October 2, 2018
#278
Gentle reader,
For longtime readers (thank you for that!) you are aware of one of my hobbies which is sports car racing simulation. I do not have a gaming PC, they are beyond my budget for a good one.
Plus, since I must have a steering wheel and pedals, an XBox One and the expensive wheel and pedals available for it which I would need are also out of my fixed income budget.
It all started years ago when a buddy game me some PC racing games including Test Drive Le Mans. The 24 Hours of Le Mans and it's offshoots (WEC, ALMS) are my favorite type of racing. With vintage racing of the same types of cars interesting me even more.
I've been into cars 60 of my 62 years. I'm told that when I was 3 or 4 that I could identify any car I saw, year, make and model. We lived in rural Kansas then, so not likely any imports then and there. But I think Mom exaggerates.
I wrote about this previously quite a few times, but I am linking only the ones that relate to this story below, oldest first:
This is an older photograph, much has changed, but it gives you the layout: My desk is in one of the bedrooms, and has been since we moved in 17 years ago. My back is to the wall facing the wall which has the shelf you see here. So the sim-rig is facing right from where I sit, on the other side of this desk. Not a lot of room to maneuver in here.
My wife gets me, so she supports my hobbies. She bought me that gaming chair to race with. It has a built-in 2.1 channel amplifier with stereo speakers in the headrest and a "subwoofer" beneath the seat. It is made mainly for kids to teens, being 6' 3" I had to extend the leg area by fabricating brackets and building a cushion to go beneath my knees. Poor ergonomically as well as it promotes slouching, so I added a lumbar cushion as well. It rotates and rocks and has folding arm rests. I added cushioning to those too. But you can see all that in the earlier articles.
The X Rocker has a transmitter which you can attach your audio feed to and it transmits to the receiver/amp. But it eats batteries and I prefer to direct wire things. No Wi-Fi for this old guy.
The amp is cheaply made and soon the contacts inside the green input terminal stopped working, so I found that plugging into the output also worked. But then it got wonky and I had to wiggle the plug to get both channels working. Oh, and the power plug also stopped working, so I had to solder the wires directly to the circuit board!
This is what you see when it is removed from the chair. Notice the holes have broken on some of the screw holes. Cheap!
Once the black cover is removed, the board is revealed. Single red wire is the antenna.
Aluminum piece is the heat sink, one transistor on each side. So it has that, at least.
Here is the comparison of the old analog board and newTPA3116 Class D digital 2.1 amplifier boards, Tops above and bottoms below.
I chose a blank two-gang plate to make the new face from. Oh, that is the cover for two light switches that has no holes in it. Electrician term. I used a Dremel tool shape the white piece to the
contour of the original so that it would fit smoothly into the hole in
the chair.
Locktite brand Super Glue Gel secures the plastic plate to the rest of the faceplate. I repeatedly heated a utility knife blade with a propane torch to cut out the recessed section of the faceplate.
I glued small flat washers to the rear of the three holes that had not yet broken and larger ones to the front. Gel super glue is fabulous for things like this.
I discovered once I installed the knobs that if they are pressed fully on, they will not turn, at first I wondered why, then realized, it is genius: Once you set each to your desired level, press them in and they settings cannot change. Prevents little ones from messing with the knobs. My youngest grandson, and the four before him, loves to turn knobs. Many a time, I have forgotten to check the HT receiver's volume position after he visited, and when the sound starts, we both about jump out of our seats because it is SO loud!
No directions come with the amp, but the eBay auction page has this clear diagram as to what attaches where and polarity. What was not clear to me is which is + and - on the right speaker, blue or white? But since the drivers must be small, bass is negligible, so polarity for engine noise should not matter.
I enlarged the original volume control hole to allow the plug to fit through it. All hooked up, above and in place below. Flat washers do the trick to allow the new screws to firmly hold the amp to the chair.
I taped the diagram to one of my desk's speakers so that I can learn which is the main volume knob. I set the other two so it is the only one that can turn. I find myself trying to turn one of the input cable terminals sometimes, though!
I removed the larger driver I'd installed previously and drilled a hole in the center of the grille to allow these new wires through. Because........
I found this KLH 8" subwoofer at Salvation Army! I tested it in the store and had sound for a few seconds, so I knew the woofer worked, but suspected the amp. Price was right, as was the size.
I found the previous owner had first replaced the fuse with a 5 Amp one. When that didn't work, he bypassed it with a wire! Idiot. I soldered the woofer's leads to the (circled) input terminals on the inside and now it is a passive subwoofer.
There was also no fiberglass inside. So I added a mat to the bottom and rear wall, which covered the amplifier. Sounds great, especially when racing with a car with a large V8 engine!
I have not bought a Class D amplifier before, or a Chinese electronic board, for that matter. But, it is well made, here are the specs as shown in the eBay auction:
"Features:
Adopts high quality TPA3116 digital amplifier chip.
Sound quality is very good, high efficiency and amplifying power.
50W*2+100W 2.1 channels(left/right channel and subwoofer channel), high efficiency and low-heat.
Powered by DC 12-26V, wide input voltage.
User can adjust the volume by themselves easily.
Applicable speaker impedance: 4-8 ohm.
Just connect the power supply and loudspeaker box, enjoy the pure digital music!
Specifications:
Supply Voltage: DC 12-26V
Recommended Power Supply: 24V DC >5A
Chip Type: TPA3116
Channel Type: Left Channel, Right Channel, Subwoofer
Output Power: 50W*2 + 100W*1 Subwoofer
Output Match: 4-8 ohm
Audio Output: Terminals
PCB Board Size: 105 * 77 * 28mm / 4.13 * 3 * 1.1in (L * W * H)
Weight: 138g / 4.86oz"
It sounds terrific, and with a real (as real as a KLH 8" can be) subwoofer, the audio is much more realistic. I do not play it too loud since these are the only ears I'm ever going to have and hope to still be using them unaided the rest of my days.
I redid the knee brace that I originally added to the chair. It was too low and I made do by placing a pad between it and my knees.
I took it off and apart. I added the padding inside and then put it all back together, but it still was a little low. I added a one inch square tubing between it and the angle iron frame and that did the trick. A mesh curved lumbar pad eliminates the poor posture the chair design promoted.
So, there you have it. I really appreciate your taking the time to read my humble blog. I had no idea anyone would read it, but I have a large response to every article and get great feedback from my readers.
Thank you,
Scott
October 2, 2018
#278
Leroy, Thank you for reading the blog and taking the time to comment. You are too kind with your praise.
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