Is a Happ trackball really worth $62.40 more?

[krick]

Ok, I'm pricing 2 1/4"  trackballs...

Ultimarc - $28.00 plus shipping
http://www.ultimarc.com/controls.html

Happ - $90.40 plus shipping
http://www.happcontrols.com/trackballs/565500xx.htm

Is a trackball from Happ really worth $62.40 more?

I'm actually planning on buying two trackballs.  I don't know if I can afford 2 Happ units.  That's a lot of money for the number of games that actually use trackballs.

Is there any other places that sell 2 1/4" trackballs that I should be considering?

[Mugzilla]

I used a Happs because it had a "high lip". I was able to use their mounting plate (Which I recessed into the panel below my artwork), and place a 1/8" piece of lexan over the top. The lexan is flush with the lip of the trackball.

I don't know if that is possible with the ultimarc one.

OTOH, Andy is great to work with, has great customer service, and supports the site with his knowledge...

[GamingGreg]

I think it depends what you want.  I understand the Happs has metal rollers, but the Ultimarc's are plastic.   The Ultimarc one is made a bit "cheaper", however, I have the Ultmarc one (for 8 months), and I haven't had a single problem with it yet.  It might not last as long as the Happs, but then again it doesn't get the same amount of abuse as it would in a real arcade.

[mahuti]

I love my Ultimarc trackball. Has worked great under daily play for months from both me and my business partner, and lots of guests.

Happs needs to get a cheaper supplier.  

[Apollo]

Why pay $90.40 for a Happ 2 1/4" trackball when the 3" is on special till the 31st at $59.95?

[krick]

Why pay $90.40 for a Happ 2 1/4" trackball when the 3" is on special till the 31st at $59.95?

Unfortunately, I don't think I can fit two 3" trackballs in my control panel.
Though at that price, maybe I'll give it another look to make sure.

[rchadd]

yes

[Tiger-Heli]

Is there any other places that sell 2 1/4" trackballs that I should be considering?

www.wicothesource.com sells a very similar trackball to the Ultimarc trackball, for about the same price (cheaper shipping in the USA, but fairly slip-shod ordering support).

www.therealbobroberts.com sells the Happ 2-1/4" trackball for $65 and should alway be considered over Happ for the items he carries.

Not sure if Betson/Imperial have anything in this size or not.

[fredster]

Here's 3" balls on sale -  http://www.gatorcade.com/

[krick]

I did some more work on my control panel design using measurements from the Happ and Ultimarc websites.  Man, I had no idea that trackballs took up so much space underneath.  I'm about 100% certain that there's no way I'm going to cram 2 trackballs into my panel unless I notch out two big holes on the front edge of the control panel "box".  It looks like I'm going to have to have one TB in the center and push my sticks and buttons to either side to make room.  This is what my original idea roughly looked like.  Note, this was quickly thrown together in Visio to illustrate a point.  I know stuff isn't lined up exactly...



...the black line represents the inner line of the "box" under my panel.    This drawing is with two 3" Happs track balls.  I think the 2.25 TB has an only slightly smaller profile.  Probably not enough to make this design work.

[Tiger-Heli]

You could mount the trackballs on a separate removable panel.

I don't know of any dual track ball games requiring more than 2 buttons per player, no single trackball games requiring more than 3 buttons, and no trackball games requiring joysticks.

This is all from memory, though.

[OSCAR]

... and no trackball games requiring joysticks.

Wacko.  I wouldn't have thought so either, but I just played a Wacko cab recently.  Takes a little getting used to using both a trackball and joystick at the same time.

[krick]

... and no trackball games requiring joysticks.

Wacko.  I wouldn't have thought so either, but I just played a Wacko cab recently.  Takes a little getting used to using both a trackball and joystick at the same time.

I completely forgot about that game.  I only ever played it one time. Well actually, many, many quarters, but only one "session".  As a child, I went to Philly with my aunt to see Return of the Jedi on the 5th day of theatrical release.  The lines were insane.  We had to buy our tickets about 3 hours before the show.  This was back in the days before the internet and ordering tickets with credit cards.  Anyway, I had three hours to kill and spent most of it in a nearby arcade.  They had one wall with FOUR brand new Wacko machines lined up side-by-side.  The cabinet intentionally built crooked and having them side by side accentuates this even more.  It was very disorienting.  Anyway, I played (or attempted to play) it for about a hour and came to the conclusion that I really didn't like it.

I wonder what ever happend to all those machines?  I'm fairly certain nobody ever tried to convert them to anything else like Street Fighter 2 because of the odd cabinet shape.  I haven't seen one since the early 80s.   I bet there's some Wacko wacko (probably in Waco) that has ALL the remaining machines in a giant warehouse waiting for the game to become collectible or something.

[OSCAR]

Yeah, it's goofy alright...

Ed (delta88) has one in his apartment, that's where I played it just a couple weeks ago.  It's not really a bad game, almost a bit addictive in an odd way.  I almost started to like it by the time I left.  

[AndyWarne]

Just to clarify the statement about plastic rollers on our trackballs. This always seems to be mentioned here, I'm not sure why.
The shafts which support the trackball are steel and run in five ball-bearing races just like the Happ. The difference is that the two shafts have a nylon sleeve over the steel. This is to prevent steel contact with the ball which is not a good thing either from the level of grip or the longevity of the ball itself. It is definitely not a cost reduction design.
Andy

[krick]

Thanks Andy.  You're so good to us.

I've made my decision.  I'm going to buy two of your trackballs.

If I can figure out how to squeeze two into my control panel, great, if not, I'll just use a single unit and stash the other one away for my next MAME cabinet.  There's ALWAYS a next MAME cabinet.

Now, if I can just decide on the color.  Is red really that popular?