Author Topic: Cougar buyers - BEWARE!!!! (Read 749 times)

Wlfgng · « **Reply #30 on:** October 08, 2002, 05:29:25 PM »

damn.,...

SOB · « **Reply #31 on:** October 08, 2002, 05:48:27 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Rude

Heyas SOB:)

Just want you to know that I am indeed experten!!!

My qualifications sir, are listed below:

1. I have gray hair

2. My back hurts often

3. I have 1 wife, 4 kids, 2 cats and 1 dog.

4. I can fall asleep at any time AND without advanced notice.

5. I gamed on a Vic 20 and a C-64

6. I can remember a time when if you had a good idea, a bank would lend you money on your signature alone.

So, there ya have it.....if I say TM sucks, then you can count on it:)

LOL...your qualifications speak for themselves, I respectfully withdraw my earlier remark!

SOB

Max · « **Reply #32 on:** October 08, 2002, 05:49:36 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by SlapShot

The are way to many postives to the Cougar, that far outweigh this 1 little minor glitch with the lub used on the POTS. Bottom line is that there is NOTHING WRONG with the POTs.

I agree that there are many positives relative to the Cougar. What burns my prettythang is the fact that the POT and gimbal problems are so prevelant. Wasn't this project in development for 3+ years?
Everyone was raving about the Cougar till folks began shelling out their' hard earned money for it. I paid $270 for a trouble free system which would last forever. Call me silly but I find it more than a little annoying that I should now have to tweak POTS or replace componants at additional cost.

DmdMax

Gryffin · « **Reply #33 on:** October 08, 2002, 06:10:32 PM »

I have a cougar, and I too am very disappointed with it. Every thrustmaster stick I have ever owned had had craptastic spiky pots, and the cougar is no exception. I had a CH stick for 4 years before I noticed anything wrong with it, and a saitek stick for nearly 2, which I sold in perfect working order when I got the cougar. I have an ancient MS sidewinder stick that is still rock solid (which I am thinking of going back to).

Before the cougar came out I posted my concerns about TM spiky pots at the cougarworld forums, and was told by several people how that could never happen with the new stick. My cougar started spiking within 2 weeks of using it

Not only that, a short search of the forums revealed that LOTS of people were having the same problem. I now have to clean the pots every month or so, and in between the get progressively worse until I can't live with it anymore and have to clean them again.

Even worse, is that the mechanism was nice and tight when I got the stick, but it has slowly started developing slop around the centre area. I eventually paid someone half the cost of the stick to get it fixed, and even though they did an excellent job, I am wondering how long it would last.

I decided many years ago never to buy a TM product again, but the promise of the cougar made me foolishly change my mind.

Samm · « **Reply #34 on:** October 08, 2002, 06:22:42 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Hussein
Never had one spike on my MS PP1. It's seen already 2 years of hard use and works like brand new.

Have a gameport PP1 since 97, still works like new not a single spike. Bought a usb pp1 in 2000, still works like new .
Of course I don't get to tinker with it and replace parts or clean pot, whatever that is .

SirLoin · « **Reply #35 on:** October 09, 2002, 12:07:04 AM »

Bumping for squaddie who has same problem.

akak · « **Reply #36 on:** October 09, 2002, 01:50:53 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by DMax

How does one clean the pots?

DmdMax

Contact cleaner bought at your local Radio Shack would do the trick. Before you apply the contact cleaner, remove the pot from the stick and leads and use a small nail file to file down the lead points on the pot. Once you have those lead points nice and shiny, use a Q-Tip dipped in the contact cleaner to clean the lead points and let it dry for about 15 minutes then put the pot back in your stick.

You can also custom order the pots from CTS, which is the OEM maker for pots that are used by both Thrustmaster and CH Products. The pots usually have a 5-6 million cycle life span but sometimes you get bad pots. During my stint at CH, at least 1 in 6 potentiometers we got from CTS were bad, usually because they got shorted out during shipping.

Ack-Ack

Lizard3 · « **Reply #37 on:** October 09, 2002, 01:58:00 AM »

I bought 2 TM's way back in my old AW days. The firsts hat switch went off like a champaign cork. The second( a few weeks later was literally twisted off the base by a 5 year old little girl.

CH all the way.

Kirin · « **Reply #38 on:** October 09, 2002, 02:04:20 AM »

AKIron - why don't you just post a link to that 'hall sensor mod'?

Or else mail me!

kirin@fw-190.com

Sixpence · « **Reply #39 on:** October 09, 2002, 02:06:10 AM »

I have a logitech wingman extreme digital and haven't had a problem. Where are these "pots"located?(never took one apart)

Hedu of JG26 Warbirds · « **Reply #40 on:** October 09, 2002, 02:46:37 AM »

I love my Cougar, it's been great so far. I also understood that when I bought it, iwas buying what I considered a piece of computer hardware. Cleaning would be needed, and maybe even tweaking. I paid alot more for my PC, as I am sure all you have, and how many times do we crack open the PC to do cleaning and tweaking? I do rather frequently.

I'll keep and enjoy my Cougar, cause if anything breaks, and lets all agree that our joysticks are used ALOT, It's worth fixing. I had CH gear before, but when things broke, I bought a new stick and/or throttle. With my Cougar, I keep it, and upkeep it. I am sure the cost of upkeep is less than having to keep replacing sticks, like I did with my CH gear.

Besides, it feels solid, alot more than the other light plastic sticks out there.

Bonden · « **Reply #41 on:** October 09, 2002, 03:06:48 AM »

Rude:

I can also remember when the bank would loan you money on a good idea. I also have grey hair but as I get older I cant ...umm
...... geez, it was on the tip of my eerrrmmm....uumm - n/m

Scot · « **Reply #42 on:** October 09, 2002, 05:55:34 AM »

Rude should be designated as "The Sage of AH". < Scot falls back to sleep>

Cougar here and working fine.

Vermillion · « **Reply #43 on:** October 09, 2002, 07:01:18 AM »

Hedu, what CH gear did you have to replace? Or replace more than once? Honest question.

I bought a Fighterstick, a Pro Throttle, and Pro Pedals about 4 years ago (maybe more can't remember now for sure) and I've never had to clean a pot, let alone replace anything.

Hell, I would love to have the new USB full CH Pro setup, but my gear is still so solid I can't bring myself to spend all that cash when the gear I have still works so well.

Hwkeye · « **Reply #44 on:** October 09, 2002, 07:52:58 AM »

The reason MS sticks keep on working is that they do NOT use POTs........they use optical sensors.

For $270 TM should have hidden $170 US inside each stick or have each stick come with an on-site service agreement!

Hwkeye
The Original Flying Tigers