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    Cougar Microstick Problems

    Cougar
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    • H
      Habu_
      last edited by

      I have used my Cougar for over 15 years, installed Hall Effect Sensors in stick and throttle, repaired it often, so I am quite familiar with its normal mechanics. Problem I am having is erratic function of the throttle microstick Y axis. It will not auto-calibrate under Win 10 over the full axis range. Digi-View shows that it will function over only about 60% of full range. It will manually calibrate over full range with the CCP, but loses calibration after 10 to 30 minutes. X axis and all other hotas functions perform normally. I hope someone can point me to probable source of the problem. I suspect the culprit to be a bad microstick part, but problem could also lie in either of the hotas PCB’s.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Blu3wolfB
        Blu3wolf
        last edited by

        My guess is a bad microstick potentiometer - you can test this with a digital multimeter, if you have one.

        I hope its not though, as I seem to recall TM being out of stock of those?

        PlanehazzaP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • PlanehazzaP
          Planehazza @Blu3wolf
          last edited by

          Sorry to hijack, just a quick question about the microstick. Is it analogue/proportional or digital?

          Harry (Formerly Amraam at Frugals etc.)

          (I'm not currently active with ViperDrivers, but these guys are the best BMS school out there!)

          BMS Reshade Preset

          H 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • H
            Habu_ @Planehazza
            last edited by

            I happen to have a replacement microstick potentiometer. They are analog.

            PlanehazzaP StevieS 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • PlanehazzaP
              Planehazza @Habu_
              last edited by

              @Habu_:

              I happen to have a replacement microstick potentiometer. They are analog.

              So if you move the stick only a little, the cursor moves slowly, only speeding up as you move the stick further? Mine only works on or off. If I move the stick all the way, the cursor moves the same as when I move it only slightly.

              Harry (Formerly Amraam at Frugals etc.)

              (I'm not currently active with ViperDrivers, but these guys are the best BMS school out there!)

              BMS Reshade Preset

              C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • C
                CobaltUK @Planehazza
                last edited by

                Speed is proportional to deflection but not a lot in it over such small travel. The speed can be altered in configuration somewhere.

                @ Habu_ If the problem were just in game I would suspect some conflicting input or binding but not if showing with external test tools. Would hesitate to suggest full reset as I have read of people getting in a world of pain when doing that.

                PlanehazzaP JetlagJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • PlanehazzaP
                  Planehazza @CobaltUK
                  last edited by

                  @CobaltUK:

                  Speed is proportional to deflection but not a lot in it over such small travel. The speed can be altered in configuration somewhere.

                  @ Habu_ If the problem were just in game I would suspect some conflicting input or binding but not if showing with external test tools. Would hesitate to suggest full reset as I have read of people getting in a world of pain when doing that.

                  Odd. Even in CCP, mine show as on or off. The calibration sees the raw data as if it were analogue, but the CCP only shows 100%, centre, and -100% but nothing in between…

                  Harry (Formerly Amraam at Frugals etc.)

                  (I'm not currently active with ViperDrivers, but these guys are the best BMS school out there!)

                  BMS Reshade Preset

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JetlagJ
                    Jetlag @CobaltUK
                    last edited by

                    @CobaltUK:

                    Speed is proportional to deflection but not a lot in it over such small travel. The speed can be altered in configuration somewhere.

                    @ Habu_ If the problem were just in game I would suspect some conflicting input or binding but not if showing with external test tools. Would hesitate to suggest full reset as I have read of people getting in a world of pain when doing that.

                    Cobalt have you tried a windows analogue device calibration reset?
                    I seem to recall that this helped me in the past when I had analogue device calibration issues - there is a utility called clrcalib64.exe (naturally for 64 bit OS) - unplug all joystick devices, run clrcalib64.exe and then plug joystick/hotas back in and run CCP again

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • StevieS
                      Stevie
                      last edited by

                      Can one use something like this to replace the mouse stick in a Cougar TQS? I’m sure not sure if these act like a mouse input or not…but they look as if they might be able to fit into the grip. Somehow.

                      http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pc-USA-OEM-Analog-Sensor-Stick-Joystick-Module-Repair-Xbox-One-Controller/272370510342?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D39240%26meid%3D4fcc5e0111eb4e8481ca917f1231a784%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D17%26sd%3D272301558461

                      May the bridges I burn light the way

                      H 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • mrwellM
                        mrwell
                        last edited by

                        Actually it is very similar (maybe exactly the same) to the one in the cougar but that has an small PCB were it is soldered to.
                        Cheers

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                        • StevieS
                          Stevie
                          last edited by

                          I took a hard look at that - there’s a mechanical lever to a button there, so it has a down action like the mouse stick, to use for CURSOR ENABLE. Cheap enough that it could be worth just experimenting…these are all over E-bay.

                          May the bridges I burn light the way

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                          • H
                            Habu_ @Stevie
                            last edited by

                            The eBay pot in post 9 appears to have extra pins on one side that are absent on the original pot. Might not fit the microstick pcb. Cheap enough to try it, tho.

                            JetlagJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • JetlagJ
                              Jetlag @Habu_
                              last edited by

                              @Habu_:

                              The eBay pot in post 9 appears to have extra pins on one side that are absent on the original pot. Might not fit the microstick pcb. Cheap enough to try it, tho.

                              An earlier thread claims some of these eBay pots are Hall Effect Sensor instead of normal pots. I am not convinced at the prices they are going for, even if made for PSx pads in high volumes

                              https://www.benchmarksims.org/forum/showthread.php?25130-Is-a-cougar-hotas-worth-it-STOCK/page4&highlight=hall+sensor+microstick

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                              • StevieS
                                Stevie @Habu_
                                last edited by

                                The real issue is if these sticks have quadrature output like a mouse, or output like a true X-Y joystick…if the former they would be plug and play and it’s just a matter of choosing the pins we need and ignoring the others. OTOH, if they are true X-Y output they probably aren’t of use at all…OR - they are the best of both worlds, and again - by choosing the correct pins you can get wither mode of operation, hence the “extra” pins.

                                Gonna have to do some research…because the price and availability are right! And with any luck they may also be a better chunk of hardware than the OEM mouse stick.

                                May the bridges I burn light the way

                                H 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • H
                                  Habu_ @Stevie
                                  last edited by

                                  I have a few extra microstick pots I am willing to sell. Bought them from the manufacturer when they ceased production. 10 USD plus S&H.

                                  chihirobelmoC M 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • chihirobelmoC
                                    chihirobelmo @Habu_
                                    last edited by

                                    Look at Original Cougar Microstick DataSheet and microstick nowadays

                                    Each microstick has 4-pins for cursor enable switch circuit but at different place.
                                    I guess if you wire them to cougar PCB you can use newer microstick.
                                    Perhaps you need to put microstick and PCB to the Cougar with 90deg rotation.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • M
                                      Malc @Habu_
                                      last edited by

                                      @Habu_:

                                      I have a few extra microstick pots I am willing to sell. Bought them from the manufacturer when they ceased production. 10 USD plus S&H.

                                      Is Paypal okay? 🙂

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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