Revvin (or any other Cougar user...)

[deSelys]

I've heard you're using the TM Cougar here. How have you dealt with the tension/detents problems of the X & Y axes? My previous stick was a TM FCS I, with light tension forces and no detents, and I have a hard time to adapt. I've used the Cougar for a month now, but I don't see any major improvement in my flying...

I need your help, coz' I'm flying worse now than at the end of my 2-weeks free trial. And that was more than 1 year ago.

Thanks,

[BUG_EAF322]

..

[Revvin]

I don't have a problem with the tension of my Cougar, infact I'd probably put stronger springs in. How long have you had your Cougar? although I have had stiffly sprung sticks in the past (Pro FCS) I had used a Saitek X36 so it did take a day or two to get used to the new tension.

As for the detents...if I was only playing Aces High maybe I would take them out or at least keep one and move it almost to the end of the throttle travel and map in WEP at that point to simulate a real pilot 'pushing through the wire' I also play Falcon 4.0 so the detents stay where they are and I have founf them useful sometimes in Aces High. You can move the detents so they do not work at all at any point of the throttle travel and this will not invalidate your warranty as the Cougar was designed to have customisable detents.

[deSelys]

Thanks for your swift reply .

About the detents: I prolly misformuled the problem, because was meaning the X & Y axes (but thanks for the tip on the throttle detents anyway).

I describe the 2 main axes of the stick like this: a small regio near center with absolutely no tension (that I will call the 'center play'), then a high step up in tension, then a progressively higher tension as I move the stick towards the extremes of both axes.

This transition no tension/high tension is giving me trouble. I can't move the stick smoothly and regularly from one extreme of an axis to the other. When I enter or when I leave the 'center play' regio, the force I have to apply to overcome the sudden increase in tension induces a jerk in the movement. Maybe I'm not strong enough for the Cougar

I know that with my FCS, I had to be very gentle and smooth to make seamless movements on the stick, as the tension forces were low. But I learned over the year to avoid hamfisting and to keep a steady hand even under 'stressful situations'.

As you seem to prefer high tension forces, this characteristic of the Cougar won't spoil your aim as it does to mine. But if you, or any of the reader can give me a hint about how to reduce the tension forces without voiding the warranty, I'll be much grateful.

Thanks again for your reply,

[Kaz]

from what i've read and experienced with other joysticks u can fiddle around with the dampening (increase it) on the roll and pitch axes. this actually helps alot by slowing down the response to input from the stick. so u can actually eliminate that 'bounce' u're experiencing. on the downside the planes will respond more slowly to input i dunno by how much but i've heard of many people who've done this with more than satisfactory results using cougars. hope this helps.

[Sabre]

It also has helped me to alter the response curves in both axis using the HOTAS utility software that comes with the Cougar.  Basically, I change the response curve from being linear (i.e. a straight line when looking at the curve in the utility) to being exponential.  This means that as you first begin moving the stick away from the middle, there's very little effect.  The farther away from center you get, the greater the effect per degree of deflection.  Combine this with eliminating the dead-zone and you should see better results.  Play with it and see what works best for you.

[Kaz]

yah sabre u saved me an edit was about to mention the sliders coz then u control where is less sensitive to input whereas the dampening affects the entire range of motion.