3" trackball from Happs (regular or high ball?)

[ts]

Any pros and cons to these.  If I understand the views correctly, the highball sits a little higher and needs less clearance inside the control panel box (underneth) for its base.  I plan on trying to rout my panel so the trackball appears to emerge from the panel rather than having the mounting plate show.  So in that sense would the high ball give me a little more ball to play with (so to speak..cue snicker here)

And would either use the same mounting plate?  I plan to mount in 5/8 inch wood but once my plexi (roughly 1/8"?)is placed over that  the total thickness should be close to 3/4" like the rest or my cabinet.

So i am wondering if I should go with the highball?

Also, If I want to somehow light my trackball up amber.  Is my best option to buy a clear trackball and find a 12v amber led  at a place like

http://superbrightleds.com/1157.htm

or

http://glowire.com/Lazer%20LEDs.htm

How easy is it to illuminate a Happ trackaball.  The illuminated ones they have available do they came with a bulb and wire you have to run power through.  It appears the ones on these sites could use the extra 12v power supplies from from my computer.  This is how I hoped to light up the trackball and two coin door lights?

What do you guys think.  Thanks very much.  I hope once my buold is over I can help someone out as much as this place has helped me.

Thanks again

[Homebrew]

       I'm not sure what you mean by less clearance inside the CP box.  If you mean it doesn't sit as deep, than yes, but we're only talking about a tenth of an inch.  Basically with the highball, the ball just sits up higher out of the trackball case.  So yes there is a little more ball to play with.  The highball actually does use a different mounting plate than the regular.  If you don't want the mounting plate to show up, just route a recess for the mouting plate in the CP, then cover it with your artwork.  Trying to mount the trackball from the underside of the CP and have the ball come through a circular cutout in the CP is not going to work to well, you'd have to route a very deep recess with isn't going to leave you with a lot of strength.  I'm sure it can be done, but not really the best way to go about it.
    Ideally the best way to go since you're using lexan is to get the "high lip" otherwise known as Golden tee trackball.  Its meant to be mounted under 1/8" lexan and so it allows for that and allows the trackball to sit at the correct height even through the lexan.  To get the flush trackball look minus the mounting plate, route about a 1/8" recess in the top of the CP to mount the trackball mounting plate flush.  Then cover with your artwork.  With the high lip trackball, this leaves you 1/8" of lip from the trackball case sticking up.  This is to compensate for the 1/8" lexan you would then be adding.  

-Kevin

[ts]

thanks a lot for the info homebrew.

so the high lip trackball (for golden tee) is different than the high ball trackball as well as the regular trackball.

it appears the high lip only comes in one color which I guess is clear but maybe white.?

[Homebrew]

Thats correct.  Basically the golden tee TB is the same as the regular except it can be mounted correctly with or without plexi.  The high ball just has more of the ball protruding from the casing.   Yeah the white trackball is a drawback, but if you call up happ you might be able to get them to substitute it for a different color.  I've heard if you call them, happ will work with you.  Never tried myself.  I  originally had a regular trackball with blue ball then picked up the high lip, so i already had the color ball i wanted.  

-Kevin

[Ghosteater]

Newbie here, resurrecting an old thread...  

Okay, so what if you absolutely HAVE to have the trackball popping out of a circular hole cut into the CP? What's the best route to go?

Would the high ball running through the circular hole to a custom top trim be best?

Or would it be best to get the Golden Tee highlip, and route out underneath, and maybe apply a metal plate on the inside of the underneath routing to keep the particle board from cracking?

Is there another solution?

I've just picked up a Jamma cab that I'm having a hard time finding new control panel art for (Captain America), so reapplying the art over the faceplate might not be possible.. Any hints on where to find new side or CP art would probably be better, actually..

Thanks guys!

[paigeoliver]

As far as your Captain America control panel goes. Pull it off, and replace it with plain black. Never add controls to an original panel. Someday someone will want that panel. Your extra controls probably won't match up with the artwork anyway.

If you don't want a mounting plate consider having a new panel cut out of sheet metal. Most arcade controls are designed for metal panels anyway. (I own 10 original cabinets and 9 of them have metal panels). Then you can mount the trackball perfectly without a mounting plate. I actually had a metal panel made for my old video poker cabinet so I could use a 3" trackball, a short handled wico 8-way, and a Ms. Pac 4-way all without mounting plates.

[u_rebelscum]

Try this newish thread or this older one

FWIW,
normal lip = 1/16", highlip = 3/16", highball = 1/8" lip
normal = ~0.6" ball above top of lip, highlip =  ~0.6" ball atol, highbal = ~1" ball atol.
normal and highlip use happs normal mounting plate, the highball needs a bigger, more expensive mounting plate.


FWIW, I and a few others here think the highball is too high; it comes off the rollers too easily when hit from the side.  But if you drop the ball deep enough into the CP, or always play at the top of the ball, it should be okay.

Also, the highlip (aka golden tee ball) and to some extent the highball have taller lips; this lets you mount the case on thicker panels without dropping the lip below the top of the CP.  I doubt, however, 3/16" of plywood is strong enough to withstand real TB use.

[soslo]

FWIW I have a regular Happ 3" with the mounting plate recesed and covered with artwork...so you can only see the ball poking through - looks very trick.

[SirPoonga]

FWIW, I and a few others here think the highball is too high; it comes off the rollers too easily when hit from the side.  But if you drop the ball deep enough into the CP, or always play at the top of the ball, it should be okay.

So, would you think if a person wanted a flush looking tball (ie no plate on top) the highlip or the high ball would be better?

I'd like to either mount a tball directly to 1/8" plexi OR sink a plate into my mdf and put the 1/8" plexi over it.

[Homebrew]

If you're going to sink your mounting plate into your mdf, then lay down plexi, the golden tee(high lip) trackball is your best option.  

-Kevin