OK, since introducing LFS to the workers and visitors to my garage (I own a car repair place in Scotland), it's been a smash hit.

Had some spare parts lying around, so we decided to start flinging something together.

First, I took a wooden base and fitted a Rover half leather seat to it (i had two lying around). The seat still slides back and forth as it should.

Then I cobbled up a makeshift desk for the wheel (Using my trusty old MS Sidewinder Precision Pro). Need to adjust it for height still, as there's a bunch of us who play it.

I'm looking out for a large monitor, until I can afford a triplehead2go.

Got the handbrake lever from a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 4, bolts right to the frame and has a tail of cable on it that has the yoke for the car's two handbrake cables - same as the handbrake on my own Starion. Means I can hook it up to two big springs with a threaded adjuster and make the handbrake feel realistic - then I just need to mount a pot on it and connect it in place of one of the controls on the second Sidewinder racing wheel I'm waiting on coming.

Best bit, and the bit I need help with, is the gearshift.

I have the gear level from the Evo 4 as well, again bolts right to the floor, fair bit of room under it. It's spring loaded left to right, so it self centres in the middle horizontally.

I can have my mate laser cut a metal plate for an H gate if I just send him the drawings - so any ideas how I can go about connecting this up to either switches or a joystick to make it work?

I might also have a go at using a real steering column and controls from the Evo as well - I've got the steering column, switches and the complete dash there.

Would be so cool to get it all working, including the instruments!

One step at a time, any help with the shifter would be apreciated for now - I'll post some pics tommorrow of the shifter to help you get an idea.

Here's my mate frew enjoying himself with it:

About the monitor, if you place it closer to your face, it looks alot bigger.
I never understood why people place there monitor so far.

You could buy a cheap USB gamepad and then download the ACT LABS Shifter utility from www.act-labs.com. I got this info from a DIY Shifter project on the web.

Good luck!

btw. you can get used 21" and bigger screens on ebay w/ warrenty for under 30 € :-)
Makes more sense as this small thing :-)

That monitor setup's just temporary - I'm going to lower where the wheel is, and where the monitor is, and bring it closer. I'm going to pick up a free 21" monitor tommorrow.

where did u get the free monitor from?

if you can lay your hands on an old force feedback joystick, then this FF-Shifter proggy may be of intrest...

http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?t=214673

absolutley blew me away, works so well, even without a gate though i do definately recommend changing the handle for a gearnob

its worth checking the link to see the pic's of what other peeps have done with there sticks, some nice stuff !!

HTH
Quack!! (QD)

----edit----

actually, after reading yor post properly (and looking at the pictures lol) i'd say DEFINATELY check that link, just mount the evo gearnob straight to the shaft of a ffb joystick (the ffb holds it in gear). you'll be suprised how well it works without a gate, if you like how it works, then build a gate around it sometime (i didn't cos i like the way FFShifter works, and i can still use it as a joystick for other stuff- someday )
i'm using the same wheel lol, love it to bits

Shouldn't be long before I can provide pictures of my shifter. I'm welding with a 110 v stick welder, which isn't working too well. First time I've ever welded, with and underpowered welder to boot, and my welds are garbage. But it's semi working for me. The welder heats up and shuts off though. i think I have 4 areas left to weld, and attach the switches to the pattern plate somehow and it's done.

It will be a heavy shifter. No plastic or wood, fully metal.

To be honest, it'd be quicker and easier buying a logitech G25, sending it to your mate, getting him to put the evo shifter and wheel on

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

To be honest, it'd be quicker and easier buying a logitech G25, sending it to your mate, getting him to put the evo shifter and wheel on

Quicker than what? The force feedback joystick shifter? You're talking a difference between about $10-20 and $300 (I guess they are being found cheaper, but still expensive). Yes, it is very quick and easy to buy a G25, but not everyone has the money for one, like every one else assumes.

As for my shifter, just finished welding and painting it. Just have to put the switches in somehow. The cost of mine? About $3.00 for the switches. Pulled all the rest from scrap metal sitting under my trees in the back yard. That and the shifter mechanism that I picked up from a maintenance guy at work. He asked what I was looking for, and handed me a ball joint, or tie rod end, or whatever you want to call it.

i agree with mr rogers 100%. i'll attach a pic of my FF shifter, it took me 10 mins to remove the handle and put in its place the pacman arcade knob. as for the costs, i had the bits already the jostick was condemed nearly 2 years ago cos the twist pot wouldn't calibrate (dont need twist for this ) and the pacman knob i got from a local arcade machine recycling company for £2 !!!!

it may not look much, but i love it to bits, and i will prolly build a gate for it one day but it isn't really needed.

a freind of mine has the act labs shifter, but he still prefers mine as he says "it just feels more realistic" lol

--EDIT--
http://forum.rscnet.org/showpo ... =2541549&postcount=97
check out this link, it was the video of ff-shifter in operation (at the end) that finally gave me my inspiration (oh, and the fact that he was using the same model joystick that i had )

I said I'd post a picture. This is a picture of the shifter without the electronics. I finished the electronics, but of course, my luck, the gamepad I used now doesn't get recognized as being connected, grrrrr. It worked before I soldered the switches on (the wires were soldered to the pcb board already), but now I have nothing. So..... I have another gamepad to solder the switches to and hopefully that works.

Disregard the non-quality welding. Built from all scrap metal (I only paid a couple of $ for the switches) and built using only a hand grinder, hand drill, and an underpowered 110 volt stick welder (my first time ever welding.)

wow, nice work mike

i had exactly the same problem with electrics when i was attempting to build a mame arcade machine, it seemed that even when i extended the buttons with even shorter wires from a standard controller all hell would break loose, sometimes it would work, but only for a few munites then the controller would disconnect itself, other times it would not detect at all. i tried 3 controllers and finally gave up (posibly a resistance thing?, i dunno). other peeps where using a proper control card built for the job but i didn't want to mail order one of these from the states without really knowing what i was doing lol, so the project was left abandoned

looking at your pics i was wondering tho, how will you similate "the feel" of it clicking in & out of gears? i only ask this as FFshifter does this for you "out-of-the-box" with the force feedback really well. (actually so well when i drive my real car, i find i'm wishing it felt like my shfter, hahaha)

have a look at this, this fellow has made his shifter OUT OF WOOD!!!! lmao. i'm only pointing to this picture because it has the side off showing the innards, main point being he has gone one stage further and removed the casing for the base as well as the handle. the wiring is left pretty much untouched.
http://forum.rscnet.org/showpo ... 2828794&postcount=677

you know what i'm going to say don't you, lol - don't waste your money on another gamepad, spend a little more on a ffb j/stick and put its innards into what you have built already, you won't be sorry

Q

ps. it sounds like the next version of FFshifter will have optional clutch support, meaning if you change gear without clutch the stick will fight you untill you clutch-in. i can't wait, someting definately to look forward too

in fact i'm going to go out on a limb here and compare ffb shifters with ffb steering wheels, once you've used a ffb wheel there is no going back, non-ffb wheels are just pants...

its the same with the shifter, i couldn't go back now to a non-ffb shifter, it would be just too sloppy, un-natural, pants ...


i strongly recommend that you beg, borrow, steal an ffb stick and load up ff-shifter to see what its like....

.... i'll give you half an hour before the screwdrivers come out LMFAO

Quote from quackdougal :

wow, nice work mike

Thanks.

Quote :

looking at your pics i was wondering tho, how will you similate "the feel" of it clicking in & out of gears? i only ask this as FFshifter does this for you "out-of-the-box" with the force feedback really well. (actually so well when i drive my real car, i find i'm wishing it felt like my shfter, hahaha)

I won't have the feel of clicking in and out of gears. I'm not real worried about that as what I made here cost me nothing.

Quote :

you know what i'm going to say don't you, lol - don't waste your money on another gamepad, spend a little more on a ffb j/stick and put its innards into what you have built already, you won't be sorry

Already have another old gamepad sitting around and torn apart even. Like I said, this shifter is free. If I was to buy another gamepad for the shifter, I would just buy the FF joystick, it's a lot less work .

no worries, let us know how u get on. hopefully post some pic's when ur finished

good luck with second controller there, fingers crossed

QD

(i would kill for a gate like yours... lol)