Next level racing HF8 haptic seat pad & DCS

[rapid]

1 hour 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?   

 

Don't forget to set it to force Feel and all settings are default "50" so may or may not "feel" anything depending on what you fly so turn them up and work your way back from there for fine tunning.

[Chewmann]

2 hours ago, rapid said:

Don't forget to set it to force Feel and all settings are default "50" so may or may not "feel" anything depending on what you fly so turn them up and work your way back from there for fine tunning.

That was it!!  Now on to adjusting the settings.  Thanks for the help!

[schurem]

I got the thing (HF8) to work, but how do I send certain effects to certain motors? I'd like the G and stall buzzers to be different.. Seems the upper motors are hardly used at all in the default profile. In the Simshaker Start there's an option called UWVeditor that throws a bunch of error messages on my computer and does nothing. 

[charts100]

Got my HF-8 today, and thanks to this thread, all working well. Cheers . Had to find a new solution after two motors started to fail on my JetSeat. These haptic feedback pads work so well for me and the added immersion in VR - it's a must have!

[TimSell75]

Also got a hf8 after my jetpad broke unfortunately. Only thing that is a letdown is, that in the A10 firing the gun would only give a short vibration at the beginning, while with my jetpad it was a constant shake as long as you pulled the trigger. Anybody else has this problem or knows a fix? I am Using SSA latest release for the hf8

Edited April 29, 2023 by TimSell75

[rapid]

6 hours ago, TimSell75 said:

Also got a hf8 after my jetpad broke unfortunately. Only thing that is a letdown is, that in the A10 firing the gun would only give a short vibration at the beginning, while with my jetpad it was a constant shake as long as you pulled the trigger. Anybody else has this problem or knows a fix? I am Using SSA latest release for the hf8

 

Yup mine does the same when firing the gun.

[Thanatos31]

ok team- I need some help. 
I had everything working with Windows10. after an Update to Windows 11 the HF8 is not properly recognized anymore. 

I've got to the point that it is "seen" by windows as a "COM4 Serial USB device" and it also gets a green "OK" status in SSA when I unplug and replug it; but it seems like SSA cannot communicate with the pad and it basically disconnects immediately. 

I believe there must be an update on how the USB/COM ports communicate with the software, maybe its a "service" issure or a stupid checkmark that has to be set somewhere and I dont know where / how. 

Does anyone have an idea where / how to potentially sanitize Windows and reset this? Is there setting that allows SSA to communicate with the pads? 

[GrandG]

I bought an HF 8 in april and tested it for the two weeks I had until the return period ended. 

At the end of the two weeks I was hesitating. On the one hand, it offers a good bang for the buck, on the other hand, the comfort while flying was definitely an issue and the "ride height" was not optimal since I use a razer tartarus wich is mounted on a flip down table that is just above my left thigh and was now constantly resting on my leg. 

I then decided to do something radical.

I took the HF 8 apart and stripped it down to just the shaker units and control box. I then cut holes in the foam of my seat cushions, integrated the shakers and wiring and made some modifications to the cushion covers to house the system. 

Now I have regained the comfort of my rig with the advantage of having the shakers.

I know that the warranty may be an issue in case of a malfunction but for me there were really only two choices: sending it back or modding it to fit my rig.

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

1 hour ago, GrandG said:

I bought an HF 8 in april and tested it for the two weeks I had until the return period ended. 

At the end of the two weeks I was hesitating. On the one hand, it offers a good bang for the buck, on the other hand, the comfort while flying was definitely an issue and the "ride height" was not optimal since I use a razer tartarus wich is mounted on a flip down table that is just above my left thigh and was now constantly resting on my leg. 

I then decided to do something radical.

I took the HF 8 apart and stripped it down to just the shaker units and control box. I then cut holes in the foam of my seat cushions, integrated the shakers and wiring and made some modifications to the cushion covers to house the system. 

Now I have regained the comfort of my rig with the advantage of having the shakers.

I know that the warranty may be an issue in case of a malfunction but for me there were really only two choices: sending it back or modding it to fit my rig.

I have the same temptation for my racing rig.

[GrandG]

15 hours ago, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

I have the same temptation for my racing rig.

Go for it. It's definitely worth the risk of losing warranty 

[corbu1]

Well, that‘s defintely a radical step, but if it works for you it‘s fine….mission accomplished

[Miles Vorkosigan]

Just purchased an H8F. I already have six Aura bass shakers and 6DoF motion but I have to say it is worth the purchase. Works flawlessly with SimShaker for Aviators. I have to get used to the feel of the pad on top of my simpit chair (GT Omega XL RS) but I think I will be able to. 

[nazradu]

I received HF8 today. Took me an hour to make the decission to send it back to Amazon. The thickness has thrown off my seating position. The material made my ass and back sweat in minutes and the most important thing, it's useless for helos. It just rambles constantly and you don't get additional information about your flight state. Might be cool for fixed wing, but for choppers it is a waste of money.

Edited June 17, 2023 by nazradu

[thunderbolt83]

I need some informations, I had already a buttkicker on my simrig but at the moment I use for flight a "desk rig", if in the future I'll go with hf8+bk what I need? 

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

16 hours ago, nazradu said:

I received HF8 today. Took me an hour to make the decission to send it back to Amazon. The thickness has thrown off my seating position. The material made my ass and back sweat in minutes and the most important thing, it's useless for helos. It just rambles constantly and you don't get additional information about your flight state. Might be cool for fixed wing, but for choppers it is a waste of money.

 

Did you even bother to lower the rotor whirl setting? 

13 minutes ago, thunderbolt83 said:

I need some informations, I had already a buttkicker on my simrig but at the moment I use for flight a "desk rig", if in the future I'll go with hf8+bk what I need? 

Buying the hf8 and install the free software. 

How do you control the Buttkicker software? 

[thunderbolt83]

15 minuti fa, Ala12Rv-Tundra ha scritto:

 

Buying the hf8 and install the free software. 

How do you control the Buttkicker software? 

So ssa for hf8 if I use it only, but for the bk (now I use the Buttkicker only in driving sim with simhub, but unfortunately don't support dcs) if use the two together I need ssa paid version? 

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

11 minutes ago, thunderbolt83 said:

So ssa for hf8 if I use it only, but for the bk (now I use the Buttkicker only in driving sim with simhub, but unfortunately don't support dcs) if use the two together I need ssa paid version? 

Yes you need to buy simshaker sound module to tune the effects on the Buttkicker

[nazradu]

On 6/18/2023 at 11:32 AM, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

Did you even bother to lower the rotor whirl setting?

 

Yes. Tuning down the effect was the First thing I did, but as I said, in helos you don't get the information of your flight state like in the Spitfire for example. In a helicopter you cant tell if you are in a drift, climbing or decending fast and those are the infos I expect from a device like that. I was thinking about writing my own software, but then I can also use an arduino and some cheap rumble motors for less than half the money. The lack of comfort was the killer after all.

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

11 minutes ago, nazradu said:

Yes. Tuning down the effect was the First thing I did, but as I said, in helos you don't get the information of your flight state like in the Spitfire for example. In a helicopter you cant tell if you are in a drift, climbing or decending fast and those are the infos I expect from a device like that. I was thinking about writing my own software, but then I can also use an arduino and some cheap rumble motors for less than half the money. The lack of comfort was the killer after all.

Fair enough you tried. Maybe the motors go from 0 to max value only under a certain amp value, so the threshold is very limited or virtually nonexistent, like on-off rumbling motors.
The info you expect, I don´t know any device able to provide that. Maybe 6DOF platforms, but that´s a whole different animal, especially the pricetag.
The arduino and rumble motors is the way we use for simracing and especially pedals for TC and ABS for example using free software SimHub, but no idea how you can transfer that to flight sims.
Interestengly enough, SimHub supports War Thunder.

[nazradu]

1 hour ago, Ala12Rv-Tundra said:

Fair enough you tried. Maybe the motors go from 0 to max value only under a certain amp value, so the threshold is very limited or virtually nonexistent, like on-off rumbling motors.
The info you expect, I don´t know any device able to provide that. Maybe 6DOF platforms, but that´s a whole different animal, especially the pricetag.
The arduino and rumble motors is the way we use for simracing and especially pedals for TC and ABS for example using free software SimHub, but no idea how you can transfer that to flight sims.
Interestengly enough, SimHub supports War Thunder.

My first attempt with diy force feedback was to write an adroid app that takes in a feed of info that you get from DCS API. I did build a simple G-Force rumbler but a Mobile Phone rumbler is to weak and I was not sattisfied with the result. I am pretty sure you can get vertikal speed from that API. If the HF8 would be more comftable I would have sticked with it as hardware platform, but now I think more about integrating the motors into the cussioning of the seat.

[Ala12Rv-Tundra]

9 hours ago, nazradu said:

My first attempt with diy force feedback was to write an adroid app that takes in a feed of info that you get from DCS API. I did build a simple G-Force rumbler but a Mobile Phone rumbler is to weak and I was not sattisfied with the result. I am pretty sure you can get vertikal speed from that API. If the HF8 would be more comftable I would have sticked with it as hardware platform, but now I think more about integrating the motors into the cussioning of the seat.

Simshaker aviators reads vrs effect but I don't know if that's exactly what you are looking for. 

From my experience flying huey, hip and hind, it works lol

Maybe you can find a second hand Jetseat, remove the items and insert then somehow into your chair. It's doable but requires some diy skills. 

[Miles Vorkosigan]

EDIT: A windows update fixed the issue. The seat pad now works with Windows 11 for me.

 

I too upgraded to Windows 11 yesterday. No more HF8+Simshaker for me. Need to find an alternative or hope that HF8 includes DCS soon

Edited July 22, 2023 by Miles Vorkosigan

[rapid]

12 hours ago, Miles Vorkosigan said:

I too upgraded to Windows 11 yesterday. No more HF8+Simshaker for me. Need to find an alternative or hope that HF8 includes DCS soon

I have windows 11 and a HF8 using Simshaker works fine.

[Miles Vorkosigan]

2 hours ago, rapid said:

I have windows 11 and a HF8 using Simshaker works fine.

Really? Mind if I DM you sometime to pick your brain for clues? 

[rapid]

9 hours ago, Miles Vorkosigan said:

Really? Mind if I DM you sometime to pick your brain for clues? 

Sent you my DM details