ps2 or serial spinner and trackball

[Wade]

I built a spinner with a serial mouse and I hope to be able to use it.  I also want to use a trackball.  I'm leaning towards a real trackball plus opti-pac (but hoping to find a less expensive solution!)

Questions:

1) If I end up with my serial spinner and a serial or ps2 PC trackball, will there be any problems with mame?  I read on here that dos mame can have a serial and ps2 input device simultaneously.  This is okay for now as I use 0.36 dmame for speed, but eventually will probably go with a newer windows version.

2) I don't have to use spinner + trackball at the same time.  Is there a cheap way to use both on the same port without wiring a switch?  I want to just switch from one to the other without any hassle.  Just assume two PC devices, such as one serial and one ps/2.

3) I see that the Opti-pac can use several devices simultaneously, and has a mouse pass through.  If I get a real trackball and opti-pac, I can use my mouse hack spinner with the passthru with no problem, right?

Are any of these options a no-go?

Thanks,
Wade

[SirPoonga]

since you are going to get eh optipac, why not just get a spinner and hook it up to the optipac also?

[Wade]

Well I'm leaning towards a real trackball and opti-pac, but I'm still hoping I'll find a PC trackball I like well enough first (much less expensive option).  I won't need to order these parts for another month, probably.

You're right though, if I get an opti-pac it will be a non issue.

Wade

[SirPoonga]

Well, a real trackball isn't that expensive.
first, watch ebay, you don;t even need a whole trackball, just the shell.  Then order new rollers and optics from bob roberts.  That's what I did, it didn't cost that much in the end and I have a great trackball now.

I play alot of trackball games though, I needed an arcade trackball that can take the abuse.

[dhansen]

Get a real trackball, you'll end up getting one in the end anyway.

Doug

[Wade]

You guys are probably right and I should have learned my lesson with this so many times in the past.  Do it right the first time, even thought that invariably means a lot more money.  I'll try to snag a trackball from ebay for about $20 and use a optipac.  It wouldn't be horrible if I had a big blank spot on my CP in the meantime.  And as long as I'm waiting to find a trackball, I can use the spinner on a serial port without worry about conflicts.

Only real decision left is whether to get a WG 9200 or a TV!

Thanks,
Wade

[u_rebelscum]

2) I don't have to use spinner + trackball at the same time.  

Since you don't need to use them at the same time, you shouldn't have problems except, maybe, turning off input from one while using the other.  

Windows combinds all the mouse inputs, so the windows mame sees one mouse.  Which means you can use one or the other as needed.  Just don't let someone else spin the spinner while you're playing with the trackball or vis versa.  Dmame won't have a problem either (as long as the drivers are installed correctly ).

BTW, if both the spinner and trackball go through the optipac (and wired correctly), optipac will let only the active one send data at a time.  Removing the one problem listed above.

Chears!

[Wade]

Great information, thanks!

Wade