How To Build A Button box for PS3 and PC

****Update shifter and handbrake connection to the Cthulu PCB to be used in PS3****

DSC_3114

Preparation bench ;)

DSC_3118

M6 Screws for mounting, (Left Handbrake connected to “O” button on the Cthulhu, and Right (purple) connected to L1+L2 buttons for shifting up and down

DSC_3120

Connection view with 2 PCB (BBI-32 and Cthulhu)

DSC_3121

***********QUICK UPDATE on the button box Side: (03 March 2012)****************

I’ve changed the button box’s face all together, not enough rotaries and buttons at the moment, so with the new face plate, I’ve added 11 more buttons (coming from SLI-PRO) and soon 3 push rotary Encoders into the box. picture below shows the plan and measurements. it is always good to use the rig from the buttons to place it where the buttons will go first before proceeding to drill the holes, as you can easily see whether or not you will like the layout.

Wiring it is a big challenge as now I’ve added around 26 wires that I have to terminate each end and when the 3 rotary encoders arrived.

I have 9 more wire to terminate which I have ready in the box. by then I will post tutorial of how to wire the rotary encoders and a little bit of assigning it on the SLI-PRO.

Full starting guide is below

Marcus

**************************************************************************************************************

Today I’m going to share with you how I make my button box that works both on PC as well as PS3.

For those that are not familiar with button box’s concept. it is a box/panel with buttons for quick access to your most important controls/ switches in-car during your sim racing.
for example: Changing Brake Bias to Forward or Back, setting fuel level during pit , tire, check lap time. position and Delta Time, Mute, Start Engine, Ignition, speed limiter , pit request etc.

Normally during gameplay you could assign this to your steering wheel, however to give it a bit more depth in realism, just like real race car, that use button box, well… like most race cars except open wheeler, I decided to built one this time.

If you own(ed) DFGT wheel, you know that you can change car settings live during gameplay in Gran Turismo 5 with the RA dial, but using a GT3 RS v2, gave no assignable buttons on the wheel in game except, Start, Select, Circle, and L1, this has been my main reason in PS3, and in PC, I built this for iRacing and rFactor.

On PC, it is pretty easy to assign these buttons to those request/ parameter, it is in game control settings, however in PS3, the only racing game I know of that allows secondary controller to act like controller 1 is Gran Turismo 5. ( if you don’t know: press PS button on that controller and assign it to controller 1 / the controller number of you steering wheel) and this needs only done once after PS3 starts.

The main board I used for this is a Toodles Cthulhu Boards that I purchased a while ago to make a Fight sticks for Street fighter(s) that works with PS3 and PC, now if you have old Fightstick that you are not using any more and they works with both systems feel free to use them as well, make sure you know which solder points are to which button.

The Cthulhu board is very straight forward, there are no solder points, as picture above. it uses a quick release points for all your wire, the boards are not labelled however they come with a very detailed instruction with picture explaining which socket does what.

an old creations, my proud and joy before I discovered Sim Racing.

I have more than enough of this PCB at my disposal, and because all my fight sticks works with PS3 and PC natively, so will this box.

To build this I use

  1. An ABS Project box with a dimension of 178 x 122 x 55mm, it is a very very thick and smooth looking box.
  2. 10 x Momentary buttons (apparently)weather proof. (Select, PS, L1, L2, R1, R2, Triangle, Square, Circle and X)
  3. 1 x Sanwa Button for Start Button
  4. a Missile switch to disconnect and power everything in the box (Just for added Look and Security)
  5. about 2 -3 m of Wire ( feel free to use wire from your CAT 5 Network cable , they work just fine, just make sure they are multi thread core as single core are hard to bend)
  6. 2 x Momentary 2 way toggle switch ( for directional Pad connection “Left”, Down” Up” right”)
  7. 1 x A4 sheet of 3M Di-Noc Carbon layer
  8. Quick disconnects, for connecting cable to those buttons

Once all the material above arrived , I drilled 11 x 13mm holes for the black buttons and missile switch on the faceplate according to the layout that I want, and another 30mm holes for the sanwa button., Cover the box with the 3M Di-Noc carbon layer and cut the drilled holes for buttons fitting and fit the buttons.

For the connection point, I made a square hole on the side so the PCB’s USB port stick out flushed on the side of the box for easy disconnection.
I crimped the quick disconnects to the wire as picture above for every single wire. leaving the end bit open for screwing it into the PCB Terminals.
connect your USB cable to your PS3 , pressed the home button and assigned it to controller 1 and THAT’S IT.

At the moment I am still waiting for 2 of the toggle switches to arrive before i complete this project, however during testing, every button works , and works really well.
I have been using this for 2 races in iRacing Last night and I must say they are so much better than finding that key on keyboard.
Here are some more pictures of the end result, I will post more picture in action and videos once the Toggle switch arrived. If you enjoy driving games and in to racing sims, a button box is going to be your help from time to time.

enjoy,

Marcus

2 Empty spots on top for toggle switches once they’ve arrived.

I’ve made Mounting Point for HumanRacing GT Chassis ...will post more pictures once finished,  As Promised, the toggle switch are not here yet is now at the bottom picture, however the mount is finished, this is built from a piece of aluminium plate, M6 holes and screw nuts to the bottom of the box. turns out very solid.

As always if you’d like to thank me for creating these tutorials, guides and tips. please click on donate button on the right column to help keep this running, Thank you.

Overall time taken for this project is about 2 hours spread over 3 days. It has been a fun process Hope this helps you somehow :)

Marcus

As promised , here is the video in action

+++++++++NEW UPDATE  30th JAN 2012+++++++++

Since I have went ahead and ordered an SLI-PRO from Leo Bodnar, I’ve managed to re-vamped this box to include an extra 2 holes for the rotary switch  to adjust the SLI-PRO screen. I will keep this updated.

Here’s a bit more integration with the SLI PRO and Bodnar’s 12 pos Switch implemented.

New Clubsport converter kit for HumanRacing GT Chassis overview

New Designed Fanatec Clubsport Pedal converter plate for HumanRacing GT Chassis.

The Kit consist of
A. 1 Top plate (Smaller)
B. Bottom plate (Larger)
C. 4 x M8 Hex Bolts and Nuts
D. 4 x M6 Hex bolts

I have just recently received a new converter plate for my GT Chassis from humanRacing, at first I honestly wasn’t expecting much from a converter plate for the CSP, some of you may even think , “what’s the big deal about this converter plate”, well today im going to describe to you some of the benefits and difference as to why this is so much better comparing to the first version below:

Predecessor Clubsport converter Kit (Square design with 4 holes on each plate catering the need of mounting Clubsport pedal to the Gt Chassis

A. As you can see the first version is rectangular in shape and all 4 corners sticking out from the chassis base, the new design have rounded less protrusion, but also what you can’t tell from the picture is the weight.

B. The new design is about a third of it’s predecessor’s weight, with the hollow centre( see pic below) it reduces so much weight and with it’s contour design it maximises area of usage ( clubsport pedal footprint) yet minimises foot print of the actual converter plate and most importantly maintaining the same strength with only a third of the weight.

Top plate (New and improved design)

C. It’s made from 4.5mm high-grade brushed aluminium plate that is laser cut and drilled to precision.

I measure the thickness of the plate and this is what I came up with, 4.77mm thick.

Bottom plate

Contour design making this a much natural looking accesories.

D. Not only that it looks so much cooler than it’s predecessor, The hole of the plate fits perfectly with both the M8s and M6s without the need of the Nuts securing it, nevertheless the whole kit comes complete with the nuts and washers, this makes the plate so much easier and faster to instal without the need of using hex wrench to secure them, the plate’s screw holes comes threaded.

Ready to mount the Fanatec Clubsport Pedal

Installation is a breeze, all the holes lined up perfectly, 4xM6s from the bottom of GT Chassis screw straight to the plate and , 4 x M8s for securing the Clubsport Pedal.

With design such as this, the new plate actually reduces the amount of the protrusion corners from the base of the Chassis and as a result, the Clubsport pedal felt more as one(unify) to the GT Chassis now than ever, not only that I can hardly tell if there is a plate underneath, as the one before is much easier to spot.

more unify design.

All that little details above may seem too small to matter, however it all makes installing it, using it and looking at it much much easier, all those are the results of great designing and careful planning which should not be taken lightly.

Pros:
Design and appearance compliments the Chassis and the Clubsport Pedal
Felt much firmer and more secure
Lighter in weight with same strength
Ready to install threaded screw holes, making this a hassle free to do.

Cons:
None really

In the future when Fanatec finally shipped their CSR Elite pedal to australia, with the inverter kit. this plate will be a godsend as I can finally have inverted pedal on the Chassis if I decide to get the new pedal.
However for you GT Chassis owner out there that is planning or thinking of getting a CSP , CSR Elite pedal or the CSR Pedal , this converter kit is a tiny factor but is also very essential part.

I want to thank HumanRacing for creating and sending these plates to me, little things like this that makes me certain that not only they answer to the customer’s request but also improving the product to another level than just a bare minimum.

As always if you’d like to thank me for creating these tutorials, guides, tips and/or reviews. please click on donate button on the right column to help keep this running, Thank you.

Marcus

HumanRacing GT Chassis Iridium with Clubsport Pedal

As promised, the custom seat and Fanatec Clubsport Pedal converter plate was air freighted to Sydney and finally arrived here after couple of days and I must say Im very impress with the quality of the paint job, as always.I’d like to use this chance to thank Human Racing again for making and sending these all the way from Thailand to Australia.

Please enjoy these pictures below.
PS: HumanRacing also have keyboard and Mouse stand for this Chassis, and I am looking forward to test them out once available.

Here’ s a bit of after/before picture

Before and After

while still using G27 pedal I managed to take couple of shots

Plate converter during assembly (4 long M6 hex screws are also included in the package)

After Assembly

Final Results

Must admit they do looks nice together. (still a bit of cable clutter)

looking a bit like a space car isn’t it

Time for me to test drive this beauty

Here’s the Video of CSP +G27 in action (bit of fun project to say thank you to HumanRacing)

As always if you’d like to thank me for creating these tutorials, guides, tips and/or reviews. please click on donate button on the right column to help keep this running, Thank you.

I Hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as I have.
Thank you for reading.
Marcus

G27 Simple Usage review

The Whole Package
Box, manual and disc
Steering wheel
Pedal (1-3/4 size of DFGT) felt really big and heavy
Gearbox
Small power supply
All the base of pedal, steering wheel and gearbox can be screw mounted if needed (require 6mm screw with a thread pitch of 1)

The Steering Wheel
Very Sturdy, felt strong, built from hand stitched leather and Stainless steel.
shifter pedal on steering wheel felt really responsive, you now can put your hand at 10 and 2 O’clock position and still able to shift easily

The positives about this wheel:
The feeling: The wheel felt really nice for gripping and smooth enough.
Wheel rim at 11” from stainless steel.
RPM /shift indicator and shifter pedal function really well.

Strong and sturdy
The clamping system for the base of the wheel knob pops up to make turns easier and after securing the base to the desk it can be pressed down.

The cable management rail under the base

Almost no sound when turning
The wheel is slammed about 30-40 degree in rapid movement to drift , Force feedback felt softer , more precise and the mechanical wheel is very quiet while turning.
With GT5 the 6 red buttons on the wheel is not programmable (yet) with other games like F1 2010 it apparently is.

GearBox

Power indicator
No Clicking sound like driving Force GT or G25.
Reverse can be a pain where you have to press the gear knob down and shift to gear 6.
Functions really well in GT5 and works well with clutch
D-pad and four black buttons on top works like the DS3 buttons and D-pad

The Base

Big, its very big and comfortable to rest you feet on.
Clutch , Brake and Gas pedal built from Stainless steel, the pressure on each varies.
Gas being the softest and brake is the hardest , clutch felt like clutch in real car.
(there are tutorial online how how to reverse mount this in your cockpit if need to) the whole base can be taken apart and mounted into the cockpit
As a comparison, I use a standard PS3 Controller as a measurements.

Gameplay Impression

Overall Initial Impression when using this with GT5
I can’t seem to replicate dead zone that some are experiencing with GT5. ie they don’t seem to exist for me.
Pedals, steering wheel felt really precise and strong built, however since the buttons on the steering wheel is not programable in GT5(yet), when I try to drift my left hand have to let the steering wheel go to press circle on the gear box, i guess it’s just like pulling e-brake on real car. (now I have to train my brain to re-learn everything)

The Force feedback is precise : Meaning During drift when shifting the weight of the car to left or right, the wheel felt more controllable, and the shift of weight felt more precise.

The 6-speed H shifter and Clutch all works really well with GT5 , when clutch is pressed the shift indicator in GT5 will grayed out to show that it is pressed and you can’t accelerate while pressed.

Shifting from gear 5 – 3 with H-Shifter sounded different in game and it gives different results, depending on speed some cars twisted and slide right away (when decelerate without pressing the brake pedal)

Coming from DFGT with no clutch , clutch pedal can be a nuisance at first ( if you are like me braking with left foot in DFGT (instead of using heel-toe) Often as a reflect I accidentally pressed the clutch instead of brake.
I will post more with other driving games in future and cockpit mount.

Some video I made for fun (After I hard mount these G27 on a Rig) with buttkicker, enjoy.


As always if you’d like to thank me for creating these tutorials, guides, tips and/or reviews. please click on donate button on the right column to help keep this running, Thank you.

Marcus