Help a newbie with spinners/trackballs

[BrianP]

As I have seen with a different thread about USB joysticks, I have a lot to learn about how all of this works.

Looks like I am am going to go with a pair of U360s for my joysticks using the USB connection and joy2key for any emulator that doesn't support digial joysticks.

But how do spinners and trackballs work?

I was thinking of getting a Ulitmarc Spintrack or a Happ SpinStick (I don't know which is better) with  the USB connector.  Or since I will have an iPac, should I skip the USB connector and just wire to the IPac?  I suppose that would avoid trying to use joy2key for the spinner.

What about the trackball?  Should I get an OptiPac for that or just use the USB connection with the Happ 3 inch (I can't get to Happ's site right now to get the details)?

As always, I GREATLY appreciate the assistance.

[Ginsu Victim]

They'll be seen as mice, so joy2key doesn't enter the picture.

I'd avoid buying from Happ. Ultimarc or GroovyGameGear have great products for a lot less.

[DaveMMR]

A lot of the most popular Spinners and Trackballs come with USB connections nowadays, so you can avoid having to get an OptiPac.   The OptiPac comes in handy when you want to have dedicated mouse buttons (not necessary IMHO, especially since you can use Joy2Key to emulate them with the regular push buttons when absolutely needed for Windows games) or if you have a Happ's trackball (or similar) without USB connections (like if one were pulled from an actual machine).

Check out the TurboTwist2 Spinner at GroovyGameGear.com.   It's USB and has the same footprint as a standard push button.   Ultimarc's line of spinners and trackballs are getting some excellent reviews as well, but I have no personal experience with them.

[pcb]

or roll your own interface.  I have mice interfaces available here:

http://www.mikesarcade.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?sku=AGSTBINTUSB

There are also instructions on the net how to convert a USB mouse to a trackball interface.

Best,

 - Mike -