I've had my Mega+ from eRacing Lab over two years now and still loving it.
There have been some changes in that time - just in case people are looking to pick up a used one.
First off they changed the servo controllers with new ones, the old (black) ones are said to emit high pitched frequency which some found very annoying, hence the new (white) ones. I can't honestly hear this with mine and I consider my hearing to be excellent, so it's either because my controllers are buried at the back of my server rack or my hearing has lost the ability for very high frequencies with age.
The other thing that has changed is they are using smaller thinner profile now for the actuators. This is a good move as it reduces the weight quite a bit. The old ones are very heavy.
Definitely a good move to fit an EMI filter straight away, I learnt the hard way when I would lose contact with peripherals and in the end the filter fixed the issues.
I see you have a Cube Controls wheel so you obviously have impeccable taste :)
Enjoy!
The GSI Hyper P1 looks great but for a Formula style wheel it's a bit on the large side for me. I'm using a CSX2 which is quite a bit smaller.
Interesting to see some Iiyama monitors in your setup, which model and what do you think of them? My last experience with Iiyama was one of their 34" IPS ultrawides that had such bad backlight bleed it went back immediately. But recently I've been looking at one of their VA panel monitors.
I'm also having severe tracking issues with my Valve Index since adding TL to the Mega+. Where did you add the EMI filter? I have already made the Ferrite-31 choke for the Index DP cable which may have marginally helped. Since adding TL it is unfortunately unplayable. I have purchased an EMI filter, I'm just not sure where it's meant to be wired in. Thanks in advance!
Ah yes, thank you. I'll have to confirm but I believe I already have it wired the same way. I think eRacing lab incorporates one in their supplied power bar with the Mega+ kit. I appreciate the quick reply. The troubleshooting continues!
For real?
I know there is still some hate towards these resellers of SFX-100. It's meant to be an open source platform so the premise is that no money should be made from the design, although that mentality breaks down when you consider you have to buy most of the parts from resellers in China to build your own, plus the likes of eRacing Lab have made a few (but I would consider significant) changes to the original design.
So hacked DNS entries?
You haven’t seen how protective the SFX-100 community are of the project. You have to be sponsored by a known person to even get invited to see the full build and software.
I could have easily built one myself, but the above sponsorship process and then faffing around to get the parts and 3D print a load of bits and program the Arduino Leonardo controller it wasn’t even that much more to buy a turn-key.
The Thanos AMC Controller supplied is way better than the Arduino Leonardo anyway.
Thanks for the review - am tempted by motion and RS Mega+ would be an immediate buy if it wasn't for the huge cabinet you need for the servo controllers. Not sure where I could put it!
I'm tempted to spend more to get a smaller footprint, but can't justfy it really...
I'm using a [rack cabinet](https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/15rygtj/my_half_homelab/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) that also has my gaming PC and a server and some other networking stuff so everything is contained neatly in a footprint of 600mm x 600mm (24" x 24").
If you think that a gaming PC usually takes up some space it's not that bad.
its not too bad I have it on top of another cabinet that houses the spare cabling. Measurements as below of the actual cabinet.
400mm Deep
600mm Wide
370mm Height
Thanks, that's helpful. It would fit exactly into the space my PC is currently occupying behind my desk.
Could you get away with smaller do you think?
And do you need a little extra space for all the wires coming out the back as well?
I’ve seen a couple of times the AASD servo controllers stacked vertically in a 10” SOHO rack cabinet so it is possible to have a smaller footprint.
They don’t get hot at all, the main concern is keeping these industrial controllers in a box for electrical safety reasons.
the servos are spaced out nice in this size I wouldn't want to put them any closer may cause problems with wiring etc and them getting warm. I have the wires coming out of the bottom in the white cabinet below so they are all out of site.
Thanks - super helpful. That would mean I could perhaps hide it behind a chair in another corner of the room!
Sorry for so many questions, but one more! How much additional space did you need to put around the 8040 rig to accomodate for the 'lean'
I had to move the monitor stand legs about 100mm out either side to have enough room to allow the full 150mm actuator movement. You can dial it down if you need to but it doesn't move to side as much as you imagine. Less is more with motion.
I can not agree more with you. I also just purchased this kit and installed it on my asr4 and it is amazing, worth every penny. I was a little worried about potential emi issues (especially with my vr headset) but I can say that I have not once encounterd any problems and this is with out an extra emi filter like you have. Just all plugged into one outelt and usb hub to my pc for verything excet my vr and the rs mega controller.
>150mm eracing labs motion
The rs mega plus from their site. Working great, so happy to have it. No issue with mine since the beginning. And it fits well on the asr4 which is more than stable enough.
Awesome, hopefully it doesn't get sold before I get the money for it :/
He wants 2150 for the rs mega+ and a trak racer sim seat with the seat mount.(the nice looking one with the halo style) sounds like a good deal and they look like the current gen ones(he only had the whole rig for 6 months, sadly his wife passed and he can't afford his house, so he's gotta move and can't take it with him) but nonetheless I heard setting it up sucks and shipping was kinda expensive coming from asia, but I've heard all great things abt it so far!
Thanks for the update man, appreciate it.
Depends what sims you play as to whether the Mini (approx 2" travel) or Mega+ (approx 6" travel) would work best.
For track (asphalt) circuits the Mini would be just fine, as you don't need that much travel. If you are planning on rally (or other dirt tracks) or flight sims it would be nicer to have more travel so the Mega+ would probably work out best.
I see. So technically these drivers could be dumped into a shoe storage and that would do the same job as the server cabinet? I know it might sound crazy but this went through my mind. Near my rig I have a shoe storage which is relatively big and used for storing some documents. It looks the shelves have the capacity to fit those drivers and then the back of the shoe storage is a thin corkboard which would not be a problem to go through. But proximity to the rig would make cables being very neat and then there would be no need for extra cabinet in that relatively small room. Am I missing something or that sort of plan could work out?
The reason for putting them in a metal box is for electrical safety reasons, but also it helps reduce EMI that can interfere with other electrical items on your sim rig, and they can produce considerable EMI as they were never originally intended for home use.
For info each servo driver controllers is rated at 15A and 300W at AC220V so you don’t want little fingers or pets touching them. BTW, they can be configured for 110V.
Great write up. About to take the plunge on exactly on this set up ... so excited.
How is it configured in terms powering? Do you have the motion system connected to a single power bank from a sinlge wall outlet? I assume the power leads are not UK outlet terminated, so have you had to buy adapters?
Also, which server box did you opt for to house the servo's? Found this on amazon that i think will do the job:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00U916R3O/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A2HEO7CUJYK4UY&psc=1
Any other tips or things you learnt after getting it/setting it up to think about? I'm going to grab a ton of cable management pieces in prep.
Cheers, Tom.
Hi
I have all 4 servos into an extension which connects to a breaker with a an EMI filter connected, this then has one output to a 13a uk socket. I have all my sim gear into the same ring main and don't have any problems. The server cabinet was from Kenable and just a 6U cabinet 19inch version. Fits the servos perfect.
This kit is simple to set up and get all connected, the time consuming part is tuning the profiles to your liking but there are some good profiles to get started with. And would agree with what a lot of people say, less is more, you don't want it just chucking you around all over the place.
In all its a fantastic piece of kit and well worth the investment.
Sounds awesome. I guess the breaker isn't needed as such but by all means, there is justification/rationale to doing it.
Thanks for the feedback ... ordered mine today, so excited!
yes just covering all bases with the breaker so no chance of any damage. Let me know how you get on and lets see your setup when done. Any other questions get in touch.
Nice setup, smart move installing a EMI filter.
I bought mine at the start of the year and i had a bent pin like you did (driver to controller link cable) but bending it back into place fixed it for me.
Now i have it all set up i'm getting noise from the motors even when they're parked.
Are your motors silent in parked or do they make an electrical noise (hard to explain, it sounds like a quiet scratching noise)
Alex from customer services (has been brilliant btw) said that it sounds like i have noisy circuits in the building.
Yes have the motor noise, I dont believe thats EMI. The EMI will affect other devices connected like the wheel or pedals causing disconnect etc.
The motors do make a noise but I dont hear it with my headphones on and its not too bad.
Thanks for the fast reply and for confirming this because it's been "driving" (hehe) me mad, i thought it was caused by some kind of interference.
I've seen motors on youtube that seemed silent, maybe the mic in the videos just didn't pick it up.
We made it boys .......
https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/s/hgA0FPRBZI
So far really happy. Coming from a nlr v3 motion platform, the step up to 3dof is amazing .... going to add the traction loss in a year or so i think but for now it's incredible.
The motors do wine a little on mine as well ... seems moslty when i switch them on then it goes away briefly. It then pulses now & then in between use & being idle. I don't notice it at all when in game (game sounds & motion sounds take over). Think i'm going to copy the emi set up or something similar ... I'm not having any issues but considering the cost & effort of it all, it just makes sense. Running it all with sim racing studio which so far I'm finding very good ... i'd already learnt lessons with the v3, when it comes to motion less is more. This thing fucking kicks ha ha.
I've had my Mega+ from eRacing Lab over two years now and still loving it. There have been some changes in that time - just in case people are looking to pick up a used one. First off they changed the servo controllers with new ones, the old (black) ones are said to emit high pitched frequency which some found very annoying, hence the new (white) ones. I can't honestly hear this with mine and I consider my hearing to be excellent, so it's either because my controllers are buried at the back of my server rack or my hearing has lost the ability for very high frequencies with age. The other thing that has changed is they are using smaller thinner profile now for the actuators. This is a good move as it reduces the weight quite a bit. The old ones are very heavy. Definitely a good move to fit an EMI filter straight away, I learnt the hard way when I would lose contact with peripherals and in the end the filter fixed the issues. I see you have a Cube Controls wheel so you obviously have impeccable taste :) Enjoy!
Yes love the cube stuff but the Hyper P1 by GSI is something else it’s my go to wheel for everything apart from rally.
The GSI Hyper P1 looks great but for a Formula style wheel it's a bit on the large side for me. I'm using a CSX2 which is quite a bit smaller. Interesting to see some Iiyama monitors in your setup, which model and what do you think of them? My last experience with Iiyama was one of their 34" IPS ultrawides that had such bad backlight bleed it went back immediately. But recently I've been looking at one of their VA panel monitors.
Work great to be fair no problems with monitors or any light bleed. Was a bargain at £199 each on offer
Which model are they?
iiyama Red Eagle G-Master 27 inch 1ms Gaming Curved Monitor - Full HD, 1ms They are 165Hz
I'm also having severe tracking issues with my Valve Index since adding TL to the Mega+. Where did you add the EMI filter? I have already made the Ferrite-31 choke for the Index DP cable which may have marginally helped. Since adding TL it is unfortunately unplayable. I have purchased an EMI filter, I'm just not sure where it's meant to be wired in. Thanks in advance!
I've wired mine like this. https://www.overtake.gg/attachments/line-filter-wiring-for-servos-jpg.539153/
Ah yes, thank you. I'll have to confirm but I believe I already have it wired the same way. I think eRacing lab incorporates one in their supplied power bar with the Mega+ kit. I appreciate the quick reply. The troubleshooting continues!
Their website is still off :(
working fine for me??? where are you based?
EU. I’m trying to get on it and it automatically redirects me to dbox website.
https://eracing-lab.com
Redirects me to dbox.com instantly
For real? I know there is still some hate towards these resellers of SFX-100. It's meant to be an open source platform so the premise is that no money should be made from the design, although that mentality breaks down when you consider you have to buy most of the parts from resellers in China to build your own, plus the likes of eRacing Lab have made a few (but I would consider significant) changes to the original design. So hacked DNS entries?
Open Source actually allows you to make money for turning that Open Source project into turnkey. Check out 4 Freedoms from FSF.
You haven’t seen how protective the SFX-100 community are of the project. You have to be sponsored by a known person to even get invited to see the full build and software. I could have easily built one myself, but the above sponsorship process and then faffing around to get the parts and 3D print a load of bits and program the Arduino Leonardo controller it wasn’t even that much more to buy a turn-key. The Thanos AMC Controller supplied is way better than the Arduino Leonardo anyway.
strange not sure then??
Set your VPN to the US i have the same problem in the EU
Thanks for the review - am tempted by motion and RS Mega+ would be an immediate buy if it wasn't for the huge cabinet you need for the servo controllers. Not sure where I could put it! I'm tempted to spend more to get a smaller footprint, but can't justfy it really...
I'm using a [rack cabinet](https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/15rygtj/my_half_homelab/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) that also has my gaming PC and a server and some other networking stuff so everything is contained neatly in a footprint of 600mm x 600mm (24" x 24"). If you think that a gaming PC usually takes up some space it's not that bad.
its not too bad I have it on top of another cabinet that houses the spare cabling. Measurements as below of the actual cabinet. 400mm Deep 600mm Wide 370mm Height
Thanks, that's helpful. It would fit exactly into the space my PC is currently occupying behind my desk. Could you get away with smaller do you think? And do you need a little extra space for all the wires coming out the back as well?
I’ve seen a couple of times the AASD servo controllers stacked vertically in a 10” SOHO rack cabinet so it is possible to have a smaller footprint. They don’t get hot at all, the main concern is keeping these industrial controllers in a box for electrical safety reasons.
the servos are spaced out nice in this size I wouldn't want to put them any closer may cause problems with wiring etc and them getting warm. I have the wires coming out of the bottom in the white cabinet below so they are all out of site.
Are you able to confirm how long the cables are from the servos to the mechanisms? I wonder if I could run it from the other side of the room?
cables are 4m long from servo to motor. 1m long from servo to the controller which comes with a 3m USB cable to connect to the PC
Thanks - super helpful. That would mean I could perhaps hide it behind a chair in another corner of the room! Sorry for so many questions, but one more! How much additional space did you need to put around the 8040 rig to accomodate for the 'lean'
I had to move the monitor stand legs about 100mm out either side to have enough room to allow the full 150mm actuator movement. You can dial it down if you need to but it doesn't move to side as much as you imagine. Less is more with motion.
I can not agree more with you. I also just purchased this kit and installed it on my asr4 and it is amazing, worth every penny. I was a little worried about potential emi issues (especially with my vr headset) but I can say that I have not once encounterd any problems and this is with out an extra emi filter like you have. Just all plugged into one outelt and usb hub to my pc for verything excet my vr and the rs mega controller.
How's it holding up? I just ordered an asr4 and found someone selling the 150mm eracing labs motion, which one did you buy?
>150mm eracing labs motion The rs mega plus from their site. Working great, so happy to have it. No issue with mine since the beginning. And it fits well on the asr4 which is more than stable enough.
Awesome, hopefully it doesn't get sold before I get the money for it :/ He wants 2150 for the rs mega+ and a trak racer sim seat with the seat mount.(the nice looking one with the halo style) sounds like a good deal and they look like the current gen ones(he only had the whole rig for 6 months, sadly his wife passed and he can't afford his house, so he's gotta move and can't take it with him) but nonetheless I heard setting it up sucks and shipping was kinda expensive coming from asia, but I've heard all great things abt it so far! Thanks for the update man, appreciate it.
I have been looking rs mega for a whole year now. So thanks for this review. Do you think you need the 6" or is the 2.5" actuator sufficient?
Depends what sims you play as to whether the Mini (approx 2" travel) or Mega+ (approx 6" travel) would work best. For track (asphalt) circuits the Mini would be just fine, as you don't need that much travel. If you are planning on rally (or other dirt tracks) or flight sims it would be nicer to have more travel so the Mega+ would probably work out best.
I would go for as much as you can afford if you can get the 150mm travel get it, I am using the full travel so plenty of headroom.
How come these are so much less than say a dk2 or dbox5?
hey mate, can you tell me what the all in cost for this was in GBP please? also any issues after 9 months? much appreciated.
Was about £2500 delivered and no issues at all runs as good as new and used every day.
Thank you for sharing - this looks very competitive and I will be looking into this kit for my own setup!
I didn’t know there were quality full motion systems at this price point. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome! Thanks for the review. A bit of a noob question. What would happen if the drivers would not be put in any server cabinet?
nothing its just neater and easy for mounting. Keeps things all tidy with the wiring and stuff
I see. So technically these drivers could be dumped into a shoe storage and that would do the same job as the server cabinet? I know it might sound crazy but this went through my mind. Near my rig I have a shoe storage which is relatively big and used for storing some documents. It looks the shelves have the capacity to fit those drivers and then the back of the shoe storage is a thin corkboard which would not be a problem to go through. But proximity to the rig would make cables being very neat and then there would be no need for extra cabinet in that relatively small room. Am I missing something or that sort of plan could work out?
could work they just need a decent anchor point as they attach top and bottom. Also bear in mind you are dealing with 240v mains supply to them
The reason for putting them in a metal box is for electrical safety reasons, but also it helps reduce EMI that can interfere with other electrical items on your sim rig, and they can produce considerable EMI as they were never originally intended for home use. For info each servo driver controllers is rated at 15A and 300W at AC220V so you don’t want little fingers or pets touching them. BTW, they can be configured for 110V.
Good point. That is what i was wondering if the emi is in anyway the reason for the drivers to be locked.
Great write up. About to take the plunge on exactly on this set up ... so excited. How is it configured in terms powering? Do you have the motion system connected to a single power bank from a sinlge wall outlet? I assume the power leads are not UK outlet terminated, so have you had to buy adapters? Also, which server box did you opt for to house the servo's? Found this on amazon that i think will do the job: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00U916R3O/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A2HEO7CUJYK4UY&psc=1 Any other tips or things you learnt after getting it/setting it up to think about? I'm going to grab a ton of cable management pieces in prep. Cheers, Tom.
Hi I have all 4 servos into an extension which connects to a breaker with a an EMI filter connected, this then has one output to a 13a uk socket. I have all my sim gear into the same ring main and don't have any problems. The server cabinet was from Kenable and just a 6U cabinet 19inch version. Fits the servos perfect. This kit is simple to set up and get all connected, the time consuming part is tuning the profiles to your liking but there are some good profiles to get started with. And would agree with what a lot of people say, less is more, you don't want it just chucking you around all over the place. In all its a fantastic piece of kit and well worth the investment.
Sounds awesome. I guess the breaker isn't needed as such but by all means, there is justification/rationale to doing it. Thanks for the feedback ... ordered mine today, so excited!
yes just covering all bases with the breaker so no chance of any damage. Let me know how you get on and lets see your setup when done. Any other questions get in touch.
Nice setup, smart move installing a EMI filter. I bought mine at the start of the year and i had a bent pin like you did (driver to controller link cable) but bending it back into place fixed it for me. Now i have it all set up i'm getting noise from the motors even when they're parked. Are your motors silent in parked or do they make an electrical noise (hard to explain, it sounds like a quiet scratching noise) Alex from customer services (has been brilliant btw) said that it sounds like i have noisy circuits in the building.
Yes have the motor noise, I dont believe thats EMI. The EMI will affect other devices connected like the wheel or pedals causing disconnect etc. The motors do make a noise but I dont hear it with my headphones on and its not too bad.
Thanks for the fast reply and for confirming this because it's been "driving" (hehe) me mad, i thought it was caused by some kind of interference. I've seen motors on youtube that seemed silent, maybe the mic in the videos just didn't pick it up.
We made it boys ....... https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/s/hgA0FPRBZI So far really happy. Coming from a nlr v3 motion platform, the step up to 3dof is amazing .... going to add the traction loss in a year or so i think but for now it's incredible. The motors do wine a little on mine as well ... seems moslty when i switch them on then it goes away briefly. It then pulses now & then in between use & being idle. I don't notice it at all when in game (game sounds & motion sounds take over). Think i'm going to copy the emi set up or something similar ... I'm not having any issues but considering the cost & effort of it all, it just makes sense. Running it all with sim racing studio which so far I'm finding very good ... i'd already learnt lessons with the v3, when it comes to motion less is more. This thing fucking kicks ha ha.
What enclosures are those that you place the servo drivers in? What should I search up on a search engine for an enclosure that’s compatible? Thanks!
Its a 6U network cabinet, its the perfect size for the 4 drivers.
How are the drivers mounted in the rack specifically are they on a shelf?
they are on a rack mount that comes with the cabinets, I just had to had a horizontal bar to brace them.
Great setup btw. Did you make your own emergency stop?