Atari 2600 trackball

[SeaMonkey]

These were made by Wico. Anyone have experience using these with Mame? Is it even doable?
What is the quality?

[Oddfeld]

Hey, if they're good enough for Nintendo to use in 8-ball Action cabinets (just bolted to the bottom of the CP no less), I don't see why you shouldn't use one... 

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,29214.msg244875.html#msg244875

[moonpatrol 4 lyfe]

what operating system are you running?  theres an adaptor you can build for windows systems that will accept C64 (best computer of all time) / atari controls via the parallel port.  Unfortunately I've tried this adaptor with my Wico trackball, and it worketh not!  Joysticks work just fine though.  You could try hacking the trackball up to a mouse or something... not really sure how C64 trackballs work.

Bill

[SeaMonkey]

Windows XP most likely.

Here is something.... it converts the Atari style controllers to USB .....

http://www.atariage.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=267

I am going to check it out.

[EDIT]
You know what...that is for 8 way joysticks only. It wouldn't convert the trackball while it was in trackball mode. (These things had a switch that would let you put it in 8-way analog joystick or trackball mode.)

The diff would be that the trackball not only gives data on direction, but also speed, where a joystick just gives data in reguard to direction.

Foiled again....

[END EDIT]


But...it looks like it was hacked pretty well to that Nintendo arcade machine. Looks like a pretty simple hack.

[NoOne=NBA=]

There was a thread around here where someone hacked a set of mouse guts into one, and got it all under the hood.

They are pretty easy to hack, if you aren't worried about getting everything inside the original case.
I did one that had the optics remoted into the case, and the mouse guts in a project box on the cord.

[JB]

[EDIT]
You know what...that is for 8 way joysticks only. It wouldn't convert the trackball while it was in trackball mode. (These things had a switch that would let you put it in 8-way analog joystick or trackball mode.)

The diff would be that the trackball not only gives data on direction, but also speed, where a joystick just gives data in reguard to direction.

Foiled again....

[END EDIT]

Except that that only applies to the Atari-brand trackball. Which wasn't supported in trackball mode anyways.
The Wico ONLY has stick emulation mode.

[SeaMonkey]

The Wico ONLY has stick emulation mode.

I am not sure I follow.

Is that, "The Wico is the only trackball with stick emulation mode"
or "The Wico trackball only has a single mode, which is stick emulation" ?
Either way, the Atari-to-USB adapter would not send the proper data to make a trackball work like a trackball.

Looks to me from the diagrams on the web that it has metal bearings, and optical encoders, inside the case, that I could just wire straight into an Opti-Pac.

[sac01]

I did this with a colevovision trackball a few years ago.. that ball is still in operation on one of my cabs... I just did the same mouse hack you see all over the place here, and wired it to the optics on the colecovision (wico) trackball...Works perfectly


sac

[JB]

The Wico ONLY has stick emulation mode.

I am not sure I follow.

Is that, "The Wico is the only trackball with stick emulation mode"
or "The Wico trackball only has a single mode, which is stick emulation" ?
Either way, the Atari-to-USB adapter would not send the proper data to make a trackball work like a trackball.

The second.
I own one, and it lacks the trackball mode of the Atari-designed trackball.

Looks to me from the diagrams on the web that it has metal bearings, and optical encoders, inside the case, that I could just wire straight into an Opti-Pac.

*kicks self*
I've been toying with the idea of adapting mine for ages. Why didn't I ever think of that?

Yah, you're dead on with the construction.
As a side note, the fire button is leaf-switch.