which is which

[night]

this ball/plate things is far to confusing
which is this pic

i want that. is that the highball and plate? cuz from all i can tell, only the highball has a flush plate, the others have the ugly 4 bolts on top.

[AlanS17]

The difference isn't in the "highball". That just refers to the type of trackball you're using.

There are 2 plates sold by Happ that don't require carriage bolts. One is for highballs and the other is for regular trackballs. Highballs are just trackballs that sit a bit higher than usual. I think this makes the hole a different size so you have to specify when you order a plate for it.

Does that help?

[GearHead]

That's a Happ Controls trackball mounting plate.  It's available for their 1.5", 2.25" and 3" trackballs including the highball models. About $11 each plus shipping.

http://www.happcontrols.com

[Brax]

Thats a boltless trackball mounting plate. You don't have to supply carriage bolts because it comes as part of the mounting plate, welded on the bottom. The trackball has nothing to do with bolts showing through or not.

[SirPoonga]

Now, I heard those plates are ok, but not that great.  Eventually the posts strip and you need a new mounting plate.  But I can't prove that, I just heard it somewhere and it may only occur if plate is getting old.

[night]

ok, its just the way they worded confused me or somthing. or maybe i just need to go to bed.

and the lip does sit flush through the hole as well right ?
(ie, the top of the housing is against the bottom of the plate?)

if so then i'll get the regular ball. im not using lexan.

[Dave_K.]

So will this type plate not work with lexan?  I'm guessing it goes underneith?

[AlanS17]

You could put it underneath the lexan, but you would have the shave down the edges. That's what I plan on doing. You have to flush mount the plate, though.

[Dave_K.]

But by doing that, wouldn't there be less of the ball sticking out from the lexan?  Maybe only the highball is a good option for a lexan top (since it sticks out more)?

[AlanS17]

The highball is probably better, but the regular is certainly still acceptable. It's what most people use and you don't hear many complaints (if any at all).

[Dave_K.]

Hmmm...I'd like to hear from others that have done this.  Juding from the picture in the first post, loosing 1/8" off the bottom of the ball from the lexan looks like it would bug me.

[u_rebelscum]

Hmmm...I'd like to hear from others that have done this.  Juding from the picture in the first post, loosing 1/8" off the bottom of the ball from the lexan looks like it would bug me.

This thread talks about this.

Basically,
the normal model + mounting plate + 1/8" lexan results in a ball 1/8" lower than normal arcade "standard" (~0.6"),
the "high lip" model + mounting plate + 1/8" lexan equals the normal trackball height, and
the "high ball" + mounting plate + 1/8" lexan is still higher than the arcade "standard".

[jakejake28]

does the boltless mountig plate work with ultimarc/suzo/wico 2-1/4 trackball?

[Dave_K.]

Thanks u_rebelscum!  That pretty much tells all.

[u_rebelscum]

does the boltless mountig plate work with ultimarc/suzo/wico 2-1/4 trackball?

Short: Yes, sort of.

Long:
Happ's boltless 2-1/4" needs a small adjustment to work with the u/s/w 2-1/4" TB.  The sleeves on the mounting plate are a little too wide to fit in the TB mounting holes.  My guess is a metric vs. imperial rounding difference; it's that close.  BTW, the same is for the 3" wico TB I have.

You can either re-drill the holes in the TB; it only needs the next 1/64" size bigger than the one that does fit, and you only need to drill ~1/2" from the top.  Or you can sand the outside of the plate's sleeves, which is much more time consuming work.