Best 2-1/4" trackball?

[mushmouth]

Is it the ultimarc or the happs?

Any experiences shared appreciated.

[crsdawg]

in my opinion happs are far superior. they use metal rollers which last longer and roll better than the suzo's(which is what ultimarc sells) which uses a plastic roller. they also have a more advanced opto board which is more flexible than the suzo when it comes to hacking an interface.

with that said, it's hard to ignore the price difference(suzo-$26 happ-$88) and the tb that ultimarc sells is still a good product(i have two sitting in front of me now).

if your using an optipac or one of oscars interface's the ultimarc tb is a good choice. if you want to hack you own mouse and/or prefer the exact arcade feel(this is the same tb that a lot of the original games used)......go with the happs. that's my experience at least, ymmv.

[mushmouth]

You can't use the opti-pac with the Happs trackball?

[spidermonkey]

Betson/Imperial trackballs are nice too and they use metal rollers as well. I have a 3" Betson (PS-2 version) in my first cabinet and I just bought another one (non PS-2 but otherwise the same) for the cab I'm building now. Betson/Imperial trackballs are the most widely used brand in Golden Tee machines. In my opinion they are pretty comprable to Happ balls. By the way I know everybody loves the translucent colored balls incl. myself however they are lighter and less dence and don't roll as well as the regular solid white balls as they are made of two different materials. I tried both types in the same trackball case an the difference is quite noticable. Problem is you can't illuminate the solid ones. You could however put a colored led inside the case and it will light up around the perimeter of the ball which is kind of a cool look too.  Two ways to keep either type rolling well is #1 oil the berings on the ends of the rollers incl the cradle they sit in. I like to use super refined oil which is used for lubricating the blades on electric hair clippers/shears. #2 Make sure the 4 screws holding the case together are TIGHT ! Check them every so often because I have found that they do loosen just from normal gameplay vibration.  I probably just made your choice more difficult but just thought you should know that there's a 3rd choice out there.

[crsdawg]

mush-yeah you can use a optipac with happs tb with zero problems. i was just saying it's more forgiving when it comes to interfacing with a mouse hack. i've been having trouble with finding a mouse that will work with my ultimarc/suzo/wico 2 1/4 tb.

and spider monkey is 100% correct about the imperial tb. i've used the ps2 version as well and it works flawlessly. the only difference i've found between it and the happs is that it does'nt roll as long after you spin it, like in golden tee when your teeing off and you spin it real hard. not a big deal.

[u_rebelscum]

I agree with all the above, except the tightening the screws.  If you tighen them too much and your case is a smidgen smaller than it should, I've heard of the ball being pressed down by the top of the case, stopping the ball from rolling freely.

I don't have the happ 2 1/4", but it does look better than the suzo 2 1/4".  Over three times better (price difference), I doubt, but if money is no worry and space is tight... [shrug]


As for the 3" TBs, I like the happs TB a little more than the betson, which I like a little more the the wico.   All are good quality stuff, and I'd be happy with any of them.


And to repeat, lube the bearings!  Then break them in some.  (TheRealBobRoberts howto)

[aricade]

Well I picked up a Happ 2 1/4" for $15 cdn.
It was in bad shape when I got it someone spilled coke all over it.  But I just soaked the bearings in a degreaser (goo gone) overnite and wiped down the casing...  good as new

It was well worth it.

I hacked it to a Microsoft usb intellimouse.

I was so suprised how easily that was accomplished.  I was fearing worst.  Bad wiring.  problems with the response of the mouse when hooked up to the optic encoders...  I Have to say not one problem...  I was so happy it was that simple...  Trackball responds with perfect movement to the pc, in my opinion.  It feels great!

I've never tried the suzo or betson tb's, so I cant comment
But if you can find cheap used,possibly abused, happ tb, you probably could salvage it...

Here is the link I used to hack the trackball optics to my mouse:
http://www.mameworld.net/massive/How-to/Trackball_Hack/trackball_hack.html

cheers,
Aricade

[eightbit]

The betson ps/2 version ones are nice becuase all you have to do is plug it in as a mouse and it works. No interfaces, no wiring, makes it very easy. I bought two new ones when there was a glut of them on ebay, I think it was $15.

[mushmouth]

CRS,

1) Can you talk a little about the mice you've tried for the hack and the kinds of problems you've run into? That would be helpful, might save some of us a lot of time/frustration/money...

2) Has no one really found a way to mouse hack the ultimarc TB? The price difference between the two trackballs is staggering, so it's a bit of a sticking point with me. Can anyone comment on what the shipping is on a trackball from ultimarc and the US?

3) Which brings me to a final question, at what point do you just buy the opti-pac and cut your losses as opposed to buying mice and frustrating yourself trying to get a hack to work?

CRS, you da man...

mushmouth

[eightbit]

CRS,

1) Can you talk a little about the mice you've tried for the hack and the kinds of problems you've run into? That would be helpful, might save some of us a lot of time/frustration/money...

2) Has no one really found a way to mouse hack the ultimarc TB? The price difference between the two trackballs is staggering, so it's a bit of a sticking point with me. Can anyone comment on what the shipping is on a trackball from ultimarc and the US?

3) Which brings me to a final question, at what point do you just buy the opti-pac and cut your losses as opposed to buying mice and frustrating yourself trying to get a hack to work?

CRS, you da man...

mushmouth

Another option is the mouse hack that Oscar sells, he does most of the work for you.