Help with joystick

[JG27CaptStubing]

Originally Posted by jayrc

Hi all,

Went to Fry's today and bought the Cougar HOTAS and I'm not happy with the way it centers so hard, also the software's giving me a hard time. What would you recommend? x52? Logitech?

My previous stick was a logitech 3d but the pots went out. I really need a separate throttle. I don't care about dual throttles because I mostly fly single engine fighters.

Thanks for your input, Jason

The Cougar HOTAS is bar none one of the best sticks out there... However you need to spend a lot of money getting it Moddified. I wouldn't recommend it.

The the Stock Cougar has a fatal flaw. In order to keep Costs down Thrustmaster opted to use cheap pot metal for the gimbles. This basically means that over time it will wear out and place a lot of stress on the POTs. They will eventually spike and die.

I modded mine very high end gimbals and replaced all the pots with Hal Sensors and never looked back. 9 Years of continuous use and not a single hitch with spiking. It's far superior to any Saitek or Logitec stick period but it comes at a heavy price tag.

I suggest you look at the following artical on SimHQ. They review several sticks and you will have to figure out what works best for you.

I myself may look into getting the next Gen Thrustmaster Warthog.

http://www.simhq.com/_technology2/technology_094a.html