Happ Trackball Testing

[n3wt0n]

Hi Everyone,

First of all I want to start by apologizing for being a complete noob to everything arcade related. I am new to the forum and resurrecting a project that has been sitting for a long LONG time.  I have a stand up arcade cabinet that has been partially turned into a mame type machine and while everything seems to have been started, nothing is finished. I'm sure everyone has one of these types of projects collecting dust somewhere. That being said I want to get this project up and running and complete.  My first obstacle is to test my 3" Happ trackball. I have no idea if it is in working condition or not and the only information I can give is that it has the green logic boards, not the red ones and the wiring harness has been cut off and is gone. Testing the trackball is important because if it is in good working order I will order an optipac type interface for it but if it is not working then I will likely replace the optic boards with ones that let me use it with USB plug on the end.  So, how do I test one of these trackballs? I don't have a clue here.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
n3wt0n

[keilmillerjr]

I can't give you any details on the green vs red logic board. Maybe ask rablack97 since he sells a lot of trackballs? I bought mine from him and he included a harness he made for it to connect to a controller.

However, I do have a brand new optipac I am willing to sell. I used it only once to test my trackball, and later ended up getting a howler when I decided I wanted led's. Shoot me a pm if you want it whenever.

[PL1]

The trackball works like a mechanical mouse.

Further details and better pictures here and there's an explanation of quadrature waveforms here.

You'll need an optical encoder like the one Keilmillerjr mentions. (other encoder options at link)

There are 4 wires per axis leading to the encoder:
1. 5v - operating voltage for the LED
2. Data A
3. Data B
4. Ground (Sometimes jumpered inside the trackball case, leaving one axis with only 3 wires)

By swapping Data A for Data B, you are swapping quadrature waveform A for waveform B which the encoder translates as turning the other way.



The green optical boards are the older style but no need to replace them if they are working OK.

If/when the green boards go bad, replace them with the newer red boards.


Scott

[n3wt0n]

Thanks for all the info regarding how they work. It is very helpful. Is there a way I can test it without purchasing an encoder?

[lcmgadgets]

Welcome aboard, n3w0n! As for slow project, I'll bet I've got u beat. I recently dug up the magazine article that got me started on my cab, & saw that the date on it was 2007! & my last update on my progress is almost a yer old! & I STILL say I'm gonna finish. I'm gathering new momentum, & I've got a friend now with a proper workshop/tools/space whose gonna help me out. Good luck on yours!

[PL1]

Is there a way I can test it without purchasing an encoder?

You can test the IR LEDs (2 on each board) using 5v and ground from a molex or hacked USB cable.

Use your cel phone/digital camera to see if the LEDs are lighting. (the wavelength can't be seen by the human eye, but can be seen by a digital camera)

Next use a multimeter to verify that the voltage on each data line alternates between high and low as you slowly turn that axis causing the encoder wheel to block and un-block the light from the IR LED. (see waveform pic above)

If all 4 LEDs light up and all 4 data lines alternate between high and low when the associated axis is slowly turned,  your trackball is working properly.   


Scott

[n3wt0n]

Scott,

Thank you so much for the info. I will test it in the next couple days. Thanks for the tip to use phone/digital camera to see the LED's.

[n3wt0n]

You can test the IR LEDs (2 on each board) using 5v and ground from a molex or hacked USB cable.

Use your cel phone/digital camera to see if the LEDs are lighting. (the wavelength can't be seen by the human eye, but can be seen by a digital camera)

Next use a multimeter to verify that the voltage on each data line alternates between high and low as you slowly turn that axis causing the encoder wheel to block and un-block the light from the IR LED. (see waveform pic above)

If all 4 LEDs light up and all 4 data lines alternate between high and low when the associated axis is slowly turned,  your trackball is working properly.   


Scott

Hi Scott,

I finally got around to testing my trackball today. I think things went well. I have 5 volts at the boards and when turning on axis I get a variation between 0 - 4.35 volts on the data lines. I couldn't for the life of me get the LEDs to show on my phone but I am going to assume since I am getting measurements on the data lines I should be good to go. Is a reading of 4.35 max on the data lines okay or should it be reading a full 5 volts? I may shoot a quick youtube video to show people how to do this.

It was actually pretty simple and didn't take too long to do. Thanks for your help.

[PL1]

Glad to hear that all is working well.   

Sometimes the LEDs are hard to see unless you turn off the lights and look from a low angle.


Scott

[lamprey]

Glad to hear that all is working well.   

Sometimes the LEDs are hard to see unless you turn off the lights and look from a low angle.


Scott

Someone told me to take a picture of them with my phone. Sure enough, you can really see the LEDs in a picture versus the naked eye.