Buttkicker help please?

  • That one looks like it splits the stereo signal to two speakers. I think what you would need first is a splitter that sends out two stereo signals, so you send one to the shaker and one to your headphones. The shaker actually only needs a mono signal, but your normal game sound will need stereo. I think you can turn stereo to mono easily enough (I had to Google it because numpty), but not the other way round. That's my understanding thus far.

    i5-12600K/MSI RTX 3080/Win11/64Gb RAM/Asus Xonar DX+ Beyer DT990 pro headphones/LG 34" UM65 @2560x1080/Quest Pro/TM Warthog+VKB MkIV Rudder pedals

  • I think what you would need first is a splitter that sends out two stereo signals, so you send one to the shaker and one to your headphones.

    As Ray is on Rift there is no headphones audio he can connect to - its USB. This cable will do for audio out to shaker Amplifier. VB Banana will do the "audio split"

  • That one looks like it splits the stereo signal to two speakers. I think what you would need first is a splitter that sends out two stereo signals, so you send one to the shaker and one to your headphones. The shaker actually only needs a mono signal, but your normal game sound will need stereo. I think you can turn stereo to mono easily enough (I had to Google it because numpty), but not the other way round. That's my understanding thus far.

    Would it be better to add a 2nd splitter onto one of the stereo legs and take one of those legs to the shaker or to actually make mono out of the stereo signal?

    Regards,

    Ray

  • As Ray is on Rift there is no headphones audio he can connect to - its USB. This cable will do for audio out to shaker Amplifier. VB Banana will do the "audio split"

    Boy, this is really great to have technical consultants ready to answer every question. Thanks guys.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • Here you go.....

    Throne Thumper


    Much better than ButtKicker

    Also "mirroring" of audio is built in to win 10.

    SOUND

    RECORDING

    STEREO MIX

    Go look it up.

    Also use Adobe Audition or similar to edit various aircraft sound files to increase bass component and relative volumes as you see fit.

    AWESOME experience.

    BG2518-Bob.

  • Stereo Mix Out never worked for me. I thought it was a bit soundcard specific.

  • As Ray is on Rift there is no headphones audio he can connect to - its USB. This cable will do for audio out to shaker Amplifier. VB Banana will do the "audio split"

    OK. gang. Christmas arrived in January. Everything was at my front door about an hour ago. I have the Sound Transducer mounted under the chair with speaker wire attached.

    I have VB downloaded and installed.

    I have the stereo Y cable at the PC.

    What are my final hookups ??

    EDIT Crap, I don't have the AMP yet. It is coming off an eBay buy. duh. Maybe tomorrow. maybe next week. who knows.

    EDIT EDIT I now have all the pieces. The AMP was in the mailbox. I keep forgetting about snail mail. :)

    OK. Time to hook it and feel some vibrations.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • I added the last piece to the puzzle today and I must admit the Buttkicker Knockoff adds a ton of realism to the flight sim. It seems to be more effective in Flight Sim World (FSW) than in Aerofly FS 2. I'm not sure of the reason but, there is a noticeable increase in the rumble and shake in the Super Cub, for instance, than in any of the AFS2 fleet.

    I was disappointed that the P-38 and F4U Corsair did not have any - as in none - noticeable rumble, bumps, thumps, etc with the gear and flaps movement. Of course, we all know the engine sounds for the Corsair do not vary with the throttle changes. Maybe one rainy weekend the guys will fix this oversight.

    With a quick check of the fleet I find the Robin DR400 has the most rumble and butt kicking vibrations, especially at high RPM. The Lear45 seems to have the least. The q400 has a bit of vibration though.

    This project was quite easy with John, Phil, Ken, and Zed chipping in and answering all my questions. Looking back, this is probably about a two hour job for most folks, provided you have all the pieces ready to go. I had practically nothing more than the desire and the Volair Flight Chassis, which doubles as a Racing Chair, depending on which sim blows your skirt up.

    I chose the AuraSound AST 2B-4 Pro Bass sold by Amazon but supplied by Parts Express, $52.75 including s/h, but arriving in 3 days. I picked a Chinese car Stereo Super Bass AMP from eBay. The one I chose had the audio cable and heavy duty power adapter included and shipped from inside the US for a penny less than $20 total. The Y adapter came from Walmart for less than $5 and the mounting board, speaker wire, screws, etc came from my shop supplies. The VoiceMeeter Banana audio mixer software recommended by Phil is a free download. So, all in this costs less than $80 bucks but adds a significant increase to the immersion factor.

    I had a drawer full of those circular rubber and plastic sliders used for moving furniture around and I decided they would make a super cheap, as in cheapo, insulators to isolate the chair frame from the carpet. If I decide to splurge I can get some real vibration/shock absorption mounts with tapped holes from Global Industries for about $15. These are the dense rubber mounts, 1.5 in diameter and 3/4 inches high.

    Sometime later I might add an inline gain/filter box if decide that I need two more knobs to turn. This will add about $10. It is possible the free VB software can do this frequency filtering.

    The little Amplifier has a too bright red led when the power is switched on and an equally too bright blue led with bass is being passed to the transducer. I haven't picked a final location just yet, but will probably mount the amp on the side of the flight chair with the light pointed down. Probably using Velcro to avoid drilling holes in the frame.

    Highly Recommended DIY project or just spend $200 for the real thing and get a wired remote.

    Regards,

    Ray

  • Hey Ray, it looks like your amp has some tone controls. You might be able to pick up the Corsair gear thumps if you turn up the volume and accentuate the bass a bit. I might have a higher frequency cutoff set on my amps but I do feel the wheel retraction and extension thumps.

    But the Cessna and Corsair are definitely light on the bass notes in FS2. If you are into some driving sims, that shaker will add tremendously to those experiences.

    Congrats!

    Thrustmaster HOTAS Warthog, MFG Crosswind pedals, 2 dof Motion, Valve Index