Help with track ball and opti-wiz

[Jgel]

OK guys things are coming along thank to your help.  Next issue  (like these end) is with my track ball.  The PS2 cord if my trackball has not end on it, just wires.  Where/how do these attach to the opti-wiz?  I have a spinner already installed and I am not sure how this should work.  I assume I have to solder the wires somewhere?  How do I know which wire goes to which axis?
 

 See pics.  Thanks again for all your help.   

[Jgel]

Bump for any help 

[GregD]

I'm not sure what is going on here.  If your trackball has a ps/2 cord on it why do you need the optiwiz?

[Jgel]

I'm not sure what is going on here.  If your trackball has a ps/2 cord on it why do you need the optiwiz?

Sorry I guess I should have made that clearer.  The PS/2 connector was crushed, so I ordered the opti-wiz to get it working.  I just don't know how to tell where each wire should go. 

[PL1]

The PS2 cord if my trackball has not end on it, just wires.  Where/how do these attach to the opti-wiz?

The short answer is that they don't.

PS/2 mice and trackballs already have encoder boards in them. They only need 4 wires (like your picture shows) to connect to the PS/2 port, instead of the 6-8 wires that encoderless trackballs need to connect to an encoder board.

I know you already got the opti-wiz, but you don't need it for this -- unless you REALLY want to bypass the built-in encoder board. (Not worth the effort.)

If you can get a PS/2 cable with a good connector, I would recommend cutting it off at least 10-12 inches from the connector and splicing the old cord to the new cord. The attached diagram shows how to use the cords to keep the splices from pulling apart. After you have spliced the wires together and have it working properly, hold the trackball cord (black) to the replacement PS/2 cord (red) with several tie straps (blue) -- shown here untightened for ease of understanding.  Be sure to leave a gentle bend >=6 x diameter of cord where the cord doubles back to avoid breaking wires.

This Wikipedia entry should help if you already threw out the crushed connector.  The required connections are on the right side, just a little way down with a very clear pin diagram to guide you.

Pin 1    +DATA -- Data    
Pin 2    Not connected -- Not connected*    
Pin 3    GND -- Ground    
Pin 4    Vcc -- +5 V DC at 275 mA    
Pin 5    +CLK -- Clock    
Pin 6    Not connected -- Not connected**    

* On some computers mouse data for splitter cable.
** On some computers mouse clock for splitter cable.

Not sure if both PS/2 cords will have the same wire colors. If not, hopefully, you can look where the cord attaches to the encoder board inside the trackball and determine which wire is 5v and which is ground. once you get those two sorted out, you can try the other two one way and if it doesn't work, swap them.


Scott

[Jgel]

Scott,

   Thank you so much for your informative and kind response.  Guess I was really messed up  I think I understand.  I am also using the Opti-wiz for my spinner so it is not a big deal if it won't work.  I took apart the trackball and now I understand what you were saying.  So... I cut the end off of a Belkin cable that I had.   There are 6 wires inside.  See pic - Yellow, Brown, Orange, Red, Blue and Black.   
I also took a photo of the wires that go into the trackball.  It looks like. Blue goes to +5V and Orange goes to Ground.  Green goes to CLK and White goes to Data. 
I know that the puzzle is all here and I am just missing it in your post.  How do I know which cable corresponds to which pin on the cable so I can splice them? 

[PL1]

Blue goes to +5V and Orange goes to Ground.  Green goes to CLK and White goes to Data. 
I know that the puzzle is all here and I am just missing it in your post.  How do I know which cable corresponds to which pin on the cable so I can splice them? 

The answer is in the "this wikipedia link" hyperlink in the earlier post:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS/2_connector

A little way down the page on the right side is a pinout list and front view female connector diagram.

With that pinout diagram and your trusty multimeter, you should have the last pieces of the puzzle.

Just to be sure, start by splicing the 5v line to pin 4 and the ground line to pin 3. Then use one alligator clip to temporarily connect the clock line to pin 5 and another clip to temporarily connect the data line to pin 1. Try it out -- if it works, splice them, if not clip the clock line to pin 6 and clip the data line to pin 2 and that should work. (As always, Ronald Reagan's advice of "trust but verify" applies.)

Also, Crimp-On Telephone/Alarm Connectors P/N 64-3073 from RadioShack work really well for this type of 1-to-1 small wire splice.  I always keep some on hand for "just such an emergency." [/Foghorn Leghorn]


Scott

[Jgel]

Thanks Scott, I figured it all out with the multimeter.   I got it spliced and nothing   

I am spending way more time than I want on this damn cable that I am thinking of just buying a new trackball.    

You were very helpful thank you so much.   

[PL1]

Jgel,

Are you sure you didn't get things turned around translating male/female and front/back pinout patterns?

If you got turned around or plugged in one of those .1" headers backward, you might have reversed 5v and ground.

Is there 5v at the circuit board where you expect to see it?


Scott

[Jgel]

Scott,

After letting this site for a week I gave it one more try.  Figured I should try to see if I have it reversed and sure enough just like you said.  The picture on the wiki page was female and I had to backwards.     I can't thank you enough for all of our help with this item.   I am almost done with this thing.  You rock man