| Arcade Collecting > Restorations & repair |
| Trackball repair |
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| jeffshead:
I have a Happ 3" High-Ball/High-Lip Trackball in a MAME arcade that really hasn't seen much use. The ball "slips" at high-speed and sometimes at slow speed. When it does this at slow speed, I have to push down on the ball to make it move the cursor. I don't feel any tight spots or jumping. It just feels like the ball is slipping on the steel rollers rather than turning them. I've taken this thing apart many times but I can't seem to correct the issue. Everything is really clean. I replaced the bearings which made it worse. I flushed the grease out of the new bearings with PB B'LASTER PENETRANT, blew them out with air and put one drop of 3-in-one oil on each. That helped a lot but it still slips. The steel rollers looked really good with a very minor wear ring on the rollers. I could barely feel it with my fingernail. I wouldn't even call it a groove. More or less just a smooth area. I even put the rollers on a lathe and used 400-600 grit sandpaper to remove the rings. It didn't take much. I have cleaned the rollers and ball with alcohol. I don't know what else to try. Should I try to roughen up the ball and rollers? Who's encountered this and knows how to fix it? |
| pbj:
Is the housing tight? This things all have a little slop at best. How’s the game performance? |
| Titchgamer:
When you say its slipping do you mean physically or the cursor is acting intermittently? If its physically slipping you will need to increase the friction between the ball and rollers. You can also check the optical sensors and cogs to make sure they are not damaged or gunked up. If its the cursor on the PC acting up we will need much more info. |
| jeffshead:
The housing is screwed together as it should be. Game performance suffers because of the slipping. This machine has seen little use and it is clean. It's definitely the ball slipping on the steel spindles. I have removed the whole trackball assembly and watched it slip. I thought for sure removing all of the grease and adding only a drop of oil would remove enough resistance. All of the bearing spin several revs when removed and finger flicked, individually. I already rubbed the steel spindles with 400 grit sandpaper. I did not do anything to the ball. What is common practice to increase friction? |
| Titchgamer:
--- Quote from: jeffshead on November 03, 2019, 11:42:34 am ---The housing is screwed together as it should be. Game performance suffers because of the slipping. This machine has seen little use and it is clean. It's definitely the ball slipping on the steel spindles. I have removed the whole trackball assembly and watched it slip. I thought for sure removing all of the grease and adding only a drop of oil would remove enough resistance. All of the bearing spin several revs when removed and finger flicked, individually. I already rubbed the steel spindles with 400 grit sandpaper. I did not do anything to the ball. What is common practice to increase friction? --- End quote --- Well if its physically slipping you dont want to put oil on it lol Only oil the bearings not the actual rollers. In regards to improving friction you could try roughing up the rollers a little? |
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