Main > Main Forum
So is the Happs 3" trackball with USB worth it?
<< < (7/8) > >>
robot8319:
this is coming from nowhere but for $60 shipped you can get an already built x-arcade trackball with 6 buttons on ebay..


Kremmit:
That cutout looks like a Betson should fit fine.  Of course, it's always hard to tell from a photo on the web.  If it doesn't fit, you'd probably just have to remove a little bit of wood in a few places to fix it.  The mounting plate might work, but I think Happ makes slightly different plates for the standard trackball vs. the high-ball.  If the one you've got doesn't fit, you ought to be able to get a similar plate that will relatively cheaply.

As for the feel:  I don't have an Ice-T, and every Betson I've ever had was used, so I can't make a direct comparison.  Others have stated that Betson's don't spin quite as long as Happ, but that a bearing cleaning and re-lube will fix that.  Or you could swap in the bearings from your Happ.  Or it might not matter to you.  At any rate, they're definitely a solid unit.  And the Ice-T has Randy's trackball booster kit installed- those are upgraded, higher resolution encoder wheels.  I do have a set of those, and I highly recommend them, even if you decide to stick with your Happ.  They rock.

...But, now that I think about it:

You don't need to buy the whole Ice-T if you don't want to.  The Electric Ice-T currently sells for $109.95, but you can upgrade your Happ for less.

This will get you the purty ball and fancy lighting, just swap the ball into your Happ housing and mount the lighting underneath:
Ice-T ball and lighting kit for $29.95

This comes with the Ice-T complete unit, and will upgrade the performance of your Happ unit.  I recommend them for anybody with a trackball, whether they want fancy lights or not.  They're great.
Trackball Booster kit for $9.95

This is the controller used with the Ice-T complete unit, and will replace the Happ USB controller, if you're not happy with it's performance.  If it's working OK for you as is, you can just keep the Happ unit.
Opti-Wiz for $14.95

This just makes it easier to hook up the Opti-Wiz above, if you buy one.  You can go without if you're handy with wiring and solder.
Trackball wiring harness for $12.95

You'd only need this if you're hooking up mouse buttons (I don't see holes for any on the CP photo you posted, but just in case) to the Opti-Wiz, if purchased.  Again, you can go without if you're handy with wiring and solder.
Mouse Button wiring harness for $9.95

If my math is right, even if you bought all of the above it would only cost you $77.75 to upgrade your Happ.  And you can probably skip some of those parts and get it done even cheaper, depending on what you want and your skill level/willingness to learn.

Food for thought:  If you take the upgrade path, you won't have a complete Happ trackball leftover that you could potentially sell or re-use in another project, so there's that to consider as well.

mrudie:
Kremmit, WOW, thanks so much for such a detailed and thourough response!

The main reason that I'm even going through all of this is the terrible backspin I'm experiencing with the Happs. Even in Windows if I spin the ball hard, it goes about halfway up the screen, backspins for a good few seconds, and then rolls to the top of the screen.

It has made it impossible to play games like Golden Tee.

I'm willing to spend the $109.95 on the Electric Ice-T if I knew I wouldn't see that kind of ridiculous backspin!! (And also that it would fit into my panel relatively easily.

My other concern is the wiring that needs to be done.  I'm hoping it will simply be a matter of using what's there to wire the Happs, and it's simply a matter of swapping them out.

Have you had any experience or knowledge that the Betson (Electric Ice-T) does not have this kind of backspin and that it plays games like Golden Tee nicely?

Even thought I don't care for the Happs, I'm sure I could get some $$$ for it or save it for another project.
Kremmit:
Backspin occurs when the teeth on the encoder wheel pass through the optics faster than your optics -or- interface -or- PC can read them.  Backspin problems are usually cured in software -or- by replacing your interface -or- by replacing your optic boards.  Happ red optic boards are the "nicest" ones on the market, and if those are what you've got, they probably are not your problem.  I'd try your PC first, since that's free.  You should turn off all the mouse pointer acceleration and drop the sensitivity in Windows.  MAME sensitivity shouldn't be jacked way up- 100 or less is best.  I'm really not an expert on the software side, but maybe somebody else will come along with more tips on that.

If you can't get the backspin fixed in software, upgrading from the Happ USB interface to the Opti-Wiz or an Opti-Pac from Ultimarc would be my next step.  If you buy the Ice-T, it comes with an Opti-Wiz interface, but buying the interface alone is sure cheaper.
mrudie:

--- Quote from: Kremmit on October 01, 2007, 12:46:56 am ---Backspin occurs when the teeth on the encoder wheel pass through the optics faster than your optics -or- interface -or- PC can read them.  Backspin problems are usually cured in software -or- by replacing your interface -or- by replacing your optic boards.  Happ red optic boards are the "nicest" ones on the market, and if those are what you've got, they probably are not your problem.  I'd try your PC first, since that's free.  You should turn off all the mouse pointer acceleration and drop the sensitivity in Windows.  MAME sensitivity shouldn't be jacked way up- 100 or less is best.  I'm really not an expert on the software side, but maybe somebody else will come along with more tips on that.
--- End quote ---
I have tried everything I possibly can on the software side.  My Happs is over 2 years old, and I don't think it has the "red" optic board.  I'm guessing I'm going to have to open my control panel up, and call Happs support, but I really don't think it's the red optic board.


--- Quote ---If you can't get the backspin fixed in software, upgrading from the Happ USB interface to the Opti-Wiz or an Opti-Pac from Ultimarc would be my next step.  If you buy the Ice-T, it comes with an Opti-Wiz interface, but buying the interface alone is sure cheaper.

--- End quote ---
This is what I originally wanted to do, but Randy told me replacing the optic board with an Opti-Wiz is NOT the easiest thing to do. I almost got the impression it was not advisable?  I was hoping that was the easiest way out, but I guess not?? 

Right now I'm leaning towards just purchasing a brand new Electric Ice-T, and replacing my Happs, but I'm still waiting for a reply from Randy on some questions I had.  If I knew for sure that the Electric Ice-T would not have any backspin issues, and that I could easily drop it into the place of my Happs (mounting and wiring) I would order it today probably.


Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page

Go to full version