Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate This Thread
Hop To
#2872224 - 10/03/09 02:22 AM Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades?  
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6
Zealot Offline
Junior Member
Zealot  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6
Hi,
I have a mostly stock stick that hasn't been used much since I couldn't get past the crap spring centering in the stick. I'd ask this at Frug's, but its been down for a while now. Is anyone still doing the upgrades, and how much do they cost?

Thanks,
Z

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#2872425 - 10/03/09 02:14 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Zealot]  
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,839
Allen Offline
Hotshot
Allen  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 8,839
Ohio USA
I use the FSSB R2.

Here is the website

Realsimulator FSSB Cougar Mod

Very expensive. But it will last indefinitely -- so much less cost over time than keeping up with the latest graphics cards or CPUs.


Sapphire Pulse RX7900XTX, 3 monitors = 23P (1080p) + SAMSUNG 32" Odyssey Neo G7 1000R curve (4K/2160p) + 23P (1080p), AMD R9-7950X (ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 420), 64GB RAM@6.0GHz, Gigabyte X670E AORUS MASTER MB, (4x M.2 SSD + 2xSSD + 2xHD) = ~52TB storage, EVGA 1600W PSU, Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full Tower, ASUS RT-AX89X 6000Mbps WiFi router, VKB Gladiator WW2 Stick, Pedals, G.Skill RGB KB, AORUS Thunder M7 Mouse, W11 Pro
#2872597 - 10/03/09 06:37 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Allen]  
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6
Zealot Offline
Junior Member
Zealot  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6
That looks nice, but its too rich for my blood right now. Are there any others?

Z

#2872766 - 10/03/09 11:59 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Zealot]  
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,079
WalterNowi Offline
Member
WalterNowi  Offline
Member

Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,079
Arcadia, CA
There is the Uber Nxt gimbals done by Ian Johnston, and Cubpilot's hall sensors. With the frugal's forum down, Ian can be reached at:

ubermod AT optusnet.com.au

and Cubpilot's homepage is:

http://www.cubpilotshangar.net/

I have both a Uber Nxt/Hall sensor cougar and a FSSB R1 cougar. I personally prefer the Uber Nxt/Hall sensor over FSSB, as the former is more suitable for prop sims such as IL-2 1946.

Another SimHQ member "sobe" is selling, you might get a good deal. Check out the offer in the Buy/Sell/Trade forum.

#2872874 - 10/04/09 05:40 AM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: WalterNowi]  
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6
Zealot Offline
Junior Member
Zealot  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 6
Thanks, I'll check it out.

Z

#2873554 - 10/05/09 01:53 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Zealot]  
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 1,583
Lucky Offline
Old Guy
Lucky  Offline
Old Guy
Member

Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 1,583
Upstate N.Y.
I think Ian's and Cubby's mods are still around $500.00 combined. I gave up and went CH and never looked back.

Last edited by Lucky; 10/05/09 11:10 PM. Reason: typo

Core i9 10900k @ 5.0GHz
Corsair H115i CPU cooler
Asus ROG Maximus XII Formula
Asus ROG Strix RTX 2080 OC 8GB DDR6
32GB Team T-Force Night Hawk DDR4 3200,
Corsair HX850i 850W PSU
TIR5 With Trackclip Pro
Win 10 x64
#2873610 - 10/05/09 02:46 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Lucky]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
RSColonel_131st Offline
Lifer
RSColonel_131st  Offline
Lifer

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
Vienna, 2nd rock left.
I think the FSSB upgrades are about the cheapest "fix" you can get. Especially since they are easy to self-install. Everthing else is pricier (if you go HAL sensors), requires shipping around of the unit and involves more than one person doing the work.

#2875556 - 10/08/09 10:09 AM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: RSColonel_131st]  
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 41
KaiserB Offline
Junior Member
KaiserB  Offline
Junior Member

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 41
Quote:
Everthing else is pricier (if you go HAL sensors), requires shipping around of the unit and involves more than one person doing the work.


Er, no?

Ian J builds, assembles and ships the U2nxt gimbal to you direct. You can order the hall sensor kit to be sent to Ian to come preinstalled, or get them delivered direct and install them yourself.

The U2nxt is a work of art, and completely bomb-proof. I can't recommend it enough.

#2875563 - 10/08/09 10:38 AM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: KaiserB]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
RSColonel_131st Offline
Lifer
RSColonel_131st  Offline
Lifer

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 25,138
Vienna, 2nd rock left.
Er, yes?

I was in email contact with Ian and it would have been my job to get the HAL sensors shipped to him. So yes, it involved more than on person you have to communicate with, more than one person you have to do a financial transaction with. Whereas with FSSB you deal with one entity (a company at that, not an enthusiast) and you get a complete package.

And installing this stuff yourself is not an option for me, unlike the FSSB which is dead simple and idiot proof.

I'm not slagging Ians work, I know these are some of the best Cougars around, but it is definitly easier to sort out an FSSB upgrade than a Hal Mod Gimbals upgrade.

#2876822 - 10/09/09 11:56 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: RSColonel_131st]  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 17,733
Joe Offline
Veteran
Joe  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 17,733
Bridgewater, NJ
Yeah, if you do go the NXT route you have to put the innards of your stick back together yourself, including installing the hall sensors. I am technically savy and the process was not 100% straightforward for me, although I did figure it out.

If you get the FSSB mod, you really convert your stick from a general-purpose HOTAS to one that most likely only feels natural for modern jet sims (and perhaps space sims if you are into that sort of thing). The NXT mod leaves you with a traditional gimbal stick, which is more suited to a wider range of titles.

#2880104 - 10/15/09 09:00 AM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Joe]  
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 2,499
VF-2 John Banks Offline
Member
VF-2 John Banks  Offline
Member

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 2,499
Berlin, Germany
What happened with Frugals World? Cougar World was Ians platform to get in contact with everybody. Now it's offline and gone for good. And what about the Cougar software? Where do i get it now?


Intel Core I7-4790K @ 4x4GHz (oc'ed to 4x4,5 GHz on air)
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 CPU Cooler (250W TDP)
ASUS Z97-C motherboard
ASUS STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5
ASUS ROG Xonar Phoebus Solo Soundcard, PCIe
2 x 4GB GEIL DDR3 Value RAM
ANTEC PSU (750W)
Toshiba 37" LCD TV (1920x1080x32)
Win 7 Home Pro (64bit)
240 GB Corsair SSD (Force Series 3)
TrackIR4 Pro
HOTAS Cougar + "Uber NxT advanced" gimbal mod
SIMPED F-16 Pedals
SAITEK Throttle Quadrant
A2 leather jacket & leather gloves
#2880198 - 10/15/09 01:54 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: VF-2 John Banks]  
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 17,733
Joe Offline
Veteran
Joe  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 17,733
Bridgewater, NJ
I already mentioned it in another thread: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2876894/Cougar_shutting_down.html#Post2876894
Quote:
Frugal's World (and thus Cougar World) are having some hosting problems. Hopefully they will be back.

#2964748 - 02/22/10 04:14 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Joe]  
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,849
Falstar Offline
Senior Member
Falstar  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,849
Edina, MN 55439

#2964995 - 02/22/10 11:42 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Joe]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,124
Lancelot Offline
Member
Lancelot  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,124
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Originally Posted By: Joe
Yeah, if you do go the NXT route you have to put the innards of your stick back together yourself, including installing the hall sensors. I am technically savy and the process was not 100% straightforward for me, although I did figure it out...


I seccond this, because i had suffered to have to install the U2nxt and the hall sensors, ans for me it was not easy at all, and took me quite some time, first to have the free time alone (family realated D:) and seccond to read and reread several times all the instructiones and know what to do. I had to send several email to Ian and Cub about problems and things a didn't understand or i was not sure what they mean, but they suppor was EXCELENT, and finally i made it all work. And i'm complete dummy with anything that involves wiring! smile
Thanks to that, and Cub help, i lost the fear and also reaplaced my self the ANT pod, that the detent was not working, and now the Cougar is working GREAT. Now, i realise that a lot of the problem was mainly fear to open this expensive device inside out and maybe brake it, but its quite rewardind to finally see that works well and made it my self smile.
The U2nxt with hall sensor are an excellent mod, but as was said, all together its expensive.


Si hay que huir, YO PRIMERO!!!
#2965062 - 02/23/10 02:49 AM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Lancelot]  
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Vegas Offline
Member
Vegas  Offline
Member

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
USA
I can vouch for the quality of the the U2nxt and hall sensors, although it has been awhile ago. But it's not a cheap fix no matter which way you go.

If it were me, I think I'd wait until the TM Warthog comes out & see how the reviews on that are.

#2965636 - 02/23/10 11:54 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Vegas]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,124
Lancelot Offline
Member
Lancelot  Offline
Member

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,124
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Originally Posted By: Vegas
I can vouch for the quality of the the U2nxt and hall sensors, although it has been awhile ago. But it's not a cheap fix no matter which way you go.

If it were me, I think I'd wait until the TM Warthog comes out & see how the reviews on that are.


That would seem to be the best option, but the downside its that at least some serious problem arise right away, you will not know if the hardware have reliability problems until at least six months to one year after release. Cougar pot problems were know several months later, and with the u2nxt and hall sensor mods, lot of people have them several years now and noh problem at all, so you are sure they are reliable.


Si hay que huir, YO PRIMERO!!!
#2966271 - 02/24/10 11:31 PM Re: Anyone still doing TM Cougar upgrades? [Re: Lancelot]  
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Vegas Offline
Member
Vegas  Offline
Member

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
USA
Originally Posted By: Lancelot
Originally Posted By: Vegas
I can vouch for the quality of the the U2nxt and hall sensors, although it has been awhile ago. But it's not a cheap fix no matter which way you go.

If it were me, I think I'd wait until the TM Warthog comes out & see how the reviews on that are.


That would seem to be the best option, but the downside its that at least some serious problem arise right away, you will not know if the hardware have reliability problems until at least six months to one year after release. Cougar pot problems were know several months later, and with the u2nxt and hall sensor mods, lot of people have them several years now and noh problem at all, so you are sure they are reliable.


True, waiting is ALWAYS a major downside! wink Standard hall sensors should take care of any pot problems. The other Cougar issues I ran into was the stiffness of the stock unit (fixed by the u2nxt) and the speedBREAK issue (boy, they named THAT switch appropriately). Those sorts of issues should be evident pretty quickly.

But, nothing wrong with going for a modded Cougar. Just looks like some nice tech on the Warthog.


Moderated by  RacerGT 

Quick Search
Recent Articles
Support SimHQ

If you shop on Amazon use this Amazon link to support SimHQ
.
Social


Recent Topics
Carnival Cruise Ship Fire....... Again
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:58 PM
Baltimore Bridge Collapse
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:51 PM
The Oldest WWII Veterans
by F4UDash4. 03/24/24 09:21 PM
They got fired after this.
by Wigean. 03/20/24 08:19 PM
Grown ups joke time
by NoFlyBoy. 03/18/24 10:34 PM
Anyone Heard from Nimits?
by F4UDash4. 03/18/24 10:01 PM
RIP Gemini/Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford
by semmern. 03/18/24 02:14 PM
10 years after 3/8/2014
by NoFlyBoy. 03/17/24 10:25 AM
Copyright 1997-2016, SimHQ Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.6.0