Cougar HOTAS questions!

[Raised_Dead85]

Head over to Cougarworld (cougar.frugalsworld.com) and you'll find out anything you want or need to know about Cougar, programming with Foxy, mods... basically everything. It's a long read though but ell the information you'll ever need is there.

 

Thanks;)

[Kuky]

hm... cougarworld seems to be down...

[Raised_Dead85]

hm... cougarworld seems to be down...

 

Its up for me and im in Iraq!

[PoleCat]

You are completely ignoring the inherent problems of the Cougar and touting it (to the new guys who are asking questions) like it's the best thing since sliced bread. That's wrong and you know it.

 

I am not ignoring its problems. I just do not think that over stating them or characterizing all of them as inherent is accurate. I contend that your "out of the box" experience is no where near average and you know it. And IMHO compared to ANYTHING else out there stock, the stock Cougar IS the best thing since sliced bread. The only thing better to me then a stock Cougar is...that's right, you guessed it, a modded Cougar.

 

I have been recommending the stock Cougar to many people for a long time, years in fact. By your estimation I would think at least some of them would have been angry with me for suggesting the Cougar (Stock) over the CH or at least by now have thrown it in the trash and bought a CH. Well the fact is they love me for the recommendation and nary a one of them has a broken Cougar, has complained about it, has gone out and bought a CH or has had to spend 400-600 dollars to be extremely satisfied with their kitty......stock.

 

I am not meaning to offend here Rugg. I just think a select few have it "in for the Cougar" and wrongly so. I post for the same reason that you do. Because I believe my choice of the stock Cougar over any other stock HOTAS is the best choice and I will continue to try to get that across the best I can while attempting not to trash the competition unfairly or make anybody angry. That is not my intent.

 

Out

[Kuky]

Funny... for me Cougar World forums open fine but main page gives error

[Raised_Dead85]

Okay i got the latest fixes for the COUGAR HOTAS now just waiting for my "stick of joy to come in" now thats a little gay.

 

Oh need help. Since i sold my X52 to my roommate, well he has vista install as OS. So i tried to download the drivers for vista and that worked but i cannot find the software program called the SST programming software! Where in the world can i get the program because Vista will not let you use the x52 SST program! I went to SIMHQ and they had the 32 bit download version and i installed it but it only registered as a driver not the program im looking for!

 

So if anyone knows how to make this software to work on vista 32 bit version that would be great.

[Prophet]

Partially incorrect. If you buy directly from CH they charge retail. Buy from NewEgg or Provantage and they're $99 each. Heck, at Fry's Electronics I bought my Pro Throttle and Pro Pedals for $99. CH does this on purpose. They don't want you to pay full retail.

 

Polecat, answer the question posted previously: Have you ever owned CH? I've owned both CH and Cougar. Owned.

 

Here's your rhetoric. The airbrake switch broke several days into using the stick. Seems it was installed incorrectly and at the time I was a n00b and didn't realize that a bit of surgery was needed to keep this from happening. Pots wore out more frequently than any stick I've ever used, including Saitek. Three PCB's died from static electricity. I live in Arizona where the air is dry. I have carpet on my floors. That's a recipe for disaster with Cougar PCB's. I have no idea why they don't design the stick differently so that you don't kill the PCB just by touching the stick. I can tell you that after the third one died I jury rigged some rubber "bumpers" to hold the board so that never happened again. The stick was a complete mess inside and everything was assembled with hot glue and tape. It looked like a cluster F inside.

 

Then there was the horrible customer service from Guillemot in receiving my spare parts. 3 months once to get a PCB. I never saw that from CH nor Saitek. Yeah Polecat, the above is "rhetoric" according to you. Or maybe it's the truth coming from a FORMER Cougar owner. Call it what you will. Head over to Frugal's and take a look at how many people are having trouble with brand new Cougars as of late. Seems the gimbals are even more poorly built than in the past. There's a slew of new posts the past few months.

 

Your $800 modded Cougar may indeed be the best stick on the planet. If I'd paid that much money you bet your behind it better be. I'm not fond of the slider throttle on the CH gear, but I'm tickled to death to be able to get a 1-2 knot increase with a sensitive touch on my Pro Throttle when I'm refueling. I never could do that with my Cougar throttle.

 

Like I stated previously, in RF2 I flew an Su25T and ran an F15 out of it's remaining missiles and it's guns. I never could have done that with a Cougar. It just isn't responsive enough. Additionally, I let the CH software program my chaff and flare dispensing duties because I was busy flying at the time. How many logical flags has Foxy? IIRC it's something like 45. CH has 128 per mode. I'm currently using 40+ and I'm not even finished with programming my stick. How many axis can Foxy emulate? CH can do 64 per mode. I could go on and on but anyone who would argue that Foxy's software is superior is in denial. I know the gentleman who created both. Foxy is 10 y/o technology that Mr. Hallows has added on to. CH is constantly being updated to today's standards by the guy who created the software for both joystick companies mentioned in this thread.

 

Yeah Polecat, my Cougar sucked. It was beautiful to look at, that's why I bought it. Too bad it didn't live long enuf and perform as well as it looked. In fact, my right forearm is just getting back to the right size that matches my left after fighting those overly heavy springs in my Cougar. I'll give you this though, I've had my hands on a modded Cougar. It was slick as hell. It's not a much of a Cougar though, it's a different animal underneath the Cougar shell.. Just as a '67 Chevy II Nova with a 502 and a 6 speed manual only resembles my grammies grocery getter on the outside. If you're gonna argue about something make it apples and apples. The Cougar stick when fully modded is a piece of art. The throttle and the software tarnish that art for me though..........

 

Tell the truth Polecat, if someone made you go back to a stock Cougar there's be bodies everywhere wouldn't there? :)

 

I agree with this 100%. And I have an NXT modded Cougar. Ever since i moved to New Mexico, I am worried I am gonna fry it since I get a nice zap when I grab it. And every so often it loses its profile and refuses to accept another, or be flashed and I have a dance to go through.

 

If I was to do it again, I would buy CH. I am not fond of it having no rotaries or the slider, but my experience with the Cougar has been less than ideal.