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

[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]

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.

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

[quarterback]

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

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]

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 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.

[quarterback]

So I could pull a 9-pin serial jack out of an old PC and wire this into my KeyWiz as 'joystick 3' (or something), right?

[NoOne=NBA=]

So I could pull a 9-pin serial jack out of an old PC and wire this into my KeyWiz as 'joystick 3' (or something), right?   That's what it looks like to me, and that would be cool

You probably COULD, but it will WORK just like a digital joystick if you do.
IIRC, there were only two games for the 2600 that actually used the trackball AS a trackball.
For the rest of them, it acted just like a joystick.
When you spun lightly, it moved for a little bit then stopped.
When you spun hard, it moved for a bit longer, then stopped.
Missle Command was especially frustrating because you couldn't get from one end to the other quickly.
You spun the trackball, and the cursor just kind of floated along.

Question:   The page I found with this information indicates that pin 7 is:  +5V, max. 50 mA

I read this as saying that I should not pump more than 50mA down this line.

You don't really PUMP voltage, it's just there, and is drawn by whatever device you hook up to it.

So, before I blow anything up ,  I'm wondering "how many mA get pulled through a keyboard encoder that's hooked to a ps2 port, and will it be okay for me to hook pin 7 up to the +5v from my keyboard encoder?

I don't know.
I would GUESS you'd be OK; but, without seeing specs on your encoder and PS/2 port, it's only a guess.

[quarterback]

So I could pull a 9-pin serial jack out of an old PC and wire this into my KeyWiz as 'joystick 3' (or something), right?

You probably COULD, but it will WORK just like a digital joystick if you do.
IIRC, there were only two games for the 2600 that actually used the trackball AS a trackball.
For the rest of them, it acted just like a joystick.
When you spun lightly, it moved for a little bit then stopped.
When you spun hard, it moved for a bit longer, then stopped.
Missle Command was especially frustrating because you couldn't get from one end to the other quickly.
You spun the trackball, and the cursor just kind of floated along.

Indeed, that makes total sense if each one is just hooked up to R/L/U/D like a joystick, it would just ACT like a joystick and the speed o' the spin wouldn't do nuthin... and that's not be exactly what I'm looking for
Thanks

[NoOne=NBA=]

I'm not sure about the Wico ones, but the Atari-branded Wicos had a switch on them that set it from trackball to joystick.

I don't know what the difference in output to the 2600 was when you flipped that switch, as I never had either of the games that supported the trackball as a trackball, though.

You might be able to find out more info on the web somewhere.

[RayB]

Just an FYI, you can also test it on a Commodore 64, Vic 20, Atari computers, etc... Basically anything that was compabitile with the joysticks.

[Zakk]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,16802.0.html

That was a hack done on one of those.

[quarterback]

I'm not sure about the Wico ones, but the Atari-branded Wicos had a switch on them that set it from trackball to joystick.

Hmmmm... interesting....

Just an FYI, you can also test it on a Commodore 64, Vic 20, Atari computers, etc... Basically anything that was compabitile with the joysticks.

Yeah, I got none of those.  I'm pretty sure it's going to work, I guess my original question about 'how to test it' should have really been more along the lines of 'how do I hook this up to my PC'

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,16802.0.html
That was a hack done on one of those.

Yeah, that's the one I found on the www (although I didn't know it was also posted here) where basically he just connected the optical boards to a mouse hack, which is probably what I'll end up doing since it looks like connecting it via the plug is going to put it in 'joystick' mode.

Thanks