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Happs trackball (parts needed)
WwonderLlama:
I'm using a Happ's trackball with a hacked usb mouse interface. It appears one of the optical encoders has gone bad. I looked for a replacement on Happ's website and found a replacement part
http://www.happcontrols.com/trackballs/a052101000.htm
But, that part is a newer design than what came with my trackball. (I have the green pcb, the new ones are red.) Judging from the description, there is a performance difference between the two. So, it seems I'm either going to have to buy 2 new encoders (kinda steep at $23 each + $5.50 handling fee, +shipping!) or look for a replacement encoder elsewhere. If all else fails, I suppose I could buy a whole new trackball w/ encoders off of eBay (but my wife would probably kill me. ;))
So, my question is, does anyone know where I might be able to find a green-pcb happs encoder?
(oh, and if anyone wants to see my "work in progress" cab, build pictures are at http://www.llamamuds.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=33)
Thanks for any pointers you can give,
Phill W.
Toonces:
PM Sent.
u_rebelscum:
FWIW, I tried having a red and green board on the same TB, and couldn't tell. I didn't test all that deeply, but in playing marble madness it seemed okay. I tried both (green,red) and (red,green) for (X,Y).
You are right there are performance differences, though. According to Happs, the reds have a higher backspin speed than the greens, and filter noise better. But remember you're hooking the TB to the computer through a hacked mouse (I tested optipac and happs usb interface but same idea), which has it's own backspin level, and filters the noise (as long as it's not confused by the noise in the first place).
The only things you might see (if you don't change the encoder wheels):
* small delay difference (in microseconds)
* having "one pixel" back & forth flipping or not
* max speed difference (depending on your mouse's max & backspin speeds)
* backspin speed difference (depending on your mouse's max & backspin speeds)
In my testing, I think the last two were not noticable to my interfaces (IE: probably my interfaces' max/backspin levels were lower than both boards'), and the first two were not noticable to me, even it they happened or not. You might get different results on your hacked mouse, though I doubt it.
My 2 cents.
quarterback:
Will a Betson PCB fit into a Happ TB? The boards done look exactly the same, but I'mnot sure what the differences are on the interior of the TB case.
u_rebelscum:
--- Quote from: quarterback on July 25, 2005, 12:42:40 am ---Will a Betson PCB fit into a Happ TB? The boards done look exactly the same, but I'm not sure what the differences are on the interior of the TB case.
--- End quote ---
It almost fits. If you shove hard enough, it might go in, but OTOH the PCB might crack. The Betson PCB is thicker than Happs.
edit - On second thought, I might be mixing the PCBs, and it might be the Happs being thicker. I'll check tonight.
edit2 - Finally checked, and they aren't easily interchangable. See post below.