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| "Wobbly" trackball? |
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| pbj:
It’s a half assed Ultimarc trackball. Get something meant for actual use like a Betson or Happs and you won’t have these janky problems. |
| Vicinus:
I have the same trackball - and the exact same issue since day one until today. So I don't think any cleaning will help with this issue. (Though cleaning all parts, especially the bearings is still a good advice!) It is said, that after an hour of heavy use the ball will groove itself into the bars. That did not happen for me. The issue comes with its design. The ball needs allowance (wording?) to roll fast but because of the high friction and angle (movement relative to bars) it cannot transfer the full force to the bars in some directions so it goes up. If the ball had less allowance it would not wobble but touch the case or other parts than the bars -> more friction less spin. The ideal design would have two bars above the canter point of the ball to keep it in place. Anyway.. So in your case to lower the friction use a bit (very small amount) of lube on the ball. I used mlking greas since we have that at home and it works wonders. While this is not permanent, it is a good solution for some gaming sessions. I really would like to try out other trackballs like the ones pbj (mentioned) but they are probably to expensive to just test them. |
| KenToad:
Yes, I have the ultimarc u trak as well and would agree that this problem isn't fixable. I've opened it up and it's clean and smooth rolling inside. I've used it for years and it's never fixed itself by some magic roller break-in. I suspect the wobble is a design issue. I would have to assume that they had to make sacrifices to make it installable in wood panels without a mounting plate. The U-trak trackball is good enough for "roll forward" bowling and golf games, but not great for "roll all around" games like missile command or centipede, as some directions will make the ball jump and resist and others will be smooth. In short, it doesn't function at what I would call arcade quality. |
| CmdandCtrl:
Thanks for confirming that I'm not alone with having this issue with this model of trackball. The bearings and rollers are in great shape so it is not that. In response to the comment that the video I posted doesn't make any sense, some further explanation: In the first video where I show the issue from the top, it does appear that the trackball is going down into the cabinet, but just the opposite is happening: It is actually riding slightly upward toward toward the camera as it rides up on the rollers and then collides with the top of the housing. In the second video, my control panel is removed from the cabinet and is face down. The trackball housing is disconnected, but it is 180 degrees to how it is normally mounted in the cabinet. (had to do that to get to sit flat while not disconnecting the wiring). When I took the video, I had wondered if this might cause confusion and I even considered mirroring the video so it would match the installed orientation. Probably should have done that... Thanks all! Guess I'll be researching new trackball options. |
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