Connect a 2 1/4" Ultimarc trackball to a Mini-PAC using a Happ harness? :)

[dekar24k]

Hi guys! I've been working on my bartop cabinet for quite a while now and the only thing preventing me from finishing it is my control panel. I ordered the wrong harness along with the Mini-PAC (got the Happ trackball harness instead of the Ultimarc trackball harness) so I backordered the correct one but it's been 3 weeks now (shipped by air mail, takes ages). The harness didn't arrive by mail today either, so now I am really stuck here, as the postal service is closed until after Easter (next Tuesday).

Ok, so I do have a Mini-Pac, a Mini-Pac harness (for Happ trackballs) and an Ultimarc trackball here. Therefore I was wondering if any of you guys know of a way to connect the Ultimarc trackball on to the Mini-Pac using the Mini-Pac Happ harness? I'm so desperate after finishing my bartop cabinet now that I'll do anything to get it finished.

Hoping for some ideas here. If it's "impossible" then I'll have to wait, but I hope there is some way it can still work. I don't see why it shouldn't be possible. :)c

[mayhem]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=90691.0

[dekar24k]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=90691.0

Those guides are great indeed, but I'm way too newb to figure out how to connect the Ultimarc trackball to the small pins on the Mini-PAC interface. So, it's possible?

[mayhem]

yes there are sevral ways of doing it.

The best would be to use a IDE cable to make one. you can cut it to lenth.

The guides were written for noobs in mind but allso giveing enuogh details for pros.

You can buy the connectors and make you own. its up to you how to do it but the ide is the easy option.

Or you can Un pic you wrong version and re wire to the new version. Do this by putting a pin the the holes and pushing the connector out and then replacing it were you need it to be as per the diagrams.....

[mayhem]

another way but this may be above and beyound your self is to unsolder and pull the pins and solder direcly into the PCB you own wires ....

do not use more than a 15 watt soldering iron to do it else youll burn the trace.

[dekar24k]

Thanks again for the very informative info mayhem! Now, I do have the Mini-PAC harness for Happ trackballs and I also have the Opti-Pac harness going from the trackball (was attached to the trackball when I got it); can I cut the plugs on the Happ cable (on the Mini-PAC harness) and solder it together with the harness attached to the trackball?

Take a look at this picture and hopefully you understand what I mean:

[mayhem]

Cut !!!! No De pin them ...... Dont cut.

[smalltownguy]

I had the exact opposite problem you did, I had the ultimarc trackball harness, and I needed the larger Happ trackball connectors. I ended up cutting my connectors off, and hooking my trackball up with quick connects.



Maybe this will help:

On the wires that came with your 2 1/4" trackball, black is ground, red is +5v, yellow and green are the axis inputs. Use this chart as a guide for X and Y axis info:

http://www.ultimarc.com/optipac3.html

On your minipac harness (larger circles in your picture):

Top Circle
Middle Orange: +5v
Red: Gnd
Outside Orange and Yellow: axis inputs

Bottom Circle
Yellow: +5v
Black: Gnd
Red and Brown: axis inputs

Really the most important thing is to establish power and ground. From there, you can test and swap the axis inputs until you get the up/down left/right response you need.

Hope this helps!

[dekar24k]

I had the exact opposite problem you did, I had the ultimarc trackball harness, and I needed the larger Happ trackball connectors. I ended up cutting my connectors off, and hooking my trackball up with quick connects.



Maybe this will help:

On the wires that came with your 2 1/4" trackball, black is ground, red is +5v, yellow and green are the axis inputs. Use this chart as a guide for X and Y axis info:

http://www.ultimarc.com/optipac3.html

On your minipac harness (larger circles in your picture):

Top Circle
Middle Orange: +5v
Red: Gnd
Outside Orange and Yellow: axis inputs

Bottom Circle
Yellow: +5v
Black: Gnd
Red and Brown: axis inputs

Really the most important thing is to establish power and ground. From there, you can test and swap the axis inputs until you get the up/down left/right response you need.

Hope this helps!

That info definitely helps a lot! It doesn't look like it's too hard to fix either.

The only thing is, I'm not very good with the soldering pen, so de-soldering the Happ connectors and pinning the wires to the Ultimarc connectors might be too advanced for me. I was thinking of just cutting the Happ trackball wires off, twisting them together with the Ultimarc wires from the trackball and solder it + put some shrink wrapping around it. Should work fine, right?

Thanks again for your help guys!

[smalltownguy]

Yeah, that's what I'd do. Just leave an inch or so of wire left on the connector when you cut it off, so if you ever need to use them again, you'll have some wire left to strip.

You can twist the end together and solder, or you can use these:



Fully insulated wire connects. I little tricky to get solid connections, but a bit easier to disconnect down the road.

[dekar24k]

Yeah, that's what I'd do. Just leave an inch or so of wire left on the connector when you cut it off, so if you ever need to use them again, you'll have some wire left to strip.

You can twist the end together and solder, or you can use these:



Fully insulated wire connects. I little tricky to get solid connections, but a bit easier to disconnect down the road.

You are the man! I connected them as you told me and gave it a test. Works perfectly! Now I'll just solder them together and I can try to finish the cabinet today. Yippee!

[smalltownguy]

Not a problem! Glad I could help.