Authorised Vendor Thanos AMC-AASD15A 6axis Servo Motion Controller

Just upgraded the firmware and spent a bit of time playing with various settings with my 4-actuator DIY motion system. Some thoughts.

1) The filters really are a game-changer. Previously, you had to choose between having settings that transmitted fine details (road effects, curbs, gear shift) or a smoother setting that didn't insanely rattle the whole rig when you went off-track or hit a wall. Not anymore. The spike filter allows the best of both worlds now. Truly awesome.

2) The 5-level filter setting (under the pulse frequency menu) is very different than the spike filter (which has its own separate menu item). The 5-level filter setting applies to global smoothing settings. In Project Cars 2 (my main sim, yeah, you can laugh), curb effects/resonance appear at a filter setting of 1(hard) or 0 (no filter). Settings at 2 (semi-hard) and above damp enough of the telemetry data to no longer allow curbing to modulate the rig. After much testing, at least in PC2, I prefer a no-filter (0) setting. 1(hard) is good, too, but the 0 setting - with the spike filter - really did give tremendous fidelity. This is likely highly sim dependent. AC, RF2, iRacing etc. will all have there own sweet spot.

3) The spike filter is insane. This is a monumental change to how you now tune motion. You no longer have to dial back effects, or use software filters in SimTools to prevent crazy motion off-track. I removed the software filter in Simtools (changing the "intensity" setting in the Game Manager from 99 to 100), and dialed up all forces to "0". Previously, I had these between -30 and 0 to help tune out off-track motions that were shaking things apart. As for the spike filter, I like a filter setting of between 2500 and 3000. I set the "range" to about 5000, and this seems to work very well. At these settings, you get incredible fidelity in the motion, with fine track surfaces, curbs, etc. all transmitted nicely to the rig. Off-track or wall-hits are handled very well now, they don't jerk the whole rig like they used too.

The best analogy I have for the spike filter is this does for motion what DD did for wheels. Post-spike filter, the motion feels so much more rich and detailed, much like moving to a DD wheel felt. Of course, this motion was always available, but you couldn't really tune for it as this meant off-track and big motions were way-too severe. No longer. The spike filter kills the big, unwanted motions. Note: this doesn't mean it kills large *range* of motion, that's still there. This kills the *fast* (nay, spike) movements that shook everything.

One last comment: I have a rig-mounted 49" ultra-wide. I really did have to tune to keep large spikes off my frame, as this was an issue for the monitor. The spike filter does this perfectly now, and I can tune for fine detail. Truly awesome.
 
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Just upgraded the firmware and spent a bit of time playing with various settings. Some thoughts.

1) The filters really are a game-changer. Previously, you had to choose between having settings that transmitted fine details (road effects, curbs, gear shift) or a smoother setting that didn't insanely rattle the whole rig when you went off-track or hit a wall. Not anymore. The spike filter allows the best of both worlds now. Truly awesome.

2) The 5-level filter setting (under the pulse frequency menu) is very different than the spike filter (which has its own separate menu item). The 5-level filter setting appies to global smoothing settings. In Project Cars 2 (my main sim, yeah, you can laugh), curb effects/resonance appear at a filter setting of 1(hard) or 0 (no filter). Settings at 2 (semi-hard) and above damp enough of the telemetry data to no longer allow curbing to modulate the rig. After much testing, at least in PC2, I prefer a no-filter (0) setting. 1(hard) is good, too, but the 0 setting - with the spike filter - really did give tremendous fidelity. This is likely highly sim dependent. AC, RF2, iRacing etc. will all have there own sweet spot.

3) The spike filter is insane. This is a monumental change to how you now tune motion. You no longer have to dial back effects, or use software filters in SimTools to prevent crazy motion off-track. I removed the software filter in Simtools (changing the "intensity" setting in the Game Manager from 99 to 100), and dialed up all forces to "0". Previously, I had these between -30 and 0 to help tune out off-track motions that were shaking things apart. As for the spike filter, I like a filter setting of between 2500 and 3000. I set the "range" to about 5000, and this seems to work very well. At these settings, you get incredible fidelity in the motion, with fine track surfaces, curbs, etc. all transmitted nicely to the rig. Off-track or wall-hits are handled very well now, they don't jerk the whole rig like they used too.

The best analogy I have for the spike filter is this does for motion what DD did for wheels. Post-spike filter, the motion feels so much more rich and detailed, much like moving to a DD wheel felt. Of course, this motion was always available, but you couldn't really tune for it as this meant off-track and big motions were way-too severe. No longer. The spike filter kills the big, unwanted motions. Note: this doesn't mean it kills large *range* of motion, that's still there. This kills the *fast* (nay, spike) movements that shook everything.

One last comment: I have a rig-mounted 49" ultra-wide. I really did have to tune to keep large spikes off my frame, as this was an issue for the monitor. The spike filter does this perfectly now, and I can tune for fine detail. Truly awesome.

Well done! That sums the reasons these filters needed to be added and how effective they are.

I can assume you didn't try with the latest beta that I just published with various fixes, mostly for the Force Offline switch:
https://github.com/tronicgr/AMC-AASD15A-Firmware/tree/master/Beta_Firmware
 
Another great demonstration of the motion quality of Mike's 737 6DOF platform. All jolts are now taken care of, thanks to the combination of Rolling Average Filtering and the new Spike Filter. Everything is smooth but still very accurate and responsive to motion cues. Its ready for the mounting of the relisting cockpit on it soon.


Realistic Level D cockpit, requires realistic, almost 270 degrees peripheral screens. The frame is ready for mounting...

IMG_20200312_162926.jpg
 
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Hi.
Since I'm in the process of modifying my rig, I figured it would be good time to make a switch from SFX Shield to Thanos AMC Controller. I really like some of the safety & filtering futures.
I'm also looking to ditch 110v to 220v converter and run my setup on 110v. I know its just a matter of settings but can someone actually confirm it works on daily basis with no issues??
I understand that I have to buy full version of Simtools and upgrade firmware on AMC controller to latest version. Is there a guide or tutorial available to get me started??
Thank you.
sn4il
 
Hi.
Since I'm in the process of modifying my rig, I figured it would be good time to make a switch from SFX Shield to Thanos AMC Controller. I really like some of the safety & filtering futures.
I'm also looking to ditch 110v to 220v converter and run my setup on 110v. I know its just a matter of settings but can someone actually confirm it works on daily basis with no issues??
I understand that I have to buy full version of Simtools and upgrade firmware on AMC controller to latest version. Is there a guide or tutorial available to get me started??
Thank you.
sn4il

There is manual for the AMC-AASD15A:
https://github.com/tronicgr/AMC-AAS.../AMC-AASD15A_4DOF+TL-Simtools_manual_v2_3.pdf

And you can study the simtools manual here too:
https://www.xsimulator.net/simtools-complete-documentation/

And you can find example profiles or ask questions on Discord here:
https://discord.gg/bx4PxYR

IMG_20200313_064039.jpg

Thanks
Thanos
 
I updated to v2_10 and my emergency switch and park button have started acting odd. Pressing e-switch or park button cause it to stop motion control even after I reset the switch. I have to pull USB and replug in to get the controller to start actuators. On the display it says receiving data but no motion happens. Is there some documentation on what the different switch settings are (park button, e-stop, etc) I can't find that in the manual you posted.
 
I updated to v2_10 and my emergency switch and park button have started acting odd. Pressing e-switch or park button cause it to stop motion control even after I reset the switch. I have to pull USB and replug in to get the controller to start actuators. On the display it says receiving data but no motion happens. Is there some documentation on what the different switch settings are (park button, e-stop, etc) I can't find that in the manual you posted.

Restore default parameters by holding "exit menu" button and press release the reset button. It should display a "default parameters restored " message.

Also check your wiring, do you use shielded wire for the e-stop/force offline? Could you make a short video clip showing the issue?

Thanks
Thanos
 
Restore default parameters by holding "exit menu" button and press release the reset button. It should display a "default parameters restored " message.

Also check your wiring, do you use shielded wire for the e-stop/force offline? Could you make a short video clip showing the issue?

Thanks
Thanos

Here is a short video. The function of KLM is set to estop only and FSW is set to hold position. I don’t know what the abbreviations stand for...I also tried the rest but it didn’t put the message of default parameters it just went blank. The wiring is headphone cord so I think it’s shielded. The e-stop and park button working fine for months before I update the firmware yesterday. the force offline switch seems just fine too.
 

Here is a short video. The function of KLM is set to estop only and FSW is set to hold position. I don’t know what the abbreviations stand for...I also tried the rest but it didn’t put the message of default parameters it just went blank. The wiring is headphone cord so I think it’s shielded. The e-stop and park button working fine for months before I update the firmware yesterday. the force offline switch seems just fine too.

Keep pressing the exit menu button while its resetting until the message displays... there is wrong parameters left from older firmware. I'll force full restore in stable release soon.

Oh and if you press the estop while the Force Offline switch is active, you need to switch off the force offline switch to restore calibration procedure and get motion again
 
got the default parameters back, was hitting switch wrong. Didn't fix the issue with the kill switch, and now my rig is sitting higher while I'm in iracing. What parameter can I change so the rig isn't sitting so high? I tried the standby percentage and that moves the seat back down but as soon as I go online it jumps up higher
 
got the default parameters back, was hitting switch wrong. Didn't fix the issue with the kill switch, and now my rig is sitting higher while I'm in iracing. What parameter can I change so the rig isn't sitting so high? I tried the standby percentage and that moves the seat back down but as soon as I go online it jumps up higher
Set Park position to 0%
Set standby position to 50%

Set spike filter to 2000...
 

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