G3 Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 after recently experimenting with the sfs talon series of hotas, i am less than happy with the accuracy of the axis and have decided to either sell them off or heavily modify the internals. at first i wanted to convert them to left handed but i am slowly getting used to the right handed orientation, god forbid but now i think i may have trouble going back to lefthanded:doh: currently thinking well, if i am considering staying right handed, then maybe its time to also consider a better quality setup. i have often looked at and druelled at the TM cougars. even looked at the available mods like the uberII NXT, with HE sensors. i am after nothing more than hearing from existing cougar owners and the for and against points of owning a cougar. the oportunity is for an early version, in the first few thousand serial #. is this better than a new one, as in is the build quality still as good, i had read somewhere it may not be? please advise, cheers.
G3 Posted July 28, 2006 Author Posted July 28, 2006 sorry double post, please keep this thread on cougars, thankyou.
AJ.eightFive Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 wow that's a lot of posts... someone needs to be patient and let pages load! If you're thinking about a Cougar, make sure you're seriously thinking about spending at least $100 US on aftermarket mods (Hall Sensors) if not more ($300 US for Uber II Nxt) to replace the stock gimbals as well. It seems like you've looked into that already though and are aware of the Cougar's flaws. Other than that it's a great stick, I won't ever regret buying one.
G3 Posted July 28, 2006 Author Posted July 28, 2006 my sincere appologies for the multiple posts, it was a lockup at my end. (hangs head in shame) yes i should have been more patient, unfortunately i have some strange issues with this forum.... this one though was operator error... AJ, that sounds fair, yes i have sussed it out a bit but am still wondering. anyone here usng the uberII nxt and/or hall effect sensors?
Rhen Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 A friend of mine had a potentiometer go bad after less than a month. However, I've had mine since 2000 and the only thing to go bad is the plastic housing on the speed brake switch. It's all still stock. For the amount of money you'll pay for a Cougar, it should work right out of the box, but sometimes it doesn't. Nevertheless, I wouldn't want to fly with anything else, but you've got to prepare yourself to spend at least the equivalent to another cougar in after-market modifications to make it the stick it should be. After 6 years, I'm going to invest in the Hall sensors and the U2NXT mod as well. Just get them early - before your pots die - which may be... anytime you take it out of the box.
G3 Posted July 28, 2006 Author Posted July 28, 2006 along with the positive comments i also welcome the negative: thats what i want to here, honesty, not necessarily bias:thumbup:
rlogue Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 I'm the guy RHEN referred to ... I did have a pot go bad which is no good considering I just got it.. the good news is I emailed thrustmaster lastnight and I have a pot on the way today. It's covered under warranty, but if it wasn't , it's only eight bones for a new pot. I also have hall sensors on the way so it is fair to say that if you buy one, you will drop some bucks on it, but I'd do it all over again .. it's a really nice stick .. very solid ... once you get used to it, you'll be flying formation like you never thought possible.
Slammin Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 There is just nothing better than U2NXT'd Cougar IMHO. Love mine and I really cannot think of anything negative to add. I can't speak for build quality of new vs old. My oldest one (Uber modded) has a serial number 2829 and my 'new' one that is U2NxT modded is #6005 and I couldn't tell any difference between the two. If you do not mod them, I can think of quite a few negatives, but even an unmodded Cougar is pretty good for fast jet sims, but that's about it. Abit IN9 32x MAX- Kentsfield QX6700 @3520 1.5 vcore watercooled D-Tek Fuzion/PA-160/MCR120/2x MCP655 2x2GB G-Skill 1066 5-5-5-15 2T@1.9vdimm 2x EVGA 580GTX 1.5GB SLI 2x 74GB Sata Raptor Raid0 2x 320GB Hitachi Sata II X-FI Elite Pro Dell U3011 Lian Li V2100B Corsair HX1000
AJ.eightFive Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 ggg, I have both of those mods (as well as the leather skirt mod ;)) and as rlogue, who I fly with often, will testify, my ability to remain in close (fingertip) formation, increased exponentially once I had everything installed. The stick is incredibly smooth with IJ's gimbals and the HS eliminate all axis spiking. The leather skirt just looks badass ;) but it's also nice to not have the extra pressure created by the rubber boot.
Mobius1 Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 How much did it cost you guys to get the U2NXT mod and Hall sensors? From what I see it will cost about $400 to mod a Cougar like this. How did you guys go about getting the mods also, I'm really interested in the Hall sensors for sure, and maybe even the new gimbals, but I'll have to see. Sorry to hijack the thread, and thanks for all the info provided already. Stupid thermals...
Guest Cali Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 I'd recommend waiting until the beginning of next year if you can hold out. Rumor says that something good is coming. Good cause that's when I'll have extra money to buy something good.
G3 Posted July 28, 2006 Author Posted July 28, 2006 thanks to everyone for the input (no punn intended) :) i am more or less sitting in the same position on the fence as i was before i started this thread. very interested in the "wait somethings coming talk" could that be an offering from CH perhaps? whoever it is, will they offer a left handed version? wait a while or scoop a cougar now and mod it?
VMFA-Blaze Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 thanks to everyone for the input (no punn intended) :) i am more or less sitting in the same position on the fence as i was before i started this thread. very interested in the "wait somethings coming talk" could that be an offering from CH perhaps? whoever it is, will they offer a left handed version? wait a while or scoop a cougar now and mod it? I love my cougar, but to actually Mod it out all the way is very expensive.... All of my controllers have Hall's, and they're smooth and precise... IJ's mod can be found at the Cougar web site, its not Thrustmaster but Frugals Cougar web sight, once you pull it up look for the mods and tweeks thread. This mod was created about 8 months ago by IJ and is called the NXT, this i anadvanced design on a mod that IJ designed and built a few years ago. The NXT is a more realistic set of gimbals, and provides the ability to add 2 hall's sensors to the works.. And while you're at it you can also mount a hall sesor in the throttle with a mod kit by Cubpilot.. Both these items combined will cost about $600.00 USD.. and then you should look into The Simped rudder that also has a Hall sensor... there are a few versions of this available at different price ranges .. But the top of the line has metal peddals with toe brakes which are very cool. the cost here is about $ 250.00 USD... Now these are not for every one, its a very big expenditure but I'm glad that I went in this direction. you probably would be better of with the CH gear, but as for me I personally feel that I have tremendous control here... If you get a cougar now youre still going to have to wait as the mods, and peddals are built to order... But thers nothing from stopping you from takeing a look at them befor you decide to buy... ~S~ Blaze intel Cor i7-6700K ASUS ROG MAX VIII Extreme G.Skill TridentZ Series 32 GB Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SATA II ASUS GTX 1080/DIRECTX 12 Windows 10 PRO Thrustmaster Warthog Oculus Rift VR
51GRIZZLY Posted July 28, 2006 Posted July 28, 2006 So if you now after all these posts finally have come to the conclusion that Hall sensors are the ultimate solution for a HOTAS. By yourself a Saitek X52 there you got Hall sensors for about half the price youll have to pay for a cougar with aditional Hall sensor kit.
Guest IguanaKing Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 Agreed. My CH setup takes a knockin' and keeps on rockin'. I have yet to open either component up, but I opened up my X45 a couple of times and all I can say about the internal construction is...YIKES. :megalol:
snomhf Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 whoever it is, will they offer a left handed version? Only if hell freezes over! ---------- Click here for details ---------- Abit AV8 MB, AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1.5 GB DDR, GeForce 6600GT/256MB AGP, CH Fighterstick/Pro Throttle/Pro Pedals/Throttle Quad/DT225 Trackball, TIR4
Guest IguanaKing Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 Only if hell freezes over! Yup, and that would be sooner than the day the militaries of all the countries of the world change the control layouts of their aircraft to accomodate left-handed flyers. ;) Can't learn to use right-handed control layouts? Either stick with civies, or aspire to be AC in a bomber, tanker, or cargo aircraft.
snomhf Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 Not that I really want to continue this but what does playing a computer game using left-handed controllers have to do with real world militaries? Have you played so long that you have crossed the boundary? Scary people around here. ---------- Click here for details ---------- Abit AV8 MB, AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 1.5 GB DDR, GeForce 6600GT/256MB AGP, CH Fighterstick/Pro Throttle/Pro Pedals/Throttle Quad/DT225 Trackball, TIR4
Guest IguanaKing Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 It was actually a poorly-executed attempt at a joke. I came across the wrong way. ;) The two really don't have anything to do with each other, but if you want the feel of the real deal, the controls are right-handed. I haven't crossed over by playing so long. I'm a civilian contractor who often works at the USAF academy. Their DA20s are quite different from most, because they have been converted to move all of the primary instrumentation to the RH side of the aircraft. The student learns to fly the aircraft with his right hand on the stick, and left on the throttle. :D
rlogue Posted July 29, 2006 Posted July 29, 2006 So if you now after all these posts finally have come to the conclusion that Hall sensors are the ultimate solution for a HOTAS. By yourself a Saitek X52 there you got Hall sensors for about half the price youll have to pay for a cougar with aditional Hall sensor kit. Not to mention a stick worthy of any space ship loving alien sim pilot. The thing is just goofy looking lol.
Evader Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 I have cougars with the Uber-2 mod and one with the real simulator FSSB R2 mod. Once I got the FSSB mod I put the cougar with the U2 back in the box and have not used it since. Forget getting Ian's mod go with the FSSB, it's high quality aircraft industry sensors and it makes the stick just like the real F-16. It is incredible to fly, so accurate with just a slight force on the stick. The mod will run about $400 and about $250 for the cougar....but nothing comes close to it with the FSSB. Here is the link for the FSSB: http://www.realsimulator.com/html/fssb.html Oh and the X52, if you want a plastic POS that cost only $100.00 then I guess that may be an option for poorman's HOTAS.
Guest Cali Posted August 1, 2006 Posted August 1, 2006 Oh and the X52, if you want a plastic POS that cost only $100.00 then I guess that may be an option for poorman's HOTAS. Some people can't afford the cougar you know, we all aren't made of money like you. I had the X45 for about 1 year before I got my CH set-up. And I liked that stick. Why don't you throw some of that money my way so I can buy a new hardrive?
Evader Posted August 2, 2006 Posted August 2, 2006 Why don't you throw some of that money my way so I can buy a new hardrive? How's the "Dry heat out there" I used to work the flight line at Luke on Eagles in the 550th and Triple Nickle squadrons, avionics. I was there before they built the golf course, left in 92.....Bastards! Of course I got out after almost 11 years and now make many times my old AF pay....that's how I can buy $700.00 sticks to fly Lock-on with.
Sleek Posted August 2, 2006 Posted August 2, 2006 Of course I got out after almost 11 years and now make many times my old AF pay....that's how I can buy $700.00 sticks to fly Lock-on with. Fairplay to ya!..u earn it..u spend it! As for the poor mans HOTAS...beggars can't be chooser's! :joystick::D Be Good..Be Strong..:drink: ;)
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