Ready to order parts for new control panel, have a few questions (first timer)

[cyapps]

Thanks so much for the input I have made my decision and listed the items below.

 1  x Electric ICE-T™ 3" Deluxe RGB Arcade Trackball V2.0
 1  x Super High Trackball Install Kit
 1  x Player 1 Pushbutton
 1  x Player 2 Pushbutton
24 x Horizontal Pushbutton - HAPP™ (Microswitch Cherry™)
 2  x HAPP™ Competition Arcade Joystick
 1  x Pushbutton Nut Wrench
 1  x KeyWiz40-ST
 1  x LED-Wiz 32-port USB Lighting and Output Controller
 2  x 50pcs .187 Female quick disconnects

Now I am just narrowing my color scheme and trying to decide if I should go with the electric ice buttons so I can light only the buttons that each game uses to make it easier for others to play. They cost a bit more than the plain buttons and then I would have to at least get some leds to light them (thinking the button blasters for now). And this would allow me to upgrade to the rgb drive leds in the future without having to buy new buttons again. Not to mention I would need another led wiz to light all the buttons with rgb. So what I need to know now is, is it hard to solder the RGB led and resistors to the bare rgb drive board? I am wondering because that would allow me to save some money by getting them separate and doing the soldering myself and I can run my own wiring to them.

[Paul Olson]

Check the BST forum for divemaster's thread. He can probably sell the trackball and mounting kit for less than that. You would need to compare button prices too.

I have never tried GGG's trackball so I can't comment on how they compare to Happs. If you do buy the Happ, try to get one with the read optic boards; they are supposed to be an improvement over the older green ones.

[cyapps]

Check the BST forum for divemaster's thread. He can probably sell the trackball and mounting kit for less than that. You would need to compare button prices too.

I have never tried GGG's trackball so I can't comment on how they compare to Happs. If you do buy the Happ, try to get one with the read optic boards; they are supposed to be an improvement over the older green ones.

I will check with divemaster, thanks. I believe GGG's trackballs are imperial, but not positive.

[TOK]

I have the Happ 3" in my MAME cab and a Betson 3" in a Golden Tee. For feel, they are both the same. I really like the Happ USB wired with 3 buttons. I used them as the bottom row of my Player 1 six button layout and just remapped them in MAME. Keeps the layout a bit cleaner and you still have easy access to all the mouse functions.

Love the Happ Comps. They're a great choice for an inexpensive do-it-all stick.

Get Happ prices from Divemaster here or Tornado Terry's. Terry isn't on the board, but he's got great deals and is a fast shipper.

[cyapps]

I have the Happ 3" in my MAME cab and a Betson 3" in a Golden Tee. For feel, they are both the same. I really like the Happ USB wired with 3 buttons. I used them as the bottom row of my Player 1 six button layout and just remapped them in MAME. Keeps the layout a bit cleaner and you still have easy access to all the mouse functions.

Love the Happ Comps. They're a great choice for an inexpensive do-it-all stick.

Get Happ prices from Divemaster here or Tornado Terry's. Terry isn't on the board, but he's got great deals and is a fast shipper.

Thanks for the information, I am actually looking at Tornado Terry's and Divemaster's deals as I type, so far they look great!

[arzoo]

cyapps,
Looks like you forgot to include the LED control hardware in your list of parts. If you're intending to light up the trackball (or buttons) with RGB LEDs, then you should go with the GGG LED-Wiz. Other choices would be the Ultimarc Pac-Drive or U-HID hardware - but these don't provide variable intensities (just on or off). Speaking of the trackball - you may want to check out the Ultimarc U-Trak.

[cyapps]

I was going to just use always on led under the trackball and just power it off the power supply. I have since thought about getting one of the controller devices as I might find a use for it elsewhere if I decide to not use it with my trackball. I actually was about to add the Ultimarc Pac-Drive unit to my list, although the LED-Wiz was fighting for the top position and might be chosen if I decide to stick with ordering some other things from GGG. Not sure if the price difference is worth the extra features that it has if I really didn't need them. This can always be a future addition.

Thanks

[clickhea]

divemaster is amazing to deal with. Hes very quick with his responses and if anything goes wrong hes there to back it up.

[cyapps]

I am still undecided on the Happ normal 3" trackball with usb built in and the new high ball version that doesn't come with usb but a standard harness.

I have read that the usb trackball uses the green opti boards and have also read that the green boards have had issues and to get one with a red board, is this still an issue or has it been resolved?

How much higher does the ball sit with the high ball version and if you have tried it does it feel better?

According to my calculations the difference in getting the normal ball (just over $90 with mounting kit) and the high ball (just over $100 with mounting kit and Opti-Wiz) is around $10+- a few dollars. Will the highball with the opti-wiz be just as good as the standard 3" usb version trackball?

I will be ordering a few things from GGG so the shipping amount for the opti wiz will be offset. And getting the rest of my stuff with the trackball from divemaster. I have also decided to go with a key wiz because I get a few extra buttons without the extra cost of the Ipac 4 and I will most likely use the default input settings or I can load any custom ones to the key wiz when my system loads or as needed.

Can the opti-wiz handle a trackball and a spinner at once like the opti-pac or am I stuck with one device per controller?

[DeLuSioNal29]

I have an Electric - Ice Trackball from GGG (and yes, it's a Betson Imperial Trackball brand).  I absolutely LOVE it.  The new version 2.0 has a heavier trackball and feels just like the Happ brand.  It's great.  It's super easy to hook up, since the interface board is already attached to it.  It comes with the USB cable too.  Simply plug it in and Windows picks it up as a mouse.  It also has 3 mouse button connectors on it that you can connect pushbuttons to.  You can make your own wire for the mouse buttons or you can have Randy T from GGG make one for you.

Please note, that although it has an RGB LED on it (4 LEDs to be exact so it's nice and bright) an LED Wiz is not necessary for it to work.  You can do like I did... I bought it by itself, and connected it to a 5v power source for a solid color.  Then I eventually upgraded later to an LED Wiz where I can control colors on the fly via software, etc.

Here's an excerpt from GGG's website with instructions:  "There are 4 wires connected to the lighting module. The one marked with red is to be connected to a 5v DC power source. The other wires, in order following the 5v wire are Blue, Green and Red control lines. If you own an LED-Wiz™, these would be connected to 3 outputs of your choosing. Otherwise, to hard wire a specific color, just attach the desired colors control line to ground. This can be done in any combination you desire to achieve one of 7 colors, or small resistors can be added in series to create any color desired."

Hope this helped!

~ DeLuSioNaL

[cyapps]

Thanks for the input DeLuSioNaL,
Does the Electric ICE-T™ Deluxe RGB Arcade Trackball V2.0 come with everything I need and then all I would have to do was get the Super High Trackball Install Kit to make it a high ball?

Are there any others that want to comment on experiences with the,
Happ highball trackball vs Happ normal trackball
 and
Happ with built in usb vs Happ trackball with standard harness and opti-wiz
 and
Happ trackball vs (Betson Imperial) Electric ICE-T™ Deluxe RGB Arcade Trackball V2.0

This whole trackball thing is all that is keeping me from ordering my parts... If I go with Happ then I will need to order from two separate sources, if I go with the Betson Imperial then I can get everything from GGG. I hate not being able to make a decision because I have never tried either nor do I know if I would even feel the difference as I haven't played very many trackball games. I would just like to hear peoples experiences with those two main trackballs.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Yes, the GGG E-Ice 2.0 comes with everything you need.  The high ball kit would be additional though.

One other note, GGG is in Ithaca, NY which is local if you are in the U.S., just thought I'd mention it.  His customer service is also great, I had a minor issue with a product and he repaired it at no charge!  He is also great at answering any questions that you may have with setting it up, etc.  Something you won't find at Happ, since they assume you are a vendor and know everything already.

~ DeLuSioNaL

[cyapps]

Yes, the GGG E-Ice 2.0 comes with everything you need.  The high ball kit would be additional though.

One other note, GGG is in Ithaca, NY which is local if you are in the U.S., just thought I'd mention it.  His customer service is also great, I had a minor issue with a product and he repaired it at no charge!  He is also great at answering any questions that you may have with setting it up, etc.  Something you won't find at Happ, since they assume you are a vendor and know everything already.

~ DeLuSioNaL

Yea, I have noticed that about GGG, they seem to be great with helping the community. That is why I wanted to get most of my stuff from them. I just wasn't sure if the Happ trackball is much better than the one from GGG. And since this is my first cp and I have very limited experience using trackballs, I really won't know the difference. Thanks for the confidence in a solid decision.

[cyapps]

I have just updated my first posting with my final-ish list and a few more questions.