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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: Level42 on October 31, 2005, 12:48:51 pm

Title: What trackball is this ?
Post by: Level42 on October 31, 2005, 12:48:51 pm

Anybody knows what trackball this is ? And if so, is it any good ?

(http://fotos.marktplaats.nl/kopen/1/67/14435953.jpg)

Thx

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: RayB on October 31, 2005, 01:05:07 pm

It is an Atari trackball, most likely from a cocktail Missile Command. (Though it could also be from a Centipede--I'm not sure if they had switched to the plastic housing yet by that time).

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: SirPoonga on October 31, 2005, 01:46:13 pm

Quote from: RayB on October 31, 2005, 01:05:07 pm

It is an Atari trackball, most likely from a cocktail Missile Command. (Though it could also be from a Centipede--I'm not sure if they had switched to the plastic housing yet by that time).

hmmm, are your sure, I thought the cocktail versions also used the drum encoder.

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: RayB on October 31, 2005, 01:52:20 pm

I have one (MC cocktail). I rebuilt the TBs. Definitely not drum.

And Level, to be 100% sure what game that TB came from, all we need is the part number stamped on the top. (Looks exactly like mine though)

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: MinerAl on October 31, 2005, 02:34:18 pm

Just a second vote for MC cocktail.  I've come across them several times when looking for the 4.5" giants for the stand-up.  Almost always referred to as  Missile Command ball in auctions, I think even the first Centipedes had a more modern/less square and machined looking chasis.

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: SirPoonga on October 31, 2005, 02:44:23 pm

Quote from: RayB on October 31, 2005, 01:52:20 pm

I have one (MC cocktail). I rebuilt the TBs. Definitely not drum.

ok, so it;s the big atari balls that use the drums.

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: Level42 on November 04, 2005, 06:01:01 pm

Thanks gusy, so is it any good ? It's fairly cheap...

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: RayB on November 04, 2005, 07:40:52 pm

Quote from: Level42 on November 04, 2005, 06:01:01 pm

Thanks gusy, so is it any good ? It's fairly cheap...

How cheap?
Do the optics work?
Are the bearings and rollers original?

A TB that age usually needs new rollers. And perhaps new bearings. If the optics don't work, you'll need new optics. And that yellow ball, how about replacing with a new white one.

Congratulations. Your cheap trackball just cost you a fortune and all you're really left with as original is the metal frame.  ;D

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: MinerAl on November 05, 2005, 08:41:25 am

What Ray said, but there is some hope if the bearings are salvagable and the rollers aren't too badly hour-glass shaped.  You can do some reviving of the bearings by soaking them in WD-40 for a good while and working any rust off of them.  If the rollers aren't too bad, cleaning all the wd-40 out of the newly de-rusted beearings and lubing them really well with 3-in-1 oil (or your favorite machine lube) will take a rough spinning ball a long way toward smooth operation.

Oh, and the ball isn't yellowed, it was never cueball white.  They are "cream" colored.

Take a look at the rollers, if they aren't too badly concaved then go for it. 

Title: Re: What trackball is this ?
Post by: PacManFan on November 05, 2005, 05:54:07 pm

I've got one of those too.

Get yourself some hex wrenches, and take the entire thing apart, clean it out,  get some silicone lubricant for the bearings, and run them with a power drill until you break out all the dirt/dust.

My 5" trackball is now the centerpiece of my CP.

-PMF