You can now get Plug & Play microstick through Cougar world

It took a while to source the components but we are now able to assemble & distribute plug and play microsticks. The components are the same as used originally by TM. Replacing the microstick has always been a problem because the part shipped from TM without the PCB. As a consequence, the deffective part needed to be unsoldered from its PCB (multiple solder points) before the new part could be soldered on. Now you can get the whole set delivered (microstick + PCB + connector) so all that you will need to replace the part is open the throttle handle, get the microstick out of its casing and disconnect it's connector and connect the new one in. No more soldering required, a much easier replacement.
More info there

Red Dog

Terrapin's wonderful pictures and Jack Death terrific electronic blueprints found their way to CW

After a terribly busy summer, I was finally able to upload Terrapin's images and Jack Death electronic blueprints on Cougar World. Terrapin's image are showing the Cougar in and out and although they are quite old, they are still terrific.
Jack Death layouts are quite usefull when you need to track a severed wires or like many of us, need to know which coloured wire you need to solder on your replacement part because you were in too big a hurry to take a picture before unsoldering the parts to be replaced ... The new page is here

The file pages has also been updated and if you have a new joystick & macro file you want to share, don't hesitate to send it to me by email

Red Dog

Thrustmaster release updated 32 and 64 bit Vista Cougar drivers and software

Thrustmaster have made available Release Candidate 2 of their 32 bit Vista software and Release Candidate 1 of their 64 bit Vista software for you to download and try. Link is here.
It's worth pointing out that each is a large download. The reason for this is that there is only one installer now that contains the drivers AND Foxy.

Vista software (32 bits) for your Cougar!

Thrustmaster have made available Release Candidate 1 of their Vista software for you to download and try. Link is here. At the moment we're not mirroring this on Cougar World yet so grab it from the Thrustmaster FTP for now and save Frugal some money ;) Note this software is intended only for Vista owners at present and is only for the 32 bit version of Vista. We intend to sort out any issues with this version first as well as make some changes to the way Foxy and the CCP work together, before the conversion to the 64 bit version. I will post soon about changes to the software for this Vista release.
It's worth pointing out that this is a large download. The reason for this is that there is only one installer now that contains the drivers AND Foxy. I'll discuss this further in a post in the forums when I get a spare moment.

James "Nutty" Hallows

FCC2 review

I wrote a quick review of Arend's new Force Controlled Cougar (FCC) mod. The FCC2 now uses strain gauges instead of the previous force sensors and fits both a Cougar and a real F-16 cockpit base. You can read the review here.
Red Dog

HOTAS Multiple Device Controller update

Vincent has fixed the bug that prevented the HOTAS Multiple Device Controller from running with the latest software. It can be downloaded from here. Please read the ReadMe in the zip.
James "Nutty" Hallows

Foxy's DX8 Key tester vs. 4.3

I've updated Foxy's DX8 Key tester again. Grab it from here.
James "Nutty" Hallows

Foxy 4.2 beta release

I've uploaded a beta release of Foxy as I continue to develop it. It is available from the Updated firmware, software, documentation, translations page. Please read the "Foxy version 4.2 beta.rtf file" included in the zip.
James "Nutty" Hallows

Some pages updated

James uploaded a new Install Faq page and I modified the mods page with some very nice write up by Cubpilot about fixing a bad antenna pot showing defaults in its range and no center detent .
Red Dog

Some new Macro files

We uploaded some new Cougar files mainly for F4 Allied Force. Jagstang also sent his BMS files. Head over the macro files section to download these must have.
Red Dog

Calibration Document

Nils "185Wolverine" Holmgren from our forum sent a swedish translation of the V2 of Jame's excellent calibration document, here is a good opportunity to give links again to that useful file:
The english version is installed with Foxy and accessible through the help - manual menu - Français - Swedish
Thanks Nils and you Sweedes, please accept my apologies for taking so long to upload the document.

Red Dog

Season's Greetings

The Cougar World team wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year 2005. We hope a lot of new guys will rejoin us after having received a kitty :) So the old heads can continue to dispense help whenever needed. Thanks to all of you who makes this community so special!

Red Dog

New version of the Cougar Software.

Thrustmaster released a complete fully installable version of the TM software. Foxy remains at current version so do not desinstall Foxy. This version fixes the lock and unlock with axis statement and changes the DirectX axis name for more convenience, amongst other things. Thanks James for having uploaded the software. More info on the update pages.

Red Dog

CW ran out of pots.

My stock of prewired pots is gone. For those of you still needing that part, you will need to contact TM from the advanced support pages of their tech support website !

Red Dog

Update on the mods page.

Holidays are over :) !
IJ started production of the Ü2 NXT and the first run is already gone. He also made some speedbrake housing in aluminium that correct the default in alignement of the original TM part. The hardware mods page has been updated accordingly.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Small update to Cougar software.

Due to some annoying bug being found with V3 released last week, TM released a new version of the Cougar software suite.
A small patch is also distributed for those of you not willing to desinstall V3 to reinstall V3.01. This small patch will not affect the installed drivers or uninstall any system files.
Head to the update page and enjoy.

Thanks TM for squashing those so fast!

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

New softwares versions for your Kitty.

This will come as a big surprise to most of you but no, you are not dreaming - The new Cougar software suite is now available! We are proud to introduce Hotas Cougar V3.00 and Foxy V4.00. Head to the update page and enjoy.

A big thanks to the TM team who spend a considerable amount of time working on this for us, to James and his dedication in helping the TM team and updating his fabulous Foxy sofware to support this new version and finally a big thanks to all the beta testers working hard on their free time for this release to be as good as possible:
185wolverine, dimebug, DonULFonso, Emacs, FUBAR, Isamu, Jagstang, JAMF, javanree, Judy, K@OS, Loffy, MeanGreeny, nicolaas, Outflanker, Rabbit52, Red Dog, ronht, UgoRipley and us57035.
And we are not forgetting Mark 'Frugal' Bush for his support and for hosting Cougar World and its forum.

In our opinion, this release is probably the most important one since the original software suite. Stability has been greatly improved and we really like it a lot. We hope you will like it as much as we do.

Today is a great day for the Cougar community - Thank you Thrustmaster !

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Some new tips on the mods page

There are two new hardware tips on the mods page. One is a procedure from Roto to repair the pot after failure (slow mouvement) and the second one is for replacing the rubber boot from Hellcat. Thanks to both of you for sharing :)

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

New Cougar plates

New Cougar plates are becoming a reality. Designed by the community for the community. So far, plates are available for the FCC and the Über2 and the Evenstrains Check this thread for further information and the sales page to order available plates (FCC plates are shipped upon ordering a FCC from White-Eagle)

I engrave the Cougar serial and mod serial with a 2mm punching set. Price for each plate is 15 euros including shipping. I will order the minimum of 50 plates when I get a minimum of 20 preorder per plate type. For preorder, you word is enough, post on the relevant thread.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Review page updated

I updated the CW review page with Jame's review of the FSS and Mirv end user review of his FCC.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Calibration document and software bugs

Howdy! I've uploaded a document on calibrating the Cougar as well as updated the CW software bugs page

James "Nutty" Hallows

Happy New Year

The Cougar World team wishes you all a happy new year 2004. We are sure 2004 will be a great year for the Cougar and its community.
Thank you all for all the help and time you are giving to your fellow Cougar users via the forums.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Review of the FCC online

For those of you interested, I put the preview of the FCC (Force Controlled Cougar) online. Go here for the preview and some exclusive pictures.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Season's Greetings

The Cougar World team whishes you all a merry Christmas.
Now is the time to release your Cougar and spend some time with your loved ones. Take care of them, that's the most important thing you have in life.

Greetings

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Changes in new batch of Cougar

Apparently, the new Cougar batches have been modified by TM as far as grounding is concerned. The TQS is now grounded and you should not risk static discharge anymore. The CW team is still investigating the issue as no further information was disclosed by Guillemot/TM. We'll keep you posted. We will surely ask if Guillemot can offer these modifications to previous batches owners - although we doubt it.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

New forum

The basic and advanced programming fora have been merged in one programming forum. A new forum dedicated for spare parts has been opened. Some relevant threads have been moved to the corresponding forum. The new forum should hopefully be easy for us to ask for spare parts, spread news about the way spares can be obtained, both from third parties or from Guillemot tech support.
I would also remind uses that although Guillemot support just got better as far as the warranty spare parts are concerned, there are still people in need of spares, so if you have some parts you wish to donate, please let us know.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

New sales page on Cougar World:

Since CW will start sourcing spare parts for our beloved Cougars, I opened a order page on the website. So far, orders are done by mail form. You fill in the blanks and the form is sent to me via email. Your data are not disclosed. At this time, the only part possible to (pre)order is the throttle pot with wire assembly. It's preorder because we expect the parts to reach us end of December or early in January. Payment is via paypal and no payment needs to be done until the parts are ready to be shipped to you. If you decide to preorder, you will be on the first come, first served list and a email requesting payment will be sent to you when the part is ready to be shipped.
I also added instructions on how to replace the throttle pot in the hardware mods page. That should help some guys installing the new throttle pot when received from Guillemot tech support or bought from CW.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

New mods added to the hardware mod section:

I added information about the new NN_Dan mod from the french community. It's also based on Scamp's mod. While at it I added the future Über3 which is going to be a pressure driven Cougar. Although it will be available only next year, I had the opportunity to test a prototupe at the LLTM and I'm impressed to say the least. Head over to the hardware mods page.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

The community users to the rescue:

While the Aussies have received the Cougar first, they still wait for spare parts distribution from TM/Guillemot. Evenstrain and Outflanker came to the rescue by setting up a spare parts supply system. The spare parts comes from modified Cougars with ES gimbals, CubPilot's Hall sensors and eventually some Über/U2 users. Each community member willing to donate his junk parts may contact a representative in his area and send him the parts. From there, the parts are collected to be send to another representative in the relevant area. Finally the parts are distributed to the final users.

So far Evenstrain is collecting spares from the US.
I am collecting spares from Europe.
Outflanker is receiving spares and distribute them within Australia.

Please note that the system may not be for Aussies only but in other area where support is nonexistent as well.
If you want to participate, contact evenstrain by PM or email or get in touch with me. Every part you don't use because you modded your Cougar might help a fellow user.

Thank you Evenstrain and Outflanker and those having already donated some parts for coming to our rescue!

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Lomac files and a new hardware tip :

• With the release of the LOMAC demo, Cougar files for this simulator started to appear in my mailbox. They are uploaded in the file section.
• Morten "Goose" Kielland wanted to contribute to our website by posting an quite well written article about making the throttle smoother. Read it in the hardware mods section. Thank you Goose, and don't hesitate to send others ;)

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Some news:

• Wolverine designed a CW wallpaper in different resolutions. The files are available from the unsupported page. To have a glance at the graphic, go to this thread.
• The file download pages and the Cougar serial database pages are still getting updated, don't hesitate to send your files and drop your information and Cougar serial to Fruity or by posting on this thread. I take this opportunity to thank Fruity and James for taking care of that darker side of CW ;)
• The Gallery pages still needs your pictures of your Cougar in famous or interesting places. Don't hesitate to send me your pictures.
• I posted a link to Hornet review of the Ultimate 2 available on F4Community.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Cougar World Patches available for sales:

I'm very proud to present you the first batch of Cougar World patches. Design was done by Wolverine and is truly a masterpiece. Fabrication was done by one of the official patches supplier of the Belgian airforce as well as the tiger meet association. It's 8.8cm (3.46") and proudly state the newly found Cougar World motto: "Community Driven"

Patches are available for sale at the prize of 10 euros - including shipping anywhere in the world. Needless to say a part of the benefits will help pay the Cougar World hosting. The first batchof 50 units is now sold out - if you still want one, you can preorder from the sales page - I'll order the second batch as soon as I have 20 preorders.
Further information on this topic on our forum.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

New section on CW: Hardware modifications explained:

With all the tips and mods available for our Cougar it's very easy for new users to get confused. I tried to make matters simplier by rassembling all the mods on one page. Most of the information comes from our forum and especially the Mods and Tweaks condensed thread. Don't hesitate to let me know if something is missing or if you have a correction of any kind. Check the page here. It's also accessible from the know issue section in the left menu.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Version 2.04 released!

Version 2.04 of the Cougar software is available from the official TM website and mirrored on Cougar World. Check out the Official Updates page!
This new version fixes some bugs in the toggles on shiftbuttons as well as an update on the hotasupdate.exe file.

A note of warning to new users of the second Cougar batch: Do disconnect the throttle from the stick before flashing the Cougar with this new version.

I also took the opportunity to update the links for the translated Cougar manuals on the Official Updates page! Bear in mind that they may not have been updated as the latest english version included in Foxy v3.0.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Frugal needs help!

Cougar World and its forum would be homeless without Frugal's World since Mark is kindly hosting your website! The bandwidth CW takes and the generated traffic on the fora are huge and it costs him a lot of money from his own pockets. Unfortunately, Mark just lost his job and the future of your premier support website for the Cougar is compromised!
Please support Frugal's World in the means of subscriptions or donations - it's voluntary but he really needs your help. Don't count on the next guy to support Frugal. From all the communities of Frugal's World, ours is probably the one needing to help him the most. Imagine loosing the support the community gives you! Read Mark's announcement on the forum.
Thank you for your support.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Spare part issue!

While the community is waiting for sales of spare parts kits, some have reported issues about the distribution of spare parts under warranty. The CW team has been asked to provide specific examples of problems as well as an overview of the situation. As such, if you requested some spare parts from TM support, take a vote in the following poll on the forum to let us know the result. Also, we are specifically looking for people having had to send the whole unit back to have it repaired and still waiting for its return. Contact us via the same thread or by any other mean to give us your details as well as the RMA.

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

Version 2.03 released!

Version 2.03 of the Cougar software is available from the official TM website and mirrored on Cougar World. Check out the Official Updates page!
This new version is the same as 2.02 available on Cougar World since December 4th with the installation problems solved (.INF files). So if 2.02 is running fine on your rig, no need to install 2.03!

Olivier "Red Dog" Beaumont

• I've posted in the hardware forum regarding spare parts and the progress we're making with availability. You can read that thread here.
• James has released a new version of Foxy's Launcher. Download and details are on the Official Updates page on Cougar World.
• Anyone having problems installing the latest software, with your Cougar/Windows not picking up the latest drivers, then please see this thread.

• Great news! New fully installable versions of the TM software and Foxy are available from Cougar World! Check out the Official Updates page on Cougar World. These fix a lot of bugs, have lots of new features and are an essential download. Big thanks to David, Mark and James for these, and a big thanks to everyone who contributed in isolating and reporting bugs. Good on ya!

• Since writing about the UberCougar and Hall Sensor UberCougar and Hall Sensor mods, Greg "EvenStrain" Cook is taking names from interested parties who want to purchase his "EvenStrain" base. More information can be found in the EvenStrain Gimbals Production thread. Titanium gimbals for the first 25 - oh yeah! For those looking for a base that more accurately replicates the feel and looks of an F-16 controller, then check out the work of debequem in the Any of you guys interested in this? thread.
• Communication continues with TM regarding availability of spares and how to order them. More news to follow.
• The next version of Foxy and the TM software are on their way very soon.
• We're just over one week away now from the one day Flightsim show in Birmingham organised by RC Simulations. Be there and meet a load of Cougar owners, Frugal and his F4 LAN guys, Matt Wagner, Oleg Maddox .... it's going to be a great show. Hopefully we can all get together for food and drinks afterwards as well.

• I've written a review on the UberCougar and Hall Sensor mods. Read it here.
• Testing and development continues on the new firmware, compiler, CCP and Foxy. A release date is not known yet.
• We're one month away now from the one day Flightsim show in Birmingham organised by RC Simulations. I read in PC Pilot that Oleg himself might be there, and LOMAC might be on display. It's a great place to meet up and have some fun. So pop this one into your diary. This is your chance to meet Frugal and see what he's wearing ;)
• The Cougar World team have launched themselves whole heartedly at the issue of spare parts for your Cougars. I'm pleased to say that TM are taking this seriously and spares are being stocked, as well as the mechanisms for you to acquire them being put in place. I'll let you know more details when we have them.
• Can I ask people to kindly post issues and problems on the forums and not send me e-mail? I have got to somehow allocate my limited spare time for the next Foxy patch and software testing, and I can't deal with e-mail requests for help. After a day of dentistry, I'm usually pretty knackered and I'm sorry I just don't have time to do an unpaid job of Technical Support. Foxy is suffering from not enough development time. :(

• Beta testing has begun on an upgrade to the TM software, and Foxy. More details will be released later. Significant enhancements on top of the usual bug fixes are coming ....

• Thrustmaster have released version 1.04 of their software. Grab it from the Downloads section. A new version of Foxy will come later - the executables and documentation are done but I'm not ready yet to release it.

• Red Dog has uploaded his Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 article to his corner on Cougar World. Read it here. Thanks buddy!
• If you haven't been scanning the Joystick and macro files downloads section of Cougar World, perhaps now's a good time to do this. We've had several new files submitted.
• I've moved all the unsupported downloads that were in the Community section into the Downloads section.
• Keep sending in your kind comments to Fruity as she's doing a sterling job, not only maintaining the Serial Number database, but also the User submitted comments section. Also if you hear of people getting a poor opinion of the Cougar from the forums, send them to the User submitted comments section where they can read user's feedback, as well as to the Reviews page. ;)

• The Reviews page has a link to an excellent review by Dan "Crash" Crenshaw over at SimHQ.
• Thrustmaster have released version 1.03 of their software. Note that I am holding off releasing a new version of Foxy at the moment as we're dicussing some ideas to implement in the near future.

• The gallery page on Cougar World has been updated with some great pictures!

• Big news! Thrustmaster have released new versions of the Compiler, CCP and Firmware. Check out the Official Updates page on Cougar World. These fix a lot of bugs and are a highly recommended download. Big thanks to David and Mark for these, and a big thanks to everyone who contributed in isolating and reporting bugs. Good on ya!

• David "The Block" Block has written an article on understanding calibration and calibration profiles. You can view the article here.
• More joystick and macro files have been added to the Joystick and macro files page on Cougar World.

• More joystick and macro files have been added to the Joystick and macro files page on Cougar World.
• The Italian translated manual is up. Big thanks to Rider, Jester and MIX for this ;)
• An excellent article on how to add Cougar compatibility to CH Pro USB pedals is on the Unsupported files page on Cougar World.

• More joystick and macro files have been added to the Joystick and macro files page on Cougar World. Keep 'em coming - this is great ;) Remember that they don't need to be advanced - just so long as they work you're helping beginners enjoy their Cougars with their games, and giving them something to fiddle with and modify to suit their needs better.
• I'm in the middle of moving home and starting a new job, so bear with me if I'm not around or not as punctual as normal in getting things up on CW. Also Mark Mooney is away on holiday and Guillaume is off to E3 soon.
• Beta testing of the new firmware and TM software is continuing and some good bugs have been squashed. We continue to improve the Cougar and it's maturing well. I've no idea when it is to be released.
• There's a dedicated contact support e-mail address for Cougar issues. It is: hotas-support@guillemot.com. Please see this thread for more information.

• New forums are up and running well. I've popped important sticky posts at the top of some of these forums. Please read them, and then direct others to read them. The number of posts on the CW forums is getting hectic for us to monitor and answer, and preventing us from doing much else with CW at the moment. I'm keen to get the programming tutorials on the way so I'm going to have to take a back seat on the forums soon if they're to happen.
• My better half Fruity is doing a sterling job keeping the Cougar Serial number database up to date - send in your serial numbers if you haven't already!
• Several additions have been made to the various FAQs and bug pages.
• New joystick and macro files from users are starting to come in and they're up on the files page on Cougar World. Go grab them ;)
• Fruity has also been updating the Feedback page - if you've got some good comments you want to throw her way, then do e-mail her. If they're about the Cougar then that's to be encouraged. ;)
• David has put together a group of about 20 users to help beta test new versions of the firmware and software we're working on. Thanks to those who offered and were selected.
• Fruity and I are in the process of applying for new jobs and will be moving hopefully next month away from where we currently live. This will be a big move for us and is likely to see us off the net for at least a week, maybe more. So I'm just giving advanced warning here.

• HOTAS Cougar Competition !!! What more can I say .. we have one to give away! Check out the competition link on the left.
• The first units have arrived in Japan for reviewing. The European units for reviewing should arrive next week.