Commercial Arcade Trackball?

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Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

Before I resort to buying the trackball guts and assembling my own
(which I fear would be tragically comical), are there any
trackball-only arcade (USB) controllers out there?

X-arcade announced theirs 2 years ago, but calls and e-mails from
October through last week always get the same answer: "It will be out
in a few months".

I already have an x-arcade 2-person controller, so I don't want to buy
a whole other controller (like SlikStik) just to get a trackball.

I have seen the old Crayola trackball, now BigTrack, trackball:
http://www.enablemart.com/productDetail.aspx?store=10&pid=665&dept=21
but really would rather have a true arcade trackball.

I've searched and searched, so if I've missed something obvious, please
beat me over the head and let me know. Thanks.
 
G

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Incredible. I spent the last hour looking for the exact same thing and
was just coming on to make the same request post. Guess I got some
answers before I posted.

John
 
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RodneyG thought about it a bit, then said...
> Before I resort to buying the trackball guts and assembling my own
> (which I fear would be tragically comical), are there any
> trackball-only arcade (USB) controllers out there?
>
> X-arcade announced theirs 2 years ago, but calls and e-mails from
> October through last week always get the same answer: "It will be out
> in a few months".
>
> I already have an x-arcade 2-person controller, so I don't want to buy
> a whole other controller (like SlikStik) just to get a trackball.
>
> I have seen the old Crayola trackball, now BigTrack, trackball:
> http://www.enablemart.com/productDetail.aspx?store=10&pid=665&dept=21
> but really would rather have a true arcade trackball.
>
> I've searched and searched, so if I've missed something obvious, please
> beat me over the head and let me know. Thanks.

Here's one:

http://www.homearcadesystems.com/trackball.htm

I'm currently testing this one, and it's nice (although it includes a
joystick, it's cheaper ;-)

http://nextarcade.com/proddetail.php?prod=ComboCP

--
Kevin Steele
RetroBlast! Retrogaming News and Reviews
www.retroblast.com
 
D

Dave

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Jun 25, 2003
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don't go cheap on the trackball if you want to play games like golden tee.

get a NEW happ control trackball (green or red board is fine) don't get a
imperial/wico

for hookup use a opti-pac or just get this whole kit
http://www.happcontrols.com/trackballs/565600xx2.htm



"RodneyG" <rodneyg@carolina.rr.com> wrote in message
news:1110551544.280762.262260@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Before I resort to buying the trackball guts and assembling my own
> (which I fear would be tragically comical), are there any
> trackball-only arcade (USB) controllers out there?
>
> X-arcade announced theirs 2 years ago, but calls and e-mails from
> October through last week always get the same answer: "It will be out
> in a few months".
>
> I already have an x-arcade 2-person controller, so I don't want to buy
> a whole other controller (like SlikStik) just to get a trackball.
>
> I have seen the old Crayola trackball, now BigTrack, trackball:
> http://www.enablemart.com/productDetail.aspx?store=10&pid=665&dept=21
> but really would rather have a true arcade trackball.
>
> I've searched and searched, so if I've missed something obvious, please
> beat me over the head and let me know. Thanks.
>
 
G

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Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

"Dave" <spam@drindustries.com> wrote in news:bUkYd.961985$Zm5.139556
@news.easynews.com:

> get a NEW happ control trackball (green or red board is fine) don't get a
> imperial/wico

It seems I've heard of quite a few home cabs using the Betson Imperial PS/2
trackball. Do you have personal experience with which to back your
recommendation against this device?
 
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Hung N thought about it a bit, then said...
> "Dave" <spam@drindustries.com> wrote in news:bUkYd.961985$Zm5.139556
> @news.easynews.com:
>
> > get a NEW happ control trackball (green or red board is fine) don't get a
> > imperial/wico
>
> It seems I've heard of quite a few home cabs using the Betson Imperial PS/2
> trackball. Do you have personal experience with which to back your
> recommendation against this device?

I've used both (and will be publishing a "trackball roundup" soon) - the
Happ has a much smoother and longer "roll time". Basically, it feels
much better in use.

They're both about the same, accuracy-wise, but the Happ just feels like
a higher-quality unit.

--
Kevin Steele
RetroBlast! Retrogaming News and Reviews
www.retroblast.com
 
D

Dave

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Jun 25, 2003
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> It seems I've heard of quite a few home cabs using the Betson Imperial
PS/2
> trackball. Do you have personal experience with which to back your
> recommendation against this device?

yes I do.

I have had a dedicated Golden Tee in my house for over a year. when I got
it it had a happs trackball in it but it needed new rollers and bearings. I
ended up buying a brand new imperial for about $60.00. I figured it would be
better to buy a brand new one then rebuild the one I had. For about a
month, maybe 50 games played, it was fine then I was always having to open
it up and oil the bearing. I eventually got a rebuild kit for the happ
trackball and put that one back in to the machine. ever since then it has
been maintenance free.

Well worth the extra money is all I can say.

Dave

P.S. when i got it, It was a 2000 now it's a 2005 :)
 
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"Dave" <spam@drindustries.com> wrote in
news:eek:XlYd.967587$Zm5.140351@news.easynews.com:

> I had. For about a month, maybe 50 games played, it was fine then I
> was always having to open it up and oil the bearing. I eventually got

What were you using to oil the bearing?

--
Do you want a free Gaming Console?
http://consoles.prizecube.com/?ref=12216
 
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Kevin Steele wrote:

> I've used both (and will be publishing a "trackball roundup" soon) - the
> Happ has a much smoother and longer "roll time". Basically, it feels
> much better in use.

For Golden Tee, "roll time" is completely irrelevant. You can stop the
trackball dead after the ball is hit, and it won't change the shot at
all; the software goes by the initial directions and velocities of the
ball, not by any subsequent roll. -JW
 
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RodneyG wrote:

> Thanks for the suggestions. I had indeed already found the
> NextArcade one. I was hoping for less expensive. I guess
> trackballs ain't cheap, huh?

Sure they are. Get yourself a $5 mouse, flip it over. Instant trackball.

Oh, you want something _bigger_. Yeah, those _are_ expensive. <grin> -JW
 
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RodneyG thought about it a bit, then said...
>
> Kevin Steele wrote:
> > I should have looked closer: NextArcade has a trackball-only unit:
> >
> > http://nextarcade.com/proddetail.php?prod=NC_roller
>
>
> Thanks for the suggestions. I had indeed already found the
> NextArcade one. I was hoping for less expensive. I guess
> trackballs ain't cheap, huh?

I was going to say that the NextArcade _was_ cheap. ;-)

In other words, aside from the discontinued Microsoft kid's trackball
(like a big yellow plastic ball), you're not going to find anything much
cheaper.

--
Kevin Steele
RetroBlast! Retrogaming News and Reviews
www.retroblast.com
 
G

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Archived from groups: alt.games.mame (More info?)

J. Weaver Jr. wrote:
> RodneyG wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the suggestions. I had indeed already found the
>> NextArcade one. I was hoping for less expensive. I guess
>> trackballs ain't cheap, huh?
>
>
> Sure they are. Get yourself a $5 mouse, flip it over. Instant trackball.
>
> Oh, you want something _bigger_. Yeah, those _are_ expensive. <grin> -JW

......unless you can find a Microsoft Easyball in eBay (
http://tinyurl.com/47xqm ) or a thrift store.....

--
Thnik about it!
Dead_Dad
 
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J. Weaver Jr. wrote:
> RodneyG wrote:
>
>> Thanks for the suggestions. I had indeed already found the
>> NextArcade one. I was hoping for less expensive. I guess
>> trackballs ain't cheap, huh?
>
>
> Sure they are. Get yourself a $5 mouse, flip it over. Instant trackball.
>
> Oh, you want something _bigger_. Yeah, those _are_ expensive. <grin> -JW

A mouse can't be used that way. Try it.

They are designed to work with their balls hanging down... *achem*

--
"Speaking of valid debates, it seems to me that there's an inverse
power-to-cleavage ratio among Aes Sedai." - Frank van Schie (r.a.s.w.rj)
 
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RodneyG wrote:
> Kevin Steele wrote:
>> I should have looked closer: NextArcade has a trackball-only unit:
>>
>> http://nextarcade.com/proddetail.php?prod=NC_roller
>
>
> Thanks for the suggestions. I had indeed already found the
> NextArcade one. I was hoping for less expensive. I guess
> trackballs ain't cheap, huh?

The NextArcade one is fairly cheap, considering the Trackball alone is about
$100 or so. The only thing I didn't like about that one is you can't play
Missle Command that well with only 2 'usable' buttons.
 
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