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Trackball Purchase question
MaxAsh:
--- Quote from: Richardgregory on August 21, 2014, 07:17:54 am ---I'm going to get one of these Sparkfun trackballs too....looks like a decent price for what you get.
But, now the dilemma: I don't want to rebuild another control panel! So this might sound nutty, but I was thinking of just taking out the trackball and placing it on top of the control panel when needed - I don't play much trackball games, but if I do, the option is there. Now the question is:
How would I mount it to the control panel if I go through this route? In a way, that I can attach or detach quickly. I'm sure some bright minds here can give me some ideas. So far, I've thought of suction cups.
Thoughts?
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My CP was pretty much done as well, so I had a similar concern. I'm going to try to disassemble the existing CP and work with it, hopefully avoiding a complete re-do. It's mostly a matter of patience and time, so I think I'll go that route. For now, I've got the trackball just sitting off to the side and I put it on top of the CP for testing. It's been working great, and everyone loves it.
Of course it moves around, so securing it requires me to hold it while people spin it, which of course is not ideal. The velcro idea could work, but then your CP has velcro on it. Suction cups aren't terrible, but it will depend on how good the cups are and how forceful the users are spinning the ball. If you really don't want to modify your CP or do a new one, then that might be your best option short of building some sort of rig hanging off the front of the CP. Depends on how your CP is mounted, but in theory I guess you could setup some sort of lip/bracket system with a removable board that the trackball is mounted to... but that would not look great and probably isn't worth all the hassle. So I'd say try your suction cup idea, and failing that just go through the effort of modifying the CP. You'd be happier in the end that way I think.
DaOldman - thanks for all the info. I'll be trying different ideas. We'll see!
DaOld Man:
--- Quote from: MaxAsh on August 21, 2014, 07:00:13 pm ---DaOldman - thanks for all the info. I'll be trying different ideas. We'll see!
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You are quite welcome.
The way I mounted this trackball is definitely for a new control panel. Although it could be used with an old one, but it would require a complete disassembly of your CP.
If I were going to mount it in an already cut out CP, I think I would cut out the square in the CP and the plexi (if it has plexi), and use the custom trackball mounting plate made for this trackball.
I didn't know they had them until it was too late for me. If you are interested in this I will see if I can find a link to it.
MaxAsh:
--- Quote from: DaOld Man on August 21, 2014, 07:42:48 pm ---You are quite welcome.
The way I mounted this trackball is definitely for a new control panel. Although it could be used with an old one, but it would require a complete disassembly of your CP.
If I were going to mount it in an already cut out CP, I think I would cut out the square in the CP and the plexi (if it has plexi), and use the custom trackball mounting plate made for this trackball.
I didn't know they had them until it was too late for me. If you are interested in this I will see if I can find a link to it.
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I was considering this method (posted earlier in this thread), though I'd probably still need to disassemble the CP: http://kadevice.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=398 . It seems relatively simple, and basically no work from the top side of the CP if done correctly. What do you think DaOld Man?
The mounting plate is somewhere out there, I've seen it. I think it runs $15-20 (with shipping) though, which hurts the budget build plan for this trackball.
Richardgregory:
Thanks for the link MaxAsh: looks easy enough - I might follow that - let's see what DaOldMan thinks :)
On that note: Since I never had a trackball, I was wondering how much free space would be ideal from the top point of the trackball to any other object? Ie. If I had a spinner and wanted to mount the trackball below it, what distance is safe between the two.
DaOld Man:
Yep, Delusional29 and PL1 have already posted a link to the mounting plate above.
That method to mount the trackball mentioned above does look pretty sharp, no black square plate or a painted square showing.
Richard, I am not sure what to tell you, only in my experience, make sure the ball is not too close to anything else that might get in the way, such as joystick or monitor. Buttons seem to be low enough not to make much difference.
remember when you play a game like bowling or golf, you will tend to move the ball forward a lot more than is probably necessary so you do not want your fingers hitting anything. This goes for left and right too, down is probably not as big a deal.
But clearance is the main reason I put the joysticks and buttons so high up on the CP of A Little Rage. Don't want little fingers jammed.