problems with mouse hack

[crsdawg]

i have a suzo/wico 2 1/4(active low) tb that i've had no luck getting a mouse hack to work with. so far i've sacrificed 2 ps2 and 1 usb mice in this process(thinking they were simply incompatible) and have come to the conclussion that either i'm doing someting fundamentally wrong in my wiring, or this type of tb just doesn't like a mouse hack.

i've gone to a couple different online resources for instructions, which seems pretty simple. here's what i've done: i've pulled inut from the outer holes, where the optic reciever was on the mouse board, power from the inner hole, and ground from the button ground. the trackball has a plug that the wires pretty much clip into. each input has a number- 1. 5 v, 2. optic input, 3. optic input, 4. ground. i get nothing out of this set-up. i'm pretty sure the computer recognizes the mouse since the buttons still work. i've checked the power input, and i'm getting 5 v at the tb plug and i've checked my soldering countless times(with a magnifying glass even) and they all look good. i'm a no pro, but i'm fairly proficient at soldering, so i don't think a bad connection or short circuit is my problem. i thought about getting the power from the pc, but when i checked voltage it seemed fine. i'm pretty much stumped.

has anyone else had similar problems with these tb's and a hack, or success? fwiw, about a month ago i also tried a active high wico ball and couldn't get the mouse hack to work either. in that case i didn't have time to trouble shoot so i just convinced the guy i was building it for to buy an optipac. i'd like to avoid that expense this time around.

i'd really appreciate any help on this one.

[OSCAR]

Hi Chris,

I replied your email, but here you posted a lot more info about your setup and now that I see what you have tried, I have another suggestion for you.

First, as I mentioned in my email, you want the Active Hi version trackball to interface with mice.  There may be some particular mice that use "sinking" optics, but I haven't run across any yet that have.

Second, if you are trying to power both optic boards from the center hole of one of the phototransistors, that probably is your problem.  There just isn't enough juice available there on most mice.  The load of both optic boards from that point will probably drop the supply voltage to around 3-4 volts.  Either take the +5V from the back of the mouse right where the PS-2/USB cable connects to the mouse pcb, or run a wire from each of the phototransistor center holes to the +5V input to the trackball.

[crsdawg]

thanks, i really appreciate the info. i have to call wico tomorrow anyway, the tb they sent me is defective(out of spec roller). if they replace the ball like they should, i'll try to get an active high one instead.