Atari Optic PCBs

[D_Harris]

I have a lot of "junk" Atari trackballs from games like Millipede and Centipede, and  I plan to use some of the optics for s couple of spinner control panels for MAME.

I haven't tested the optics yet but is it common to use them for MAME CP spinners?

And are these optics easy to repair. (They seem simple enough).

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[Nephasth]

If you've got "junk" mice laying around, you can do this. No optical interface required.

[Vigo]

Converting a trackball to a spinner does not sound like the best route. I would say sell the trackballs as spare parts and put the money towards buying a real spinner. Or build your own as Nephasth points out.

[D_Harris]

If anyone has ever used the Atari optics from a trackball for a spinner I'd appreciate your experiences.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

I tried to, but the board I had (from a Centipede) was incompatible with my minipac encoder. I spoke with Andy and he informed me that among optic boards there are those that pull high and those that pull low. The minipac only did one, I can't recall which, but the optipac did both.

I ended up using a board out of an Imperial trackball and using a bit of metal to hack up a little offset arm to make the different sensor line up:



What encoder are you using?

[boardjunkie]

While it *is* possible, alignment of the opto is critical. I wouldn't bother if it were me. Too much hassle....

I did make a spinner when I first got into MAME about 12 years ago. I used an old ball mouse and a belt drive system to do away with trying to align optos.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/62937081@N00/5881287706/#
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62937081@N00/5881288286/#
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62937081@N00/5880727331/#
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62937081@N00/5881289590/#

[D_Harris]

I tried to, but the board I had (from a Centipede) was incompatible with my minipac encoder. I spoke with Andy and he informed me that among optic boards there are those that pull high and those that pull low. The minipac only did one, I can't recall which, but the optipac did both.

I ended up using a board out of an Imperial trackball and using a bit of metal to hack up a little offset arm to make the different sensor line up:

What encoder are you using?

Thanks.

These are Wicos. Which encoders did you try that you said didn't work? I know that the ones in the Midway spinners I have are not supposed to work, but I thought that the ones in the Atari trackballs did.

I read somewhere that incompatible optic PCBs can be modified, so I'll have to look into that it these don't work.

Someone here was selling optical PCBs for this purpose, but I figured why waste the ones I already have.

As I said they are not complicated looking PCBs. But this is not documented here, so I'll ask over at KLOV to see what they say about it.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

nonworking with minipac

[D_Harris]

Ok, I also have a couple of MiniPACs.

I actually have at least two different optic PCBs from trackballs.

The one on the right is from a Millipede(Midi) trackball.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

[taylormadelv]

In my experience working with Atari optic boards + mame, I have had hit and miss results. I have gotten some Tempest optics to work and some Tempest optic boards will NOT work. The optics in my original Crystal Castles trackball would NOT work with mame and I replaced them with optics laying around from an old Centipede.
Building a spinner housing is kinda tricky, I just use old Tempest spinners, if you can deal with all the real estate getting eaten up but how big the Tempest spinner is.
If I bought a spinner new, I'd go with the Turbo Twist 2 for certain. And Mikesarcade is not making the USB/PS2 trackball adaptors anymore and they don't seem to care about special ordering it either, so spinner solutions just got a bit trickier...

[Paul Olson]

The Ataris should work fine. The wicos are most likely active low, which you would need the Optipac to use. It has been a long time, but I think you need to swap the input wires for the spinner to spin in the right direction.

[D_Harris]

Thanks.

Obviously, this will come down to trial and error in order to determine what will work.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.