HOTAS Recommendation?

[Flossy]

My Cougar HOTAS is now showing signs of wear (the throttle and joystick sometimes swap over mid-flight!) and I am thinking of replacing it - any recommendations for a new HOTAS?  I have USB rudder pedals so would prefer not to have a twisty joystick.  Any advice gratefully received. 

[Pollock]

the warthog is expensive but worth it in my opinion

[morfiend]

the warthog is expensive but worth it in my opinion

 I second this Flossy,had mine for a year and a half now and couldnt imagine flying with anything else.

  Have you considered trying a powered usb hub? This might help your cougar as many computers cant supply the power required to operate some joysticks without interuptions.

  I'm not the smartest when it comes to this sort of thing but Skuzzy has said that USB power can cause problems that are easily solved with a powered hub!

   That said,I got a hub years ago and ran an X52 through it,think I only calibrated the stick 2 or 3 times in something like 8 years!!


   YMMV.



   

[The Fugitive]

I use CH products, WITH a USB hub. I got a set of analog ch controls back in the AW days. A few years after AW was killed, and I joined Aces High I upgraded all controls to CH usb stuff. In over 14 years of service I have had to replace a single switch on one of the hat switches.

The powered USB hub is very important. With all the power video cards draw now it is very easy to suck up enough power that the usb lines suffer. When they do your stick loses calibration as well as stored info. A good hub may cost you $20-$30 and "may" fix your problem saving you the trouble and cost of buying a new setup.

[steely07]

+3 for the Warthog if the USB hub doesn't fix the problem

[ebfd11]

Let the flaming begin.. But I have the X65 and love it. I know it may not be to everyone's liking but it just OS a sweet setup.

Lawndart 

[FLOTSOM]

you can buy all the parts you need to fix the one you have, so just fix it! the parts are cheap!!!! go to the cougar support sight and you will find them there.

[Flossy]

I second this Flossy,had mine for a year and a half now and couldnt imagine flying with anything else.

Yeah my husband has a Warthog and I could use that but he doesn't think it would be suitable for me - very big and heavy - though I may still try it.
[quote0  Have you considered trying a powered usb hub? This might help your cougar as many computers cant supply the power required to operate some joysticks without interuptions.[/quote]I already have a powered usb hub.    The problem is with the Cougar itself, it's worn out.  The joystick has so much play on it, apparently due to worn metal inside.

[titanic3]

I have a brand new thrustmaster HOTAS X I could sell for $30. Unit price is $50, but I've been trying to get rid of it for months now. Works perfectly, used for maybe 2-3 hours. It just doesn't fit my hand so I can't get used to it.

[Flossy]

you can buy all the parts you need to fix the one you have, so just fix it! the parts are cheap!!!! go to the cougar support sight and you will find them there.

Actually this is my second Cougar setup (used to be my husband's), as my original set went the same way.  It's not just the pots etc - the joystick has a lot of play in it, due apparently to worn metal inside.  My husband, who advised me to post here in the first place, is a retired Instrument Technician, and has had them apart.  In his opinion, the problem is physical - poor quality metal being used - and would not be cost-effective to repair.

I have always used a HOTAS, originally having a CH analogue setup, but last night I tried another of my husband's joysticks, a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro - it does have a 'twisty rudder' but I have not enabled it, preferring to use pedals.  It doesn't have anything like as many programmable buttons but I may get away with it.  I just need more practice to get used to it I think.

Another thing I need to bear in mind, is I mainly use mine for bombing and GVing, and very little in fighters, so would be interested to hear if any of these setups wold be good or bad for my style of play. 

[Flossy]

I have a brand new thrustmaster HOTAS X I could sell for $30. Unit price is $50, but I've been trying to get rid of it for months now. Works perfectly, used for maybe 2-3 hours. It just doesn't fit my hand so I can't get used to it.

This is another problem...being female, I have fairly small hands - I could just about manage the Cougar joystick, but would prefer something a bit smaller.  I think that's probably why I never really got into fighters as I found it difficult to use the hat switch for views at the same time as manoeuvring. 

[Bino]

CH user here, the full Fighterstick/Pro Throttle/Pro Pedals rig.  Only other brand I've used was the old pre-Guillemot ThrustMaster, of blessed memory.

Flossy, your comment about views and the hat switch leads me to ask: have you ever tried a head tracker?  Something like this?  Some folks despise them, but I won't fly without one.

This is another problem...being female, I have fairly small hands - I could just about manage the Cougar joystick, but would prefer something a bit smaller.  I think that's probably why I never really got into fighters as I found it difficult to use the hat switch for views at the same time as manoeuvring. 

[titanic3]

This is another problem...being female, I have fairly small hands - I could just about manage the Cougar joystick, but would prefer something a bit smaller.  I think that's probably why I never really got into fighters as I found it difficult to use the hat switch for views at the same time as manoeuvring. 

That's the thing, I forgot to mention. My hands are long and skinny ( ). The stick was short so my pinky and that side of my hand was being squished if I wanted to keep my thumb on the hat switch.

Should be fine for you. 

[morfiend]

 Flossy,

  A couple things,ya the warthog is heavy and has a strong spring so it requires some getting used to.  I worried when I first got mine,I have a problem with my right hand and thought it might be too tough on me but after a week or so that disappeared and now as I said I cant imagine flying with anything else!

  Now for your cougar,I'm no expert but I beleive there is a kit available that replaces the gimbal in the cougar,now I've heard it can be expensive and have no idea of the cost but I'm sure you can find that out at the cougar website.

  Steal,err borrow the old mans warthog and try it out for about 2 weeks,then decide if it's for you or not!  you could set it up so you never have to use the KB except to talk smack on 200 and I know you dont do that!!

 As for the logitech,well I have a nice collection of them. Most didnt last but 6 months or less before 1 of the pots went bad.Mine have about 12 buttons so I scavenged 1 removed the gimbal and use the shortened version for the extra buttons. It allows me to map silly things like open/close clipboard,zoom clipboard,godeye mode,etc.


  Oh and my hands arent the biggest either,I used a piece of pipe insulation to raise the height of the hand perch on the warthog.It's black foam and I used black tape so you cant even notice the little mod I made and it allows me to reach the upper hat switch with ease!

   If you're interested in the mod,pm me and I'll explain better!


   

[Flossy]

Flossy,

  A couple things,ya the warthog is heavy and has a strong spring so it requires some getting used to.  I worried when I first got mine,I have a problem with my right hand and thought it might be too tough on me but after a week or so that disappeared and now as I said I cant imagine flying with anything else!

Yeah I remember people warning me about the Cougar for the same reason, but I soon got used to it.    I doubt we will go the route of repairing the Cougar - I have been putting up with the floppy joystick for a while now, but the final straw was the throttle and joystick swapping roles in the middle of a special event last Sunday, sending me out of control and using my one life!  I was very upset about that!

 Steal,err borrow the old mans warthog and try it out for about 2 weeks,then decide if it's for you or not!  you could set it up so you never have to use the KB except to talk smack on 200 and I know you dont do that!!

Well, as it happens my husband decided to kindly give me the Warthog to try just this evening, so it is now on my desk waiting for me to set it up - that should be fun!  At least the joystick is the same so I know what I want on each of the buttons but at the moment, the throttle looks scarey!  

 As for the logitech,well I have a nice collection of them. Most didnt last but 6 months or less before 1 of the pots went bad.Mine have about 12 buttons so I scavenged 1 removed the gimbal and use the shortened version for the extra buttons. It allows me to map silly things like open/close clipboard,zoom clipboard,godeye mode,etc.

Until the Warthog is set up, I'll be using the Logitech, but not keen on the lack of buttons compared to the Cougar - having to use the keyboard so much is a pain!

 Oh and my hands arent the biggest either,I used a piece of pipe insulation to raise the height of the hand perch on the warthog.It's black foam and I used black tape so you cant even notice the little mod I made and it allows me to reach the upper hat switch with ease!

   If you're interested in the mod,pm me and I'll explain better!


  

I was going to mod the Cougar like that but got used to it as it was.... I might do it with the Warthog at some point.  Thanks anyway for the advice!