This DIY steering wheel is a cheaper alternative for use in sim racing
When participating in sim racing video games, players often need to use a steering wheel controller in order to enjoy smooth and accurate movements of their on-screen vehicles. However, due to a shortage of certain racing rigs, finding one has become a challenge. Luckily, ilge ipek has come up with a custom solution that not only provides a far cheaper wheel alternative to store-bought ones, but even competes in regard to some features.
The electronic components ipek selected for this project included a 10K ohm potentiometer for getting the wheel’s current position, an Arduino Leonardo to read the value and send it to the host PC, and an existing steering wheel that could be easily attached to the rig. In terms of software, the Leonardo runs firmware generated from the MMJoy program, which allows hobbyists to connect hardware as various HID inputs via USB. Once uploaded, the attached potentiometer was mapped as a new joystick input that adjusts along the ‘X’ axis.
Back on the hardware side of things, ipek placed screws into a MOMO racing wheel, which was then linked to a gear. With this configuration, the wheel can move up to 900 total degrees — similar to the range of motion seen in many cars. For more information about this project, you can view its write-up here on ipek’s blog.
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