TM Cougar HOTAS - worth buying?

[sea2sky]

A friend is offering me his set, seems like in excellent condition, and price is ok. Do you guys think it is worth spending money on it in 2018 when stuff like VKB is there etc?

 

Thanks!

[Rudel_chw]

I love my Cougar and I could have upgraded to a TM Warthog but I refrain because I didnt like the programming software of the newer TM products, its incredible but the older software of the Cougar its so much easier to use without giving away any power.

 

If you prefer to program your Hotas from within DCS, the the Warthog is a better buy because it has more hats, buttons and axes, and the throttle is dual whereas the Cougar's is single.

 

Cheers

[Gearbox]

Stock cougars were notoriously unreliable and finicky because the pots were pretty crappy and the gimbals were made of pot metal that wore badly. Upgraded ones with ball bearing gimbals and hall sensors are a whole different world. Are you looking at a stock one or a modded one?

[sea2sky]

Stock cougars were notoriously unreliable and finicky because the pots were pretty crappy and the gimbals were made of pot metal that wore badly. Upgraded ones with ball bearing gimbals and hall sensors are a whole different world. Are you looking at a stock one or a modded one?

 

good point, thanks! I should check that.

[Thadiun Okona]

Yes but only if the price is right and you replace the gimbals with the Uber knockoff debolestis makes you can buy from Shapeways for ~$60 (plus some hardware and sensors)

[sea2sky]

Yes but only if the price is right and you replace the gimbals with the Uber knockoff debolestis makes you can buy from Shapeways for ~$60 (plus some hardware and sensors)

 

is that a mod Gearbox was talking about (2 posts above)?

[Thadiun Okona]

is that a mod Gearbox was talking about (2 posts above)?

 

There were many that fit that description, the king of which was called the NXT Uber Gimbals and cost like $600, cnc machined out of aluminum and used expensive Midori Hall sensors.

 

Debolestis made a printable knock off that achieves the same exact kinematics and uses cheaper non contact sensors that are arguably better.

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=195464

[Gearbox]

is that a mod Gearbox was talking about (2 posts above)?

 

There were a number of mods on the market including force sensing options. Mine has the uber gimbal mod and it's awesome. Is the shapeways produced knockoff one good? I would be worried about the durability of plastic in this application but since it's a cheap 3d print you can always get another one.

[Rudel_chw]

On my Cougar I've just replaced the pots every five years or so, and have replaced the gimbals once in 15 years ... investing US$ 600 on improving a $400 piece of hardware didnt make sense to me :)

[Sokol1_br]

If you prefer to program your Hotas from within DCS, the the Warthog is a better buy because it has more hats, buttons and axes, and the throttle is dual whereas the Cougar's is single.

 

HAT', buttons and switches yes, Warthog have more, but axis is the same number of Cougar = 7:

 

Warthog:

2 on stick

2 on throtles

1 in slider

2 in slew

 

Cougar

2 on stick

1 on throttle

2 on mini-stick (slew)

1 in range knob

1 in antenna knob

[Rudel_chw]

HAT', buttons and switches yes, Warthog have more, but axis is the same number of Cougar = 7:

...

 

:) you are absolutely right.

 

I purchased my Cougar in 2002 .. the first big failure ocured on 2013, when this gimbal broke:

 

 

I remember the date because I wrote about it on a local forum: http://www.chw.net/foro/otro-hardware/1051462-mi-simulador-panne-se-me-rompio-el-joystick.html

 

The second big fail was on the very next year, when the other gimbal broke:

 

 

I havent had any further failures, but just in case I purchased an extra set of gimbals to a fellow person on this Forum (thanks xoxen :) )

 

The pots its true that they degrade over time, but i have replaced mine's three times in the almost 15 years that I have had this Hotas .... not enough in my opinion to speak about "unreliable" :)

 

Best regards

[Beamscanner]

I would love to buy a cougar throttle.. Really like the thumb TDC, Antenna elevation, etc. I cant seem to find any available

[Dudikoff]

And I'd love to buy another Cougar stick base for the FSSB mod.

[Gearbox]

Shit, I didn't know there was a market for the stock gimbals, I'm pretty sure I chucked mine.

 

I would love to buy a cougar throttle.. Really like the thumb TDC, Antenna elevation, etc. I cant seem to find any available

 

It's a really brilliant piece of ergonomics, it fits perfectly in the hand and everything is right there with no ambiguity. It's much more comfortable to use than the warthog one.

[Sokol1_br]

I would love to buy a cougar throttle.. Really like the thumb TDC, Antenna elevation, etc. I cant seem to find any available

 

In IL2.ru "flea market" are one for sale, converted for standalone USB controller with Arduino+MMjoy2, and with digital contactless sensor in all axis, plus 3 additional rotaries on right side and top of case.

 

 

Seems price is 7000 rubles ~$125.

 

https://forum.il2sturmovik.ru/topic/6698-rud-hotas-cougar-cifrovye-osi/page-1

 

Forum require login - can register in il2sturmovik.com.

 

Anyway the seller is registered there in this forum, try PM if interested: Swift_CCCP

Edited January 26, 2018 by Sokol1_br

[The LT]

That one's sold already. The guy who mods them is on this forum too, his nickname is Swift_CCCP.

[Aluminum Donkey]

A friend is offering me his set, seems like in excellent condition, and price is ok. Do you guys think it is worth spending money on it in 2018 when stuff like VKB is there etc?

 

Thanks!

 

I have the Cougar, it's a good stick now, but I'm a machinist and rebuilt the gimbal myself. The stock gimbal is total junk. Buttons and hat switches are all good quality though.

 

I also fitted mine with Hall effect sensors on the two stick axes, an easy enough mod to do and very worthwhile. I used Allegro A1302 sensors.

 

IMPORTANT: Make sure you disable Windows auto-install, so it doesn't install any drivers automatically, otherwise it will attempt to auto-install when you plug it in... while installing the Cougar drivers :) This will cause a driver conflict, which will make the stick buttons 'flaky'. It's not a problem with the stick itself, but appears to be related to Windows trying to search for and install drivers by itself. Took me a good long while to sort that out.

 

If you don't want to rebuild your gimbal, or install a mod kit, you might want to buy something like a VKB or other stick instead, because the stock Cougar gimbal really is pretty bad. I bought my Cougar used; if I had paid the asking price for a new one I'd have been mighty miffed at how bad it was!!

 

Peace

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