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Help please - how to test a wico Command Control Trackball?

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quarterback:

Hey y'all, I just found an old Command Control trackball made by Wico for (I think) Atari 2600 consoles.

I was wondering if anybody knew how to test this (with a multi meter) to make sure it works.

I ASSume that it's the same as other Wico trackballs, so maybe I can open it up, trace the wires and test it the way you'd test any Wico trackball.... not that I know how to do that either, though :)

I have a mouse hack around here somewhere, but I'm pretty sure I f-d it up last time I saw it.  So if anybody has any tips for me, I'm all ears.





JB:


--- Quote from: quarterback on June 21, 2005, 02:30:31 pm ---Hey y'all, I just found an old Command Control trackball made by Wico for (I think) Atari 2600 consoles.

I was wondering if anybody knew how to test this (with a multi meter) to make sure it works.

I ASSume that it's the same as other Wico trackballs, so maybe I can open it up, trace the wires and test it the way you'd test any Wico trackball.... not that I know how to do that either, though :)

I have a mouse hack around here somewhere, but I'm pretty sure I f-d it up last time I saw it.  So if anybody has any tips for me, I'm all ears.



--- End quote ---
The EASY way would be to plug it into an Atari.
Game doesn't matter, as the output emulates a digital joystick.

quarterback:


--- Quote from: JB on June 21, 2005, 05:23:11 pm ---The EASY way would be to plug it into an Atari.
Game doesn't matter, as the output emulates a digital joystick.
--- End quote ---

Yeah, but I ain't got me no Atari no mo'  :)

I opened the thing up and 3-in-1'd the bearings and this thing looks and feels pretty darn good.  I also located an old page that describes a usb hack for these trackballs, but basically all the pages say is "I bought an Oscar mouse hack and hooked it up"

They just bypassed the built in Atari 'controller' board and hooked up an Oscar mouse hack to the optical boards.  I was hoping to find something that interfaced with the actual 9-pin atari plug, but maybe that's not the way to do it.

NoOne=NBA=:

The problem is that everything needs to be speaking the same language.
The controller board inside the trackball converts the signals from the encoder wheels into 2600 commands.
The computer won't interface directly with the original controller board.

That's where the mouse hack comes in.
It converts the signals from the encoder wheels into something that the computer will understand.

I would operate under the assumption that the optic cards are OK, and go from there.
It's very rare for the optic cards to go bad before any of the other parts would.
If the inside appears to be in good shape, the cards should function.

quarterback:


--- Quote from: NoOne=NBA= on June 21, 2005, 07:01:16 pm ---The problem is that everything needs to be speaking the same language.
The controller board inside the trackball converts the signals from the encoder wheels into 2600 commands.
The computer won't interface directly with the original controller board.
--- End quote ---

That's what I thought, so I was looking for a way to 'convert' the controller board inside the trackball into 'computer' speak.... BUT, then I found this diagram:



The Atari connection is a simple 9-pin plug that is basically the same as a PC's serial plug.

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