Is a cougar hotas worth it STOCK?
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I understand they have hall effect sensors and a magnet, in place of a pair of potentiometers. Was I in error?
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I am not. A potentiometer is a rheostat - an electrical device that alters its resistance according to mechanical movement. Gimbals are a mechanical device for allowing movement in a joint. I was under the impression the warthog had a ball joint system instead of gimbals.
These parts on the Warthog stick are prone to snap in two:
It may not be technically correct, but some people refer to this part as the gimbals
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If it allows rotation of each part along one axis (which it looks like it does) then it is technically a set of gimbals. That is, each part is free only to rotate about one axis, and the stick gets two degrees of freedom due to there being two gimbals? Properly speaking gimbals are actually rings which allow such rotation, but the parts on the cougar work in a similar if limited fashion.
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Search Results
gimbal
ˈdʒɪmb(ə)l/
noun
plural noun: gimbals
a device for keeping an instrument such as a compass or chronometer horizontal in a moving vessel or aircraft, typically consisting of rings pivoted at right angles.
OriginGimbals, universal joint, CV joint all have common functionality.
And yes they use Hall sensors.
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Ok, sooooo
The doohickeys break on both Warthog and the Cougar. I think that is what I was getting at. Thanks schnidrman
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Well on the cougar the part that the doohickey attaches to is usually the part that breaks first. Its soft metal, and the screw that holds it in place is often overtightened in an attempt to stop the grip from wobbling.
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My thingamabob ain’t broke yet.
But if you want to talk about whatcahmacallits that brake I can tell you a story about Cocos Track Clip Pro, it starts a few years back. So He manages to spap one of the arm joints and proceds to tape it up with cloth based PVC tape, you know the good stuff one uses when you find the right woman.
Anyway a year passes with Coco bitching about His clip that wont stay where He wants it. I think this has to stop, I just cant take it any more.
Coco go buy your self a tube of silicon sealant and use that to set the arm pivot in a fixed position where he needs it to be. OK so He does with good results. A week latter the other joint snaps.So some time latter he wants to buy My Clip that I don’t use, I use the reflector so I don’t have cables hanging of my head. I dont want to sell it.
Some months pass and I reconsider and just give it to Him.
It lasted two days before it got broke.
No good turn goes unpunished. :munch:
Names & places have been changed to protect the guilty, & no mammals were harmed in the telling of this story.
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Well on the cougar the part that the doohickey attaches to is usually the part that breaks first. Its soft metal, and the screw that holds it in place is often overtightened in an attempt to stop the grip from wobbling.
Exact same part on the Warthog that keeps breaking.
BTW, TM is charging 30Euro shipping for all parts now. That is why they are so expensive now.:sad:
My thingamabob ain’t broke yet.
But if you want to talk about whatcahmacallits that brake I can tell you a story about Cocos Track Clip Pro, it starts a few years back. So He manages to spap one of the arm joints and proceds to tape it up with cloth based PVC tape, you know the good stuff one uses when you find the right woman.
I got a Delanclip. Made of metal. Problem solved.:D
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I understand they have hall effect sensors and a magnet, in place of a pair of potentiometers. Was I in error?
No, you are not in error. It was your post that made me think you were confused:
Gimbals on a warthog? I had thought they used hall effect sensors and a spring mount instead of gimbals…
You were talking about gimbals then hall effect sensors, then back to gimbals.
Anyway, ignore my confusion about your confusion.
As for the thingamabob breaking on the whatchamacallit, I wonder what exactly people were doing with their sticks at that time? IIRC, one guy who snapped his gimbal did it due to using the stick with an extension and so the forces were a bit more than what the item was designed for.
With regards to the Track Clip Pro breaking, I fixed mine by putting a wad of green stuff inside that joint. It locks the joint in place but that’s both a plus and a downside. I think stuffing some blu-tac might work too. For those that don’t know, green stuff is that thingamajig used by modellers to fill in gaps or cover imperfections in models or minis.
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I have a Cougar HOTAS since 2001, used aggressively, and suffered no broken parts. I have, however, worn out 2 force sensor mods and the throttle pcb went defective. I was able to replace those malfunctioning parts and the HOTAS keeps on truckin’. I intend to continue using it until I can no longer find parts.
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My markoutsi (Greek naming for something you don’t know how its named) aka gimbals never broke on both my Cougar. Sure both have center play but for sure they r a must.
Before I got my first I was thinking, it’s just a stick, how different can it be? Then I bought and a second one for replacement. I’m on the second with pistolero mod and frequently I have to reposition the staff inside it. And Yes loving it all the way. -
Cougar sidestick center play can result from 2 issues: sloppy gimbals and sloppy fit at the stick shell to shaft connection. The second cause can be completely eliminated. The stick shell is attached to the shaft by an internal collar and 2 screws, one internal and one inserted from the shell exterior. Somewhat counter-intuitively, the looseness at this connection can be eliminated by inserting a thin AL bushing or washer (soft drink can material) where the screw penetrates the internal collar.
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Cougar sidestick center play can result from 2 issues: sloppy gimbals and sloppy fit at the stick shell to shaft connection. The second cause can be completely eliminated. The stick shell is attached to the shaft by an internal collar and 2 screws, one internal and one inserted from the shell exterior. Somewhat counter-intuitively, the looseness at this connection can be eliminated by inserting a thin AL bushing or washer (soft drink can material) where the screw penetrates the internal collar.
Exactly the fix I did on my Warthog center play. Funny, my Cougar never had the problem of center play.
Tailpiece broke on the Warthog and not the Cougar after 7 years of FSSB at 21lbs! (exact same part) Perhaps the center play causes more stress on the tailpiece and encourages snapping??? -
Given how the last Cougar I bought had a loose, malfunctioning antenna rotary pot, both stick pots spiking uncontrollably, and a microstick that occasionally spikes along the Y-axis and shows some slight non-linearity at one extreme along with the override and speedbrake switches never having their housings realigned and the stock gimbals being sloppy crap when centered, it is NOT something I can recommend to anyone looking for an out-of-the-box HOTAS that just works.
However, those were issues I could fix with relative ease. The antenna rotary took some careful disassembly, but works like a treat now. Stick pots needed to be disassembled so I could spray 'em with contact cleaner, but they worked afterward with minor non-linearity. Not that it mattered when I just gutted the stock gimbals and pots for an FSSB R2 anyway, but at least it worked out in a pinch.
It used to be the case you could get inexpensive parts for the Cougar. But it is really expensive to get Cougar parts now they come from France. Guillemot charge a lot for “postage”. My package had a 7 Euro stamp on it but they charged me 83 Euro ($90 USD) for two microsticks and two throttle pots (they wanted 59 Euros or $64 USD for one of each). The microstick used on the throttle are no longer being manufactured (so you are reliant on Guillemot’s stocks) and if you have to replace one by de-soldering the existing one on the board, that is a bastard of a job to do.
Wait a minute: they discontinued the microstick part? I find that hard to believe since it’s such a common microstick found in console gamepads.
On the other hand, when BOTH Cougars I own show the same exact pot symptoms out of the gate and I already had a tedious time swapping out sticks on the last one (why the hell don’t you ship 'em pre-soldered to a new PCB, Guillemot?), I think I’d rather just dodge the issue entirely and devise a new PCB that mounts one of these.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Game-Replacement-Controller-3D-Joystick-Axis-Sensor-Module-for-PS3-Accessorie-/141347615260?hash=item20e8f9721c:g:UGQAAOSwGzlTw52rCheap as chips due to being used for the DualShock 3 pads, and more importantly, they have Hall sensors instead of pots. Shaft’s too thick to accept the stock slew control “spiderweb” cap without modification, but I can deal with that for less center play in the gimbal (it’s a noticeable issue with the microsticks TM and CH used) and no more spiky, inaccurate pots.
The Ultimate for realism for the F-16 is Warthog FSSB stick and TUSBA Cougar Throttle.
No, the ultimate for realism is getting your hands on a surplus F-16C SSC and throttle assembly, then wiring it all up to a USB controller board that presents the whole thing as a game controller for use in PC sims. Can’t get more realistic than what’s in the real jet, right?
Of course, being able to find them for sale AND afford them is the real challenge! And the last time I saw an F-16 throttle arm assembly (actually two, but the second lacked a grip) on eBay, the listing ended prematurely for some reason.
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Well actually, the force transducers are in the stick base. Its been done, seen a few thread of it on viperpits. Apparently you want to remove most of the windings on the transducers unless you are up for high voltage power for the stick. Anyway you would only need the FSSB if you were going to put it on a warthog or cougar base, and why would you?
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Well actually, the force transducers are in the stick base. Its been done, seen a few thread of it on viperpits. Apparently you want to remove most of the windings on the transducers unless you are up for high voltage power for the stick. Anyway you would only need the FSSB if you were going to put it on a warthog or cougar base, and why would you?
No need to modify anything in a real stick. Here is a link to my pit project where I integrate a real SSC, throttle and rudder pedals to work with BMS. It’s not hard at all.
http://www.viperpits.org/smf/index.php/topic,3560.525.html