i am trying out a used Microsoft Trackball Explorer, which ive read
many positive reviews about. previously ive used a logitech thumb-
trackball for many months (i know those bother some people, but i
didnt mind it because it allowed my wrist to lay flat, like a normal
mouse, rather than requiring "propping up" like some of the larger
trackball units).

i like the trackball explorer's low profile, allowing for a flatter
wrist.

in my first day of use, i see the same problem that i had w/ the
logitech -- in order to get good ground-covering rolls, i set the
sensitivity to medium or high. but that makes the point very *jumpy*
at small movements. i can lower it, but further hampering precision is
the ball's rolling resistance -- it seems to stick every-so-slightly
when attempting very small movements.. then it will unstick and jump.
it doesnt appear like its defective or anything..it feels like its
inherant to the nature of the device.

anyone have thoughts, suggestions, etc?


thanks
sm

<spacemarine (AT) mailinator (DOT) com> wrote


Tis the problem when using friction bearings instead of ball bearings.
I've tried several trackballs and found almost all of them way too
sticky for very small movement. You're trying to move a pixel, the ball
doesn't move or it slides over the roller without moving the roller, and
then all of a sudden it moves and you move way too far. If the
application allows, zoom in to overcompensate for the lack of low
granularity in the trackball's movement. Changing the acceleration
doesn't help because when trying to move a single pixel there is very
little physical acceleration to dampen its logical acceleration.

Probably the best is the Kensington trackball with its ball bearing
pivots but it probably incurs the "lift" that you mention due to the
size of the ball (note that not all Kensinton trackballs have ball
bearing pivots; I don't like their Orbit trackball as it has cheap
roller bearings and has more resistance, and I'm not sure their latest
ExpertMouse still uses ball bearings). Even then and with a brand new
Kensington ball-bearing trackball, you can still realize the "jump" at
extremely small movement. I haven't heard of any that use air jets to
constantly float the ball (so there is no friction other than maybe with
the air) and use LEDs to detect movement of the ball. So zooming in so
you can use larger movements of the ball is probably your best bet for
extremely fine [logical] movement.

I liked some of the designs of the Logitech but found their balls had
too much friction and their ball was too lightweight. I'm used to
giving a shove to the ball and have it spin on its own (i.e., low
friction). An advantage with the Kensington is that I can go to a
billiards supplier and get a snooker ball to replace the ball if it gets
scratched or lost (kids will take anything).

<spacemarine (AT) mailinator (DOT) com> wrote

I use a MS Trackball Optical 1.0 and I remember
having to give the ball a sharp tap to set the support
pins in a little, in order to get it rolling smoothly.
( Take all Internet advice as, "to be applied at your
own risk".)

My only problem with this one is the occasional hair
that gets drawn into the laser path, causing an erratic
response. Then I have to pop out the ball and fish
the hair out, easier than it sounds.

I had to do a lot more to maintain my Logitech
Marbles, and keep them rolling smoothly.

Luck;
Ken

Vanguard wrote:

what logitec trackball were you using i have been using the trackman for
five years with out any problems

On May 15, 10:44 pm, "Vanguard" <n... (AT) mail (DOT) invalid> wrote:

interesting. heres what one reviewer said about their latest expert
mouse:

"For the first hour or so, the Expert Mouse was a little on the stiff
side. Lifting the ball out, I notice that the ball rolls on tiny mini
wheels. After the first hour, the stiffness is gone, and it rolls
almost effortlessly"

....wheels. hmm. i may try to find one and give it a shot.


thanks,
sm

re: kensington ExpertMouse trackball

getting information from their indian-outsourced customer service
department is like pulling teeth. i had a simple question: does the
latest model use ball-bearings to hold the ball?

several back & forths later, i have an answer: "It uses optical ball
bearings." uh. yeah.

i can only infer that they mean it doesnt use rollers to track
movement, but uses optics. but still no idea what the ball rests on.


sm