Interface/ hack a Happ active ffb wheel with a PC/PS2/3

hi folks,

this is my 1st post here..! some of you will know me from jamma+ and arcade otaku..
this looks like a great forum! a forum dedicated to hacking and modding retro gaming things!

just what im looking for..

im hoping some of you guys here can help with a project im undertaking. i've got a minty fresh inital d cabinet (yes, the very exact cabinet from the 10 page restoration thread in this very forum- so you're all familiar with it!!)

it was never a complete conversion to initial d, having been a touring car previously.



im setting this cabinet up to play: sega model2, mame, ps2/3 games. i have researched the subject well, and as force feedback is now supported in model2 and ps2/3, the very best possible option for a steering wheel (this side of a grand) is a "Happ active ffb steering wheel".

it was a toss up between using a Logitech g25 or the Happ, but i decided for the best arcade experiece it need to be an arcade product...so the indestructible happ with arm wrenching ffb wins..

Happ active ffb wheel





(above..not my pic..just an example of the Happ wheel)

in order to get the pc/ps2/3 talk to the happ wheel, we need to connect it to the pcb of a logitech driving force steering wheel.

trouble is, the power output of logitech board to the tiny ffb motor in the logitech wheel, is not enough to drive the huge motor in the happ wheel.
so, we need to put an amplifier in between the logitech board and the motor in the happ wheel to boost the signal/voltage..

this mod is explained in full here.. http://home.comcast.net/~mshaker/marks_arcade_006.htm

im not the 1st to attempt the mod, there is huge thread about this mod on a french forum over 40 pages long!

i have the Happ wheel, i also have the logitech wheel.. i know where to get the amplifier..

Advanced Motion Controls Brush Servo Amplifier 30A8



trouble is, ive never done anything like this before.. i have done mods and am keen builder/mame'er of arcade macines.. but not confident dealing with power/volts/amps..and pcbs and soldering etc..

can anyone offer me some advice with this venture?

cheers and thanks for looking!

 

i got some time this evening to have a better look inside the logitech wheel.
i have stipped it down to the bare essentials- the pcb's and wiring. the way i see it, there are 2 ways to go about hacking this logitech pad, but lets have a look at the components first..



i have worked out the connections on the main pcd, numbered below..



1. ffb motor output
2. usb/playstation2 out
3. steering pot
4. pedal pots
5. (long connector in the middle of the board) d'pad and buttons
6. power in

below, is the pcb's for the buttons and d'pad...




..and the reverse side- note, there is a small button on the rear of 2 of them- these are the sequential shifter buttons that were on the rear of the steering wheel- so these are important to keep, they need wired too.



so i was thinking, there are 2 ways to hack this/these pad(s).. an easy but sloppy way- or a hard and tidy way..
the esay way being, solder 2 wires directly onto where each button would press on the pcb. this method would keep the 3 existing pcbs.
the hard way, would be to discard the 3 pcbs altogether and hack into the loom that connects to the main control board. this method would be more difficult- id need to work out which button is which wire etc- and i dont think there is a common ground either, judging by the amount of wires (there are less wires than buttons).
so.. which way should we go with??

just for the record.. here is the happ wheel and happ shifter i picked up..
.




and we'll be connctinig to these pedals in the cabinet.



..and these buttons..



..the buttons that are left over (there are 16 to find a home for), i will mount in the control panel..
using these mini momentary buttons..



..placing them in the dashboard exactly where sega intended! lol..



thanks for any help!!

 

thankyou for your advice bacteria! pad hack complete!!

despite contradicting advice, i thought i would give this a go by myself.. i was advised by someone that the best method to do this hack would be the easy way.. soldering directly onto the contacts on the boards.

i was also advised by another, that soldering onto these pcbs would not work- too fragile, nothing to solder onto..were a couple of the reasons..

..risky, but i gave it a go anyway.. and a few hours later the job is done..

after scraping away at the contacts to rough them up, i used solder, and then some hot glue to firmly fix the wires in position so they cannot break off.

wip..



result!




d'pad and one side of the sequential shifter..


4 action buttons and sequential shifter..



select and start buttons.. these were trickiest, the contacts are different. i had to break into their tracks rather than the buttons contacts themselves.. at one point the track broke and lifted off the pcb!- a bodged attempt at soldering to a contact remains entoumbed in glue forever..lol



and here it is working.. the shorted out wire makes a button press!



im amazed that i managed it myself with no soldering skill whatsoever... there is no reason for anyone not to try, it's not really that hard- just tricky.

next, i'll hook up the d'pad buttons to the happ 4 speed shifter, and put microswitches in the 4 action buttons to be installed in the VR/view change buttons on the cabinet. the select and start too..
im going to install momentary fire buttons (missile command buttons) in whatever steering wheel i use, for the sequential shifter. so that's all bases covered for ps3 use- 12 buttons and 2 pedals (in the cab), and plenty for model2 and mame use too!

the next big task is hooking up the force feedback motor.. which im sure will be easier than than the above pad hacking..!

cheers

 

hey guys..

IT WORKS!!!..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24H1q1SCSdA

just got to put it all in the cab now, hook up the VR buttons and shifter and its good to go!!

cheers

 

this is gonna be useful to me, cheers