Getting Started with SimHub to Add Race Telemetry to your Sim Rig

Getting Started with SimHub 01.jpg
There are hundreds of free dash templates available here at RaceDepartment, so here is a tutorial on getting started with SimHub.

SimHub is a free program for PC that allows you to enhance your sim racing experience in a variety of ways, including using a second screen or tablet or phone to display live race telemetry. You may have seen sim rigs using four-monitor setups and an upper monitor for displaying race information, or others using a small display above the wheelbase to show the car’s gear, speed, and a tachometer. Both of these functions can be achieved using SimHub.

Although race telemetry is only the tip of the iceberg as far as what can be accomplished using SimHub, it is a good way to get acquainted with the software and is easy to setup. To start, you can download SimHub for free and install it on your PC. There is an optional paid upgrade for as little as €6 that will unlock more functions, but to get started the free version should suffice.

Next, you’ll need a dash. A dash in this case is a telemetry screen that can be sent to a second monitor, phone, tablet, or anything else that can display a web page. A good place to find a dash is to browse through the Misc section of our Assetto Corsa downloads and find a dash you’re interested in. Most of the dashes shared on RD come with instructions but installing a dash can be as simple as double-clicking on the file you downloaded. From there, the dash is added to your SimHub install and can be activated in the software. You can then navigate to a local IP address which can be found in the software by going to Dash Studio > Dashboards > Open in phone or tablet.

Getting Started with SimHub 02.jpg


Which dash you use and what information is displayed is a personal preference. For some, a large tachometer helps to time shifts perfectly. For others, a full track map helps them time their pit stops. Or maybe a combination of the two plus relative timings is useful for some, helping them stay on top of all of the pertinent race information.

SimHub is a powerful tool, and again, this is only the most fundamental aspect of what it can do. Be sure to check out the dash builds shared by our incredibly talented modding community by browsing your favourite sim’s download section on the left. Adding telemetry to a second screen is a great way to add immersion and give yourself a few more tools to help win races.

If you have a favourite dash, be sure to let us know in the comments below.
About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

I developed myself (as a hobby) something like Simhub (although very limited in functionality). It was a C# .NET app that was detecting the running game and parsing the telemetry data and it would send it via either serial port to an Arduino or via HTTP to an Android app. I had it running for some years, but from time to time I had to extend it to add more games, or more info...
The thing is, you have to invest a lot of time and effort to do something like Simhub. So I paid around 8€ or so, and I think it's even such low amount as it offers quite a lot of functionality. I really love the bass shakers, they are a game changer for me.
 
It's very hard not to love SimHub, i use it for my displays, simwind and shakeit (buttkickers)

There's a very large amount of dashboards available to download for free, which you can all edit to match your personal preferences.

But.. there's more. With all the extra properties available in SimHub and being able to insert properties yourself, the possibilities are endless.

View attachment 507600

Display on the left : Intensity settings of SFX / Tactile / Wind, but the display is also used as a racelogic display

Display in the middle: An old Note3 converted to a race display f

Display on the right: Mainly used for a general system info like clock speeds, temps, % usage ect, but with a rotary i can also scroll through all available displays.
Omg!! This looks amazing!
 
The guy behind simhub have my outmost respect, he wasn't the first one in doing software for telemetry displays. But he took over the custom display market because he was the first in making it independent of the hardware, even letting people use smartphones and he gave us the chance to use custom math and the chance of making custom interfaces.

Hardware manufactures should be smart enough to stop implementing propietary software that are very limiting and frustrating for the user, and instead start using simhub to run their wheel displays and take full advantage of the massive compatibility and customizability of simhub.

The simhub ecosystem is huge, it's possible to find or create in just hours a full replica of any real life car display without even paying any license because those interfaces are done as hobbyst mods for non profit. It saves manufacturers the engineering hours of someone writing custom code to do their own propietary interface.

Game developers should take note of simhub and create together a common standard way to export telemetry data, so simhub can be automatically compatible with any new game without having to reinvent the wheel and reverse engineer the games with every new game launch.

The only thing I miss in simhub is the possibility to use variables that could store their value for long periods.
 
Last edited:
The guy behind simhub have my outmost respect, he wasn't the first one in doing software for telemetry displays. But he took over the custom display market because he was the first in making it independent of the hardware, even letting people use smartphones and he gave us the chance to use custom math and the chance of making custom interfaces.

Hardware manufactures should be smart enough to stop implementing propietary software that are very limiting and frustrating for the user, and instead start using simhub to run their wheel displays and take full advantage of the massive compatibility and customizability of simhub.

The simhub ecosystem is huge, it's possible to find or create in just hours a full replica of any real life car display without even paying any license because those interfaces are done as hobbyst mods for non profit. It saves manufacturers the engineering hours of someone writing custom code to do their own propietary interface.

Game developers should take note of simhub and create together a common standard way to export telemetry data, so simhub can be automatically compatible with any new game without having to reinvent the wheel and reverse engineer the games with every new game launch.

The only thing I miss in simhub is the possibility to use variables that could store their value for long periods.

Variables that store data for long periods... like this?

 
Game developers should take note of simhub and create together a common standard way to export telemetry data, so simhub can be automatically compatible with any new game without having to reinvent the wheel and reverse engineer the games with every new game launch.

The only thing I miss in simhub is the possibility to use variables that could store their value for long periods.
I agree with both last paragraphs, but when you tell about data storage, you mean internally or on the internet, for example? Because each possibility will need a different approach.

Regards.

Ricardo V. Soares
 
[..]

The only thing I miss in simhub is the possibility to use variables that could store their value for long periods.

Simply write a little *.dll which stores your variables.
In "SimHub\PluginSdk\" are 2 sample projects. User.PluginSdkDemo is the one you should be looking at.
 
I agree with both last paragraphs, but when you tell about data storage, you mean internally or on the internet, for example? Because each possibility will need a different approach.

Regards.

Ricardo V. Soares
The idea is to get a variable stored in memory on the local pc for a later use in other calculations. For example: let's suppose that for whatever reason I want to store the fuel level that I had just before the start of refueling and then I want to access to that value half an hour later for a calculation at that time.

I tried to write a small algorithm time ago for something relatively similar, and I never got to make the variable keep the stored value for long, it's as if the variable would be seen as a local variable and once the algorithm runs just once the value of the variable is crushed.
 
Last edited:
The idea is to get a variable stored in memory on the local pc for a later use in other calculations. For example: let's suppose that for whatever reason I want to store the fuel level that I had just before the start of refueling and then I want to access to that value half an hour later for a calculation at that time.

I tried to write a small algorithm time ago for something relatively similar, and I never got to make the variable keep the stored value for long, it's as if the variable would be seen as a local variable and once the algorithm runs just once the value of the variable is crushed.
I see. Normally saving in a txt file would do the trick (csharp System.IO.StreamWriter for writing content, StreamReader for loading txt content).

Example C# code follows below:


namespace StreamTest
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
StreamWriter TestFile = new StreamWriter("WriteTest.txt");
string lines = "Lap 1 - 1:00:000 - 1,0 L";
TestFile.WriteLine(lines);
TestFile.Close();
}
}
}

Note that code allows to save a single string, but there's ways to save more info if you want, but must use arrays to do so.
But if your idea is to transfer information from application to application, you must be able to use StreamReader function in the source application in order to transfer the info to target file, then, you can check your info in target file by simply opening it on the notepad, for example, or have a proper program to make the functions you need/want to do.

Hope it helps, because I'm outdated in IT by 10+ yrs. :)

Regards.

Ricardo V. Soares
 
I see. Normally saving in a txt file would do the trick (csharp System.IO.StreamWriter for writing content, StreamReader for loading txt content).

Next time that I have some spare time and I feel like it I will take a look to the sample plugin projects that Ensi Ferrum mentioned before and try to modify them to save that variable data as a string of a file.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I'm using Sim Dashboard and a tip for SimuCube-users and maybe others to make dashboard for a few bucks, if you have an old phone for disposal. Just buy magnets 10 mm in diameter, maybe 5 mm thick on Ebay (5 € incl. shipping here). Stick them to the screws of your Base, put some superglue on the magnets and glue your phone (with or without case) to them. That's my 'old' still super-sharp Google Pixel 2XL btw (2880 x 1440 pixel) that despite OLED and showing the same layout for months now has no burn-in at all. AMS2-dash can be downloaded here.
 

Attachments

  • My-Smartphone-Dashboard.jpg
    My-Smartphone-Dashboard.jpg
    491.3 KB · Views: 503
I see some familiar Dashes on the pictures :)
Yes, SimHub is worth every cent you pay for it. And not only for showing simple data on a simple screen.

You might want to check out my SimHub creations:
ACC-CDS - Complete Dash Set + some goodies for ACC
F1-2021 CDS - Dashes for F1-2021
Both packages have profiles for Hardware LEDs as well
Simply the best for ACC once installed no changing dashes for diffrent cars Ensi has done all that for us. Since he has made it so seamless the only trouble is when you go any other Sim you then have to set up your dash for each car you drive and if you have not done it for a while it can be a bit of a chore.
Good to see it in the F1 2021 Sim
 
thanks for explaining! does anyone know somewhere i would be able to get a display, as i dont have an old phone available, and one that wouldnt blow a crater in my wallet, thanks
 
thanks for explaining! does anyone know somewhere i would be able to get a display, as i dont have an old phone available, and one that wouldnt blow a crater in my wallet, thanks
Search on eBay and Etsy. On both websites, I have a 7" touch screen display and a 3D printed case where you can buy components separately, but there are other displays listed depending on your wants. I think I'm competitively priced. As far as your wallet goes, pricing is kind of a strange thing when we are talking about sim racing, but I do get it. ;) Lots of options for the DIY-minded, but things will always add up in sim racing.

 
Last edited:

Latest News

Article information

Author
Mike Smith
Article read time
2 min read
Views
38,141
Comments
41
Last update

Shifting method

  • I use whatever the car has in real life*

  • I always use paddleshift

  • I always use sequential

  • I always use H-shifter

  • Something else, please explain


Results are only viewable after voting.
Back
Top