New owner Cougar Hotas mod questions
-
I recently acquired a Cougar hotas via ebay and am now a first time owner. The stock gimbal y axis was broken (seller gave partial refund) but I was able to “temp” fix the gimbal with JB weld. The joystick has surprisingly held up for the last couple of weeks as I am progress on my initial BMS Korea campaign to learn the sim. I have looked at the replacement gimbal offerings from Shapeways, also described as “Uber nxt clone”, but cannot find any feedback other than “lighter than original”. Just wondering if anyone here has used this 3d printed mod for any amount of time. I realize many suggest the FSSB mods but I will plan that for a 2nd joystick to be used exclusively for force appropriate aircraft, ala F-16. So, I would like to keep the current Cougar joystick usable for IL2 and DCS P-51, etc. Besides, I just found after some trial and error, I can A/R with the JB welded stock gimbals, at least in straight and level. Pretty happy about that, actually. I should add that the joystick pots look smooth in Foxy as well, no spiking.
Luckily the stock throttle was in good shape and works really well and I have no complaints about that. But I would like to realign the speed brake switch as suggested in Cougar world website but I am hesitant to twist it with the pliers, and I can’t figure out how to remove the grey or white switch to pull the base module out to counter rotate the assembly in line with switch. It is not explained adequately on the Cougar world website and I don’t want to break my functioning speed brake switch! If it ain’t broke…
I have included a picture of my throttle when I took it apart, you can see the speed brake switch assembly on the right but it appears to be firmly mounted in its original position. Also, do these throttle pots look like originals?
-
Luckily the stock throttle was in good shape and works really well and I have no complaints about that. But I would like to realign the speed brake switch as suggested in Cougar world website but I am hesitant to twist it with the pliers, and I can’t figure out how to remove the grey or white switch to pull the base module out to counter rotate the assembly in line with switch. It is not explained adequately on the Cougar world website and I don’t want to break my functioning speed brake switch! If it ain’t broke…
The grey switch is held in position by the plunger of the electrical switch inside - to realign it you’ll need to remove the electrical switch by pulling it away from the housing which will allow the grey switch to simply slide out, after which you can rotate the grey switch housing to your preferred orientation. Reverse procedure to put it all back together. Some hot glue to hold it in place is a good idea too.
-
Thank you, Malc. Did as you suggested and from there it was pretty straightforward. Only thing I would add is to push in on the black housing “tabs” with a flathead screwdriver or skinny pliers then you can remove the bracket. I have included a couple of pictures. Hope this helps someone else as I couldn’t find any sources online.