Slow Trackball Tracking

[TheOtherBob]

Hey, thanks for stopping by....

I bought one of the Ultimarc 2 1/4" trackballs and opti-pac about 6-7 months ago.  And just now.... finally getting around to installing them....  .  I have just one question.  The trackball seems to work fine as long as I spin it slowly.  But if I spin the trackball to the LEFT quickly.... the pointer just slowly moves to the left.  If I spin the trackball in any other direction quickly, the pointer will move quite fast.  I also have an Oscar spinner as well hooked up.  And it responds smoothly/quickly in BOTH directions.  It seems my problem is just moving quickly to the LEFT via trackball....  I've read something about what you call "backspin"?  But would that effect just quick movement to the left?

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[PaulG]

Backspin is when you spin the trackball and the cursor hangs for a second or so before taking off.

[Gideon]

The only similar behavior I've heard of happened because a control panel's incline was too steep.  But, I doubt that's true in your case.  'Haven't seen too many control panels that are sloped to the right...

[paigeoliver]

'Haven't seen too many control panels that are sloped to the right...

Actually that is a bit more common than you might think.

[Gideon]

heheh.  Hoo boy, now I've seen everything...

[TheOtherBob]

Just an update.  I took off the caps on the sides of the trackball and took a look at the encoder wheels.  When I spin the ball to the left quickly.... you can physically see the encoder wheel moving slowly... or eratically.  That would explain the slow pointer movement on screen.  Sometimes it moves just fine.  I got a tip from Andy (ultimarc) to try and soak the bearings in wd40 a bit.  We'll see how that goes.

Thanks....

[XtraSmiley]

Just an update.  I took off the caps on the sides of the trackball and took a look at the encoder wheels.  When I spin the ball to the left quickly.... you can physically see the encoder wheel moving slowly... or eratically.  That would explain the slow pointer movement on screen.  Sometimes it moves just fine.  I got a tip from Andy (ultimarc) to try and soak the bearings in wd40 a bit.  We'll see how that goes.

Thanks....

NO DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out Bob Roberts on fixing this.  DON'T USE WD-40... I should have listened, but I didn't, I had to get new bearings...

[JMDickson]

Not familiar with the Ultimarc trackball, but is there a spring loaded wheel at a 45 degree angle opposite the rollers?  There might be an issue with the spring pressure, or alignment of that wheel.

[TheOtherBob]

NO DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out Bob Roberts on fixing this.  DON'T USE WD-40... I should have listened, but I didn't, I had to get new bearings...

OK!    Thanks for the heads up.  I didn't get around to it last night.  I'll hit up Bob's page for some more info.

[TheOtherBob]

Not familiar with the Ultimarc trackball, but is there a spring loaded wheel at a 45 degree angle opposite the rollers?  There might be an issue with the spring pressure, or alignment of that wheel.

There is a wheel there at 45 degrees, but I don't believe it has a spring to create pressure in it.  I'll have to check it again.  Thanks.....

[FractalWalk]

Backspin is when you spin the trackball and the cursor hangs for a second or so before taking off.

Isn't backspin when you spin the trackball quickly in one direction and it actually moves in the opposite? Similar to how a spinning wheel can look like its moving backwards.

[Truecade]

You're not alone.  I have this same problem on one of my cabinets using the Ultimarc trackball.  If I spin the trackball fast in one direction, the ball does not contact the roller well and movement is slow.  

If you figure out how to fix this, let me know.  

[TheOtherBob]

Well I took the trackball apart and from a tip from Andy, I swapped the x and y bearings.  Plus I put a small drop of 3-in-1 oil in each of the 5 ball bearings.  While the ball definitely is rolling smoother, it still is a little slow when tracking up now.  I'll give Andy a shout and see if I can get another shaft... maybe that shaft just isn't making good contact.