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1. Diy Gated Usb Shifter Drive

Hi,

I'm using a G27 wheel and I'm kinda happy with both the paddles and the H shifter. However, I'd like to add a stand-alone sequential shifter to this combo. (I'm not interested in rebuilding my current shifter)

See also:.y.Gun Motor Carriages inAnother place to look is in the section of the.In this chart of towed artillery, click on the photo link to go to the page of photos and information for the specific gun. 105mm gun.

Are there any good USB sequential shifters out there that would work with the G27 and its existing shifters? I don't want to buy a new wheel or pedals or a H/seq combo, just a sequential.

I've been looking at this but it feels a bit like overkill: http://www.amazon.com/Thrustmaster-Add-On-Gearbox-Shifter-playstation-4/dp/B00MAXOTB6/

Any ideas? :)

This is a project that I have wanted to do for a year or so but never got around to doing. A couple weeks ago I spent a Sunday putting together this prototype.
Materials used:

scrap wood
$5 usb gamepad
$5 microswitches
$5-$12 poly cutting board
$1 cabinet door clasps
artificial cork
$1 spring
some L brackets
22 awg wire
misc hardware

I built the base out of some scrap wood I had laying around. A few L brackets keep everything together and sturdy. The H-gate is made from a plastic cutting board I got as a set of three from Target for $12. They had singles but I actually needed some new cutting boards anyway. I made the shift gate pattern using CAD. After marking the cutting board it was a long process of freehand Dremel-ing. I wish I had access to a laser cutter.
I got a request for the H gate template so here it is:HERE
The shift lever is a 7' bolt threaded into an artificial cork that is pressed into a spring that is bolted to the base of the shifter. *whew* This setup give a lot of adjustability for changing how much play the lever has at the hinge point. Push the cork further down for a more solid feel and bring it up for a little more spring. The cork stays put once you thread the bolt into it.
The part of this build that I think makes it work so well wasn't my idea. I was searching around the internet a while ago and saw the idea for the center mechanism on a sim racing website. I'm not sure if that person ever ended up making a shifter with it. I can't find a link otherwise I would give credit. This person's idea was to use two cabinet door clasps to accept the gear shift lever. These are mounted to a raised platform that pivots from side to side. This method allows for a much simplified shifter that doesn't need a single clasping mechanism for every gear. It works great. When I build the next version I am going to lower the platform just a bit to give more leverage so that shifts are a tiny easier.
Gotta love eBay! I found a $5 usb gamepad that shipped from the US. I scavenged the board out of that. Luckily I got a gamepad that shows up in Windows automatically and doesn't need drivers. I connected the wires from each gear to the corresponding button number of the gamepad. This would make it work with the shifter utility from Act Labs with a little editting. Instructions can be found HERE. I also ordered some microswitches, $5 for 10.
At first I used some hacked up safety pins as contacts for each shifter position while I waited for the microswitches to arrive from China. I mashed the ground wire from the controller between the cork and the bolt. When the bolt made contact with the pins it made a button press. This solution worked great except the safety pins didn't spring back to their original position after a while. With some real springs this method would probably be a really good way to go.
When the microswitches arrived I wired them up and they worked great.
This shifter works really well. You can slam the gear level from one gear to the next without fear of breaking it. The shifts give a nice positive clank feeling that reminds me of driving my long lost Saab 9000 Turbo.
WATCH VIDEO ON YOUTUBE
I've got more plans for this project a little later.
Here's a pic of where I race:
FOR people having trouble with Act Labs ALShift software:
Part 1

Diy Gated Usb Shifter Drive

- after plugging in the shifter go to the 'start menu' and then 'devices and printers'
- right click on the gamepad (or whatever you used) icon and click 'game controller settings'
- make sure the gamepad is highlighted and then click 'properties'
- shift through the gears making sure all the buttons are lighting up. Ideally you will have gear one wired up to 'button 1' of the gamepad and so on with reverse being 'button 8' if you have a 8 position shifter.
- close all these windows and move to part 2
Part 2
- in the start menu type in 'regedit' and click enter
- click 'Edit' and then 'Find..'
- Type in 'OEMName' and click 'Find Next'
- mine was found in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMControlSet002ControlMediaPropertiesPrivatePropertiesJoystickOEMVID_0079&PID_0011
- Double click 'OEMName' and enter 'ACT LABS GPL USB Shifter' (no quotes) into the field and click okay and close Registry Editor
Part 3
- Launch ALShift.exe
- You should see 'GPL USB Shifter' under 'Devices'
- Click 'Settings'. I use Standard layout and 7th for highest gear
- I use 'Generic Support' with the following settings:
- Now click 'File' and then 'Status Info..'
- Shift through the gears and you should see the fruits of your labor
- you can add a shortcut for ALShift.exe to the startup folder in your start menu to have it load automatically when you start you computer.
I got a request for the H gate template so here it is:HERE
There was also a question about where to solder to on the USB gamepad board. There's a pic below showing the locations. Just follow the board traces around to find the one that runs through all the buttons. That's the ground and you don't want to solder to that. Solder to the opposite trace. The gamepad board I used had handy bare copper circles on the traces for each of the buttons that made soldering easier. Green is where you want to solder and red is a no-no place.