Happs Translucent Trackball Bulb vs LED (w/ pics)

[Luckydevil]

Well I decided to order a 4 cluster blue LED because I was very disappointed with the light bulb that my trackball came with.

It is pretty obvious that there is a huge difference between the two in the pics. It is even more noticeable in person and you can actually see the trackball glow when the lights are on. It isn't too bright for me and I think it looks great now.

Bottom Line: Highly recommended for the price.

The cost was $7.59 for the LED (w/ shipping) from www.superbrightleds.com

I used the blue WLED 4-LED bulb (12VDC 4-LED Wedge Base Bulb 194/168 type) and made a small bracket to get the LED pointing straight into the trackball.

Here are some pics...

[NIVO]

looks good. thx for the quick review and contribution! 

[Luckydevil]

No problem. I've gotten so much help from this place I try and give back when I can. 

Here are a couple pics with the room lights on. The bulb doesn't even look like it is on, but it is. Pretty worthless unless you are playing in the dark, and even then it isn't lit that well. I'm surprised Happ's isn't supplying these things with LED's in the first place.

[mccoy178]

Great bracket.  This will help more people than you know.  This is one of those basic noob questions and this is a great answer!  Thanks.

[whammoed]

Nice job.  I did something similar with a 2 1/4" ultimarc trackball and a pcb mounting foot.

Note:  If you have a panel where you will be directly over your trackball the led cluster may be too bright.  (like on a cocktail for example)  I ended up having to go with a single led bulb.  What I'd really like to see is a little board with leds and a potentiometer that easily attaches to  the trackball and allows you to adjust the brightness or that allows easy hookup to a light controller like the ledwiz.

[rwhip41]

Why not just buy one of these...
http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/lazer.html

I bought one for my blue Happs 3" trackball to replace the weak bulb. I unscrewed the bulb holder, fabricated 3 small pieces of wood by gluing them together to resemble a shallow "u", glued the LED to the bottom of the "u", and glued the "u" to the trackball base. The picture shows the bottm of the trackball where the bulb usually goes. The LED unit has 3 LEDs, and is completely visible during the day. The LED unit is very low profile...the glued together wood frame doesn't protrude more than 1" beyond the trackball base surface.

[Arcades R Fun]

All great examples of DIY's working to solve a problem. I too hate the dim arcade lamps so I made my own wooden block mount to house the 4 bulb super bright LED. It has proven to be very popular with builders.
(Here's where the shameless plug starts)

You can view my E-Bay auction for my version of the trackball lighting kit using a Super Bright 4 bulb cluster LED.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6258513650&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

The kit uses super strong velcro to attach the bulb and take about 30 seconds to install to the underside of any trackball. The bulb in encased in a wooden block so it can never be accidentaly broken. The other end is prewired to a male Molex connector that plugs into your computers spare female Molex leads. The computer end installs in about 3 minutes. It's $16.95 plus Priority shipping making it $21 to your door and makes for a simple answer to this problem. BYOAC members can buy it direct from me via PayPal for $14.95 or $19 to your door in the US or Canada.



Jack

[psychopanda]

I swapped out the bulb on my Happs trackball, stuffed a resistor on one side, plugged in a 'super bright' blue led, and attached wires from a spare power connector on my PC.

It wasn't too hard and is plenty bright. I actually had to point the led down and place some foil underneath to reflect the light back up (although I've since read that a little sandpaper scrubbed on top of the led will diffuse the light).

There was big bonus that I hadn't expected. With the Happs bulb, my blue translucent trackball glowed almost turqoise. With the blue led, it changed to a really nice blue glow.

Here are a few pics:

happs bulb/greenish:
http://www.psychopanda.net/images/arcade_206.jpg

blue led/blue!:
http://www.psychopanda.net/images/arcade_210.jpg
http://www.psychopanda.net/images/arcade_211.jpg

couple pics of the led/resistor install (sorry, they're blurry):
http://www.psychopanda.net/images/arcade_208.jpg
http://www.psychopanda.net/images/arcade_209.jpg

[MovingTarget]

I did the same sort of thing but instead of wood used a scrap piece of Lexan.  I've got 3 super bright blue LEDs shooting up through the TB.  It may be a little too bright actually!

I light up my HAPP translucent buttons so I just wired the LEDs in with that power.  Used 100 ohm resistors all connected to the computer 5v power lead via a molex connector I stole from an old computer case headed to the trash.

[theCoder]

Instead of putting LED's into a plate, I put them directly into the body of the trackball.  Rather than the light coming straight up the center, it comes up from the side.  I think it makes the light bounce around a bit more and does not blind you if you look straight down on it.  There is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch between the case and ball.  I put a piece of scrap plastic between the case and ball to keep the drill bit from scratching the ball.  The LED's fit in flush and are hot glued in place.  Just yet another way to skin this cat.

[FrizzleFried]

I sort of like the soft glow of my trackball with the standard ole' bulb in there.   But then again,  i also saught out 6w florescent bulbs for my marquee.   I am not looking to be distracted by my trackball...just a nice ambient GLOW is what I was looking for and it's what I got with the regular ole' bulb.

[MovingTarget]

Instead of putting LED's into a plate, I put them directly into the body of the trackball.  Rather than the light coming straight up the center, it comes up from the side.  I think it makes the light bounce around a bit more and does not blind you if you look straight down on it.  There is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch between the case and ball.  I put a piece of scrap plastic between the case and ball to keep the drill bit from scratching the ball.  The LED's fit in flush and are hot glued in place.  Just yet another way to skin this cat.

Even though my LEDs are mounted directly underneath the middle of the TB the light does NOT come straight up the center.  The light is evenly diffused.  You would have no idea the light was coming from the middle.  Just looks like the entire ball is made of light.  There are no dim spots, not even on the edges.

[freckleface]

You're getting diffraction - refraction - from the Lexan.

[Huskerfan]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=PCB

Will this product work for my translucent trackball?  I like the first guys idea but I'm worried about wiring the bulb myself.  I can fashion a mount like he did but wiring I'm not sure about. 

[fjl]

Why not just buy one of these RGB trackballs upgrade kits? It's what I'm getting...

http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=74&products_id=273

Illuminated by the RGB-OverDrive™ lighting unit with a retina-searing light output capability of up to 12 Super-Bright LEDs. (We aren't kidding, don't look straight into this when it's on!)

[fatfingers]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=PCB

Will this product work for my translucent trackball?  I like the first guys idea but I'm worried about wiring the bulb myself.  I can fashion a mount like he did but wiring I'm not sure about. 

I got one of these LightMite TBs and it works great.  I would suggest you look into this as well if you're worried about wiring.

[Huskerfan]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=PCB

Will this product work for my translucent trackball?  I like the first guys idea but I'm worried about wiring the bulb myself.  I can fashion a mount like he did but wiring I'm not sure about. 

I got one of these LightMite TBs and it works great.  I would suggest you look into this as well if you're worried about wiring.


This is what I ended up with.  Should get the package today.  I actually purchased his power board, also.  I'll be able to power on and off my computer, marquee, monitor and anything else I have plugged into it.

[fatfingers]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=PCB

Will this product work for my translucent trackball?  I like the first guys idea but I'm worried about wiring the bulb myself.  I can fashion a mount like he did but wiring I'm not sure about. 

I got one of these LightMite TBs and it works great.  I would suggest you look into this as well if you're worried about wiring.

This is what I ended up with.  Should get the package today.  I actually purchased his power board, also.  I'll be able to power on and off my computer, marquee, monitor and anything else I have plugged into it.

   I hope you like it!