anyone know where to get realistic bass shakers for pilot seat.

[Geremy Britton]

Hi all,

I can't seem to find any bass shakers for my pilot seat - i have come across buttkicker but thats just for an office chair with a single pole running down the bottom of the chair. Mine is mounted on an MDF box.

If someone could provide me with some websites, at reasonable cost, to find one that would be great!

Thanks ,

Geremy

[Kennair]

Hi Geremy,

You can make them by hacking old speaker cones and attaching metal weights to the coils. These can be mounted directly to the underside of your seat. When connected to a sub woofer output of your amp it should give you all the bump you need. I say should because I haven't managed to make them yet. I remember seeing instructions on a website years ago, but just can't place it at the moment.

The other option is just to put your computer sub-woofer under you seat.

Good luck,

Ken.

[Westozy]

I have 12" subs under each of my seats driven by a small amplifier, it's nothing special but it still kicks arse, literally! You don't have to spend big bucks for a good result in sound. Check out "Tactile transducers" on google, that should be of help if you want to make your own shakers. Here's a good description - http://www.baudline.com/erik/bass/tactile_faq.html

Regards, Gwyn

[Kennair]

Hi Gwyn,

That's what I intend to do also. Must feel great on landing and wheels up. Best bang for buck (literally).

I found the website that details the home built jobs I mentioned initially. It's at Flightsim.com. Dates back to 2002, but sound design hasn't changed any in 5 years (unlike FS). Section 8 details the design of tactile transducers.

http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=m.../diy/index.htm

Ken.

[JBaymore]

Go to Parts Express. Do a search for Aura Bass Shakers.

I have them in my pilots seat. Awesome.

The best reason to do this versus the sub-woofer in the seat approach is the SOUND. There IS none to speak of. So to get solid vibrational information, you don't haveto "blast" the sound. I used to have a sub-woofer in the seat. It too generated vibrations... but it first generated a LOT of sound. Too much low end for realism. Now I have the normal sub-woofer in the pit set to generate the correct low end rumble sounds...... and the bass shakers to give the right level of vibration. It "disconnects" the two so that they are separately controllable.

I went the "buy" route instead of the "build" route for transducers because when I look at what my time is worth...... the sale price on the bass shakers seemed to make it WELL worth the $. To make them would be a lot of time and STILL a bunch of $ too.

You do not need much power to drive them to rattle the fillings out of your teeth. So don't go crazy with a power amp. I have one driving mine that is 25W. It is barely turned on and I get a high level of realism on runway tire rumble, hitting the centerline lights (Areosoft AES services effect), touchdown, liftoff, and gear up/down that is VERY believable.

I'll be back with a link in a second.

Here's the Aura information:

http://www.aurasound.com/public/bassshaker/body.html

Here's what I have in my seat (no longer available):

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=299-027

Here's the suggested replacement:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...Number=299-028

Here's the amp I am driving them with:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=300-782

And here's the docs on the construction of them into my pit:

http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/ya...num=1177617086

Hope this is of help.



best,

.....................john

[Tomlin]

The buttkicker that I have works great, and although it is marketed as attaching to your seat center post, I see absolutely no reason why it wouldnt work just as well, or better, attached to a center post that is firmly attached to the base of the simulator, underneath. Also, I love the fact that not only does it give the bumps of landing/takeoff/gearup and down, but also it provides a very, almost un-noticeable, slight vibration that you really dont even notice until you turn it off.

[JBaymore]

...... but also it provides a very, almost un-noticeable, slight vibration that you really dont even notice until you turn it off.

Yeah... that is very, very true.

I have the sound file for my APU frequency tweeked and adjusted in volume so that when it alone is running I can just BARELY feel a tiny vibration. You only really notice it when it starts as the APU spools up and when after a flight it stops as the APU spools down. Totally unobtrusive and one of those details that you wouldn't notice if it wasn't there... but once you have it....you realize how much it adds.

It's just that tiny little "extra".

best,

...................john

[Geremy Britton]

That's great it has helped me out - hoping to build one or buy a cheap one in the coming months ahead!

Gez

[Kennair]

John,

Thanks for the detailed information. I think I'll follow your lead and go down the spend road on this one. I have had the home-made instructions for about 5 years and haven't started for the reasons you explained, time and money! These look like a reasonably priced option, however it might be a different case here in Aus.

Ken.

[Kennair]

For anyone interested in these transducers in Australia, after much searching around I found that Jaycar Electronics sells another brand called "Response" with the same specifications for $39.95AUD each. You can get the Aura's on ebay but shipping will set you back an extra $94USD!

Ken.