Problem with Electric ICE-T™ Deluxe RGB Arcade Trackball V2.0!

[tyson171]

Hey everyone.  Like the title says, i'm having issues with my Electric ICE-T™ Deluxe RGB Arcade Trackball V2.0.  I've had this unit for about a year (used it for about 2 months, when I only used it a few times), and the unit has been sitting until i recently got my mame cabinet back to life!  I don't EVER remember having this problem a year ago, and the cabinet hasn't moved a single inch.....but....it seems like the ball is jumping and has wayyy to much movement?  When I spin the trackball in an upward motion or to the left it is fine, but when i spin the track ball to the right or down, it "jumps" and has a pause before it actually moves (and makes a thump sound every time) Its like its jumping off the rollers.....and to be honest, it really doesn't seem like the ball is big enough for the unit?  Did they ever have a recall on the balls being manufactured to small?  I read up on this issue a little bit, and thought it could be the bearings, so I pulled everything apart, used 3in1 oil, spun each bearing on a drill for 60 seconds, and still feels exactly the same.  I'm lost and I can't figure this out.  I almost swear it feels like the ball is too small......anyways any help would be fantastic!  It would be a shame to not be able to use my trackball, and I don't have the extra money to buy a new one right now......

[DeLuSioNal29]

Sounds like it's dirty.  Try opening it up and cleaning it out.  Notably the rollers.  May need some lubing too.

D

[RandyT]

The ball is exactly the same size and weight of the stock opaque balls that are standard in that unit.

You have never really broken in the bearings, and leaving them to sit for an extended period without using them doesn't help either.  What you describe is common to all trackballs with a standard 3 roller configuration.  Any resistance at all in the bearings and the ball will try to crawl up the roller.  It can't really do this up and to the left because there are rollers in those directions and the weight of the ball is transferred much more readily.  But in the other directions, the direction of the ball spin is faced toward the angled roller.  This creates a small "ramp" like effect and allows the ball to lift slightly if the bearings aren't absolutely free-spinning.

You just need to spin the heck out of it for a while to loosen the bearings up and that phenomena will be, for the most part, eliminated.

RandyT

[tyson171]

Thanks for the input guys. I did clean the rollers before (just wiped them off, but they looked flawless) and oiled up the bearings etc.  

RandyT to you suggest to use the drill method to break the bearings in, or is just using the trackball a better method?  Also do you think the angle of a cp has any effect?  My custom cp is build into an original mortal kombat cab, so the cp has about a  15deg. angle....?

And one last question, I know on the happ trackballs the rollers have a very small amount of locktite on them where the bearings are, is that just for the design of the Happ trackballs, or is that something I should do to these as well? (there wasn't any locktite on them the first time i pulled the bearings off....?

[RandyT]

RandyT to you suggest to use the drill method to break the bearings in...?

Sure.  It may not be necessary if you give the ball a few good spins every time you walk past the panel, but it certainly won't hurt.  The bearings in these units are already "de-greased" and oiled, but the effects of actually being used are still very important if you expect them to "free-spin".

Also do you think the angle of a cp has any effect?

Probably not.  If it was so steep as to cause a problem with the trackball, there would be some serious overall usability issues that would make this one pale by comparison.

And one last question, I know on the happ trackballs the rollers have a very small amount of locktite on them where the bearings are, is that just for the design of the Happ trackballs, or is that something I should do to these as well? (there wasn't any locktite on them the first time i pulled the bearings off....?

There should be no loctite on the bearings.  I'm not even sure why one would put loctite on a trackball bearing, unless the fit between the bearing and the housing was sloppy enough to allow the roller to move off center of the optical sensor while in use.  That doesn't happen with the Electric ICE trackball, so no loctite is needed.

RandyT