Next level racing HF8 haptic seat pad & DCS

[Dogmanbird]

 

I've built a few projects using this combo and have been very happy so far. I've heard some reports that the 4 ohm version of the pucks have burnt out, but nothing of the 8 and 16 so far. I'm using the 8 ohm

Pucks from Amazon took 18 days to deliver to Aus. The amps were local and only took 4 days. 

https://www.amazon.com.au/Dayton-Audio-TT25-8-Tactile-Transducer/dp/B08LZW3RQL/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dayton&qid=1680764967&sr=8-2

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/392724912794?var=661630294850

[Rikk]

This is what I bought, seems more than enough attached to my herman miller chair.

 

 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Rikk

[aleader]

9 hours ago, Dogmanbird said:

 

I've built a few projects using this combo and have been very happy so far. I've heard some reports that the 4 ohm version of the pucks have burnt out, but nothing of the 8 and 16 so far. I'm using the 8 ohm

Pucks from Amazon took 18 days to deliver to Aus. The amps were local and only took 4 days. 

https://www.amazon.com.au/Dayton-Audio-TT25-8-Tactile-Transducer/dp/B08LZW3RQL/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dayton&qid=1680764967&sr=8-2

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/392724912794?var=661630294850

 

1 hour ago, Rikk said:

This is what I bought, seems more than enough attached to my herman miller chair.

 

 

 

Thanks both of you for the info.  I'm going to have a look and see where I could mount them directly on the back of the car seat (may have to cut it open).  Otherwise it will have to be directly on the wood base of the rig, I just don't know if this will be sufficient to transfer up into the chair (may need something like a Buttkicker Gamer Plus for that). 

I've also looked at the BST-1 bass shaker to mount directly on the base, but again, I'm not sure if that will be enough.  The Gamer Plus says from 75w to 250w max power, but how does that directly compare to the 50W BST-1?  I'm assuming you can't compare them directly like that? 

Do these things transfer better into wood, or aluminum (like most rigs seem to be made from)?

[Rikk]

Just to give you an idea, this how I bodged them onto my chair for testing and they work supebly. I'd think as long as the are solidly mounted and coupled to your chair theyd be fine

 

edit, sorry about the formatting, no clue what happened there and i cant change it

Edited April 6, 2023 by Rikk

[corb]

Would this HF8 work with DCS using the USB cable and Simshaker software? Or do I have to use 3,5 mm cables? 

[Rikk]

Worked fine for me with just the usb and SSS

[Mars Exulte]

On 4/3/2023 at 12:04 AM, Dogmanbird said:

Hi Mars Exulte, any chance you are running an older version of simshaker? I'm wondering if the latest release intentionally blocks the HF8?

 

 I am running the latest version of SSA. It works fine, you must select Forcefeel instead of JetSeat. Sometimes I have to click "restart" in order for it to refresh and recognise. There is is a helpful "test motors" button on the same screen. Make sure they are working before you start the game. Otherwise I've had no issues.

1 hour ago, corb said:

Would this HF8 work with DCS using the USB cable and Simshaker software? Or do I have to use 3,5 mm cables? 

Yes, it works fine with USB and SSA.

[Mars Exulte]

On 4/3/2023 at 12:46 PM, corbu1 said:

I have ordered the HF-8 two days ago and will get it about April 17th.

I‘m looking forward to delivery and curios how it will work with helos in DCS.

 Shakers (whether buttkickers or a jetseat) help immensely with feeling what is happening with your aircraft. You can feel turbulence (from light bumps to heavier kicks), vibrations from deployed gear or battledamage, gunfire and weapon releases, engine RPMs, shudder during hard turns. Everything. If a good PC, simulator, and controls take you 80% of the way to flight, haptic feedback of this sort takes you another 10-15% of the way until all you're really lacking is inertia (g forces). On that note, I recommend disabling the "g-feeling" selection as it is unrealistic and honestly distracting because of how it works. You get shaking and turbulence when appropriate during hard maneuvers and disrupted airflow, but an aircraft does not have off-axis vibrations while pulling Gs like SSA does.

 

-edit general impression

It works more or less identically to the JetSeat, although it has a slightly different feel in some ways (to be expected, considering it is indeed different gear), and is much more comfortable. I was concerned the thick padding would interfere with the sensations from the motors but it does not. It also uses a regular USA plug, if you're from here that means you can get away from any clunky adapters from Euro-US. The control panel itself is much nicer than the JetSeat's as well. I rate the HF8 10/10 and an excellent choice to replace the JetSeat even if you already have one as I did.

Edited April 6, 2023 by Mars Exulte

[corbu1]

vor 15 Minuten schrieb Mars Exulte:

 Shakers (whether buttkickers or a jetseat) help immensely with feeling what is happening with your aircraft. You can feel turbulence (from light bumps to heavier kicks), vibrations from deployed gear or battledamage, gunfire and weapon releases, engine RPMs, shudder during hard turns. Everything. If a good PC, simulator, and controls take you 80% of the way to flight, haptic feedback of this sort takes you another 10-15% of the way until all you're really lacking is inertia (g forces). On that note, I recommend disabling the "g-feeling" selection as it is unrealistic and honestly distracting because of how it works. You get shaking and turbulence when appropriate during hard maneuvers and disrupted airflow, but an aircraft does not have off-axis vibrations while pulling Gs like SSA does.

 

-edit general impression

It works more or less identically to the JetSeat, although it has a slightly different feel in some ways (to be expected, considering it is indeed different gear), and is much more comfortable. I was concerned the thick padding would interfere with the sensations from the motors but it does not. It also uses a regular USA plug, if you're from here that means you can get away from any clunky adapters from Euro-US. The control panel itself is much nicer than the JetSeat's as well. I rate the HF8 10/10 and an excellent choice to replace the JetSeat even if you already have one as I did.

 

Thanks @Mars Exulte for your detailed feedback. Really appreciated!!

I‘m really looking forward to the HF-8. Got message today that it is on the way and I will get it thursday next week. A few days earlier as expected.

[Dogmanbird]

This is was a cheap gaming chair stripped down that I attached them to. There's cushions to go on top and back. Puck 5 and 6 are attached to boards that sit under the joystick and the rudder pedals

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Dogmanbird

[wielxp]

On 3/28/2023 at 12:08 AM, TWC_Alamo said:

Is anyone getting the following error when running the NLR HF8 with the Sim Shaker Aviator software? 

When the error occurs, the seat stops working, but immediately resumes working when I click "okay".  I seems to occur about every 15 to 20 minutes and is really annoying while in VR.  

 

Yes i got the same message. I use the 2.6.2.0 beta . Also working again after i click the message. Very strange.....

[aleader]

Just to be clear, if I were to buy the HF8, all I need for DCS is the Simshaker software (free)?  It's only with a Buttkicker or home built that I would need the extra paid add-on module?

[rapid]

1 hour ago, aleader said:

Just to be clear, if I were to buy the HF8, all I need for DCS is the Simshaker software (free)?  It's only with a Buttkicker or home built that I would need the extra paid add-on module?

Sounds about right

[Mars Exulte]

8 hours ago, aleader said:

Just to be clear, if I were to buy the HF8, all I need for DCS is the Simshaker software (free)?  It's only with a Buttkicker or home built that I would need the extra paid add-on module?

Correct on all counts. SimShaker Aviators is the only thing you need.

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

On 4/10/2023 at 6:23 PM, aleader said:

Just to be clear, if I were to buy the HF8, all I need for DCS is the Simshaker software (free)?  It's only with a Buttkicker or home built that I would need the extra paid add-on module?

That´s correct sir

[PharaohSteve]

Something is better than nothing right? I'll bite the bullet and should get it by Friday. 

I'll report back with some feedback as an user who currently has no haptic feedback devices.

[wielxp]

HF8 support has informed me today (04-12-2023) with this.

We hope this email finds you well and that you are enjoying your Next Level Racing products. We are writing to provide you with an update on the integration of DCS World into HFS, our haptic platform software.
Our development team is working hard to implement this integration, but unfortunately, it is taking longer than we initially anticipated. We understand that many of you are eagerly waiting for this feature and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. We are still approximately 6 weeks out from full DCS support.
In the meantime, we would like to invite you to try Simshaker for Aviators, which is a great alternative that provides excellent support for DCS World. This software offers an immersive and realistic experience for flight simulation enthusiasts and we believe you will enjoy it.

So we have to wait

[corbu1]

Well, it‘s great they are working on integration into DCS, which I believe can be good market for them.

I got my HF8 yesterday and I can say he is right. It works great with SSA!

[aleader]

13 hours ago, wielxp said:

HF8 support has informed me today (04-12-2023) with this.

We hope this email finds you well and that you are enjoying your Next Level Racing products. We are writing to provide you with an update on the integration of DCS World into HFS, our haptic platform software.
Our development team is working hard to implement this integration, but unfortunately, it is taking longer than we initially anticipated. We understand that many of you are eagerly waiting for this feature and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. We are still approximately 6 weeks out from full DCS support.
In the meantime, we would like to invite you to try Simshaker for Aviators, which is a great alternative that provides excellent support for DCS World. This software offers an immersive and realistic experience for flight simulation enthusiasts and we believe you will enjoy it.

So we have to wait
 

I hope they get it right with DCS.  From what I've seen the racing software they provide is hot garbage and everyone uses SimHUB instead.  I would also like to use this for driving games.  I have a Playseat Challenge that gathers dust because it's such a pain to switch out with my sim chair (mainly the space it all takes), but I may be more motivated if I can switch this seat between them.  It's either that or I'll add a NL Wheel Stand 2.0 for a semi-permanent setup, and then I could add the DIY setup with a couple BST-1 shakers.  Maybe I'll wait and see how the DCS software fares first.

[PharaohSteve]

On 4/11/2023 at 7:11 PM, PharaohSteve said:

Something is better than nothing right? I'll bite the bullet and should get it by Friday. 

I'll report back with some feedback as an user who currently has no haptic feedback devices.

 

I was wrong, sometimes nothing can be better than something. I'll be returning this ASAP.

 

- Not comfortable on your behind, I'm wearing denim jeans currently and only tested it for about an hour and my behind hurts already. You can feel the pucks even through the material.

 

- Vibration doesn't feel dynamic enough to add to your immersion. Yes it vibrates according to what you're doing - bank right and the vibration is on your right side etc, but it's not enough to trick my brain. I know the DCS implementation is not mature yet and requires SimShacker for aviators, but even MFS didn't blow me away.

 

I won't try another one of these types, I see now that I'll only be happy with something that vibrates my entire chair instead of specific spots on my body.

 

[Mars Exulte]

5 hours ago, PharaohSteve said:

 

I was wrong, sometimes nothing can be better than something. I'll be returning this ASAP.

 

- Not comfortable on your behind, I'm wearing denim jeans currently and only tested it for about an hour and my behind hurts already. You can feel the pucks even through the material.

 It's a lot better than the original JetSeat :p This at least has some padding. You can put additional cushions on it though, it will still be ''feelable''.

5 hours ago, PharaohSteve said:

- Vibration doesn't feel dynamic enough to add to your immersion.

 That depends on the sim and how it's set up.

5 hours ago, PharaohSteve said:

Yes it vibrates according to what you're doing - bank right and the vibration is on your right side

 That is something that can be configured. I disable that, as it is unrealistic.

5 hours ago, PharaohSteve said:

I know the DCS implementation is not mature yet and requires SimShacker for aviators

 Which is a completely different deal, if you weren't using SSA. SSA ties into the physics engine directly. If you aren't using that, you just have a vibrating cushion and that's it.

5 hours ago, PharaohSteve said:

but even MFS didn't blow me away.

 It never will because AFAIK the majority of aircraft in that sim lack the physics modeling this is designed for. Again, vibrating cushion most the time.

5 hours ago, PharaohSteve said:

I won't try another one of these types, I see now that I'll only be happy with something that vibrates my entire chair instead of specific spots on my body.

  If it's configured properly it should be most/all the motors active and vibrating together, including for most effects. It's highly configurable in SSA. Again, if you didn't use SSA you did indeed miss 95% of the point.

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

20 hours ago, PharaohSteve said:

 

I was wrong, sometimes nothing can be better than something. I'll be returning this ASAP.

 

- Not comfortable on your behind, I'm wearing denim jeans currently and only tested it for about an hour and my behind hurts already. You can feel the pucks even through the material.

 

- Vibration doesn't feel dynamic enough to add to your immersion. Yes it vibrates according to what you're doing - bank right and the vibration is on your right side etc, but it's not enough to trick my brain. I know the DCS implementation is not mature yet and requires SimShacker for aviators, but even MFS didn't blow me away.

 

I won't try another one of these types, I see now that I'll only be happy with something that vibrates my entire chair instead of specific spots on my body.

 

if your whole chair vibrates, how could you figure out from what wing that GBU just dropped? or the different landing gear doors? or the center mounted a10 gun VS side mounted F14 or f16 gun? or what side your huey door gunners are shooting?
some "stereo" effects suit very well the seat pad idea. Others, like touchdown or ground rolling, are better fit for a whole shaking system like a  buttkicker or single mounted bass shaker.

[PharaohSteve]

18 hours ago, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

if your whole chair vibrates, how could you figure out from what wing that GBU just dropped? or the different landing gear doors? or the center mounted a10 gun VS side mounted F14 or f16 gun? or what side your huey door gunners are shooting?
some "stereo" effects suit very well the seat pad idea. Others, like touchdown or ground rolling, are better fit for a whole shaking system like a  buttkicker or single mounted bass shaker.

 

I didn't mean necessarily that I want my entire chair to shake - I mean that I need feedback across the entire chair instead of just localized vibrations. 

 

[Chewmann]

I got my HF8 in yesterday and for the life of me I can't seem to get it to work.  Normally, I have no issues with this kind of stuff.  For F sake, I'm an electrical engineer...

I plugged in through the USB (directly into the PC, no hub), applied power (power LED comes on and I can see it changes colors when I turn the encoder), loaded and launched the SimShaker Aviator s/w.  However, I cannot get the seat to vibrate at all.  I tried the massage chair button, tried changing values for the individual settings both in DCS and not in it.  Na'da!

What am I missing?  Any suggestions?   

Edited April 18, 2023 by Chewmann

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

28 minutes ago, Chewmann said:

I got my HF8 in yesterday and for the life of me I can't seem to get it to work.  Normally, I have no issues with this kind of stuff.  For F sake, I'm an electrical engineer...

I plugged in through the USB (directly into the PC, no hub), applied power (power LED comes on and I can see it changes colors when I turn the encoder), loaded and launched the SimShaker Aviator s/w.  However, I cannot get the seat to vibrate at all.  I tried the massage chair button, tried changing values for the individual settings both in DCS and not in it.  Na'da!

What am I missing?  Any suggestions?   

 

please share your Simshaker for Aviator settings tab, pay close attention first to the output mode.