Electric ICE Trackball wiring

[baldgeek]

I have the wiring done like the attached picture and the mouse cursor won't move, I do see the device listed when a I do "lsusb" in linux.

The one boneheaded thing I did was attached red/black to one of the data lines will usb was plugged in.
I hope I didn't fry the optowiz and/or the trackball.

Any ideas?

[PL1]

I have the wiring done like the attached picture and the mouse cursor won't move, I do see the device listed when a I do "lsusb" in linux.

The one boneheaded thing I did was attached red/black to one of the data lines will usb was plugged in.
I hope I didn't fry the optowiz and/or the trackball.

Any ideas?

Good news: You didn't fry the Opti-Wiz by connecting the red and black wires from the trackball to data lines.

Your pic shows the 4 data lines (green, yellow, purple, and blue wires) connected, but doesn't show the 5v (red) and ground (black) connected to the 5v and ground (the upside-down Christmas tree symbol) pins on the lower right of the pic.

No 5v and ground to the opto board = no IR LED light = no voltage generated by the IR receiver = no quadrature waveform transitions when you move the trackball = Opti-Wiz sees/reports no movement.

Unplug the USB cable, connect the red and black wires, and reconnect the USB cable -- you should be good to go.   


Scott

[baldgeek]

Yup, that was it. The movement is a bit sticky at times. Any suggestions on lubrication? I've read several places say to not use wd40?

[Slippyblade]

Yeah, do NOT use WD40.  It is not a lubricant.  It has a lube in it, but it is suspended in a solvent.  Trackballs, from what I've learned, ALWAYS are a little thick when new.  Use it and it'll break in.

[baldgeek]

So the trackball is wired up, and I set the sensitivity so I can get full range of movement in Missile Command, but I can't seem to find settings that work for Centipede, Millipede.

[PL1]

Check out this wiki entry for several suggestions:

http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=Spinner_Turn_Count


Scott

[RandyT]

So the trackball is wired up, and I set the sensitivity so I can get full range of movement in Missile Command, but I can't seem to find settings that work for Centipede, Millipede.

Those two games have never felt right in MAME, and no-one seems to be able to explain why.  The limitation on these two seems to be in the code somewhere, so that will ultimately be the limiting factor.  All you can really do is tweak the sensitivity to something you can live with, but it will likely never feel like the arcade experience you remember.

[baldgeek]

I've read similiar links to that wiki. What is really strange is that I can not find a setting to get full range of movement in Centipede or Millipede. I'm willing to accept that I will not have an "authentic" arcade experience, but not an unplayable one since I cannot get the full range of movement in either game. Any ballpark settings for sensitivity I should try? 

[RandyT]

First, what range of numbers have you tried?  And second, please elaborate on what you mean when referring to not getting the full range of movement.

[baldgeek]

For X sensitivity, I have tried 100, 150, 255. And it seems like the first direction I move it in I can get all the way to the edge of the screen. For example, I move to the right and the trackball doesn't move to the edge of the screen no matter how many times I spin to the right, then I spin to left and the trackball doesn't go all the back to center, nor will any further. If I start by moving to left first, the same thing happens, I can never move all the way from the left to the right in centipede or milipede.

[RandyT]

I think your settings are way too high.  One full move of the trackball is supposed to move only 2 1/2 mushrooms, according to the wiki.  Take it down to 10 and go up or down from there to see if it's any better.