There seems to have emerged three different (well, really two I guess) wheel
technologies.
1) Game port (aka. linear input volage signal)
2) Serial port
3) USB port (faster serial)
Most high end wheels are using the game port interface. ECC competition,
TSW etc. As is my own wheel (a home made monster which actually has been
really good for Papy nascar sims).
ActLabs RS was a serial device and now the newer units including their force
feedback device are USB.
I would like to get a thread going on the pros and cons to the various
technologies and perhaps also the benefits of each in different sims and
using different operating systems.
Personally I am using a home made beast with a full bearing steering shaft,
13" Grant wheel, convential (but adjustable) bungy cord type resistance and
a gear driven potentiometer allowing about 400 degrees of steering. This is
coupled to an old T2 pedal set rewired to for dual-axis support. I have
tried many different potentiometer over the years and settled with a high
resistance device (1 Megohm) since it seemed to get my car to turn in better
at the high speed tracks in N2/N3. The high resistance device has caused
problems in some sims, but has worked fine for Papy sims that support
calibration. I recently gave up on Windows 98 and am running everything in
Windows 2000 now. I need W2k for work and the dual-boot setup has so many
limitations (like no striped drives)and causes a major installation hassle
(installing apps for both OS's). In N4 I notice that this setup produces a
lot of vibration in the virtual steering wheel. I am not sure if this is a
sampling issue with the game port in Windows 2000, the high resistance
potentiometer or something about the N4 demo. I have always noticed a
little movement in the numbers during calibration, but it was less than 1%.
So comments about USB, Serial and game port devices welcome. Also
experiences with Windows 2000 would be of interest to me, particularly
experiences with different type of controller technology. For example, is
USB a big advantage over a game port device in W2k.
I have been using a Thrustmaster NASCAR Pro gameport wheel for the last
year. My experience with it (and a homemade wheel) is that the pots get
dirty and need peroioic cleaning (flush them with WD 40). I got a Logitech
force feedback wheel for Christmas and, after tuning it (easily done) like
it better. It is a USB device. I can't yet speak for the long term, but it
sure seems to hold it's calibration far better than the wheels with pots
and , with tuning, it's more precise. In N3 I would have to cal the old
ones (pots) several times to get a consistant feel. Plus the FF really adds
to the sim. The faster you go the harder it is to turn. In Viper I feel
the bumps. I've only had the FF wheel for a couple of days and am going to
give the old Thrustmaster away. That's my 2 pennys worth.
Tom Hansen <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:VBd26.136891$[email hidden]...
> There seems to have emerged three different (well, really two I guess)wheel
force
> feedback device are USB.
>
> I would like to get a thread going on the pros and cons to the various
> technologies and perhaps also the benefits of each in different sims and
> using different operating systems.
>
