Question About Trackball Wiring

[Pacmaniac]

So, first time builder here, and running into a bit of a snag that I hope the wise minds here can help with before I start purchasing things I don't need.

Short version: I'm building myself a 4-player pedestal cabinet with a trackball. Six buttons for players 1 and 2, four buttons for players 3 and 4. I'm also shooting for separate coin-in and start buttons for each player, as well as enter/escape/pause buttons for admin purposes. Ideally, I'd like to avoid any kind of shift-button type functionality because I'm sure as my kids get older, I'd like them to be able to use it with their friends with minimal learning curves (this likely goes for some of my buddies as well).

Long story short: It looks like my best option for an encoder is the I-Pac 4 from Ultimarc, but I'm disappointed that there's no interface on that board for a trackball (like the I-Pac2 has). I was curious if any others had encountered a similar problem, and how they'd handled wiring  in this scenario. Thanks in advance.

[meyer980]

Sounds like you're building quite the control panel! I've never built something that big, but if I was you, I'd just use a trackball with direct to USB (Ultimarc even offers this) and connect it straight to the computer.

Make disconnecting, replacing, or removing the trackball for maintenance quite easy.

[PL1]

It looks like my best option for an encoder is the I-Pac 4 from Ultimarc, but I'm disappointed that there's no interface on that board for a trackball (like the I-Pac2 has). I was curious if any others had encountered a similar problem, and how they'd handled wiring  in this scenario.

Use a separate optical (moue) encoder for the trackball.
- I-Pac4 = keyboard
- Trackball encoder = mouse

The U-Trak from Ultimarc has an optional USB interface.



GGG has the Opti-Wiz 3.

If you're feeling a bit more DIY, you can use StefanBurger's Illuminated Spinner firmware on an Arduino Pro Micro to "roll your own" optical (mouse) encoder.

The Happ trackball hardware is very high quality as are the optical "red boards" . . .



. . . but you may want to avoid the Happ USB & PS/2 trackball encoder because some users have reported problems with backspin.




Scott

[Pacmaniac]

Scott- this is excellent information (in fact, both responses were very helpful). I admit, I'm wary of the Ultimarc trackballs, in part b/c they all list as being for a 3/4 thick panel and I went with a 1/2 inch panel, b/c I'm going to have this thing on locking casters and wanted to keep the weight semi-manageable. I've already purchased some components from GGG that I'm excited about, but was disappointed to look at the site yesterday and see them sold out on trackballs that would easily interface there.

Granted, given my current pace of construction ( ) I might have time before I need to worry about that part.

In other words, if I can get in touch with someone at GGG about when they might have more trackballs in, I might go that route with the opti-wiz.

[PL1]

I'm wary of the Ultimarc trackballs, in part b/c they all list as being for a 3/4 thick panel and I went with a 1/2 inch panel

You can use a 1/4" spacer on each screw between the panel and U-Trak body.

if I can get in touch with someone at GGG about when they might have more trackballs in, I might go that route with the opti-wiz.

If Randy doesn't restock fast enough for you, you can buy a Happ trackball from another vendor and use the Trackball Cable for Opti-Wiz "No-Solder" to replace the Molex harness. (picture shows older Opti-Wiz)




Scott