5200 Trak-Ball repair - need advice

[Mirage]

My CX-53 Trak-Ball wasn't quite right... I could move vertically a bit, but it wouldn't move horizontally without a lot of effort. Even then, it would only go to the left of the screen and stay there.

 

So, I found Cafeman's tutorial on cleaning and did that. I expected the inside to really need cleaning. It didn't look all that bad, but I removed all the bearings, cleaned them thoroughly with alcohol, let them dry, and replaced them. They all seem to move freely, as bearings should.

 

After the cleaning, it's actually worse! Now, the horizontal movement is pretty much non-existent, but it barely moves vertically now either.

 

The inside (and outside) of the unit is extremely clean with little wear. When I have the cover off, and move the ball, the entire mechanism moves the way I would expect it to. The only thing that seems even remotely possibly wrong is the plastic disk on the right side (horizontal movement) seems a little bent (very slightly), and when it spins, there's a little wobble (like when you spin a bike wheel that's not true). I don't know how normal that is, or if that could be causing a problem.

 

I've looked on the Best page, but I can't find any parts listed for the Trak-Ball except the bearings, which it doesn't seem like I need. I haven't called them yet, because I wouldn't know what I would need, and I'm hoping there's an easier solution first.

 

Of course, I don't want to spend a lot of money on this thing (I still need to get new Best joysticks though, or try to rebuild mine, they need a good cleaning at least, start or fire buttons don't work, but that's another story with plenty of threads and available already), but of course I want to get it working, so I guess I'll do anything short of ordering a whole new Trak-Ball.

 

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas? Thanks!

Edited March 6, 2009 by Mirage1972

[Mirage]

Update: I had to get some other stuff from Best, so I talked to the guy there about it, and he said that most likely it sounds like an optical sensor has gone bad. Bummer. It's only $5 for the part, but it needs to be soldered in, and I've never done anything like that (though, I do want to get into that sort of thing). So... unless anyone else has any other ideas...? Maybe that's the answer?

 

The reason I think it may in fact not be the answer is that it doesn't move in either direction now, whereas before it did move vertically, and sporadically horizontally. Now, not much at all, but moving the ball does cause the cursor (in Missile Command) to jump a little bit. When I described to the Best guy what it was doing, he wasn't totally sure that was it either, but it was his best guess.

 

Anyway, any thoughts or ideas?

[Ransom]

I wish I had the two trak-balls I ordered recently, so I could go through it with you! I'm sure there will be problems with mine as well, and we could undoubtedly help one another with the learning curve.

 

Oh, well. I'll be keeping an eye on this topic. Good luck!

[bohoki]

I wish I had the two trak-balls I ordered recently, so I could go through it with you! I'm sure there will be problems with mine as well, and we could undoubtedly help one another with the learning curve.

 

Oh, well. I'll be keeping an eye on this topic. Good luck!

 

trackball idea

 

http://www.wimp.com/firsthamster/

[Mirage]

Okay, well, that's really ... weird.

 

I'm reading some electronics stuff and how to solder info etc, so pretty soon I should be able and willing to do whatever it takes to fix this thing. I mean, it already doesn't work, so I can't make it much worse than that. I really want my Trak-Ball back!

 

Funny thing is that I've always heard that these things are so bullet-proof and hardly ever go bad or need much maintenance. I guess I'm just unlucky!

 

On a side note, though I did order two new gold 5200 sticks from Best, I ripped apart the ones I have and cleaned the contacts. One works decently now, the other one still has issues. They really weren't hard to do at all, nothing like I expected after hearing everyone talk about them. I think I could take apart, clean, and put one back together in no more than a few minutes now. It's not hard if you read the instructions closely. Of course, I didn't have any new parts to replace them with, but I can't imagine that being too hard either. After ordering all the parts from Best though, for just a few dollars more, you can just have them do it, so I think that's a good value.

[ClassicBoy]

I had the same problem with a 5200 trakball (from ebay) just last week. It had a tiny bit of vertical movement and no horizontal movement. After taking it apart a few times to clean and check things, I decided to blow out the little sensor traps that the spinning wheels go into. They didn't look dirty but I thought there could be dust or something in there. After that, the trakball works perfectly. I guess I got lucky.

[Mirage]

I tried again, at your suggestion, and it didn't help any. It just goes vertically (very slightly, barely and it's not really controllable), and just drifts to the left but with no horizontal control. I'm proclaiming it dead.

 

Again, anyone has a good working one to sell, shoot me a PM please. Not going the ebay route, as I've been burned too many times in the past few months on ebay. I'm not a glutton for punishment.

[+Cafeman]

Does the 5200 have an "optical sensor"? I thought it had the three roller bearings which contacted the ball, nothing optical going on.

 

The best solution is to get a new roller bearing (or whatever its name truly is) - or better yet replace them all at the same time. Did you contact George Reese who (used to? still does?) runs the Stella's Boneyard site? When I fixed my trak-ball, it was George who I bought the replacement part from and followed his instructions.

 

Another thing could do is try to clean the ball with water/cloth - it might make the ball more tactile than rubbing alcohol. If you could lube up the appropriate roller bearing's inside, but not get the lube on the roller part or ball itself , that might help. But chances are pretty high that it just needs a replacement.

 

I haven't plugged in either of my two 5200 trak-balls for at least a year or two. They weren't working 100% back then but were usable, I'm afraid to even try them out now. The funny thing is, I bought the 2nd one and it was very dirty looking, but it worked better than my near-mint original one!

 

Well, best wishes on your efforts because owning 35+ year old gaming stuff demands maintenance now & then.

Edited March 12, 2009 by Cafeman

[Mirage]

Yes, it has optical sensors. The roller bearings have a plastic wheel (with holes) attached to them, and they slot into the optical sensors.

 

I'll try cleaning the ball with water instead. It really does seem like mechanically it's fine. So, I really doubt it's the bearings. They don't even look worn. Not that that matters, but they seem to move as expected.

 

I'm totally okay with maintenance on the old stuff... believe me, I've done a lot on other machines! And I wouldn't have even gotten the 5200 to begin with if I wasn't okay with it, knowing how picky they can be. Those stock joystick controllers really aren't that intimidating to work on at all once you just dig into them. At some point, I'll definitely get the new sensors for this and solder them in, if just for the experience, even if I already have a working one by then.

 

Thanks for the tips guys!

[+Cafeman]

Let us know how it all turns out. One of these days I am going to dig out all my 5200 stuff and see how it works, fix what needs fixed. My sticks' buttons need some work again; and all my sticks seem to pull to one side so they could use aligned/centered. I hate to do it, but using Missile Command I should be able to.