thrustmaster support

[slowhand]

or lack there of...just a heads up for those of you that are thinking about buying a thrustmaster product..hold off and call there tech support and find out about there warranty or the lack of.. they will not repair anything even though there warranty say they will ..they will send you parts but you will have to pay someone to replace them or you can do it yourself it's up to you to repair the damn thing ...i'm posting this cus i just ordered parts to rebuild my cougar again(2 times in 3 1/2 yrs) it took them... this is no shit 12 emails and 30+ days for them to send some of the parts i ordered now if i sent some of the money i could see that but i sent all the money and got 2 out of the 5 things i ordered(oh yeah they say they have support 7am till noon on sundays well thats alot of BS i was on hold for more then an hr before i got the disconnect from their end so by this time i'm one happy SOB right now..some might say oh he's just pissed off..well your right i am pissed off and its not right that any one should have to put up with this crap..so if the new TM warhog is on your list of wants...ck out the print before you drop the cash..one more thing if you own a cougar you need to order parts soon cus i was told by TM Tech support that in the next year or so they are going to put it out to pasture....stock up now.

[LtFransky]

Good heads-up. Thanks for the info. I want to get a Cougar joystick handle PCB from them. (Unless someone here has one they don't need :))

[Bwaze]

Slowhand, you might research an invention called capital letters or majuscules.

 

;)

But you are right, Thrustmaster's tech support isn't perfect. I got all the parts I ordered, and very quickly (and cheap), but I never got answers to some of my questions.

 

Also, how many companies in this business are without forum? Since Furgal's Cougar World forums went extinct people are asking the same questions again and again on all forums (how to install on Win 7 64 bit, etc). I asked them if they intend to put up a forum, and this was their response:

 

"...we inform you that the Frugal's World website is still active on a different link:

 

http://cougar.flyfoxy.com/

 

 

Concerning the creation of a new forum, there isn't anything we could say at the moment.

 

 

However, we acknowledge the benefits of having a forum and will of course analyze this possibility, as soon as the Hotas Warthog is released."

 

 

Hm, what's there to analyse? If forums are really worth the effort? I doubt if I would ever buy a Cougar without Cougar's World, and that was years ago. Lack of such support for Warthog isn't something I'm looking forward to.

[Revvin]

I thought TM set up a forum but took it down as it wasn't getting used as everyone was using Frugalsworld? Official or unofficial there should be some sort of forum for Thrustmaster users especially with a new product coming soon

[coolts]

Well, I’ve had no problems with them. They’ve replied to my emails (after a day or two), and sent me parts very cheaply for out of warranty repairs. They were sent 1/2 way round the world as well.

Yes i had to do the repairs myself but i bought a knackered 2nd hand Cougar so I was expecting that. If it was still within warranty I would not have been a happy camper.

The forum thing is a problem, but from their point of view, they may not want 10 million people bitching at them 24/7.

I suspect they will bow to pressure when TARGET is released as that ties in several controllers so will benefit a forum. The alternative would be for them to post a massive “covers all eventualities” FAQ on their website.

TM as a whole however need to increase their web presence as their site is very old and clunky and consists of several layers of increasingly historical code.

[sofie_59]

Good heads-up. Thanks for the info. I want to get a Cougar joystick handle PCB from them. (Unless someone here has one they don't need :))

Sorry to say but they are out of stock!

I wanted one for myself and a Usb-cable, The cable was in stock for 10$

You can try and buy one used and take parts from

[CrashEd]

Oliver (RedDog) is your best bet for spare parts. I recently ordered 2 spare microsticks from him, however he is also running low on spares too:

 

http://cougar.flyfoxy.com/sales.php

 

Annoyingly, I found these not long after on the Digikey site, if you're in to soldering:

 

http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/745226-pot-joystick-100k-ohm-w-switch-252a104b60nb.html

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?lang=en&site=UK&WT.z_homepage_link=hp_go_button&KeyWords=252A104B60NB&x=30&y=20

 

I'm gonna retro-fit my 'broken' microstick PCB, so that I'll still have two spares.

 

Here's a handy list of reference numbers for the spares:

 

http://cougar.flyfoxy.com/warranty_parts.php

 

I've tried sourcing the CTS pots for x, y and z axis, but to no avail. If anyone knows of a company selling them I'd be interested as a quick fix, before I muster up the cash for a hall sensor mod. Their part numbers are:

 

CTS 251B15F104B2NB for x, y axis

CTS 251B15F104B6NB for z axis (throttle)

 

When I'm feeling rich (hopefully some time soon!) I'm gonna stock up on spare switches etc...

 

HTH

[sweinhart3]

Oliver (RedDog) is your best bet for spare parts. I recently ordered 2 spare microsticks from him, however he is also running low on spares too:

 

http://cougar.flyfoxy.com/sales.php

 

Annoyingly, I found these not long after on the Digikey site, if you're in to soldering:

 

http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/745226-pot-joystick-100k-ohm-w-switch-252a104b60nb.html

http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?lang=en&site=UK&WT.z_homepage_link=hp_go_button&KeyWords=252A104B60NB&x=30&y=20

 

I'm gonna retro-fit my 'broken' microstick PCB, so that I'll still have two spares.

 

Here's a handy list of reference numbers for the spares:

 

http://cougar.flyfoxy.com/warranty_parts.php

 

I've tried sourcing the CTS pots for x, y and z axis, but to no avail. If anyone knows of a company selling them I'd be interested as a quick fix, before I muster up the cash for a hall sensor mod. Their part numbers are:

 

CTS 251B15F104B2NB for x, y axis

CTS 251B15F104B6NB for z axis (throttle)

 

When I'm feeling rich (hopefully some time soon!) I'm gonna stock up on spare switches etc...

 

HTH

 

Sometime ago I atually found the company that made those pots. I dont remember their name now but when I inquired, they had zero stock and would only sell in very large quantities on a made to order basis.

[CrashEd]

Sometime ago I atually found the company that made those pots. I dont remember their name now

 

Yes, they are called CTS and the pots are the 251 series - 100k ohms iirc:

 

http://www.ctscorp.com/components/Datasheets/251.pdf

 

but when I inquired, they had zero stock and would only sell in very large quantities on a made to order basis.

 

I figured that might be the case. I might call Digikey and see if they will add them to their stock, being as they stock the microstick, which is also made by CTS.

 

Or, I might just buy some from RedDog, and save all the hassle :D

[sofie_59]

i wonder if RedDog or someone has a PCB for the stick?

Thrustmaster support dont have them in stock :(

Pm me if so

Edited October 1, 2010 by sofie_59

[slowhand]

Still no parts from TM...just alot BS from them...

[Winters79]

Anyone know where I could buy new stick-cord for hotas warthog. Cat ate my cord :(

[sofie_59]

Register at Thrustmaster support and describe your problem.

http://ts.thrustmaster.com/eng/index.php?pg=files_faq

[celticcoho]

Anyone know where I could buy new stick-cord for hotas warthog. Cat ate my cord :(

PS2 cable, like the guys with stick extentions have????:book:

[Teej]

PS2 cable, like the guys with stick extentions have????:book:

 

That only makes the connection from the removable grip to the base.

 

He's talking about the USB cable that runs from the base to the PC.