[Nuke]

supposedly the cougar had a lot of problems and you needed to mod the stick to make it work the way you want. ive heard from people who have owned one that in its stock configuration it is very stiff, and that is a problem from me. as a ch user you know how perfect the spring tension is in a ch stick (it only gets better with age). as for the pedals i think a lot of cougar users get either the old skool gameport ch pedals, or retrofit the usb pedals with a gameport. supposidly you can plug any old skool passive joystick into that port and it will work. gameports are very simple, and you just need a ground, 5v, which connect to the outer pins on the pots (i think 100k, but since its essentially a voltage divider it doesnt matter), and the reading is taken from the center pin, each fed back through a pin in the gameport connector.

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/joystick/pc_joystick.html

now the problem with ch is that their sticks are not doing anything with cutting edge sensor technology. still using pots and 8-bit axes, all be it at a level of perfection unseen in other hardware. if you ever take apart your ch hardware, you find that every controller has the same mobo (which is about the size of an credit card) with the same 7400 series bank switching ic, and mcu (with a sticker identifying the model, in a dip socket), and a few passives and headers for wiring. nothing cutting edge there. actually i took apart an ms sidewinder from the late 90s and it was more advanced, with a larger complement of chips and full surface mount pcb construction. in the saitek x52 ive taken apart you got ratsnest wiring, through hole construction, multiple boards, and gobs of hot glue everywhere, unpopulated components on the pcb, just a general mess. both of those sticks were using exotic sensors. the sidewinder was optical and the x52 used hall sensors on x and y. warthog uses pure hall sensors, saitek is going from hall sensors to flex sensors, and ch is still using pots. ch never really tried to do anything like that. but it still manages to pewn.

i think my perfect joystick would have the warthog's all metal construction, with hall sensors with at least a 12 bit dac resolution, ch durability, spring tension, and software, sidewinder's pcb construction, and saitek's grips and lights, and it would also be wireless (hotas controllers are notable for being a wiring nightmare).

[Dragon]

Maybe the old tech is why CH sticks are so reliable. Like with a lot of Russian stuff, this tech may be old, but it's also proven and since it's been around for so long, it's been developed to near perfection. And yes, I've heard of Cougar's spring tension problems. There are mod kits developed to address this. My perfect HOTAS would've been similar to yours, except with Warthog or Cougar-style grips and buttons (I just love realistic-looking sticks), plus they'd be wired (I don't mind a lot of wires).

[Nuke]

ch takes a no bull**** approach and just gives you a good solid joystick that just works with everything.

[Dragon]

Yeah. That's why I'm probably going to stick with them. And from the looks of it, my children too. Especially since if something does somehow break in a CH stick, you can easily buy a quality replacement from their industrial offer. All those buttons and switches are common across their entire offer.

[OverDhill]

I was thinking about the CH higher end stick but their throttle really sucks compared to Saitek or Thrustmaster. I owned one long ago and they have not changed any since then. Best thing would be to buy an X52 Pro throttle off Ebay and use it with the Fighterstick. I almost went that route. Can't do it with the X45 as the throttle plugs into the joystick. The X52 line the joystick plugs into the throttle so you can use the throttle as a stand alone. Also the CH rudder pedals (again which I owned) are much to close together for most people. I am seriously impressed with the Saitek Pro Rudder pedals. Well built and smooth. The toe brakes are nice as well. The one thing I heard about the Fighterstick is it seems to be designed for people with small hands and extra long fingers to reach the hats.

[Nuke]

what exactly sucks about the ch throttle? i actually prefer a linear slide instead of a rotating throttle. it could use some trim knobs (not that the fighter stick doesn't come with hardware trim knobs), but other than that is a pretty good unit.

[OverDhill]

Well I guess it is a matter of taste. I have used 4 different throttles playing sims like BMS Falcon and I liked the X52 Pro one and the Warthog. The min-mouse and all the hats and switches come in handle on a more advanced flight sim. The CH Pro Throttle had a fair amount of hats but no analog hats. Also you almost had to velcro the base down to keep it from sliding with the horizontal movement of the throttle axis. The Wartog is the Cadillac og throttles with its dual throttle axises and a ton of switches and hats on the handles as well as on the base. Also it is solid as a brick and stays put where you place it. The stick and throttle weigh a lot.

[Nuke]

the irony is i actually have my throttle and stick attached to the desk with velcro. all joysticks kinda have this problem to some degree or another. the ch throttle's thumbstick can be configured as a mouse or a stick (or as both using cms scripting and modes).

the warthog is about the only stick id consider switching to. it has sexy features, like the ability to panel mount the whole thing, and the throttle is a huge block of metal covered with toggle switches. it would definately be an excuse to cut more holes in my desk.

[Davros]

I remember years ago an employee of ch posted a render of a new throttle very similar to the cougar throttle on simhq
its a shame they never made it

[Nuke]

it may have been a thing from their industrial line.

[OverDhill]

CH used to have top not customer service. My Flightstick Pro started to have a problem with one of the pots and I emailed them and they sent me a complete kit to replace all pots free of charge. That was back in the late 90's. Now you can't even get them to answer a simple question. Like all other companies they have chopped their support staff to nothing.

Actually I took my old CH Pro Throttle and created a custom FPS shooter controller for the left hand.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8236/8427756889_8078f33215_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8492/8428848980_f445f0c645_c.jpg


20 buttons at your fingertips

plus A W S D on stick

plus 4 push buttons on base

plus one toggle switch on the base to be used with Xpadder that can switch the set to a totally different set of key binds

I used a GP-Wiz40 for the interface