my seat frame on 4 rubber bobbins, calculated for my and chair weight plus allowance for dynamic loading.
They have proved to be excellent and don't add any significant height as most is under a U beam. Lots of vibes in the seat, none in the structure. The ButtKicker is mounted to the rear seat cross beam and has been really good with a mono signal. Now looking at putting 4 small pucks inside the seat squab cushion for higher frequency wheel/suspension/engine effects.

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Gents, does an amplifier need to be set so that it knows the orientation of a transducer?

BK Concerts.jpg

I've managed to pick up 2 concerts and I'm going to fit both of them in what I see as an upside down position (white sticker facing up) and wanted to make sure I haven't missed a setting I might need to be using.
 
Gents, does an amplifier need to be set so that it knows the orientation of a transducer?

View attachment 381393

I've managed to pick up 2 concerts and I'm going to fit both of them in what I see as an upside down position (white sticker facing up) and wanted to make sure I haven't missed a setting I might need to be using.

If you have a unit thats inverted from the other then you can set the phase to 180 in the configuration screen of the NXD amp. Wire them both the same but just use the amp feature.

In the way, your photograph is you would want to invert a unit to 180 so that they both would work in sync with the pistons going up/down the same. If you have one unit going up when the other is going down then they will cancel each other out.
 
I mounted my seat frame on 4 rubber bobbins, calculated for my and chair weight plus allowance for dynamic loading.
They have proved to be excellent and don't add any significant height as most is under a U beam. Lots of vibes in the seat, none in the structure. The ButtKicker is mounted to the rear seat cross beam and has been really good with a mono signal. Now looking at putting 4 small pucks inside the seat squab cushion for higher frequency wheel/suspension/engine effects.

View attachment 381403

View attachment 381404

Those are perfect, I haven't found any yet, but M8's would be stellar as they would go right into the 8020 rig. Will def keep looking or if you know where to get some stateside I too would love to know!
 
Has anybody made the choice between the LFE and Concert, which one did you choose and why?

From my understanding the LFE drops to a lower frequency and the concert is more ‘musical’ with the emphasis on higher frequencies.

Just like to add a massive thankyou to all that have posted, I have learnt a lot from all of your posts.
 
Those are perfect, I haven't found any yet, but M8's would be stellar as they would go right into the 8020 rig. Will def keep looking or if you know where to get some stateside I too would love to know!

Attached are the spec of mine. Mine are Polymax B3020M88-1. 32kg per corner. Me and seat + frame are about 85kg. So spare for dynamic loads. Shear might be an issue at 10kg/corner. Heavy braking is double that, so may need another rubber bump stop behind seat cross beam.

Should be fairly easy to find - www.rpmrubberparts.com/stock-parts/category/vibration-control-products/flex-bolt-sandwich-mounts
 

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In the way, your photograph is you would want to invert a unit to 180 so that they both would work in sync with the pistons going up/down the same. If you have one unit going up when the other is going down then they will cancel each other out.

Thanks for explaining :) The picture I posted is misleading (apologies for that) as I'm going to mount them both with the same orientation. I thought the amp might see them as both being upside down. Doh!

Out of interest, what amp are you using?

Nothing just yet but I have ordered a NX3000D which should be with me next week.
 
Attached are the spec of mine. Mine are Polymax B3020M88-1. 32kg per corner. Me and seat + frame are about 85kg. So spare for dynamic loads. Shear might be an issue at 10kg/corner. Heavy braking is double that, so may need another rubber bump stop behind seat cross beam.

Should be fairly easy to find - www.rpmrubberparts.com/stock-parts/category/vibration-control-products/flex-bolt-sandwich-mounts

I’d love to find a UK stockist for these — anyone have any ideas?
 

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