Is the Ultimarc 2 1/4" trackball junk??

[Wyluli]

I noticed Ultimarc has

[Tiger-Heli]

I noticed Ultimarc has  a 2 1/4" trackball for sale for $29.  I have not seen any info on this trackball and I know Happs has the best, but wondered if anyone has even tried this trackball?

Thanks.

lots of threads on it.  It's basically a SUZO trackball.  Arcade quality, very good for a 2-1/4 inch T-ball.  Lots of people recommend replacing the bearing grease in it with a lighter oil.

[teef two]

Mine seems fine for the moment. I am going to need to loosen those bearings up a bit but the build quality is certainly sound.

[Wyluli]

Took a look through a ton of threads and it looks like for the most part, folks are happy with the Ultimarc Trackball and you can't beat the price.  I am considering it.  But now I have not figure out if I want to redo my control panel to accomodate it and whether I need any extra special stuff to hook it up.  I'll be using the Ipac2 card for my setup.....

Too much cool stuff.....   

[seanp]

I'll be using the Ipac2 card for my setup.....

Just to clarify - you know that the ipac2 doesn't handle the trackball, right?  You'll either need to put together a mouse hack, or get the optipac adapter from ultimarc.

-Sean

[Wyluli]

I'll be using the Ipac2 card for my setup.....

Just to clarify - you know that the ipac2 doesn't handle the trackball, right? You'll either need to put together a mouse hack, or get the optipac adapter from ultimarc.

-Sean

Thanks, I thought that might be the case.  I'll have to check that out.

[Tiger-Heli]

I'll be using the Ipac2 card for my setup.....

Just to clarify - you know that the ipac2 doesn't handle the trackball, right? You'll either need to put together a mouse hack, or get the optipac adapter from ultimarc.

-Sean

Thanks, I thought that might be the case.  I'll have to check that out.

www.oscarcontrols.com also sells pre-hacked USB mice for $9.

[Wyluli]

www.oscarcontrols.com also sells pre-hacked USB mice for $9.

So I could use the Ipac 2 and the Pre-hacked mouse (poor mouse) together?  That would save a ton of moola.  I have not read up on how the mouse works with the trackball, I'll have to check into that.  Thanks for the tip!

[Tiger-Heli]

www.oscarcontrols.com also sells pre-hacked USB mice for $9.

So I could use the Ipac 2 and the Pre-hacked mouse (poor mouse) together?  That would save a ton of moola.  I have not read up on how the mouse works with the trackball, I'll have to check into that.  Thanks for the tip!

Stuff to consider - The Ultimarc Opti-Pac is really a better option if you have an Arcade Cab and want a trackball and spinner or two trackballs operable, because it will switch between the trackball and spinner (one is disabled while the other is in use).

The oscar hack is better for a single controller or for desktop controls where you want to plug stuff in and out as needed.  With two oscar hacks, both units can 'fight' over the cursor, but worse, since they use the same driver, they may swap postions at bootup.  This could be avoided by hacking a mouse from a different manufacturer, if you're up for that.

For one trackball, the oscar hack is a much better deal.

[Wyluli]

I'm going to hook the controller up to the PC for now, no cabinet until much much later. 

I have two joysticks (8ways)
One dedicated 4 way stick
and maybe add the trackball

That would be enough for now!!  So the mouse hack sounds like the way to go...

[Popcorrin]

Just a heads up as far as hacking a mouse for the ultimarc trackball.  I tried to do the same and I ran into problems.  I contacted ultimarc and they said you need pull up resistors in order to do this.  They said their optic boards are different than the ones from happ trackballs.

[Matt Berry]

First off I have both the ultimarc 2 1/4" trackball and the Happ 3" golden T high lip track ball. I would say that the Happ trackball is way better, it is smoother and constructed way better then the ultimarc. The problems with the ultimarc are it is loud, and not quite as smooth as the Happ trackball. You also can't rebuild the Ultimarc trackball very easily as the rollers and encoder wheel are stuck together, also makes replacing the bearings near impossible. (the bearings are open which allows crude to infiltrate the raceways) I'd also recommend the Optipac for interfacing any optical device, I just bought my second one today and they are well worth the money.

[Minwah]

The oscar hack is better for a single controller or for desktop controls where you want to plug stuff in and out as needed.

[Tiger-Heli]

Why would swapping positions matter with mice?  Would this only matter if using dual trackballs (mapping problems)?

Okay, let me explain it this way -

Assume I have a trackball connected to OSCAR hack A.  And two spinners connected to OSCAR hack B.

I have no other "mice" in the system.

I plug the OSCAR hack A in first followed by the OSCAR Hack B.

I fire up MAME (actually I think I might have to do this through the ctrl.cfg file) and set Centipede up to use Mouse 0 - the trackball.  I set Arkanoid up to use Mouse 1 X-Axis.  I set Csprint up to use P1 is Mouse 1 X-Axis, P2 is Mouse 2 Y-Axis.

All is well with the world.  I am happily MAMEing away.

Now I shut the cab down and start it back up.  OSCAR hack A is now identified by the OS and thus MAME as Mouse 1 and hack B is now Mouse 0.

I can play Centipede with the spinners like an Etch-a-sketch, but the tball doesn't work.  Arkanoid works with the trackball moving side-to-side, but the spinner doesn't work.  Cspint works with the trackball side-to-side controlling P1 and up-and-down controlling P2 (which would be real interesting, but frustrating to play).

I am not happy . . .   

Btw, I think this could be avoided by mapping each game to either Sysmouse or "Mouse 0 or Mouse 1", but then accidentally moving the spinners affects the trackball games, etc.

[Minwah]

Okay, let me explain it this way -

I get what you mean...so does standard MAME now handle multiple mice??  I just assumed not, so mapped all my spinner/trackball inputs to MOUSECODE_1_ in my ctrlr file.  I have a system mouse but now you mention it I've never tried to use it while in MAME...I assumed it would control MAME the same as my trackball/spinner - I can't put my analog panel in atm to try it.  Maybe I have just been lucky and my OptiPac has always happened to be mousecode_1...

I realised joystick devices have this issue just never realised mice do.

[Tiger-Heli]

I get what you mean...so does standard MAME now handle multiple mice??

AFAIK, yes in Win98/ME, no in WinXP . . .

[dweebs0r]

Well, I'll mention this one since noone else has but you can also use the ipac minipac with the ultimarc trackball.
(http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html)

This would be your cheapest option yet.  The minipac ($69) with an ultimarc trackball ($29) and 2 ultimarc t-stick joysticks ($16 x 2) would be $130.00 total which is cheaper than a Happs USB/PS/2 3 inch trackball by itself ($150).

--Dweebs0r

[Tiger-Heli]

Well, I'll mention this one since noone else has but you can also use the ipac minipac with the ultimarc trackball.
(http://www.ultimarc.com/minipac.html)

This would be your cheapest option yet.  The minipac ($69)  . . .

--Dweebs0r

At least with the current version, you can also save $40 by buying the $29 minipac and hacking an IDE cable.

[AndyWarne]

Based on the theory that to some extent peoples perception of a product is based on it's price, I need to raise the price of this item! In fact, as this is sourced in Europe the US Dollar price will be going up owing to the recent decline in the value of the USD.
I'm not sure what Matt means about the bearings being difficult to replace because it's dead easy, just undo 3 screws, the ball lifts out and the shafts and bearings then lift out. The bearings are the same as the Happ with seals. Yes, as they are standard ball races they are packed with grease so this can be rather stiff when new, easily cured by use of WD40, or they will simply work loose.
Andy

[Matt Berry]

The encoder wheel on mine seem to be overmolded on the shaft, while the happ and others have the encoder wheels that screw in. Seeing as they are plastic I didn't think it would be wise to pull the encoder wheels with too much force as it could damage them, hence making it dificult to replace the bearings. I will agree that they are very easy to get to and the bearings on the far side of the shaft are easy to replace, it's just the ones one the encoder wheel side that I'm concearned with. If you have a good method of removing the encoder wheel I'm all ears. I think for the price the Ultimarc trackball is nice but it does have it's shortcomings. Mine was a little loud and not real smooth, and part of it I tracked down to the bearings which I decided I would replace with higher grade. which upon further inspection didn't seem plausable after looking at the encoder wheel and how it was attatched. I have bought a lot of stuff from you and have been happy with my purchases. I'm actually looking forward to testing out the T-sticks that just arrived today, but if given the choice (price no option) I'd pick the Happ trackball over the ultimarc.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I haven't seen the Ultimarc ones, but they may use the same encoder wheels as the older Wico ones did.
The encoder wheels on the Wicos were a press fit to a knurled shaft.
You had to wiggle them a little to get them off, but they pulled right off.

[eyal8r]

So, the question NOW becomes-
Are the Ultimarcs good enough, considering the price, or, are the Happs SOO MUCH BETTER that they're worth 5x the price for each TB?

I'm not looking for anything HARDCORE, but, want something that'll certainly do the trick and not fall apart after a year. For $35 (plus the hookups and whatnot) - are they crap or are they half decent?  From what I'm reading, they're decent- and a GREAT buy for the price. Would you guys agree?
Thanks
D

[Matt Berry]

The happ are not 5x more (maybe if you buy the USB version, slikstik has them cheaper, but even if you went that way it still wouldn't be 5x more becuase you'd still need a way to interface the ultimarc to the computer) if you buy the 3" golden T one today it is just over 2x the cost. The normal everyday price is just over 3x. Which isn't really too bad.

[eyal8r]

Matt-
Yeah, I was looking for USB, or however it takes to hookup 2 of them and 2 spinners as well- probably gotta get the opti-pac for all this. Also I was remembering the price for the 3" ones ($160 or so) and not the 2.25"...

[Matt Berry]

These prices are for the 3" trackball direct from Happ
Today only 3" golden T 69.99 + an additional  2% discount
Normal 3" 98.85
USB ready 3" through slikstik 109.00 - This one is ready to connect.
Ultimarc 2 1/4" 35.00
So right now for twice the cost of the ultimarc you can get a 3" trackball, which the extra size is nice.

[eyal8r]

oh shoot man...  if I order the 3" TODAY- do I need the Optipac still?  Or, how do I connect TWO of them?  Are they USB?  Im still trying to figure out all this connection stuff I guess.  Any ideas?
Thanks
D

[eyal8r]

naaah- nevermind. Goin with a 2 player setup now, using the ultimarc setup. I think Im gettin carried away with all the cool toys and whatnot. I need to streamline this project down to reality here.  Too bad I already built the CP for a 4 player- all this extra space now. Well, I guess there's room for some bee, ummm, DRINK holders now!!!