Driving Cabinet build

[Fursphere]

I have a 4.5 and a 2.5. Similar arenas for two epic builds...

Damn. Sounds like game on!

Where abouts are you installing the PC? Do have any concerns about the bass and vibrating HDDs?

Right now the PC is sitting on my Black Hole pinball machine. (not the best place for it). And yes, I do have some concern about bass vibrations and HDDs. I might just set it on the floor next to the cabinet. Originally I was going to build the coin box area (see Sega Racing Classic design). But I'm not even sure about that now. Time will tell I guess?

I've also got some ideas for a work handbrake setup that I'll get into later.

[Hyperion]

Damn. Sounds like game on!

Right now the PC is sitting on my Black Hole pinball machine. (not the best place for it). And yes, I do have some concern about bass vibrations and HDDs. I might just set it on the floor next to the cabinet. Originally I was going to build the coin box area (see Sega Racing Classic design). But I'm not even sure about that now. Time will tell I guess?

I've also got some ideas for a work handbrake setup that I'll get into later.

I think your build will be technically superior in any event. That speaker setup already makes my plug and play logitech look like crap. Good luck with the build!

[markelhombre]

Wow man, awesome sound system! I would love to feel the butt kicker! If all else fails, you can always use it as your home theater ;-)

[Fursphere]

The sound card(s) are driving me crazy at the moment. Windows has a habit of only using the front channels for everything - and games will use the rear channels only if they support surround sound (MAME doesn't appear too for example). So my original plan of using them as front and rear speakers may not be working out.

If all else fails, I'll just get a pair of Y cables and connect the front and rear together (FL + RL, FR + RR), then just let the filters do their things. This would basically create a 2.1 setup with a LOT of power.

The other options is to purchase an aftermarket sound card (Sound Blaster Recon or Z, whatever the new one is) and use the CMSS feature to enable front and rear all the time. But this could get into weird situations with surround sound in games if I leave them as rear. Or do some custom wiring and tap the subwoofer channel (and not the center channel - since the two generally share the same jack).

Ugh. What a pain.

[Fursphere]

Looks like I never posted the high frequency drivers I installed in the dash. Now, these things are flat _overkill_. I'm still not sure if I'm going to continue using them, or get something a wee bit smaller. But the highs are crystal clear with this setup. And those drivers (the output is only about 1" in diameter in the front) line up with the Daytona's dash speaker ports. I tried the stock tweeters that came with the dash first, but compared to these drivers, they sounded flat and muddy (to me).

I think I might be an audiophile. I've actually got quite a few more high- and mid- range speakers and drivers, so I may end up trying some different configurations down the road. We'll see. Those two small circuit boards are high and mid range filters - the amp goes them, and then from there the tweeters and woofers hook up there, with the board separating out the different frequency ranges. i have to be careful - those high freq. drivers WILL make your ears bleed if you turn them up too high.

[Hyperion]

Mocked up one of the sides. I put one of my tool boxes under the set that added 4", that "loose" plans I have called for 5.5". The steering wheel needs to be moved up about 1" - 2" from where it sits right now - which is going to have automatically when I frame in the top.

The overall height of the cabinet is about 68" - Feels tall, but its probably ok. The screen is about 22" tall, and the "screen" area in the cardboard cutout is about the same, with my eye level being really close to the center of that. So I think it'll work out nicely. It needs to be tweaked a little, and I can't cut out the wood panels under I get the Daytona dash here to make sure the height it correct on the lower edges - I guessed at 10" for the cardboard. Feels right, but I want to be sure.

The dash should be here around Wednesday next week. Overall it feels like its really coming together.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23693[/ATTACH]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that is placing the seat directly on the cab floor. I initially thought that I would have to elevate the seat slightly but I just trialled it an it works best on the floor.

EDIT Oh wait - it looks like I'm the kind of idiot that can't read posts correctly and am blind on top of that. I see in post #71 that you have elevated it. I don't know why but for me it felt better on the floor. I know that my car seat in my real car is slightly elevated... Maybe it's because I'm using a fixed back racing seat. It feels better on the floor to me.

[Fursphere]

It really depends on how the rest of your cabinet is designed. Where the wheel, shifter, and pedals are in relationship to your chair and screen. And also what "style" of car your emulating. Mine feels like a basic sedan, maybe a little rally car ish. Putting the seat on the floor would be more sports car / F1 style.

My father in laws 2000 Corvette had the seat practically on the floor - it was a bit weird driving the thing sitting that low.

[Fursphere]

So after a whole bunch of craziness with the sound system, I ended up tearing out the all of the 8" pyle speakers and the amp I bought.

I ended up with a Logitech X-530 5.1 system (free from a friend) that sounded 10x better than what I was building. Meh - that's life. I ordered an Aura bass shaker to install under the seat too - I'll post more on that when I get it. I've been making a lot of post updates over at arcadecontrols.com.

[Hyperion]

So after a whole bunch of craziness with the sound system, I ended up tearing out the all of the 8" pyle speakers and the amp I bought.

I ended up with a Logitech X-530 5.1 system (free from a friend) that sounded 10x better than what I was building. Meh - that's life. I ordered an Aura bass shaker to install under the seat too - I'll post more on that when I get it. I've been making a lot of post updates over at arcadecontrols.com.

Looks like we're syncing up on this one. I bought a Logitech Z506 5.1 and a cheapo "tactile transducer" for the seat of my build too. The sub is TINY! Positively miniature. I've bought three Logitech's now and the sub has shrunk with each successive model.

[Fursphere]

Its pretty amazing how far the 5.1 / 7.1 computer speaker systems have come isn't it?

[Fursphere]

Rear speaker mount test. The line up a little below ear level for me, but serve their intended purpose.

1/2" EMT conduit. My brother did the bending, as he's much better at it than I am. They're positioned the way they are so the seat can still move forward and back freely. I looked into mounting the poles to the seat - so they'd slide with the seat, but that seemed like a hell of a lot more work, if its even possible. I may end up converting it to that style later, we'll see. The pipe cost me a whole $2.

[markelhombre]

Nice price for such a sweet upgrade!

[Hyperion]

Where are you going to mount the bass shaker, fursphere? Under the feet of seat like a buttkicker or just attached to the underside of the seat? I'm thinking of mounting my bass shaker to the back of my seat. What do you think?

[Fursphere]

Mine is mounted under the seat. I bought a two-channel amp for it (be here tomorrow) so I could technically run a second if I see the need for it.

Mounting it to fabric or springs will lessen the effect I've read. Never messed with one until now. Mine is pretty big, so mounting it in a seat (inside the fabric area) would be hard I'd think.

[Hyperion]

Mine is mounted under the seat. I bought a two-channel amp for it (be here tomorrow) so I could technically run a second if I see the need for it.

Mounting it to fabric or springs will lessen the effect I've read. Never messed with one until now. Mine is pretty big, so mounting it in a seat (inside the fabric area) would be hard I'd think.

I still might mount mine underneath but my seat is the rigid plastic kind making the back an alternative location. I realized that I needed an amplifier when mine arrived today. What do you think of this one? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-CH-output-100w-100w-Audio-Speaker-Stereo-Amplifier-AMP-4-16ohm-Twin-Power-IC-/190604963497?pt=AU_Electronics_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item2c60f0eea9

EDIT: It says that it takes a 12V input, can I use a PC PSU to power it?

[Fursphere]

I still might mount mine underneath but my seat is the rigid plastic kind making the back an alternative location. I realized that I needed an amplifier when mine arrived today. What do you think of this one? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-CH-output-100w-100w-Audio-Speaker-Stereo-Amplifier-AMP-4-16ohm-Twin-Power-IC-/190604963497?pt=AU_Electronics_Audio_Amplifiers&hash=item2c60f0eea9

EDIT: It says that it takes a 12V input, can I use a PC PSU to power it?

The answer is maybe and maybe.

So my Aura Bass Shaker is 100watt peak, 50watt RMS (RMS is like.. the "real" power of the system.. its a lot of complicated mathematics - I just like to think of it as the sustained output. thats not really accurate, but it works to keep my head straight).

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777M2100/Sound-Ordnance-M-2100.html?tp=115

That's the amp I bought. 75w RMS per channel, 140watt bridged. I actually only wanted a single mono amp, but it was cheaper to buy that one. I already have a 12v 30amp power supply laying around....

That amp you linked - its 100watt peak - but probably only like 10w - 20w RMS. (the exact reason I returned the 120w PYLE I bought - it was 20w RMS in the manual - nowhere on the box did it mention that) It'll probably "work" - but I don't know if it'll give you the results you're looking for. At the price, you could try.

Computer power supply - So these are rated in total watts for all the rails - 3.3v, 5v, and 12v rails, sometimes multiples of each. it could be like 50 + 50 + 100 = 200watt power supply (sometimes they have 2x 12v rails.. so these get added together as well). The 12v rail only having 100watts of that. You can use Ohms' Law to convert watts to amps.... (amp = watt / volt). 8.33 amps = 100watts / 12 volts.

So if you know how much amperage that amp draws AND how much wattage the 12 volt rail on a particular computer PSU provides, you can tell if it'll work or not. Oh ya, never turn on a computer PSU without a load - solid state amps don't like that. At least have a fan or something plugged into it.

The amp I purchased above from Crutchfield - its got a 30 amp fuse - so I know it'll never draw more than 30amps. I'm actually going to swap it out for a 25 amp fuse - so its less than the maxed output of the power supply I'm using. Buffers are good.

Good luck!

[Fursphere]

So I go the new amplifier today, and spent about 20 minutes messing with it. (all I had time for)

Initial reaction is: Cool

It doesn't "THUMP" by any means - but it provides enough vibration so you know its there. It compliments the Logitech sub nicely - as you really can't "feel" the sub by itself. I didn't turn the amp up very high - as I didn't want to blow up the bass shaker. I'll have to figure out how to protect against that. I did accidentally turn it up for a second and its very cable of "shaking" things up quite nicely. I may end up adding a second under the pedal area.

There is also a side effect of my cabinet design. The bass shaker is supposed to be silent - vibration output only. There are two large cavities under the seat, and the 8" holes are still there from Pyle speakers I tried. The result is the vibrations cause an acoustic effect and reproduce the sound being played with a very low bass sound. At first I thought it was just the Logitech sub making the sound - but then I realized the speaker system was off - then I unplugged it just to be sure.

I need more time tweaking the amp to get the desired feedback - but I'm pretty sure its here to stay.

And a side note - Crutchfield has some awesome customer service. They don't mess around.

[Hyperion]

So does the accidental acoustic bass shaker produce a desirable sound? No noisy?

I'd thought the same thing about accidentally turning the amp up too far and popping my puck.

[Fursphere]

I'm curious if you can actually break the thing. I've read that you can have the piston (or whatever it is) bottom out on casing - but I can't heard mine do that yet.

The acoustic sound is only noticeable if you listen for it - and the other speakers are off. Its not a bad thing at all.

This morning I played NFS- The Run with my headphones on and the bass shaker plugged in - couldn't hear anything out of it. I think its totally pitch dependent on if the acoustic behavior takes effect

[Fursphere]

So I'm not sure what changed, but the bass shaker is REALLY moving now. So much that I re-wired it to a single channel (had it bridged before), and I still have it down pretty low.

I'm seriously debating on adding a second up under the pedal area now.

[ericleroi]

I'm needing more progress pics (or a vid)

Really keen to see how this works out Fursphere.

[Fursphere]

I spend some time bondo'ing and sanding the control panel frame yesterday. I tore it completely apart then put it back together with wood glue this time. Then bondo'd all the screw heads and started sanding.

Bondo is NASTY stuff. I was wearing a respirator the entire time, and I could still small the fiberglass. Works good though! I have time to work on the cab today too, so I'm debating on tearing it all the way down and cutting the t-molding groves and bondo'ing all the screw holes.

I'm at the point where I can actually play games on the thing, so I'm less motivated to tear it down and do the finishing work...

[ericleroi]

Nooo ... disconnect it now and get to it

[Fursphere]

I still don't know what color(s) to paint the darn thing...

[Fursphere]

Nooo ... disconnect it now and get to it

Ok, you got your wish. I tore the cabinet completely down to the three major sections yesterday. I cut all the t-molding slots, and plugged all the screw holes in the upper cabinet (used glue and dowel rods). Control panel has been screwed in, and after a little more bondo work it'll be ready for paint.

If I knew what color to paint it...