Hi, so I thought I'd start a topic about a work in progress.
I will be acquiring a "real" stick shift....shifter?
I'm hoping for a nice 6 speed and reverse, but I may only be able to get 5 speed and reverse. Either way, I'll be making it a 7 speed with reverse H gate.
Here's the thing. The box will be made from just white pine probably, but how am I going to get it to revert back to neutral when out of gear. A spring should work fine, but mounting it without it getting in the way might be slightly difficult. I'll be buying a VERY cheap USB game pad and have each on of the buttons a gear.
I'll also post a tutorial about it on www.instructables.com

Any suggestions of any sort? I'm very excited about this project, and i hope it will turn out!
-LoganC-

I have a suggestion

At each entry point of the shifter into the gate(seven points 1 - 6 - R) put seven small electrical rams that block the shifter from engaging into gear untill the clutch or engine rpms allow it to go into gear, im sure someone could help you out using insim.

Wow, that is a VERY good Idea!
I could just route the circut from the clutch to go into the Shifter first, so that when the electricity goes through from being stepped on, it would "unlock" the gate! That's a very good idea.
but it sounds easier than it will be! I'll defiantly give it a shot though!
Thanks
-LoganC-

This is my idea about making it 'impossible' to shift.

the red plate is pulled down (by electromagnets or relais) in normal conditions.

When the clutchpedal (in my case an old yostick) is full pressed in you will make contact with a small switch wich will release the red plate pulling down.

Now you can move the H shifter to another gear untill you release the clutch.

The red plate will be pulled down again and locks the shifter in its position.


(the switch on the clutch seems easier then InSim and extra hardware to control the 'locking' of the shifter.)

what do you think of this idea?

I do understand your idea, but when the red plate gets pulled down, it's just going to rest on the ball of the stick, which will still allow it to move. Though, I like the way you think and might try some similar designs and see what i can come up with. Thanks for the input though.
-LoganC-

I changed my mind about my earlier plan.

I've spend some hours, and €uros and this is what I've got so far:

overview1.jpg/overview2.jpg - my H-shifter a winebox with some aluminium parts and the gearlever from the MOMO. (left on the picture you can see the aluminum plate for the H-pattern)

close-up_microswitch.jpg - I connected 6 microswitches to the circuitboard off a Speedlink USB joystick.

gear_lever_momo.jpg -gear_lever_momo2.jpg - The Logitech MOMO comes with a gear lever with a M6 bolt. I drilled and tapped a 25x25mm aluminium bar to connect them.

drawing_side.jpg - drawing_top.jpg - H-shifterplate.jpg - the drawings I made by hand.


====================

Material:

Joystick-
The USB Speedlink has 8 buttons, a POV hat and three axes. One axe I will use for a clutch pedal. (I could use another axe to make a handbrake)

Old Thrustmaster wheel-
I will use the pedal as a clutch, to replace the joystick I'm currently using as a clutch.

6 Microswitches-
Approx 14x7mm (NO&NC)

Pulse switch
For engine start/stop button (ignition)

Pulse/conatant switch
A small switch which can make pulse contact or constant contact (for handbrake)

Wow! That's really coming along well! I'm still waiting for my Shifter knob! But the one you have looks very nice! BTW, where did you buy those micro switches? How much were they and what model? They look VERY good! Seems that they would work well!
-LoganC-

There is my topic about what I did, maybe you would find good ideas?

Quote from LoganC :

Wow! That's really coming along well! I'm still waiting for my Shifter knob! But the one you have looks very nice! BTW, where did you buy those micro switches? How much were they and what model? They look VERY good! Seems that they would work well!
-LoganC-

I bought them @ the local handy-shop for €2 each

costs so far:

Speedlink joystick 12,99
microswitches 12,00
other swithces 4,00
old wheel 4,00
carbon look sheet 10,79+
total 43,78 ->



to anarchypredator

Nice that it works well, because of the size I think it will feel realistic.

My gear lever is shorter then yours , but longer then the one on the G25.

Your pictures remind me of my first attempt, completely out of wood.




My first plan was to use my Gravis Gamepad Pro to connect the switches, but I dont think that I could solder that good enough.

i made myn out of cd cases elactrical tape wires an old ps1 controller 2 broken exacto knives ... it works pretty good exept it likes to fall out of 3rd and thats the gear i use most (since i drift)

I forgot about my shifter idea. I guess I'm too caught up in my pedals! All I can do is hope that my shifter is half as good as my pedals!!! lol
-LoganC-
http://i26.photobucket.com/alb ... 3/Pedals.jpg?t=1183166108

Ready

It took some hours (and money :shrug but I am more than satisfied with the result.

I have also connected an second old pedal set for clutch.
the gears and button are assigned by car (LFS script)


I have made more photos of it during the building proces (if anybody is interested)

Quote from liveforspeedskins.tk :

Ready

It took some hours (and money :shrug but I am more than satisfied with the result.

I have also connected an second old pedal set for clutch.
the gears and button are assigned by car (LFS script)


I have made more photos of it during the building proces (if anybody is interested)

That looks very nice.

dats good but is it difficult??

liveforspeedskins.tk, that looks like a very nice shifter. The throw looks like it is extremely long though. Just an observation.

I finally got a welder borrowed today to finish up the base of my shifter. Once the base frame is welded up (made from 1 inch square tubing) all I have left is to mount the switches on the plate and it's done. I've had the idea for it in my head for years, and the pieces mocked up with clamps in the garage now for several months. Just haven't gotten around to finishing it. The entire shifter is steel, nothing plastic and nothing wood in the thing. The cost was about $4 for the switches (which I'll eventually change probably). Everything else was scrap pulled from under my pine trees in the back yard and the shifter linkage a piece of scrap from work. Eventually I'll have some pictures. It' is a very basic and simple design.

liveforspeedskins.tk, I love where you have your shifter. This is my biggest problem is where to put my shifter once it's done. Though it's heavy enough to probably just set on a small stand or even a chair next to me at the desk. Now I wish I had a drawer on the desk beside me

You are right about the size of the lever, if I had to do it again I would make the H-pattern plate a few centimeters (1 inch) shorter

Quote from mrodgers :

liveforspeedskins.tk, I love where you have your shifter. This is my biggest problem is where to put my shifter once it's done. Though it's heavy enough to probably just set on a small stand or even a chair next to me at the desk. Now I wish I had a drawer on the desk beside me

I'm so lucky that its fits in their exactly, I first wanted to screw it under the table or make a frame to fit on my chair, but it turned out that it fit perfectly in my lower draw. You have to make sure that your shifter is mounted steady, I must 'lock' my draw so it does not move while shifting.

Excellent work "liveforspeedskins.tk", one of my Uni chums (Toothy) made a shifter too from a joystick base, a philips screwdriver and mechano :P

A little "up" for thoses who didn't seen this thread, if It could help someone, of push someone to do another home made shifter

We should bump more dead threads, just in case someone needs them.

Only news that I can report after using my shifter for a few months is that I recently had to reconnect my clutch pedal to another axle, because I got a delay of a few seconds with the clutch.

And I have to readjust the 1st, 2nd and 4nd gear switches, because I have to keep the shifter in those gears sometimes, otherwise the microswitches do not longer keep contact and so the car goes in neutral.

Hey men,

Nice work..... How about making a handbrake????

I would be very interested to that but i don't know shit about making things like that on my own. So how about suggesting some desings and give some tips?