And when are you expected to have the new units available for distributors to start selling? Was about to pull the trigger but tempted to wait.
The resellers have information and I do not have that information.
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Yes. That is the image.
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@Mika Please keep us updated on your decision of whether or not to offer this single psu as an upgrade option as it’s something I’d definitely be interested in. Thanks 
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Hello there! 
Just two questions (and three comments to skip):
- What’s the voltage of the new 450 W power supply? Also 48 V?
- What if connecting just one power supply to the Simucube 2 Pro R1? Does it still work, just shuts off if load gets too high?
I already asked via eMail, got the answer that Simucube won’t work at all with just one PSU connected. But now I stumbled upon this thread: SC2 Pro disconnecting when hitting walls in iRacing
Saying that the device still works with just one power supply connected, but shuts down if overloaded.
So what’s true now?
If the device still works with just one PSU connected, I would PREFER the present two-PSUs solution over the future one with just one 450 W PSU.
- Reason 1: If that one PSU fails, it’s fully game over until you get your replacement PSU. But if one out of two PSUs fails, you could just reduce the maximum power in TrueDrive - and go on racing with just some reduced forces.
- Reason 2: If the voltage stays the same, the change implies there’s actually less power needed for operating the device. That gives us a headroom of at least 110 Watts over the one-PSU solution. And my experience with PC hardware clearly shows that PSU wattage headroom is a real, real good thing, usually making for a longer lifespan of a PSU and more reliable operation.
- Reason 3: Most of us won’t use the full power, I usually won’t go over 12 Nm. So I could disconnect one PSU complety and put it into storage. So I’d have a close-to-virgin spare if the active PSU should ever fail, there would be no wear down of that PSU caused by being constant on, there would be no additional idle energy consumption by the second PSU.
That’s why I would prefer the R1 solution - if there’s no other vital changes to the better with the R2 version. (Looks like the position of the external antenna connector got lifted a bit - if so: good decision. Doesn’t improve reception if the full length of the antenna body is covered/shielded by the SC housing.)
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48 V.
If one 280 W PSU is connected, it will shut off when the load gets too high. Also the situations this would happen in are not obvious, as fine tune of the maximum current draw is different between Sport and Pro models.
We haven’t seen any outright PSU failures yet, so protecting against this failure is not relevant.
True, but maximum current draw does not happen all the time. It actually (and rather counterintuitively) happens if the wheel turns at max torque at high speed and the driver turns into the same direction as the spin (not against the torque). These situations are very, very rare and very short, vs. the PC hardware/PSU situation where one would get high current consumption for extended periods in gaming situations.
Not really relevant, see the note above about situations where unexpected high current draw might happen. Also the PSUs are Level 6 DOE certified, i.e. < 0.5 W when idle.
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Mika: If you drive as fast as you reply - I would never hope to encounter you on the track.
48 V.
If one 280 W PSU is connected, it will shut off when the load gets too high.
That’s fine to read as it implies R1 owners can just replace their two PSUs with that new single one.
And it also implies I could disconnect one PSU if I don’t need it for my current (pun intended) configuration of about 12 Nm maximum - already incorporating that extra wattage headroom between the two types of PSUs (280 W x 2 vs 450 W).
We haven’t seen any outright PSU failures yet, so protecting against this failure is not relevant.
That’s before you met me. I know Mean Well having quite a good reputation. But I use the SC 2 Pro with a Playseat Challenge (reinforced with selfmade 3D printed parts to fully eliminate the flex of the mounting plate - which is a ridiculously looking, but indeed fine working combination, because the instability of the construction combined with the centrifugal forces caused by the SC 2 and the inertia of a heavy wheel makes the whole frame move, so you really feel the force feedback with your whole body - you indeed feel the ripple of the kerb in your butt), tending to tipping over. Chances of hitting the PSU if falling are not too bad.
And we know that also the best electronics degrade over time of use. And failures always happen at the wrong point of time - like Saturday evening when stores close, making it impossible to get a makeshift replacement.
True, but maximum current draw does not happen all the time.
I know. And I guess there might be some unexpected peak forces which might also exceed the set standards. That’s also why I find some headroom quite important.
It actually (and rather counterintuitively) happens if the wheel turns at max torque at high speed and the driver turns into the same direction as the spin (not against the torque).
This is something I did not expect. Any chance to explain this phenomenon a bit more into detail? I know this thread is not the right place, but I am still curious. But it’s not that important.
Not really relevant, see the note above about situations where unexpected high current draw might happen. Also the PSUs are Level 6 DOE certified, i.e. < 0.5 W when idle.
Idle consumption is also not relevant to me - I have PCs and multiple monitors running nonstop, so that extra consumption is neglectable. But I read a lot of concerns in other forums, also dealing with placing or even “no free receptacle” problems with having two PSUs. So being able to connect just one PSU might soothe the minds of quite some people.
Please don’t reply on the above (maybe except the “same spin direction torque increase”), so this dialogue doesn’t complete run of of the rudder. I am a professional writer, so I just can’t help about my “exceptional high words output volume”.
Just one closing back-to-topic question: Does the antenna connector’s position indeed move up, so the tip of the antenna will protrude over the SC housing?
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Im Not a servo geek but my logic says that if you turn in the same direction of full forces, you are creating like a shortcircuit eliminating the resistance generated by the motor. So max power is requiere by the PSU
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I only got mine 2 weeks ago after waiting 3 months, I would of liked a single PSU for sure. Wonder what else is improved.
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No offense but my Pro came in literally two weeks ago and I have less than 4 hours of driving on it. I’d rather have the single PSU so I’m hoping either Tomo can exchange me or you guys concretely decide to let us upgrade to single PSU.
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A lot of us in the same boat i guess. After waiting for ages and finally getting it, a new hardware popped up 
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@Alfye20: I tried to imagine just every situation where turning the wheel in the same direction could lead to more torque - but obviously my imagination didn’t get enough torque. 
Maybe the Granite guys could shed some light on this.
@KiwiCanuck, @SonnyTron, @M-Bimmer: Just my own thoughts - just got the hardware, only to see them waiting with annoucing new hardware till my bank account raised the white flag. 
I read about hardware changes to adapt to delivery bottlenecks caused by our utmost wise governments, so maybe it’s just a change, not an upgrade. @Mika: Any details?
Okay, there’s that new single 450 W PSU. Personally, I don’t care too much about this, I am fine with the power reserves and safety margin two 280 W PSUs provide, plus it’s possible to operate the SC2 Pro with just one PSU and lowered torque. So that’s all okay, even if one PSU fails I can happily race on with the remaining one. If that single 450 W PSU fails, race is over.
The more interesting question: Can ONE power supply input of the SC2 R1 deal with the higher amperage of the new 450 W PSU alone - or does the power need to be split between the two inputs?
If I interpreted the picture correctly, the antenna connector moved a bit up the plate. That’s a good thing. German saying: “HF geht seltsame Wege …” (high frequency moves in mysterious ways), so in most cases you won’t need a direct line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver, reflections will get the job done anyway. But free line-of-sight is still always better, even if you take the typical antenna gain over mass into account.
No issue screwing in a slightly longer 2.4 GHz antenna, cheap hardware, walk in the park, I am also pretty fine with the present, not really well-thought-out antenna solution.
So if there isn’t any more improvements with R2, I am real happy to stick with R1.
If.
Its just a change. I can only think of one thing: If the electronics fail for any reason, the newly designed circuit layout is much more convenient to R&R, which should (in the long term) be also a good investment for the environmental reasons - no need to haul the heavy motor around the world if USB port breaks or something like that.
Your race would be over in either case, as you would probably crash the car in both situations.
We are not sure about this, and need to do some extended reliability testing before we can make the decision to sell the new PSU as an upgrade. For sure we would like to avoid using that splitter cable.
No other improvements.
Not more Torque, but more current delivered because less resistance
Just a sober thought on upgrade path if one supported.
Premium E-Stop is $150 now, and this is just a button.
So I can see custom made PSU of that capacity easily hitting $400 mark.
Is it custom as on Ultimate, i.e. in nice metal enclosure, or just regular plastic brick?
I don’t know those dollar values, but it would be in the high quality PSU prices, approximately double what one GST280 costs. The PSU has plastic enclosure, passively cooled, no fan inside of it. As some have wondered, I don’t think that we have had any intentions to take back power supplies as the material flow is reverse, opposite to what it should be. We are always improving the product in some aspects, software or hardware and implement those changes when it is time to do those. Recently it was time to implement some small hardware changes to the product. Product functionality is unaffected due to these.
The overall product design surely has some headroom in regards to the PSU that is enough to accommodate the small component tolerances that affect the power draw from the PSU.
But no, in standard product there shall not be any unexpected peak forces that exceed any set standard. This is digitally controlled, the wheelbase is engineered to function within set parameters which make it to function so that it will not draw more power from the PSU than is allowed within those set limits. Every product is the same in these regards and as the user is not allowed to fiddle with servo drive parameters that could make it to malfunction in the above suspected way, it will not malfunction. The actual engineering work has been done properly, please be assured of that.
Feel bad,
I waited 3 months for an old version, I could have waited one month more :sueur_sourire:
This is not bad if it’s just double the price of GTS280, which is $96.47 on digikey
Please tell us the PSU to servo cable is longer now and we won’t need extension.
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