Happ 3" trackballs $68.59

[Chris]

I just noticed that Happ has their 3" trackballs on sale for $68.59.  They normally go for $92.65!

http://www.happcontrols.com/wp/item_search.html?item-no=56-0100-11HL



I asked if the trackballs included the new "red" optic boards, and got an E-mail from Tom Happ confirming that they do.  The new optic boards have "improved circuitry to guarantee an optimized performance signal both at low and high rpm speeds", according to their site.  I'm guessing that this should reduce backspin even at fairly high speeds.

--Chris

[Dave_K.]

Good news! thanks for posting this.

[hevnsnt]

D@mnit!  I just paid $50 for a used one with old bearings.

[Chris]

Oh, that sale ends at the end of April...

hevnsnt: I think I was in that auction with you....

[shmokes]

Hey!!!  My Happ order just shipped about a month ago and I just checked my 3" highball trackball.  It has green optic boards.  Should I be concerned?  I plan to play Golden-Tee with this.  When did they upgrade the optics?  Should mine have had red optic boards?

[Chris]

The Highball is a different part number, 56-0110-11, which is a general purpose trackball.  Part number 56-0100-11HL is described as "3" Diameter White High Lip Trackball For Use In Golden Tee

[Bill_S]

OK, how would I hook this up to my PC for MAME??

[Chris]

OK, how would I hook this up to my PC for MAME??

Via an Opti-PAC, a Happs trackball USB interface, or a mouse hack (http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade_controls.shtml#happ2mouse).

--Chris

[Chris]

Okay, I'm probably the cheapest guy around here, and I tried three different PC trackballs before grudgingly buying the Happs...

I can now say I don't regret this expense for a second! Marble Madness is again a work of art rather than an excercise in frustration... I'm a lot more accurate at Shuffleshot... I can actually play Shuuz and American Horseshoes... and Golden Tee PC feels just like the arcade now!

I hacked one of those $3.99 translucent blue trackballs rather than pay $60 for the Happ interface... it works perfectly!  If you order this trackball and are planning to hack a mouse, make sure you also get part number 43-0456-00 (6-pin female Molex plug) and qty 10 of part number 43-0144-00 (female Molex pins); you'll need those to build the interface to the trackball.  

--Chris

[Bill_S]

Anyone have instruction for how to do the mouse hack?  I have a cheap PC trackball right now and everyone (including me) complains about it when playing games with it.  I tried the link referenced above but the mamezilla link that follows doesn't appear to work.

I'm pretty cheap too, so hearing Chris say that really makes me think I should jump on this sale.

[Chris]

The hardest part of the mouse hack is finding a suitable mouse: ideally one with a ball (non-optical), no scroll wheel, non-Logitech, and both USB and PS/2 support.  Unfortunately, these don't seem to exist...

I also had trouble finding the mouse hacks, so I am halfway through writing a new one...

http://mamewah.mameworld.net/MouseHack.html has some info, but it gets its +5v from the computer, not the mouse...

There's another one at http://www.members.shaw.ca/bakaye/tballhack.htm, but with few pictures and it's a bit harder to follow...

--Chris

[Nikodemz]

The Highball is a different part number, 56-0110-11, which is a general purpose trackball.  Part number 56-0100-11HL is described as "3" Diameter White High Lip Trackball For Use In Golden Tee

[Chris]

As I understand it, the high lip is designed to fit the latest Golden Tee panels specifically; if you add the extra plate, it should mount and play like the other 3" trackballs. In fact, if you look at the "regular" 3" balls, the white ball is no longer available; it redirects you to the Golden Tee ball.

More information on the spacer is at http://www.happcontrols.com/images/pdf/ins0060.pdf .

I'm not sure what games the High Ball is designed for; Missile Command or bowling games, perhaps?

--Chris

[Veto]

I think the highball is more suited for kiosks/ displays than for general gaming.  It would be fine for games where you are just scrolling around, but not when you want to take a big golf shot.  BTW is anyone running GT golf PC on win XP?  Doesn't work for me.

[AX]

i got the high ball case so i can set the ball under my lexan.  Otherwise the regular ball is 2 low.

[shmokes]

First place to go is right-click on the file used to load the program (gt.exe or something like that) and click properties.  Go to the "compatibility tab" at the top of the properties window and tell it to run in Windows 98 compatibility mode.  Surprisingly this works nearly all of the time.

[Chris]

i got the high ball case so i can set the ball under my lexan.  Otherwise the regular ball is 2 low.

I think the new high lip version will solve that problem as well.  At least I hope so...

[AX]

yeah well I didn't feel the high lip would make the ball any higher.  I plan to file the lexan down around the edges to make is all silky and smooove.   this would make the high lip a little dumb for me.  might work ok for you if you want it to be flush.

[Chris]

yeah well I didn't feel the high lip would make the ball any higher.  I plan to file the lexan down around the edges to make is all silky and smooove.   this would make the high lip a little dumb for me.  might work ok for you if you want it to be flush.

This is how my PC ball is installed now.  Filing down that lexan is gonna be a pain in the butt, but it'll look great as long as you don't rush it!  

[u_rebelscum]

i got the high ball case so i can set the ball under my lexan.  Otherwise the regular ball is 2 low.

I think the new high lip version will solve that problem as well.  At least I hope so...

yeah well I didn't feel the high lip would make the ball any higher.

The highlip can make the ball higher above the plexi.

Without the spacer, you gain up to 1/8" more than the normal old-school happs/atari 3" TB, if the lip can go up into the hole in the plexi and the lip does not go above the top of the plexi.  So if you have 1/8" thick plexi, drill a 3" hole for the ball+lip, and countersink the mounting plate 1/16" input the wood, the ball would be exactly the same as if you had the normal TB mounted on a 1/16" metal-only CP.

The highball, on the other hand, seems to gain 3/8" more than the old school TB case, again, if the lip can go into the plexi but not above.  Three times more than the high lip over the normal, true, but more than needed in most situations IMO (not all, though).

* All measurements from top of case, but not including lip, to top of ball, minus 1/16" for a mounting plate (ie: happs mounting plate).  I have a highlip, comparing it against the normal and highball drawings at happs site.

I plan to file the lexan down around the edges to make is all silky and smooove.   this would make the high lip a little dumb for me.  might work ok for you if you want it to be flush.

Okay, one of the few cases that the highlip won't help.  

(I'd prefer the lip flush with the top of the cp.)

FWIW, the happs lip is very nice, and better, IMO, than the betson or wico 3" TB lips.  You might be able to do better than it by filing the plexi, but I haven't found any filed plexi TB cp (found mostly in bars) that I'd want to play any games but golf or bowling.  The plexi's smooth and all, but my fingers would get sucked down between the ball and the plexi and either get pinched or stuck if I played missle command or cabal for instance.  (I play with my fingers on those types of games.)

My $0.02

[Chris]

By the way, it looks like Happ's extended this sale till the end of May...

For the interface, my local Staples has USB "E-Mail Mice" on clearance for $4.50... I bought one, should make a good hack platform.  (I built an interface out of the "$3.99 Translucent Trackball", but I'm making another one for a friend.)  Radio Shack has the 6-pin female Molex connectors with pins for $1.99, which is slightly cheaper than Happ.  

--Chris