One of the biggest, if not the biggest advantage of the Simucube wireless system is the absence of any direct electrical contacts between wheel and wheelbase. I don’t know if those companies, which now run everything through a QR, have made long time studies concerning wear out, durability and livability. Most likely they didn’t. I myself regularly swap wheels. I don’t need a fancy looking QR, I need a rock solid one with zero play coming at an acceptable price. Exactly what Granite delivers
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An Asetec invicta QR is actually Euro 126.04, exclusive VAT, plus shipping. So I would spend minimum 300 Euro for my 2 wheels… but the QR is out of stock anyway…
I do agree. The SC2 QR perform very well. They are rock solid, “easy” to produce at a reasonbly price.
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i see it same way, SC QR is solid, reliable, no need for tech inside wich can cause problems sooner or later…
Honestly I only would expect from Granite to make their Bluetooth connectivity universal on their wheels. Simucube only wireless wheels are losing its value in time. And of course wheel manufacturers should make Windows BT connection wheels instead of single brand BT that’s quite pointless nowadays. Just look at Cube Controls F-Pro or VRS new wheel. They work with PC’s Bluetooth and it’s simple and efficient. It doesn’t matter even if they have a display if they use a mobile phone battery or such it’ll give at least 24hours of operation time which is more than enough.
I just looked at that Asetek QR review and naah I’m not sold on that. First of all it’s too expensive for a QR and they had to drill the shaft and make the connection go thru the shaft that is a bit suspicious on longevity. A wheelbase should be a wheelbase that’s enough for me.
Simagic and Moza have the ideal solution but I’m just against closed ecosystems. Could be good to have such power delivery and close bt connection but it’s not a must.
i have settled on the D1 spec quick release for my simucube 2, they are solid, and very versatile at a good price, they are also the same that moza and simagic use so can use their wheels (any that support 3rd party bases)
Hi all
I´d like to have wireless connection, including bidirectional Temetry, Simhub compatible (for rev lights e.g.) like I use now on my Cube Controls Formula F-Pro with Bluetooth and a possibility to use wheels with display. If this could be realized by an (optional) USB pass through or somehow else I leave to R&D dept choice;-)
For example I am interested to buy an Ascher Racing McLAREN ARTURA PRO, but the LED are static, cause of missing telemetry in SC mode or I have to buy the USB version (Cable sucks)
Same wheel as ultimate is only possible by using USB due to the display (again, cable sucks)
And, VERY important, I’d like to have a solution which could be upgraded to my existing SC2 pro DD.
Cheers, Tom
PS, I heard about rumors about a coming SC edition GSI Wheel with wireless connection and display, no idea if that´s true
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Cannot see how that could possibly work without power actually being supplied ala USB
Sounds like you want USB wheel with all supported goodies, like power and telemetry delivery, but working as wireless.
To my knowledge only Asetek has a solution for that.
Yes, correct.
And if Asetek has made this happen I think granite devices will be also able to do so. Of course it is a wishlist but I’ve been asked for a new QR, so why not?
Noone should be forced to buy Asetek if this feature is wanted…
Cheers Tom
Would be interesting to see how that works with their new proprietary Ethernet protocol.
Although I don’t share your dislike on cables, check out the solution by Dan Suzuki.
It is essentially a QR that accepts a USB cable on the base side then internally transfers it to the wheel.
This has the benefit of not having to plug and unplug cables each and every time you change a wheel.
Hopefully someone will come out with a production version soon.
What the heck the protocol has to do with it? Currently the only issue with SC’s wireless QR is the power delivery. You can’t have wireless wheels with screens as they would have to be battery powered. Asetek has a nice solution for it, do you know if they have trouble with the protocol they are using?
Also SC’s proprietary ethernet protocol seems to work just fine with their pedals, so I wouldn’t be worried. At least as much as you do whenever SC’s proprietary tech comes into the discussion (mostly by you though)
Language please.
Asetek is using standard USB pass-through, SC3 is switching to proprietary Ethernet based protocol, will it be compatible with USB wheels and allow the same USB to wireless conversion as Asetek, only time will tell, it could be limited to SC3 specific wheels only.
I thought the question was about wireless connection? The current wireless connection is already proprietary. Doesn’t seem to cause much trouble. If needed use BT or wired USB. I don’t see anything changing in that regard. Last time I checked you can’t connect USB wheel to SC2 either.
Maybe there is a valid concern, or some new concern with a future product and I just fail to understand it.
So Asetek “wireless” wheels are actually USB connected wheels, the connector is just implemented into the QR? And you would like to have those wheels to be compatible with SC ‘X’ wheelbases? Does any other manufacturer offer their tech for “free”, I mean the protocol, connector and possible other tech associated? Asetek I think said the QR will be freely available for others, is there many 3rd party wheels available?
The above exchange with Tom was about USB to wireless conversion, nothing else.
And yes, SC2 BT is proprietary, and yes, it’s not causing many problems (at least for me), except locking you to SC2 and limiting use of fancy stuff like dashboards and lights.
SC3 wheelbase will not have wireless receiver anymore so backward compatibility will be provided via Simucube Link, which could have been avoided altogether if it was using standard BT protocol.
Wondering what BT reception will be in this case though, as I did not see any antennas on it and it will be located farther from the wheel.
Yet somehow you pulled SC’s unannounced possible next generation QR into the conversation painting grim outlook on it’s ethernet based protocol. His only issue was power delivery to the wheel more or less and maybe some kind of USB passthrough with current wheels.
Pure BT wheels seem to work without major problems with the connectivity (range), why would it be different with the yet to be announced future SC wheels (or base/connectivity box).
Of course it would be optimal to just have a usb passthrough to the base and from there to the computer handled by a robust connector wheelside that would deliver power and data. Is Asetek doing that, or is it just power?
ECO SYSTEM PARTNERS
We’ve also partnered with some of the best wheel manufacturers in sim racing. That means you will be able to buy one of their wheels with our quick release fitted right from their factory! This option allows you to have the smoothest and most flexible experience straight out of the box when switching between your favorite wheels – be they powered or non-powered wheels. The Invicta Quick Release will be the same and have the same cool features whether you buy it as a separate item from our Asetek SimSports webshop, from a reseller, or if you buy it as an integrated part of one of our partners’ wheels.
Properties of a QR that I would like:
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The mechanical stuff: It should be strongly-connected, it should lock into place in a way that’s clear and unambiguous, and removing it should be easy. This all seems uncontroversial and well-understood.
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It should have a way to handle data and power through the connection, whether this be a special physical connection (like Fanatec) or standard USB (like Asetek), because the alternatives are all suboptimal in different ways. Dangling USB cords are awkward, and wireless requires battery power (plus is either proprietary or sometimes-unreliable).
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I hate hate hate proprietary connections that only work with one brand, so if the physical connection weren’t standard USB, I think it would be wonderful if Simucube would ship it as an open spec, free for anyone to implement. Yes, this means giving away your internally-developed IP, but being the leader with an open standard can be more valuable than being the only company using a proprietary one. But also, there are a lot of USB wheels out there, and Asetek has proven that it’s feasible to do a USB-passthrough QR, so it seems like just jumping in to an already-existing universe of USB-friendly stuff would be the way that provides the most immediate “compatible wheels” bang for the buck.
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I think this whole thread can be summed up with a simple requirement.
Future wheelbases should all support USB on the hardware and have USB and power transfer over the wheel side QR. It would be nice if any QR supporting USB and power transfer could be connected to the base shaft through a short USBC connection, to enable 3rd party QRs.
The corresponding element of the QR on the wheel side should have a USB-C port on the side of the QR so that a short USB cable can connect any USB wheel to the QR.
It doesn’t need to be any more complex than that.