Normal trackball behavior ????

[wolfcub]

First off I would like to say that this forum and forum members rock. All the information posted on this site has helped me along in my arcade build to date.

I have a question about the Electric ICE trackball. I noticed when using it in the upward and left directions the ball rolls like a charm but when panning right the ball does not seem to roll freely. The best way to describe it would be to say that the ball seems to somewhat climb up the roller bar until it hits the top cover. I have inspected the bearings and roll bars and all looks fine and rolls freely.

If anyone could shed some light on how to fix this or inform me if this is normal behavior for this type of TB please that would be great.

[crummy]

I have one of the same trackballs and noticed the same thing scrolling up and down - seems to be the same left and right now that I think about it. Specifically, the ball seems to physically jump on down and left.

I've never used a trackball before so I wasn't sure if this was normal or not.

[wolfcub]

It’s almost seems that the ball should be heavier so it will stay down and make the roller spin instead of climbing the roller and then going back down when the roller reaches a speed to match the ball….. if that makes any sense .......

[crummy]

If you look at the internals of the trackball, it basically seems to come down to when the trackball rolls against the diagonal roller, it jumps a bit.

I wonder if this could be solved by two vertical and two horizontal rollers - then again I don't know if any mice or trackballs do this, so there's probably(?) a good reason.

[wolfcub]

That is exactly what happens to me! I have an idea on how to fix it but i need some time to try it out.

[BobA]

There is a proper orientation of the trackball to enable the rollers to work properly.  I think GGG has a diagram of that specific trackball in the wiki.

[wolfcub]

ya i also looked into that and i do have it the right way around but it still does it.

[RandyT]

This has a lot to do with the stiffness of the bearings.  When they are new, the bearings have some thick grease inside.  This will break down and things should improve as the ball is used.  So it should improve if you start really working the ball.

There are a number of ways people have accelerated the process, including soaking the bearings in a solvent to strip the grease and then replacing it with something thinner.

I'm looking at ways to loosen things up during the build process so that this won't be an issue. 

RandyT

[DeLuSioNal29]

I agree, these forums kick serious arcade constructing butt!   

I haven't had a chance to try my Ice Trackball out yet, but when I do mount it on my control panel I will let you know the results.

However, I did notice it jumping at times when rolled hard with it unmounted, but I figured that was because it needed to be mounted first.  I'll have to mount it and see.

I'll keep you posted.

~ DeLuSioNaL

[Falkon215]

Well i had the same problem with my track ball,took it apart and found imperfection on the sensor wheel,if they are plastic there is sometimes flashing on the wheel it tends to hit the case.Clean the flashing off or make it clear the case by cutting a groove in case.When it is apart run the track ball with the cover off and see if there is plastic flashing is hitting the case.Hope this helps.

[RandyT]

Well i had the same problem with my track ball,took it apart and found imperfection on the sensor wheel,if they are plastic there is sometimes flashing on the wheel it tends to hit the case.Clean the flashing off or make it clear the case by cutting a groove in case.When it is apart run the track ball with the cover off and see if there is plastic flashing is hitting the case.Hope this helps.

I don't know about other TB's, but this absolutely will not be the case with an Electric ICE trackball. 

RandyT

[crummy]

This has a lot to do with the stiffness of the bearings.  When they are new, the bearings have some thick grease inside.  This will break down and things should improve as the ball is used.  So it should improve if you start really working the ball.

There are a number of ways people have accelerated the process, including soaking the bearings in a solvent to strip the grease and then replacing it with something thinner.

I'm looking at ways to loosen things up during the build process so that this won't be an issue. 

RandyT

That's good to know... so the solution is to play games, huh? Well, if that's what it takes...

[Falkon215]

My trackball is a imperial I bought from groovygamegear.2.25 complete  track ball with the plastic encoder wheels.There was flashing on the wheels and it was hitting the case.It would make the track ball run rough and skip unless you put pressure on the ball.I took it apart and inspected the bearings the rollers and encoder wheels.This is what I found.I assume groovygamegear is your website,so just informing you on what I found no big deal.

[RandyT]

My trackball is a imperial I bought from groovygamegear.2.25 complete  track ball with the plastic encoder wheels.There was flashing on the wheels and it was hitting the case.It would make the track ball run rough and skip unless you put pressure on the ball.I took it apart and inspected the bearings the rollers and encoder wheels.This is what I found.I assume groovygamegear is your website,so just informing you on what I found no big deal.

The standard 2.25" Imperial is not an Electric Ice Trackball.  The Electric ICE trackballs have custom encoders in them that I install personally, so I know that there is no extra flashing or similar issues with them.

Sorry you had an issue with the Imperial 2.25".  We usually don't unwrap the stock trackballs, but I'll keep an eye out for any strangeness like this on those units before they are shipped in the future.  Thanks for the heads-up.

RandyT

[wolfcub]

I will try to use the crap out of it and see if the bearings loosen up. The internals on mine were fine. I purchased the upgraded metal encoder wheels and they seem to give the rollers a bit more rotating weight so the ball seems to keep rolling a bit longer which I like.