Simviation Forum - Cockpit Construction Continued (Part 30)

Apr 26^th, 2007 at 3:51pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Aura Bass Shakers Installed Under Pilot's Seat

When I originally designed the pit I planned on using a subwoofer in the pilots chair for adding vibrations. That however would entail using a loud volume of bass ferequencies in order to get the desired effect. However, I came across a sale a while ago at Parts Express that had the Aura Bass Shakers (25 Watt RMS each) for a VERY reasonable price as a closeout. (They now make a different bigger model.) So I bought them and put them in "storage" awaiting a reasonably priced subwoofer amplifier to match them.

Then recently, good ole' Parts Express had a great price on an AC powerred 25 watt RMS subwoofer amp with both left and right outputs. SO........ I picked that up too a couple of weeks ago.

Today I finally had some time to install it.

Here's the combination:

The bass shakers are basically HUGE, heavy speaker voice coils attached to a plate instead of a speaker cone. They get bolted to a structure and transfer the electrical energy to vibreation without a lot of sound being generated. A lot of places like Disney World use this type of transducer in their simulations and rides. Each of these transducers weighs a LOT! Serious magnets Shocked

.

The amp is a compact design that is designed for flush mounting onto a speaker cabinet. It has controls for on-off + volume as well as crossover frequency. I installed it in the front side (under my legs) of the base for my pilot's seat.

I took out the previously mounted subwoofer speaker that was under the pilot's seat, and mounted the two bass shakers.

Then using a drill and a jigsaw, I cut out the place to mount the amplifier.

Here it is all mounted and awaiting the speaker wiring to be put in place.

And here it is powered up and tested for function.

I now need to get a long set of audio cables and a Y splitter to connect it to the flight sim computer's sound card subwoofer outputs...... and away we go! Can't WAIT to try this out...... it has been at LEAST a year since I got those Bass Shakers. But they say "patience is a virtue". Wink

best,

.......................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #1 - Apr 26^th, 2007 at 4:05pm

JSpahn Offline
Colonel
Im too sexy for my hair
Philadelphia,PA

Gender:
Posts: 1808

Hmmmmm...... Thats wild John, should help with the whole immersion aspect.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #2 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 1:25am

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

I just got a chance to test this out tonight. It is GREAT. Well worth the effort and money it took.

This would be AMAZING for a combat flight sim person.... guns and explosions would be awesome.

It is almost silent..... but with amazingly intense vibrations. Even with very little "drive" on the amp. I can now turn down the volume on my subwoofer a lot.

If you get a chance and can find the hardware ....... give it a shot! A nice addition to the sim..... adding even more realism.

best,

..................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #3 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 2:44am

SilverFox441 Offline
Colonel
Now What?
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Gender:
Posts: 1467

Sounds great John... might have to fit a couple of transducers into my 'pit.

I saw a transducer idea at another site (simpits? have to look it up again)... tailored for combat primarily. It looked very cool and I was considering it but didn't know anyone who had used a transducer in FS.

Looks like you are having fun.

Steve (Silver Fox) Daly

&&

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #4 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 8:52am

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Steve,

Yup.... this time of year is my main simpit "fun" time. Wink

For combat sims, if you wanted to get REALLY slick......... and the sim you were using supported stereo (or better yet 5.1 or 7.1 sound)........ mounting a NUMBER of these little units in various places on the cockpit shell driven by separate amps could simulate significant thudding bullet hits with real directionality.

Last night, flying the stock Baron, when the gear came up, the sensation of the mechanism moving and seating in place was VERY immersive. I would SWEAR that there were masses of metal moving under me. Shocked

Flying the BAE146-200, when the main gear touched down, there was a distinct "jarring" feeling as the sound file kicked in upon contact.....and then the vibration of the ground roll. Pretty interesting situation.

Have to tailor some sound files now for specific effects, utilizing a combination of low frequencies and the subwoofer's frequency cutoff pot. Yipee.... another "project". It just never stops.

best,

.....................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #5 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 12:23pm

visualchaosfx Offline
Colonel
I have no idea
Michigan

Gender:
Posts: 181

Hey John,

If you really want some ground and pound especially when the engines are at max throttle or if you have thrust on reverse, I suggest 1 920 watt Fusion powerplant 12" and a 2000 watt mono D-Class powerplant amplifier. That'll really give ya a but massage lol. I've got 2 of these subs in my car in a ported box and have hit 139 dBs he he. Wink

Systemax Desktop Computer&&AMD Athlon 64 X2 Duel Core Processor 4600+&&2.41 GHz&&2GB of Ram&&250GB Hard Drive&&80GB Hard Drive&&Windows XP Professional&&Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT 256 MB PCI-E (2 DVI)&&SoundBlaster Audigy SE Sound Card&&&&http://visualchaosfx.page.tl/

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #6 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 4:34pm

beaky Offline
Global Moderator
Uhhhh.... yup!
Newark, NJ USA

Gender:
Posts: 14187

Definitely the way to go... shakers are "tighter" sounding and don't require tons of volume to get the desired effect. So what kind of deal did you get...?

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #7 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 4:37pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Rottydaddy,

Here is the subwoofer amp.........

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-782

More in a few minutes.

Here is the bass shakers... sold out! BUT...see the link at he bottom of the page.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=299-027

Which links to this one among others:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?DID=7&PartNumber=299-028

Or do a web search to see if the smaller pairs are still available.

Hope this helps.

best,

.....................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #8 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 5:30pm

SilverFox441 Offline
Colonel
Now What?
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Gender:
Posts: 1467

For those who want to do-it-themselves, there's a description of how to build your own transducers at flightsim.com or simprojects.nl. It's not an easy process, but within the capabilities of most home pit builders if they have the patience. Might be useful for very small transducers though.

Steve (Silver Fox) Daly

&&

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #9 - Apr 29^th, 2007 at 6:22pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

I just looked at something from that page of links above.... and found another great little part of possible simpit use:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?DID=7&PartNumber=300-950

Might work nicely for adding some directional sounds coming from other parts of the pit.... driven by stuff like PMSounds. The price is good.

best,

...................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #10 - May 8^th, 2007 at 1:13am

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

I found that listening to music while sitting in the pit is great with the seat really giving lthe ow end a distinct boost! Cheesy

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #11 - May 8^th, 2007 at 10:51pm

beaky Offline
Global Moderator
Uhhhh.... yup!
Newark, NJ USA

Gender:
Posts: 14187

Hey, I just thought of a name for your "plane", if you want to personalize it:
Shaken, Not Stirred

Grin

Sound is so important to the simpit experience... I'm not planning anything that fancy yet, because it sounds OK with very little in the way of equipment.
A while back, when I got the small LCD, I set it up in the 'pit and connected it and my 2.1 system to this computer, fired up the sim, put the DC-3 on AP, and went in there, closed the door, turned up the volume, and just sat there for a while.

It was glorious. Grin

My plan right now is to get a mid-priced 5.1 system, but I'll be thinking about those shakers...

Back to top

IP Logged

	Search the archive: