Hacking an Atari TRAK-BALL

[flampoo]

Anyone ever hacked an Atari TRAK-BALL? I just picked one up for $1... Looks like the one in this auction 'cept it's in better condition.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3087530306&category=41009

[Tiger-Heli]

Anyone ever hacked an Atari TRAK-BALL? I just picked one up for $1... Looks like the one in this auction 'cept it's in better condition.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3087530306&category=41009

Nope, I never have . . . he has -

http://www.cheeptech.com/cuhack.html

Look about 2/3's down the page

[NoOne=NBA=]

I've got one, and have been looking into the possibilities/intricacies of doing that with it.

I picked up some of the MacAlly iBalls when Fry's was selling them off at $2.99 ea.
I've hacked one of those into a module for my CP, but the ball doesn't roll very freely due to the fact that it rides on some little (non-movable) plastic balls inside, rather than bearings.

I was thinking about using the guts from the iBall as a USB interface for the Atari Trackball I had laying around in the garage.

[NoOne=NBA=]

It looks like the easier route for me to go with this is to buy a couple of Oscar's optical sensors, and hook them to the USB Mouse Interface I already have for my DOT Spinner.
I stripped the optical sensor off of that spinner, foam taped it into the base of the Atari trackball, and it works great.

I don't have two of the sensors, so I couldn't check BOTH directions simultaneously, but the factory encoder wheel on the Atari seems to be very compatible with Oscar's sensors.
That's not overly surprising, in that Happ licensed the design from Atari, and their current trackballs are still using similar parts.

Hacking the iBall sensors to this isn't really worth the time to me.
Oscar's sensors are only $7.50 ea., and it would take me a good couple hours to do the iBall hack.
Given that I already own everything else needed, that is the route I'm going to go.

The one other problem I see with this hack is that I'm going to have to cut slots into the CP, or use some kind of standoff, so that the encoder wheels will clear.
The encoder wheels on the Atari stick up about 1/2" above the top of the base.

[Stingray]

That's funny! I've recently been buying all kinds of non-Atari controls and hacking them to work with my Atari.  

We're a wacky lot.

-S

[rampy]

planetjay has done this...

planetjay.com

although i was having dns issues reaching it...

rampy

[NoOne=NBA=]

I ripped apart the iBall, and attempted to hack the sensors into the Atari, but it's not reading anything on the optics for some reason.

I'm not sure if the optics are incompatible due to the smaller holes on the encoder wheels on the iBall, or if I messed something up in the transfer.

I'm going to continue on with my original plan of using Oscar's optic boards.

[Tiger-Heli]

planetjay has done this...

planetjay.com

although i was having dns issues reaching it...

rampy

http://www.planetjay.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album11&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php&PHPSESSID=ab18387bd4a4e4da2c3e148b05328989

Although technically, PJ hacked a Wico command control trackball for the 2600, not an Atari TRAK-ball.  I think Edgedamage did also, there was a recent thread on this.

[Magnet_Eye]

he did a wico command trackball.

see this thread: http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=1;action=display;threadid=16802;start=msg132888#msg132888