Happ controls Belt driven FFB wheel- anyone else using one?

[thesharkfactor]

hey guys,

just wondering if anyone else is using a Happ active ffb wheel for gt5?

happ active ffb wheel..

http://www.happcontrols.com/driving/50010200.htm

"270° wheel assembly fitted with a strong DC motor to provide realistic feel and feedback
Requires signals from game board to operate
Black Cap with checkered flag logo fitted as standard
Not intended to connect to a PC or PS3
Optional Control Board Available"

i am using this very wheel to play gt5.. and i can tell you it is awesome! ffb strength is immense (can be turned up or down). it is belt driven, no meshing gears.. a large rubber belt and a huge force feedback motor..

this is a durable, hardwearing, built for years of abuse industrial spec steering wheel set up meant for use arcade machines! (which is exactly where i have put mine lol!)

in order to use one of these amazing steering wheels with your ps3 (and gt5), we have to do abit of modding.. piggyback the Happ wheel onto a ps3 compatible logitech wheel.

i used a driving force EX as my donor, you could use a DFGT and EX or whatever, (or even a g25 or g27 if you are brave enough).. the results speak for themselves!!

before.. (note the tiny ffb motor on the driving force EX lol!)

after.. (note the HUGE ffb motor and voltage amplifier!)

im using mine in an arcade machine (perfect instant cockpit) i converted to work with ps3 and pc, but you dont really need an arcade cabinet.. your own cockpit or even a table top will do just as well!

the Happ active wheel is the real deal!. in some games (like NFSshift), the ffb is so powerful you cannot hold the car in a straight line when it kicks in. it simulates rumble, crashes, changes in road surfaces, knocks and shunts and even loss of traction perfectly and with ultimate smoothness. it has a lovely elastic feel to it when the power is on.. this is 100x better than any "over the counter" wheels you can buy.. and best of all, if you keep an eye on ebay, you can fiind a happ wheel in an old arcade machine for a few £ or $.. hack open the old logitech wheel and get into SOME REAL FORCE FEEDBACK!! lol

my set up and video of the wheel playing gt5 is here.. and the full guide to modding a happ to work with your ps3 is here!

anyone else discovered the Happ active ffb wheel?

cheers

 

[Mastakojo]

I like building my own mods. I built my own arcade stick and DDR pad. A custom wheel like that will complete my arcade basement for sure. Other then ebay, do u know any place where people ptu racing cabinet or parts on sale?

 

[thesharkfactor]

i sure do my friend!

can i post links to other forums here? i know the very places to get you sorted for very little expense!

eg, my set up is costing me around £250 (or $375 in the us)!!

i know the forum(s) place to go for you.. but ebay is a very good start! non working machines can be had localy (within a couple hundred miles) for very little! most folks are glad to get rid of them lol..!

cheers

 

[thesharkfactor]

this is basically an easy mod anyone can do.. to explain simply, we are basically swapping the wires from the steering potentiometer of the logitech steering wheel, to the poteniometer on the happ steering wheel. then, taking the wires off the tiny ffb motor and putting them on the huge Happ motor (with a voltage ampifier in between).

simple, cheap, yet soooooooooooo effective!

 

[Mastakojo]

I guess it's cheap if i can find the right parts. I'll keep that in mind, i'm in no hurry as i have a Fanatec wheel, but if i can find used happ wheel, i'll definitely try this DIY.

If you can't post link, maybe u can PM me with with the address?

Thx dude, should post more video of that rig.

 

[thesharkfactor]

forgot to say.. my ENTIRE set up (cabinet+ps3+audio) costing £250.. not just the happ/logitech deal.. lol..

tip, machines to look for that had a happ active steering wheel were.. namco ridge racer 2 and 3 (rr1 had no ffb), crusin' world, crusin' usa, crusin exoctica, california speed,.. basicaly any namco or atari driving game.. also, this is the exact same wheel used in current modern machines like sega rally 3, need for speed underground arcade and ford racing to name a few!

keep an eye on ebay for any of those (older) games, im sure you can find a happ active ffb wheel with relative ease! i paid £45 for mine and it came with a 4 speed H shifter (which i use for sega rally!)

cheers.. (PM'd)

 

[Mastakojo]

For the pedal, did you do the same and wire an arcade pedal on the driving force?

 

[thesharkfactor]

For the pedal, did you do the same and wire an arcade pedal on the driving force?

absolutley correct! im using the arcade machine pedals. the sega pedals had 5k pots, the logitech pedals had 50k pots. all i had to do was buy 2x 50k pots of the same size/shape as the 5k sega pots. then i fitted the new 50k pots to the sega pedals, took the wires off the logitech pots and put them on the new sega pots.. easy!

i did the same with the steering pot. logitech steering pot is 100k. happ pot is 5k. all you need do is get a 100k pot that looks just like the 5k one you are replacing, fit the new 100k to the happ, then take the wires off the logitech pot and solder them on the new happ pot. again, simple!

 

[Gunstar]

I would really like to see pix of your rig, sounds bad ass.

Never mind, saw your link. Excellent, I would do the exact same thing if I had an empty SEGA driving cab.

 

[Mastakojo]

Seems the wiring is not too difficult out of any logitech wheels, now i just need to find the right price wheel, just saw a 1$ daytona pedal on ebay

 

[thesharkfactor]

now i just need to find the right price wheel, just saw a 1$ daytona pedal on ebay

there are 2 on ebay just now!!

looky..

that is a happ active force feedback belt driven wheel right there- and he has 2 of them

 

[Gunstar]

So I've got some cabs lined up possibly... a Rush the Rock, SEGA Rally or Roads Edge. I know I'd prefer the SEGA cab on general principal, but do you suppose the others might have the kind of wheel we're looking at here, the HAPP style one?

 

[Mastakojo]

Yea, I saw them, but since i live in canada, the shipping is ridiculous, more expensive then the wheel itself :S

 

[thesharkfactor]

roads edge might have a happ- probably does, and it has a bass shaker in the seat too!.. ive never heard of rush the rock and its not listed on klov.com..

however, a sega cab would be real nice for the job.. and can be modded like i did mine..

 

[Gunstar]

Sorry, I meant San Francisco Rush: The Rock - Alcatraz Edition.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9429

I think the cab is UGLY, but it's also the one I can get FOR SURE.

I hope I hear back from the SEGA Rally/Roads Edge guy, as I've decided if I get the Roads Edge or the Rock with a good wheel I'll hack my old Logitech GT Force into it and keep the arcade controls, but if I get the SEGA Rally I'll make it convertible with all my other specialty controllers.

 

[thesharkfactor]

im pretty sure san' fran' rush will have a happ active wheel too...