Author Topic: Tired of pot replacement (Read 603 times)

smash · « **on:** July 05, 2003, 09:42:31 PM »

I just had to replace another pot in my TM FLCS, and the replacement pot was bad

I would like to get a new joystick, and I would prefer to keep my TM RCS pedals. Had great luck with the FLCS for years, but when they die - they really die.... TMs support hasnt been very good either.

Don't know what to do at this point, the Cougar seems to have a lot of problems, or I guess I should say the same problem as my FLCS. Seems a bit pricey to get it and drop another several hundred on mods to make it work right. Not certain how long the Hall sensors last anyway, doesn't look like thats a permanent solution either. And who knows if you can get replacement Halls 2 years from now?

I've never used a CH, but I am wondering if they have the same problems with the pots wearing out? Also, don't know if my RCS will plug in.

I am starting to think that I should just wait for a while. My reasoning is that eventually somebody, somewhere will realize that there is a market for quality joystick hardware. I just have a feeling that if I get a Cougar, buy the mods, wait for delivery, get them installed etc.... about that time there will be a decent solution I can buy from the factory that will be supported etc. I figure if I drop $750 on a joystick/throttle combo it better last 5 years minimum, no issues.

Don't know, just sitting here trying to come up with a plan. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #1 on:** July 05, 2003, 11:52:13 PM »

CH already is quality hardware and a complete HOTAS is bout $300. Bad news is your RCS won't work with the new USB CH stuff and you'd be nuts to spend money on obsolete gameport stuff now. Just my opinion.

smash · « **Reply #2 on:** July 06, 2003, 12:07:27 PM »

What about having to replace the pots in the CH equipment? If that is not something I have to deal with I could see getting new gear - pedals and everything.

Maverick · « **Reply #3 on:** July 06, 2003, 12:46:27 PM »

Smash,

I have an analog CH fighter pro joystick. his is the second one I have owned and it is over 2 years old now and workd just fine without having to replace anything on it. I also use it with bustmaster rudder pedals also analog. This means they aree operating through the sound card joystick port. I have not had to buy any USB equipment yet as this system still works fine. If you can find what I have in a game port setup it should last you a long time. FWIW the old CH fighter pro joystick is being used by my son and it is in wxcess of 5 years old. It's a bit sloppy in the springs but works well for his style of gaming.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #4 on:** July 06, 2003, 01:34:25 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Maverick
Smash,
I also use it with bustmaster rudder pedals also analog. This means they aree operating through the sound card joystick port. I have not had to buy any USB equipment yet as this system still works fine. If you can find what I have in a game port setup it should last you a long time.

I am assuming then that you are not using WIN XP. I have seen threads about your setup not working in XP. I may be wrong, but I thought there were major problems using gameport joysticks with XP. If this is true then it won't last that long as support dies for WIN 98.
http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29935&highlight=winxp+gameport

Smash,
Note on CH site: "PLEASE NOTE: You cannot mix USB products with Gameport."
From what i have heard, pots do ocasionally go bad on CH gear, but support is great and parts can be ordered directly from CH site for $10 bucks and they plug in.
http://www.chproducts.com/shop/parts.html

DJ229 - AIR MAFIA

GunnerCAF · « **Reply #5 on:** July 06, 2003, 02:56:49 PM »

CH makes a good reliable stick. I don't think anyone would go wrong with it.

Do you have the SWF22 Digital upgrade for your FLCS? If not, I would highly recommend it. I have had my FLCS/TQS for about 6 years and still using the origional pots. They were a bit spikey when I put the digital chips in, and rock solid after. Solid enough to turn all the deadbands completly off. I am still using the FLCS on one computer, and my Cugar on the other. I have them both set up about the same, so I can go from one to the other with no problems. The FLCS with digital chip can do just about anything the Cougar can. If your going to wait, the digital upgrade is worth it.

I have the Hall sensors on order from Cub Pilot for my Cougar. He just modified the mounting for stock gimbals to give them a longer life. They found the wear of the stock gimbals puts pressure on the shafts that could cause a pre-mature failure of the sensors. He modified the mountings to eliminate this problem. Check out his post on Cougar World or his web site for more info.

Gunner

smash · « **Reply #6 on:** July 06, 2003, 11:08:10 PM »

The FLCS doesn't have the digital chip, but I did check out that upgrade. I bought this thing when Warbirds was still 2d and it worked fine for quite a while. I had a glitch when I upgraded my comp speed and sent several emails to TM but never got a reply. Sort of turned me off but I have always enjoyed the stick.

About a year ago the pots started going bad. First I pulled them and cleaned them. Then I replaced them. Now I am replacing them again. And this last one is completely trashed (the new replacement). I am more familiar with the inside of this thing then I ever wanted to be.

The comments on USB make sense, I just like my RCS as they are spread wider then the other pedals I have looked at. At the moment my disk is partitioned Win98, Win2k Srv, WinXP. The 98 is just for AH play and some infrequent software testing. Wouldn't mind moving everything to XP.

I should drive down to Indy and test out some sticks at the con

icemaw · « **Reply #7 on:** July 14, 2003, 03:09:24 PM »

I used TM stuff for years untill I got tired of replacing pots and buying new sticks. Went CH products USB and never looked back. Ch stick is 3 years old now and 0 problems. I was replacing pots and sticks ever 3 months with TM. Spend the bucks get the all USB CH pro throttle stick and pedals you will be VERY happy.

maddog · « **Reply #8 on:** July 14, 2003, 05:25:09 PM »

You can't replace pot...... once its smoked you have to get it a new........ Hell I learned that in the sixtys....I think....

firbal · « **Reply #9 on:** July 17, 2003, 11:27:07 AM »

If you want to stay with the game port for your setup, go with CH. I'm useing the TM peddles. Works just find. I really like the TM's much better than CH's. But then I guess I'm more use to the feel of them. But I may end up having to go with the CH pro peddles when I up grade to XP. Not sure when. But 98 is pissing me off with all it's crashes and lockups.

Skorpyon · « **Reply #10 on:** July 17, 2003, 07:11:35 PM »

I use the Saitek X45 HOTAS. I HIGHLY recommend it... great stick, very durable so far, can't beat the price ($75 US at BestBuy), only the rudder paddle thing is funky, but I use it with a set of CH pedals, the older analog/gameport model. I am on XP Pro, and there is a very easy workaround for using the gameport pedals. Just take an old gameport joystick (mine is waaaay old, two buttons and rotary axis adjuster wheels, from back when I was using a 486 comp I think, lol..). Plug it in to the pedals, then the pedals in to gameport, set it up as two axis, two button joystick in Win Control Panel/Gaming devices, with rudder activated. In calibration, set it as normal, calibrating the x and y axes, then the rudder axes using the pedals. Set the old funky stick somewhere out of the way, and fire up AH. In the AH joystick setup screen, go to Select Joystick. Highlight the "rudder" setting on the left, then choose the "rudder" axes on the right, and apply. All other settings, (roll, pitch, etc.) should be set to your main joystick, HOTAS, etc. It works flawlessly for me. There is also a gameport to USB adapter available from RadioShack that I used on Win98. It helped smooth out the spikiness of my previous cheap HOTAS that was a gameport model. I couldn't get it to recognize properly under XP, but the workaround I described above solved all my problems.