Newsgroups: rec.autos.simulators
From: todd@ivic.net (Todd Dry)
Subject: Re: TSW #1?????
References: <3697FBEA.7FCF@inav.net> <19990109215321.13589.00011180@ng06.aol.com> <3698CCC0.1261@inav.net>
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In article <3698CCC0.1261@inav.net>, thomas@inav.net wrote:

>As to that same post, the statement that began the controversy is
>completly untrue, the TSW is as good in any of these areas as any other
>product and I'll put it up against any of them, anytime anywhere.

That may be the case but since talking about the TSW is really popular at the 
moment I figure I ought to put my $.02 in.  I own two TSW's and while my 
impression of them is generally favorable my results have been mixed and 
ultimately I'll probably try something else.

My first TSW has the button shifters, which I still prefer BTW.  The buttons 
are connected to the shift switch by a line cord with an 1/8" stereo plug and 
jack.  Within a week of receiving my TSW this cord died because of the stress 
of being turned back and forth.  A little disappointing, but I understood and 
heck I know how to use a soldering iron.  Sent an email to Trevor and he 
promptly responded with detailed instructions on how they put the line cord 
together.  The problem was that the idea was good but the engineering was poor 
so the result was I had to break out the soldering iron once a month and 
replace this cord.  No problem for a while but eventually I got tired of doing 
it and re-engineered the thing so I didn't have to replace that damn cord once 
a month.  I've now had the thing a little over three years, I believe, and 
haven't replaced a cord in over a year in a half.  But the springs are worn 
and I did a stupid thing trying to make a pot fit, so now the thing destroys a 
pot once a month which is my own fault.  Sent an email to Trevor looking for a 
new steering shaft to correct the pot problem to which he promptly responded 
again but the response was something like "We don't make them that way anymore 
so there isn't much I can do.  Give ???? (I don't remember the name) a call."  
At that point I decided that I'd gotten my $$$$'s worth out of the thing and 
shelved it knowing that I had my other TSW.  We'll call it TSW2.

Now TSW2 was actually bought for my brother-in-law because we raced head to 
head all the time in my office.  TSW2 has the paddle shifters, which I hate 
BTW.  We purchased it during the period of the amazing disappearing TSW 
Company when apparently several other people had placed orders and were 
enduring excessive waits for delivery the frustration of which finally spilled 
over into this newsgroup.  But finally, after enduring this long wait, the 
wheel arrived and we immediately put it to the test.  The line cord that 
connected the paddle shifters failed within about 3 hours use, very 
disappointing.  So having had my experience with TSW1 I dutifully pulled out 
my soldering iron and replaced the faulty cable with a new one and added a 
metal sleeve to protect it from the wheel's cover which basically sawed the 
original cord in half.  Unfortunately my brother-in-law lost interest in sim 
racing during this period and so TSW2 mostly just sat under a desk for a year 
or so.  It maybe had 24 hours of total use on it.  When I decided to retire 
TSW1 about two months ago, I pulled out TSW2 and within about a week the pot 
on the right foot pedal went flaky.  Now remember this is pretty much a brand 
new TSW, so again I was somewhat disappointed but rather than pull out the 
damn soldering iron again I shelved those pedals and hooked up my old ones 
which is where I'm at today.

The TSW is no doubt a superior wheel to anything you can buy in a store and 
Trevor is very responsive when there is a problem although sometimes the 
response may not be what you want to hear.  In general, I believe that TSW are 
great guys doing the best they can and that they are rightfully proud of what 
they have accomplished.  Having said that though, I'll probably never buy 
another one because I just feel that if I'm going to shell out big bucks, 
which I'm perfectly willing to do, for something special then I shouldn't have 
to repair it once a month.
