Roller Controller Bearings

[Falonn]

The new bearings got here yesterday.  They're much smoother/quieter.  I recorded a quick video of the before/after sounds (using identical equipment/recording levels), although putting the microphone so close seemed to have the opposite effect of making it much easier to hear the last bits of residual sound. ?

 

In-person, the new set is almost silent, despite what you're about to hear:

 

 

That bit at the end with the blue tape is interesting.  The tolerance of the shell is a little loose, so both sets of bearings rattle in place a little and any vibration is naturally transferred to the plastic, which behaves like an echo chamber or subwoofer.  One layer of tape around the shaft bearings (or around the two ends of the pin for the diagonal bearing) makes them fit snugly with no rattling and it acts as a kind of shock absorber for the vibration.  I want to say the tape dropped the sound from the new bearings in half again.  So I'd say it's worth the extra minute to add it.

[Ikrananka]

2 hours ago, Falonn said:

The new bearings got here yesterday.  They're much smoother/quieter.  I recorded a quick video of the before/after sounds (using identical equipment/recording levels), although putting the microphone so close seemed to have the opposite effect of making it much easier to hear the last bits of residual sound. ?

 

In-person, the new set is almost silent, despite what you're about to hear:

 

That bit at the end with the blue tape is interesting.  The tolerance of the shell is a little loose, so both sets of bearings rattle in place a little and any vibration is naturally transferred to the plastic, which behaves like an echo chamber or subwoofer.  One layer of tape around the shaft bearings (or around the two ends of the pin for the diagonal bearing) makes them fit snugly with no rattling and it acts as a kind of shock absorber for the vibration.  I want to say the tape dropped the sound from the new bearings in half again.  So I'd say it's worth the extra minute to add it.

Awesome news - thank you for testing this and for the video.  Interesting tip about the blue tape (masking?).

 

Do you know if the factory lubrication in the bearings you bought was grease or oil?  If it's grease I've read that this prevents the trackball from being able to freewheel which often well maintained trackballs in arcade machines are able to do.  The recommendation was to open one side of the bearing and lubricate it with a light bearing oil instead.  Although this may well be at the expense of the noise level increasing.

 

I found an online Canadian supplier that I can order these bearings from so hoping I'll be able to do a test myself in the relatively near future.  

[Falonn]

3 hours ago, Ikrananka said:

Interesting tip about the blue tape (masking?).

Yeah, just plain blue masking/painter's tape.  Really, just about anything could do in a pinch as long as it's not very rigid.  I happened to have the blue tape within arm's reach. hehe.

 

3 hours ago, Ikrananka said:

If it's grease I've read that this prevents the trackball from being able to freewheel...

I'm guessing it's oil.  At the very least, anywhere I set one of the bearings down, it would leave a little oily bearing-print behind when I picked it back up.  I don't know how long a freewheel is supposed to last, but if you get it going, you've got that quarter to half second before it slows down appreciably on its own to get your hand back on the other side to maintain your velocity.  I'd have to tear it all down and switch to the old bearings to make a comparison, but from memory it doesn't feel much, if any different.

 

Here are some other notes from the procedure:

 

1. I don't have a great way to control for input speed so I can't guarantee the absolute intensities vs. one another, but here is the before/after audio spectra.  The grouping of the relative frequency components are useful information at least.  The new bearings lose almost all of the higher frequency energy, which is probably why they're perceptually so much quieter.  All that's left are the lower frequencies.

 

 

2. I'm not totally convinced the black stuff is plastic.  While I had them under the microscope to demonstrate the sloppy play in the originals, I tried scratching at the black part with my (rather sharp) steel tweezers and all I got back was a metal grating sound and no effect on the surface.  Still, even if they're metal it was worth the trouble for the quieter operation.

 

3. These standard bearings are a little more squared off on the corners vs. the more rounded, bicycle-tire-like older bearings.  This seems to have highlighted a design flaw in the Roller Controller's shell: the plastic around the diagonal bearing with the pin doesn't have enough clearance on either side, so every once in a while you can hear and even feel a little bit of rubbing.  The outer race is sliding along the plastic.  I understand that area has a lot of "meat" to it because it takes a lot of force from the user, but they should have backed off the plastic near the moving parts of the bearing.  I was able to play with it enough to get it "centered" on the pin so the rubbing is rare, but I'd prefer if the design didn't allow it to happen at all.

 

I'm not sure why it seems to happen with the new bearings when I don't ever recall it happening before.  I just measured all five old ones vs. the five new ones I have remaining and the new ones are consistently four thou narrower than before (old: 0.2525" vs. new: 0.2485").  So I only have the squared off corners to blame for maybe touching a part of the shell that hasn't been worn away already over the past 40 years of use?

[Captain Cozmos]

The issue from my observation with the old bearings are that it is an open concept.

Looking at the replacement bearings they are closed to keep out debris.

 

Here is something that needs to be considered.

No one here on Gods green Earth has been playing Slither 24/7 for the past 40 years so most peoples bearing is nothing but dried up grease.

So I ordered the cheapest version 20 for like $8 and am waiting on them.  In the mean time I repacked the old ones with a moderate automotive grease and they work fine.

 

The Roller Controller is not part of NASA or precision equipment.  For the most part it is a junk design that does the job.

After I took apart the Atari 5200 track ball that is where I found who put money into their design as if it were being sold to an arcade.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Captain Cozmos

[Ruggers Customs]

I've been refurbing these roller controllers for years.  Clean the bearings out with a solvent then once clean and dry add a few drops of 3n1 Multi Purpose Oil.  I've never had to replace bearings once and I've probably seen the worst of the worst.

[Ikrananka]

7 hours ago, Ruggers Customs said:

I've been refurbing these roller controllers for years.  Clean the bearings out with a solvent then once clean and dry add a few drops of 3n1 Multi Purpose Oil.  I've never had to replace bearings once and I've probably seen the worst of the worst.

But does this reduce the rattling noise?  It's the crappy noise that I hate the most.  So, for me, it's not so much about the bearings not working well, it's more about the sound.

[Captain Cozmos]

You don't like the sound of a box of cereal on a Saturday morning?

Nothing like playing the Colecovision after watching an hour of Smurfs in the 80's