trackball concerns...

[katuuuz]

hey guys, my cabinet is literally gonna be done on wednesday, and i am so happy with how it has come along.  anyhow, i bought/mounted a 2 1/2" trackball from ultimarc.com, and after mounting it on the CP, i gave it a few spins as you would playing golden tee and it doesn't seem to spin out like the original game.  i'm talking about the ball itself, nothing to do with the game.  it feels like something's holding it back, or could use some greasing.  is this possible to grease?  or does it eventually break itself in?  please get back to me on this, for i'm not disappointed, cuz it will work, but would like it to be more "loose".  thanks in advance.

[Luigi]

Sorry to say that but the Ultimarc Trackballs aren't good for games like Golden Tee where the ball mst roll on and on. They are ok for Centipede or Missile Command.

If you want to play Golden tee, you must buy a Happ Trackball. That thing is really amazing.

I had an Ultimarc, too but I replaced it with a Happ and I am very satisfied

[severdhed]

i believe that the original golden tee games used Wico trackballs, or at least mine did.  When i started my cabinet, i decided to buy an old one and convert, i ended up picking up a golden tee II cabinet for $20.  it was junk, but there was a 3" wico trackball lying in the bottom of the cabinet.  Part of the plastic housing that holds one of the roller bearings in place was broken, but i managed to fix that.  I hacked a ps2 mouse to interface it to the pc.  But it didnt roll worth crap, the bearings were worn out, and the rollers had seen better days.   I have new bearings and rollers on order, should be here by the end of the week. 

I dont have any experience with other brands of trackballs, so i dont know what to tell you about your ultimarc...  sorry.

[max8061]

There have been other threads on this. I believe the solution was to re-grease the bearings with new/alternate lube.

Use the search keywords - trackball bearings. That should point you to what you need.

[emerica]

those bearings in a trackball can be a pain to clean since they do not have removable shields.

I used powell speed cream (for skateboard bearings) to grease the bearings in my trackball. Just don't use wd40 as it attracts dust and dirt.

[severdhed]

just for the record, i installed my new bearings and rollers in my 3" wico, it rolls better, but still not that great.


but since the whole thing cost me $32, including the new bearings and rollers and pc interface, i cant really complain.

[AndyWarne]

Our trackballs always respond to soaking the bearings in WD40. They are packed with grease when new and this has to be dissolved. I must get that info added to the website.
Andy

[katuuuz]

i sprayed wd40 on, reassemlbled, and now it is not working.  (i got it working by putting the red jumper on the usb like you informed me.

[Torc]

I see happ has a 4-1/2" track ball listed on their site, how is that? I haven't seen many people talking about it. They have a high profile trackball listed, I've planning on buying one of the happ tballs soon and wanted some feedback.

thanks,

[divemaster127]

I would not use the 4" they are huge, & take up a ton of room on the cp,(& are very expensive) stick with a 3" usb, harness or highball
dm
I carry all 3 versions of the 3"

[shardian]

If you really wanna go all out, get a bowling ball, some plywood, some 1" round steel stock, and the guts from a trackball. Put it all together and you can have the biggest trackball on here!
Seriously though, that missile command tb is overrated in my opinion. The only place it belongs is in a missile command cp. Splurge and get a brand new 3" happ tb. Take it from me

[Banacek]

Our trackballs always respond to soaking the bearings in WD40. They are packed with grease when new and this has to be dissolved. I must get that info added to the website.
Andy

Can anyone out there with a Ultimarc Trackball weigh in on this? I keep reading that WD40 is wrong, then Andy says it right. Confusing...