Fanatec - for the price of Shifter SQ you should include at *least* a 2m RJ12 cable!
Gaven Eogan
Member
in Pedals
I really resent having to pay another €15 for a third party RJ12 cable, when Fanatec could include one and add another €2 to the cost of shifter.
I paid €445 for shifter and handbrake and then found I couldn't connect the shifter to rig properly straight away without needed longer cable. I doubt the included cable works for 99% of buyers.
Comments
Hi Gaven,
This request is pretty rare, so the included cable does indeed work for most customers. The included cable length was determined by a number of factors, for example: the shifter is generally positioned very close to the wheel base, and longer cables can be more prone to interference.
[Fanatec Community Manager]
Dominic, thanks for reply.
As you can see in pictures below, the short supplied cable must reach from shifter which is in correct position beside drivers seat, all the way across the only entry to rig on left hand side to wheelbase above - it hangs across the air gap (red highlighted line).
There is no way for me to get into rig from other side as it is against a wardrobe in a small room.
So I currently have to climb over the other side of shifter into seat.
The correct way and way I do all other cables is highlighted in green - across the frame bottom and up following the frame to wheelbase.
I'm sure most rigs are the same.
Maybe many rig owners have the luxury of having access to both sides of rig so don't mind cable hanging in mid air like that.
Also before you ask - I am from right-hand drive country - our shifters are on the left.
The cable I ordered is 3m length - there is not much choice in these lengths as it is either this or 6m from the supplier who usually deals in telephone related for these cables. I hope this does not have interference.
Anyway as I said, I doubt a rich company like Fanatec would notice the tiny extra cost if they threw both a 50cm (or whatever it is) and a 2m or 3m cable in the included items with such an expensive shifter.
It wasn't the only thing I found wrong with shifter to be honest. When I took it out of box I found my hands were covered in yellow oil... and found bottom side (when in box) of shifter covered in leaked oil... even the bottom serial number label was soaked in oil and stained. I had to wipe the whole thing down with paper towel (it's still on bag it was in).
Is oil supposed to leak out of it like that and/or supposed to be sitting in a pool of oil in the plastic bag?
I tried two longer cables (differing lengths) and both dropped gears constantly. I had to go back to the original cable.
If you find one that works let me know.
Well that doesn't make sense to me.... a cable like this has very basic, low frequency signalling.... we have ultra-high speed 8K cables that can transmit an 8K resolution in 60Hz reliably over 2-5m in length. And that signal in magnitudes more complex than a very simple on/off steady signal like this which does not change at all more than a few times a minute (only when gear is changed). This signal should stabilize within a few milliseconds and be a able to be read reliably. They must be using very shitty hardware and/or software/firmware on both sides if this is the case.
I have the same "pretty rare" problem (the same as anyone, who is using shifter correctly beside the seat, not beside the wheel - by my opinion).
No it shouldn't be leaking so much oil. Please contact support if it continues.
My €15 RJ-12 cable arrived and turned out to be just a reel of cable with no RJ-12 connectors on the ends 😣
I ended up adding ferrite chokes to each end of the longer cable and it now works without dropping gears. Try that for you cable. You can get chokes cheaply on Amazon.