I remember the pool ball sized track balls. (shades of Centipede) The balls they used were generally a bit lighter, but they were the same size as pool balls, which meant people would replace them with 8 balls, etc. I used a thumb track ball - rectangular, three buttons, ball to the left.
My first PCB design was a carrier board for an optical mouse image sensor. I liberated the required components from some "spare" mice from the office. Mounted on a small robot it worked quite well measuring the distance travelled.
I have 2 of these exact models and been using them for 20+ years. Once every few years I will remember to pull the ball out and dust off the inside of the recess. I haven't ever needed to go inside the case, but thanks for showing me what is in there. I am atypical in that I use both a mouse and a trackball on a machine at the same time, best of both worlds.
I've disassembled many a trackball/mouse. The real dirt magnet is if you have a wheel, the slotted wheel that interrupts the beam to allow the rotation to be detected accumulates everything, and when the slots get blocked the wheel doesn't work any more. Also the spring and plastic pivots of the wheel all want to go their separate ways. Warm water and a cotton bud are, I find, the best way to clean the opto-mechanical parts (just keep the water out of the electronics).
That trackball was my favorite for many years, until the price shot up. :( Yea, trackballs are great when your desk is messy and no room to move a mouse around :)
A friend uses this model Logitech trackball at her office. The first one lasted about 20 years until electrical failure. I got lucky and found one new in box at a local flea market for a few Dollars US just when she needed it. On line, this model commands a high price. This model is discontinued and the newer models just aren’t as well made. I don’t know from what the ball and rollers are made, but they looked brand new even after 20 years of use. Thumbs up to the mechanical engineers who created the robust design.
As a pre-teen taking things apart to see what made them tick I learned quickly that the object was for them to still work when I put them back together.
Yup I did the same! my father was not pleased when I ruined something he had just bought for me, but my curiosity was always stronger then my fear of punishment 😀
I just got a trackball a couple of weeks ago to try and replace my regular mouse and I didn't even know you could pop the ball out of its socket to clean, thanks for the tip.
@@doublepinger That's what doomed my M570; Sure, I could have replaced the microswitches on them, but the surface of the thing was getting pretty nasty, and I had it for quite a long time.
As a matter of fact, what you have there is one of the first generation that used optical tracking. Earlier, optomechanical versions didn't need the texturing, and later, flat-angle surface scanners like we have now did away with the need for a visually textured surface. Incidentially, that's why the ball was red, because that gave the necessary contrast with the IR light it used.
Having tried several, this is by far my favorite trackball too! I own 2: one as my main pointing device on my primary computer at home, the other is in the theater on the PC running MagicQ to control our stage lighting. As any fellow theater nerd will confirm, there is never enough table space in the control booth, so this trackball is perfect! I can quickly and accurately get my pointer from the first monitor all the way over to the third monitor in one smooth motion. Sadly, it's pretty useless for most games, having no scroll wheel. As a side note: I bought my first one somewhere around 2008-2009 to use on my laptop running windows Vista. Ever notice the little arrows on buttons 4 and 5? If you installed the official drivers that it came with back then, those buttons defaulted to scrolling! You could also click left and right at the same time for a middle click. The software wasn't terrible, but it annoyed me enough I never bothered installing it on later computers, leaving me with just standard buttons 1, 2, 4, and 5, with no scrolling or middle click. I'm not even sure if they still offer anything similar for modern Windows. As for reliability, well, I'm still using that original unit daily over 15 years later! I've gone thru about 4 computers in that time, but the trackball always sticks around lol
I like these too, also have several and using one of them daily for many years. Very reliable indeed! I'm running Linux, and I've assigned one of the small buttons as autoscroll: holding it whilst moving the ball replaces the scroll wheel nicely for me. Middle click works too: pressing both big buttons simultaneously does the trick. Not sure if that's a standard feature or if it depends on the driver/settings though.
I also have one of these as well and it's much more comfortable than the large flat style common now, but it's useless to me without a scroll wheel or the ability to scroll by rotating the ball.
@6:21 - To be honest, they specifically help us out as all of our monitors are 55" displays. It helps to traverse larger distances faster. We also use the wireless version which makes placement and usage very versatile. I've already been cold in the winter and operated the trackball from inside my sweatshirt pocket.
ชั่วโมงที่ผ่านมา +2
I was clicking on the video using this very trackball :) Using this thing since it came out, it never failed. It takes some time to get used to it, but then you have a beautiful device that needs no free space on the cluttered desk. Also it is very sensitive yet it cannot be bumped like a mouse, once you let go of the ball, the cursur is locked into position, I like it.
Logitech stuff, particularly of this era, tends to be very serviceable indeed. Simple screws, clips, USB on a plug and socket. When you have done it once, they are easy to strip down and clean.
Same trackball I used back in the 1990's. I loved it as no one else in the company could just walk up and use my computer since they were all Mouse bound trained.
Indeed, Clive, you are missing an anti-skid pad on the heel of the unit. After many years of use, these tend to require replacement of the two switches under the left and right mouse buttons. It's a cheap and easy fix.
@@cho4d TRUE! And a really reliable workhorse. I still have 6 of them in use in my electronics lab. My own pc i have the MX Ergo now. It's MUCH more accurate, faster and also has a high precision mode for example... HOWEVER, the enclosure quality is A LOT less than the M570 (the Ergo has the 'fancy rubber padding' which WILL degrade and de-laminate over time for example)
@@SevenCompleted I used to play Quake 2 and the OG CS with a Logitech Trackman Marble FX (the big alien-looking trackball). People *hated* me for pulling off wild 180° shots, and sniping with pistols.
@@SevenCompleted Well I seriously think you underestimate someone using (and playing games) with a trackball for over 20 years mate 😉😂 I HAVE played stuff like CS:GO, CoD's and all other games including the UT (All the way back till the 90's GOTY era) with GREAT results tbh 😂 Sure I do 1000% agree that it's not for everyone, but those who can? Yeah, then can be really fast (if addicted enough to game like I was back then😂)
Good old Logitech MarbleMouse! I have mine still tucked away in the desk drawer, comes in handy occasionally for photo work where I need finer control than my regular mouse affords.
This just gave me an idea for an experiment. I recently bought a new 3D printer (Bambu A1) With it came a "build your own mouse" kit. So practically a circuit board some small parts, and you print the housing your self. So if I have to print my own housing, why not try to make it a trackball... as an experiment.
There was a guide, some time ago: using a cheap tiny portable mouse from online, and then flipping it over, mounting it, and using that as the ball sensor. In Linux it was easy to directly reverse the Y-axis, so it tracked properly. Not sure if it 's do-able one Windows, but at this point, it may be necessary.
They are used a lot in semiconductor fabs, because the tables must have holes in the clean room to let the air flow. Normal optical mice are useless on surfaces with holes but this track ball ones from Logitech are standard in clean rooms. Also keyboards with integrated track balls are common.
I used to use these at work, still have them in storage having, moved on to other input devices. Really helped prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from heavy mouse usage.
I have a microsoft one. I don't use it often anymore. But I used to fold up a piece of tissue and put it in the hole at the bottom. It wipes off finger juices as you use it and keeps it running smooth for ages.
I have this model, and a whole bunch of M570s and M575s (the M575 works with Bluetooth as well as Logi unifying receiver). I've used trackballs for a very long time because my desk is the usual desk that is constrained for horizontal space even when clean (or the usual workbench that NEVER has free horizontal space)
I remember at my old work place they used to give these to people that had disabilities and IT accessibility issues, I bought one years later for a computer that didn't have much desk space.
Ive always loved these balls! I use this exact model. They last a long time but they do wear out or at least stop working, they are Super for a messy desk! Very interesting to see inside one and learn how it works. It make me think I can cannabalise my old ones to make a better shaped one. Cheers.
You can tell how old this item is based on the type of wire cables they used to connect the PCBs together and boy are they stiff. Then of course the PCBs themselves look old school too. I love how the insides of electronic devices from 25+ years ago look. I miss that look.
I have a thinkpad which only has a track point (nub mouse thingy). That thing is great for handing to people and watching them be extremely baffled how to operate it. I like it a lot personally but definitely not for everyone.
I have been using that exact model for at least 20 years, works perfectly. Don't loose the ball though, they cost more than the whole device! (I use the small buttons for forward and back when web browsing)
I have a smallish wireless keyboard with built in trackball which i use for my HTPC. The ball is held in place by a retaining ring which can be removed simply by twisting (I wish I knew that the first time I removed it and I wouldn't have broken one of the retaining tabs). As far as i can see the ball is just plain grey. It's good to clean your balls, especially if you haven't cleaned them in a while.
Using a few of these for many years(20+), always in leaf hand configuration. Always great fun back in the days when the IT guys walked in to provide support… 😂
I knew you were a deviant, Clive, but I never would have called this! Trackballs of all things! lol just kidding, that exact trackball was also my late father's favorite computer-machine-control-mechanism. Thanks for sharing as always
Ahhh the humble mouse, I honestly do not know how many I have taken apart and 80% of the time put back proprerly after cleaning/maintenance. Probably started in the early 80s, after dumping my Amstrad CPC464, which used cassette tapes for software. Best mouse I had was a Razer and I used a Razer Tartarus controller with the mouse to play War Thunder. I never took those apart. Good post, thank you 👍
I really liked the early one where the ball was under your thumb and you had 3 buttons, not just two. I'd always set the middle to a double click. Seems silly but it was VERY handy.
Logitech still makes them. Use it exclusively at home (space) and mix it up at work with a std mouse as well as a vertical one. Never got along with the trackbar/mousetrapper thingy.
I had so many logitech trackballs similar to this (thumb spinners for me) but never actually opened them up to see what was in there. Getting extras of those little bearings was always important. I probably still have a bag of them somewhere about.
Logitech Wireless Optical Trackman is the best civilian trackball that hasn't been in production for years. Usually list for $300 - $400 new, I buy used and repair if I can.
Trackballs are great, I've been using them for many years (think my first one was a Microsoft Trackball Explorer), the last few were all from Logitech and my current one is an MX Ergo. The only thing I don't like about them is that Logitech uses microswitches that tend to have issues (clicks get registered either twice or not at all) after a few years of use. The MX Ergo got a switch swap a month ago and now works perfectly again ^^ As others already said, most Logitech mice/trackballs are quite serviceable. A switch swap can just be a bit tricky because you have to heat up all 3 legs of the switch at the same time.
ive always love track balls, so much quicker and easier to use , ive worn 3 out and currently love my Logitech MX Ergo Advanced Wireless Trackball expensive though but its a work tool so worth it
I have been using trackballs for decades now (the first one was even a serial mouse by Genius if I recall correctly). I have used the one you have/use in college (it was the only trackball alternative they offered compared to the 'dragging mouses'). But personally I just can't get the same accuracy with this design. I don't "hate it", but would not buy it on purpose either (if you understand what I mean)😂. If it would be my only alternative to the "draggers" then I would definitely prefer this one though. Then for years I used the M570 by Logitech (a true workhorse tbh), and a few years I switched to the MX Ergo, and while it has a MUCH higher accuracy, speed and additional buttons which are programmable (which is SUPER handy when doing lots of CAD (electronics), 3D modeling and editing), the overall quality of it is significantly lower than the previous ones (as with most Logitech stuff these days unfortunately). The latest model has some nast rubbery grip/layer on it, which WILL degrade after several months or years of use, and you will even have to skin the damn mouse like a hunting trophy to keep it usable 🤷🏽♀😂. I do still love the accuracy and usability upgrade enough over my M570's (of which we still have about 6 of them in use in my electronics lab). I've even been using my Trackball for high level gaming, and I always love it when a friend comes by and asks something like:" HOW THE HECK can you be that fast and accurate with that stupid trackball!? My gaming mouse has ...... DPI, costs three times more bla bla bla"😂 when they see me at the top of the match. Once you get used to them they are a true miracle in my opinion😊
I had the Logitech M570 for years now I think I bought it back in 2011 for $25, the middle button no longer works and now the left click is starting to stop working but im still using it, excellent ball mouse!
Silicone spray lasts longer and has a somewhat nicer aroma! Way back in the day when we had an old corded mouse, I disassembled a broken one for parts, and found it had been "home" to a spider family. The Logitech ERGO M575 is a very affordable mouse with trackball functionality, and is also cordless (connects via their unifying system).
Some folks I hung around with back in the day got me to buy big cans of liquid silicone spray (not the white greasy stuff) for them via our lab's tech supplier. They used it on latex fetish outfits to make the material look super-shiny. The "official" spray sold in the specialist fetishware shops was called Pervoshine (really) but it was the same cans of aerosol silicone oil with a sticky label wrapped around them and a four hundred percent price markup.
@@robertsneddon731 I buy ours from the local Farm Stores. They often do them on special offer (packs of 6 520ml cans), and we get through them pretty quickly, with a lot of roller doors to keep squeak free! Unfortunately theirs isn't Pervoshine (!!), rather Soudal Silicone General Maintenance Spray (their current generic brand)
Hi, I changed all of my mouses to this favirite model a long time ago and the pain in my hand disapire :) Very durabble I was change couple of swiches for the buttons and that it. For ne like a sysadmin this is the best choise. p.m. this comment is writed on virtual keybord with exact same model :}
Thanks Big Clive. I never could get used to a track ball, just mice for me. I once got something called a Space Orb 360 that was a 6 axis sort of gaming controller. I never mastered that one either but it sure seemed like a cool controller. I still have it. It has a 9 pin serial connection which has been phased out for quite a while. I think you can still find serial add on cards. I have an add on card for a parallel port which communicates to my ancient HP 1100 LaserJet which still works like a champ. Sorry, rambling off topic here.
I found the larger ones tend to have heavier balls. I wasn't expecting it, I got an L-Trac 1600 which on purpose should've been better... but the ball had too much inertia and the mouse was exceedingly large. Marble Mouse has a very relaxed-palm design
I got one second hand for a couple bucks after I began to feel some RSI coming on. It's not great, but it's not bad. The DPI isn't that great for modern displays, but mouse acceleration actually helps with that. At least the wearable bits, the switches, are easy to replace. I was told that after you clean the ball the bearings you just take it and rub the ball against your forehead a little, rolls smooth after getting "greased". Sounds gross, but it works. Plus if anyone insists on using my computer even after seeing they have to use a trackball and a tiny keyboard I can just tell them about the forehead grease to get them to go away.
I used a Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical for decades until one of the switches finally failed. (The left click, of course, was the one to go.) Took it apart, and it was one of those all-in-one chips you mentioned. I'm pretty sure I bought that mouse in 2002 or 3, so the single chip has clearly been a thing for a while. No biggie if it works. 🤷♂ Currently on a Logitech M705. They weren't kidding about "marathon" battery life -- I'm using the AAs that came with it when I bought it 3 years ago, and it's reading 50% state of charge as of now. It's a daily driver. 👍
For some reason this surprised me. Like I had just assumed trackball mice were still using the same arrangement of X/Y encoders from the old-school ball mice.
Those little bearing balls are, I think, ceramic. Replacements are fairly easy to find if one "poings" off (terrible tragic story) into the void. Some trackballs use ruby balls instead, but as long as you find the right size they are interchangeable.
15 years ago i was given one. 2 weeks later i was on site at a customer's house and his had failed. Where i wanted it for the novelty he needed one because he was a quadriplegic with very limited hand movement. He ended up with mine for the price of the call-out, i never replace it.
I have one of these and prefer it greatly over a mouse or trackpad for most operations. I can't recall when I got it, but it's been transferred from one machine to the next for at least my last three computers. I've never opened mine up, but I do periodically take out the ball and clean its socket. I'll be sad if/when it dies.
My mate works on the railways doing track maintenance. He found a couple of trackballs once at work - he spent the rest of the day in the pub with us whole day off after they called the police and they shut down the line.
I still keep this one to this day, I dont do any autocad or graphic stuff but it got me through my entire uni. I already bought a great duckyfeather mouse on a great deal, would love to go back to trackball after this mouse fully served me.
Logitech has made that particular trackball since about 1998. Back then, it was white, used polished steel balls or rounded pins as the bearing surfaces that ball rolled on, and it had a PS2 plug. At least, the first ones I had back then were that way. The new ones are silver (like that one), use plastic nubs to support the ball (way more friction) and they are USB. And of course, there are a bunch of annoying buttons on the sides, which I hate. But I still love that trackball!
Been using the Logitech track balls for couple of decades. In our case it was the left click button gave up on all of them. Well have a double click. Originally they had a red ball then later a blue ball Ours were all wireless. I also have a “ finger track ball “ Fits on finger and ball is on top. Around 2006 I worked in an office and could never get used to the standard mouse. So I brought my tracker ball. Within weeks all my colleagues were using a track ball IIRC Paid 80 euro for last Logitech track ball I bought. The finger track ball ( I can’t recall the brand ) Was around 25 euros. Bought from eBay. In fact I ended up with 2 of them second as a spare but not needed since iirc 10 years on the first one Is still working flawlessly
Never got along with trackballs, but I know people who use them and love them. You should do a trackpad next, but I assume the circuitry is even more minimal these days. Met a few gamers who use them, I knew a guy years ago who was a professional Quake player and did very well with one, but most use a regular mouse in my experience.
I have a very similar trackball (mine is just wider) that I still use from time to time. It’s nice when I have migraine. I put it on the armrest and relax while only moving my thumb.
Ive used the logitech marble mouse for about as long as ive used computers. The reason the marble mouse is so expensive is because it is still loved by many but no longer manufactured. There are pretty good and low cost trackballs from Kensington, ive been testing one out to be my new replacement as my collection slowly wears out. It is nice to have an actual scrollwheel on a trackball 😅
You must have used that for a very long time. I'm lucky if a mouse lasts me 2 years. I click pretty aggressively especially in GeoGuessr duels and the buttons just lose their clickiness.
What intrigues me about the Logitech trackballs is just how long they can function on a single AA battery. My Ergo M575 with daily use can go maybe a full year between battery replacements. That's mindboggling to me.
Of course I know what's inside a Trackman Marble! I've had to take it apart like 8 times because the switches keep failing. I wish they'd release a higher sensitivity & lower jitter model, and of course higher durability. Also, I got one when I was 16-17 because I thought it looked cool and turns out I have carpal tunnel issues... never stopped using it. Been using the same design for half my life now 💦
My favorite device as well, this specific model. I think Logitech has ceased manufacture of this model in favor of more modern iterations, but for some of us (who have worn out our older ones) there is no equivalent. Those high prices are probably for new old stock. I wish they'd bring it back.
I love the thumb version... Logitech stopped making the corded Trackman Wheel and the price of used ones shot up. Luckily after a bit Sanwa stepped in with some near-clones
i have worked through three of these and worry about when they are not available anymore. Cleaning with a toothpick around the buttons is a good thing to do and a brush where the ball sits every few weeks is worth it to clean out the "window". I also velcro it to the laptop table i use to keep it where it should be
2:58 That little square reminds me of that window an optical mouse uses to watch your desk. Now I want to know if I can hack a one-buck wireless mouse into a wireless trackball.
as someone that games and uses a trackball i have to say that i generally enjoy it, but every time i tell another Gamer that i use a trackball they laugh at me
Don't be ashamed. Human slime is just a factor of working on peripherals. Some of my first repairs was mine and my friends gaming mouse. The human slime factor is gnarly on them all.
If you want to lubricate the ball instead of WD40 you can use White Mineral oil. You have to do it outside of the mechanism and remove excess (I recommend the baggie and a little bit of oil. Mineral Oil doesn't have the same smell and when it gets on a compatible ball it doesn't mess with the optical sensors.
Interesting. I have two of those exactly similar trackballs. I got them long time ago from one of my previous workplaces. They were about to be scrapped, and I saved them :)
The Kensington expert version is great while it lasts, but they seem designed to fail after about two or three years. Usually the main button stops registering clicks occasionally. I think the plastic button molding is just barely long enough to press it down, and the plastic wears over time so they can more money from you.
I bought a trackball (a thumb one) hoping to keep my minor RSI from getting worse, and it somewhat helped but it put a lot of strain on my thumb instead of my wrist/forearm. I ended up alternating between it an a vertical mouse, which worked fairly well. I bought a thumb one despite knowing it would be less ergonomic because it's basically the only way to get a trackball with a scroll wheel for less than like $100 (and those tend to have rather odd scroll wheels that may not be clickable, which is also an issue) and that was an absolute requirement for me. Unfortunately, my cat threw up on it and I never did disassemble it to clean it, so I've been using just the vertical mouse for a couple years, and honestly it kind of sucks for a bunch of reasons. And the buttons are wearing out now too. So I'm gonna have to get a new mouse/trackball soon regardless, and I'm not looking forward to it because the 'ergonomic tax' or whatever you wanna call it is quite significant.
Another ball type human interface device would be the Space Ball made by Labtec and often used with workstations such as those made by Silicon Graphics form the late 80's
I remember the pool ball sized track balls. (shades of Centipede) The balls they used were generally a bit lighter, but they were the same size as pool balls, which meant people would replace them with 8 balls, etc. I used a thumb track ball - rectangular, three buttons, ball to the left.
I liked the big trackballs. I put a 13-ball in mine, just for laughs.
My first PCB design was a carrier board for an optical mouse image sensor. I liberated the required components from some "spare" mice from the office. Mounted on a small robot it worked quite well measuring the distance travelled.
I have 2 of these exact models and been using them for 20+ years. Once every few years I will remember to pull the ball out and dust off the inside of the recess. I haven't ever needed to go inside the case, but thanks for showing me what is in there. I am atypical in that I use both a mouse and a trackball on a machine at the same time, best of both worlds.
I have one of these somewhere as well, they're just so smooth and comfortable to use!
This team-up is pure gold!
I've disassembled many a trackball/mouse. The real dirt magnet is if you have a wheel, the slotted wheel that interrupts the beam to allow the rotation to be detected accumulates everything, and when the slots get blocked the wheel doesn't work any more. Also the spring and plastic pivots of the wheel all want to go their separate ways. Warm water and a cotton bud are, I find, the best way to clean the opto-mechanical parts (just keep the water out of the electronics).
That trackball was my favorite for many years, until the price shot up. :( Yea, trackballs are great when your desk is messy and no room to move a mouse around :)
A friend uses this model Logitech trackball at her office. The first one lasted about 20 years until electrical failure. I got lucky and found one new in box at a local flea market for a few Dollars US just when she needed it. On line, this model commands a high price. This model is discontinued and the newer models just aren’t as well made. I don’t know from what the ball and rollers are made, but they looked brand new even after 20 years of use. Thumbs up to the mechanical engineers who created the robust design.
As a pre-teen taking things apart to see what made them tick I learned quickly that the object was for them to still work when I put them back together.
One way around that is to only take apart things that are already broken. Then as a bonus you might get them working again!
Yup I did the same! my father was not pleased when I ruined something he had just bought for me,
but my curiosity was always stronger then my fear of punishment 😀
I've used this model for years, it works great and helps avoid carpal tunnel
I just got a trackball a couple of weeks ago to try and replace my regular mouse and I didn't even know you could pop the ball out of its socket to clean, thanks for the tip.
In a year or two the mouse buttons can start failing, though surely it depends on use. Just a 'heads up'
@@doublepinger That's what doomed my M570; Sure, I could have replaced the microswitches on them, but the surface of the thing was getting pretty nasty, and I had it for quite a long time.
As a matter of fact, what you have there is one of the first generation that used optical tracking. Earlier, optomechanical versions didn't need the texturing, and later, flat-angle surface scanners like we have now did away with the need for a visually textured surface. Incidentially, that's why the ball was red, because that gave the necessary contrast with the IR light it used.
Having tried several, this is by far my favorite trackball too! I own 2: one as my main pointing device on my primary computer at home, the other is in the theater on the PC running MagicQ to control our stage lighting. As any fellow theater nerd will confirm, there is never enough table space in the control booth, so this trackball is perfect! I can quickly and accurately get my pointer from the first monitor all the way over to the third monitor in one smooth motion. Sadly, it's pretty useless for most games, having no scroll wheel. As a side note: I bought my first one somewhere around 2008-2009 to use on my laptop running windows Vista. Ever notice the little arrows on buttons 4 and 5? If you installed the official drivers that it came with back then, those buttons defaulted to scrolling! You could also click left and right at the same time for a middle click. The software wasn't terrible, but it annoyed me enough I never bothered installing it on later computers, leaving me with just standard buttons 1, 2, 4, and 5, with no scrolling or middle click. I'm not even sure if they still offer anything similar for modern Windows. As for reliability, well, I'm still using that original unit daily over 15 years later! I've gone thru about 4 computers in that time, but the trackball always sticks around lol
I like these too, also have several and using one of them daily for many years. Very reliable indeed!
I'm running Linux, and I've assigned one of the small buttons as autoscroll: holding it whilst moving the ball replaces the scroll wheel nicely for me. Middle click works too: pressing both big buttons simultaneously does the trick. Not sure if that's a standard feature or if it depends on the driver/settings though.
I switched to these years ago, and will never switch back!
I first got mine around the same time! Did you get yours from Wal-Mart? They stopped carrying it, a shame.
Looks like Logitech has stopped making these😢
I also have one of these as well and it's much more comfortable than the large flat style common now, but it's useless to me without a scroll wheel or the ability to scroll by rotating the ball.
@6:21 - To be honest, they specifically help us out as all of our monitors are 55" displays. It helps to traverse larger distances faster. We also use the wireless version which makes placement and usage very versatile. I've already been cold in the winter and operated the trackball from inside my sweatshirt pocket.
I was clicking on the video using this very trackball :) Using this thing since it came out, it never failed. It takes some time to get used to it, but then you have a beautiful device that needs no free space on the cluttered desk. Also it is very sensitive yet it cannot be bumped like a mouse, once you let go of the ball, the cursur is locked into position, I like it.
I still use these trackballs, have been for at least twenty years. Very difficult to find at a reasonable price now.
The Logitech Marble Mouse is the best trackball ever made.
Logitech stuff, particularly of this era, tends to be very serviceable indeed. Simple screws, clips, USB on a plug and socket. When you have done it once, they are easy to strip down and clean.
Same trackball I used back in the 1990's. I loved it as no one else in the company could just walk up and use my computer since they were all Mouse bound trained.
Indeed, Clive, you are missing an anti-skid pad on the heel of the unit. After many years of use, these tend to require replacement of the two switches under the left and right mouse buttons. It's a cheap and easy fix.
I have both a Logitech M570 and a M575. I haven't used a mouse in YEARS! I started down the trackball path with the Logitech Trackman+.
m570 is good!
@@cho4d TRUE! And a really reliable workhorse. I still have 6 of them in use in my electronics lab. My own pc i have the MX Ergo now. It's MUCH more accurate, faster and also has a high precision mode for example... HOWEVER, the enclosure quality is A LOT less than the M570 (the Ergo has the 'fancy rubber padding' which WILL degrade and de-laminate over time for example)
@XNLFutureTechnologies id love to see you play counterstrike with a trackball 😂
@@SevenCompleted I used to play Quake 2 and the OG CS with a Logitech Trackman Marble FX (the big alien-looking trackball). People *hated* me for pulling off wild 180° shots, and sniping with pistols.
@@SevenCompleted Well I seriously think you underestimate someone using (and playing games) with a trackball for over 20 years mate 😉😂
I HAVE played stuff like CS:GO, CoD's and all other games including the UT (All the way back till the 90's GOTY era) with GREAT results tbh 😂 Sure I do 1000% agree that it's not for everyone, but those who can? Yeah, then can be really fast (if addicted enough to game like I was back then😂)
😊track ball is the best!!
Good old Logitech MarbleMouse! I have mine still tucked away in the desk drawer, comes in handy occasionally for photo work where I need finer control than my regular mouse affords.
Ah trackballs. I felt transported back a few decades, standing in front of a Missile Command console.
Centipede :)
This just gave me an idea for an experiment.
I recently bought a new 3D printer (Bambu A1)
With it came a "build your own mouse" kit. So practically a circuit board some small parts, and you print the housing your self.
So if I have to print my own housing, why not try to make it a trackball... as an experiment.
There was a guide, some time ago: using a cheap tiny portable mouse from online, and then flipping it over, mounting it, and using that as the ball sensor. In Linux it was easy to directly reverse the Y-axis, so it tracked properly. Not sure if it 's do-able one Windows, but at this point, it may be necessary.
They are used a lot in semiconductor fabs, because the tables must have holes in the clean room to let the air flow. Normal optical mice are useless on surfaces with holes but this track ball ones from Logitech are standard in clean rooms. Also keyboards with integrated track balls are common.
I used to use these at work, still have them in storage having, moved on to other input devices. Really helped prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from heavy mouse usage.
I have a microsoft one. I don't use it often anymore. But I used to fold up a piece of tissue and put it in the hole at the bottom. It wipes off finger juices as you use it and keeps it running smooth for ages.
I have this model, and a whole bunch of M570s and M575s (the M575 works with Bluetooth as well as Logi unifying receiver). I've used trackballs for a very long time because my desk is the usual desk that is constrained for horizontal space even when clean (or the usual workbench that NEVER has free horizontal space)
I had one similar, in 2008. It was so much better than a mouse.
3:23 Clive is ashamed that he doesn’t regularly vacuums the inside of his trackball like everyone else does. 🤣
Clive.
Thanks for this video, ive got the same one, so much better than a mouse for me. At least I know how to clean it now. 😀👍
I remember at my old work place they used to give these to people that had disabilities and IT accessibility issues, I bought one years later for a computer that didn't have much desk space.
Ive always loved these balls! I use this exact model. They last a long time but they do wear out or at least stop working, they are Super for a messy desk! Very interesting to see inside one and learn how it works. It make me think I can cannabalise my old ones to make a better shaped one. Cheers.
You can tell how old this item is based on the type of wire cables they used to connect the PCBs together and boy are they stiff. Then of course the PCBs themselves look old school too. I love how the insides of electronic devices from 25+ years ago look. I miss that look.
I don't miss the wires randomly popping off PCBs though.
I had that exact one. Its good once you get used to it; though coworkers get annoyed by it.
I have a thinkpad which only has a track point (nub mouse thingy). That thing is great for handing to people and watching them be extremely baffled how to operate it. I like it a lot personally but definitely not for everyone.
@@mina47879I'm a trackpoint guy as well. Trackpads annoy me so I always disable it - more confusion for anyone who tries to use it.
I have been using that exact model for at least 20 years, works perfectly. Don't loose the ball though, they cost more than the whole device! (I use the small buttons for forward and back when web browsing)
I can see how much work you put in!
Please Don't use WD40 on balls. Even if it makes you Whizz.
How did you make this comment 2weeks ago when this video is 11min old????
@@joesshows6793 early access?
@@joesshows6793 Patreon subscribers get early access.
I use aloe lotion on my balls, smells nice and keeps 'em rolling smooth. 😂
@@joesshows6793 P
I have a smallish wireless keyboard with built in trackball which i use for my HTPC. The ball is held in place by a retaining ring which can be removed simply by twisting (I wish I knew that the first time I removed it and I wouldn't have broken one of the retaining tabs). As far as i can see the ball is just plain grey.
It's good to clean your balls, especially if you haven't cleaned them in a while.
😆
That type is an inverted mouse, The two friction wheels have pulse encoders.
@@dogwalker666 No, it is optical, the ball rides on 3 rollers at 120° spacing with an led tranceiver below.
@@chrishartley1210 so a mini ccd camera like a normal mouse.
@@dogwalker666 or, like a trackball 😁
Using a few of these for many years(20+), always in leaf hand configuration. Always great fun back in the days when the IT guys walked in to provide support… 😂
Those "non VDE compliant" screwdriver mods are all over my toolbox
you can buy slim ones tho
I knew you were a deviant, Clive, but I never would have called this! Trackballs of all things!
lol just kidding, that exact trackball was also my late father's favorite computer-machine-control-mechanism. Thanks for sharing as always
Long live the track ball!!!! Still use one
*Thank you* for the video Clive. I've never had a trackball so was pretty cool seing inside of one. 👍
Ahhh the humble mouse, I honestly do not know how many I have taken apart and 80% of the time put back proprerly after cleaning/maintenance. Probably started in the early 80s, after dumping my Amstrad CPC464, which used cassette tapes for software. Best mouse I had was a Razer and I used a Razer Tartarus controller with the mouse to play War Thunder. I never took those apart. Good post, thank you 👍
I really liked the early one where the ball was under your thumb and you had 3 buttons, not just two. I'd always set the middle to a double click. Seems silly but it was VERY handy.
Yep, I use the MS version of that to this day on all my desktop machines.
Logitech still makes them. Use it exclusively at home (space) and mix it up at work with a std mouse as well as a vertical one. Never got along with the trackbar/mousetrapper thingy.
@@michaeltempsch5282 Thanks. Not as expensive as I thought they'd be, but 3x the rechargeable one I got on Amazon and like.
I had so many logitech trackballs similar to this (thumb spinners for me) but never actually opened them up to see what was in there. Getting extras of those little bearings was always important. I probably still have a bag of them somewhere about.
I looked at the thumb ones, but always felt it would be more fatiguing than the traditional ones.
I have had one for many years they are handy at times !
Logitech Wireless Optical Trackman is the best civilian trackball that hasn't been in production for years. Usually list for $300 - $400 new, I buy used and repair if I can.
Trackballs are great, I've been using them for many years (think my first one was a Microsoft Trackball Explorer), the last few were all from Logitech and my current one is an MX Ergo. The only thing I don't like about them is that Logitech uses microswitches that tend to have issues (clicks get registered either twice or not at all) after a few years of use. The MX Ergo got a switch swap a month ago and now works perfectly again ^^
As others already said, most Logitech mice/trackballs are quite serviceable. A switch swap can just be a bit tricky because you have to heat up all 3 legs of the switch at the same time.
ive always love track balls, so much quicker and easier to use , ive worn 3 out and currently love my Logitech MX Ergo Advanced Wireless Trackball expensive though but its a work tool so worth it
Kryten: "What is that fragrance? It smells divine!"
Camille: "WD-40"
Ooo. Blow air through that hole and get air bearings with integrated hand cooling and deafening white noise to aid concentration. ;-)
I have been using trackballs for decades now (the first one was even a serial mouse by Genius if I recall correctly). I have used the one you have/use in college (it was the only trackball alternative they offered compared to the 'dragging mouses'). But personally I just can't get the same accuracy with this design. I don't "hate it", but would not buy it on purpose either (if you understand what I mean)😂. If it would be my only alternative to the "draggers" then I would definitely prefer this one though.
Then for years I used the M570 by Logitech (a true workhorse tbh), and a few years I switched to the MX Ergo, and while it has a MUCH higher accuracy, speed and additional buttons which are programmable (which is SUPER handy when doing lots of CAD (electronics), 3D modeling and editing), the overall quality of it is significantly lower than the previous ones (as with most Logitech stuff these days unfortunately).
The latest model has some nast rubbery grip/layer on it, which WILL degrade after several months or years of use, and you will even have to skin the damn mouse like a hunting trophy to keep it usable 🤷🏽♀😂.
I do still love the accuracy and usability upgrade enough over my M570's (of which we still have about 6 of them in use in my electronics lab).
I've even been using my Trackball for high level gaming, and I always love it when a friend comes by and asks something like:" HOW THE HECK can you be that fast and accurate with that stupid trackball!? My gaming mouse has ...... DPI, costs three times more bla bla bla"😂 when they see me at the top of the match. Once you get used to them they are a true miracle in my opinion😊
One of my customers who has passed now could only get on with a rather large trackball as he had giant hands.
Great video, thanks again for your time and know how.
I had the Logitech M570 for years now I think I bought it back in 2011 for $25, the middle button no longer works and now the left click is starting to stop working but im still using it, excellent ball mouse!
I used one of those ålaying bf1942 back when most peiple use mechanical mice.
Was acused of chesting quite a few times.
Silicone spray lasts longer and has a somewhat nicer aroma! Way back in the day when we had an old corded mouse, I disassembled a broken one for parts, and found it had been "home" to a spider family. The Logitech ERGO M575 is a very affordable mouse with trackball functionality, and is also cordless (connects via their unifying system).
Some folks I hung around with back in the day got me to buy big cans of liquid silicone spray (not the white greasy stuff) for them via our lab's tech supplier. They used it on latex fetish outfits to make the material look super-shiny. The "official" spray sold in the specialist fetishware shops was called Pervoshine (really) but it was the same cans of aerosol silicone oil with a sticky label wrapped around them and a four hundred percent price markup.
@@robertsneddon731 I buy ours from the local Farm Stores. They often do them on special offer (packs of 6 520ml cans), and we get through them pretty quickly, with a lot of roller doors to keep squeak free! Unfortunately theirs isn't Pervoshine (!!), rather Soudal Silicone General Maintenance Spray (their current generic brand)
Hi, I changed all of my mouses to this favirite model a long time ago and the pain in my hand disapire :) Very durabble I was change couple of swiches for the buttons and that it. For ne like a sysadmin this is the best choise. p.m. this comment is writed on virtual keybord with exact same model :}
that particular one is my favorite
Thanks Big Clive. I never could get used to a track ball, just mice for me. I once got something called a Space Orb 360 that was a 6 axis sort of gaming controller. I never mastered that one either but it sure seemed like a cool controller. I still have it. It has a 9 pin serial connection which has been phased out for quite a while. I think you can still find serial add on cards. I have an add on card for a parallel port which communicates to my ancient HP 1100 LaserJet which still works like a champ. Sorry, rambling off topic here.
I found the larger ones tend to have heavier balls. I wasn't expecting it, I got an L-Trac 1600 which on purpose should've been better... but the ball had too much inertia and the mouse was exceedingly large. Marble Mouse has a very relaxed-palm design
I got one second hand for a couple bucks after I began to feel some RSI coming on. It's not great, but it's not bad. The DPI isn't that great for modern displays, but mouse acceleration actually helps with that. At least the wearable bits, the switches, are easy to replace. I was told that after you clean the ball the bearings you just take it and rub the ball against your forehead a little, rolls smooth after getting "greased". Sounds gross, but it works.
Plus if anyone insists on using my computer even after seeing they have to use a trackball and a tiny keyboard I can just tell them about the forehead grease to get them to go away.
wow its red color sir and the white color version is amazing for me but most people dont own it like myself
I used a Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical for decades until one of the switches finally failed. (The left click, of course, was the one to go.) Took it apart, and it was one of those all-in-one chips you mentioned. I'm pretty sure I bought that mouse in 2002 or 3, so the single chip has clearly been a thing for a while. No biggie if it works. 🤷♂ Currently on a Logitech M705. They weren't kidding about "marathon" battery life -- I'm using the AAs that came with it when I bought it 3 years ago, and it's reading 50% state of charge as of now. It's a daily driver. 👍
For some reason this surprised me. Like I had just assumed trackball mice were still using the same arrangement of X/Y encoders from the old-school ball mice.
Those little bearing balls are, I think, ceramic. Replacements are fairly easy to find if one "poings" off (terrible tragic story) into the void. Some trackballs use ruby balls instead, but as long as you find the right size they are interchangeable.
I have a thumb and the HUGE by Elecom
15 years ago i was given one.
2 weeks later i was on site at a customer's house and his had failed.
Where i wanted it for the novelty he needed one because he was a quadriplegic with very limited hand movement.
He ended up with mine for the price of the call-out, i never replace it.
2:40 I'm shocked! I hope you unplugged the trackball! 😉😅
I have one of these and prefer it greatly over a mouse or trackpad for most operations. I can't recall when I got it, but it's been transferred from one machine to the next for at least my last three computers. I've never opened mine up, but I do periodically take out the ball and clean its socket. I'll be sad if/when it dies.
My mate works on the railways doing track maintenance. He found a couple of trackballs once at work - he spent the rest of the day in the pub with us whole day off after they called the police and they shut down the line.
I still keep this one to this day, I dont do any autocad or graphic stuff but it got me through my entire uni. I already bought a great duckyfeather mouse on a great deal, would love to go back to trackball after this mouse fully served me.
Very clever! Nicely built.
Logitech has made that particular trackball since about 1998. Back then, it was white, used polished steel balls or rounded pins as the bearing surfaces that ball rolled on, and it had a PS2 plug. At least, the first ones I had back then were that way. The new ones are silver (like that one), use plastic nubs to support the ball (way more friction) and they are USB. And of course, there are a bunch of annoying buttons on the sides, which I hate. But I still love that trackball!
That's a LOGITECH Trackball Mouse, they're Fabulous!! I like them that much I have two.
Been using the Logitech track balls for couple of decades.
In our case it was the left click button gave up on all of them.
Well have a double click.
Originally they had a red ball then later a blue ball
Ours were all wireless.
I also have a “ finger track ball “
Fits on finger and ball is on top.
Around 2006 I worked in an office and could never get used to the standard mouse.
So I brought my tracker ball.
Within weeks all my colleagues were using a track ball
IIRC
Paid 80 euro for last Logitech track ball I bought.
The finger track ball ( I can’t recall the brand )
Was around 25 euros.
Bought from eBay.
In fact I ended up with 2 of them second as a spare but not needed since iirc 10 years on the first one Is still working flawlessly
Never got along with trackballs, but I know people who use them and love them. You should do a trackpad next, but I assume the circuitry is even more minimal these days. Met a few gamers who use them, I knew a guy years ago who was a professional Quake player and did very well with one, but most use a regular mouse in my experience.
I had a similar looking but far cheaper trackball, I miss that thing so much!
I have a very similar trackball (mine is just wider) that I still use from time to time. It’s nice when I have migraine. I put it on the armrest and relax while only moving my thumb.
A friend of mine had one of the thumb operated Logitech ones, but I couldn't get on with it. Muscle memory of using a mouse for 20 years didn't help.
I had to get a device like that for a coworker back in the late 90's who only had a thumb and a forefinger on her right hand.
i used that similar trackball when i worked on/with X-ray (it was mostly used for moving PCB boards in X ray) ...
Ive used the logitech marble mouse for about as long as ive used computers. The reason the marble mouse is so expensive is because it is still loved by many but no longer manufactured. There are pretty good and low cost trackballs from Kensington, ive been testing one out to be my new replacement as my collection slowly wears out. It is nice to have an actual scrollwheel on a trackball 😅
You must have used that for a very long time. I'm lucky if a mouse lasts me 2 years. I click pretty aggressively especially in GeoGuessr duels and the buttons just lose their clickiness.
What intrigues me about the Logitech trackballs is just how long they can function on a single AA battery. My Ergo M575 with daily use can go maybe a full year between battery replacements. That's mindboggling to me.
Of course I know what's inside a Trackman Marble! I've had to take it apart like 8 times because the switches keep failing. I wish they'd release a higher sensitivity & lower jitter model, and of course higher durability.
Also, I got one when I was 16-17 because I thought it looked cool and turns out I have carpal tunnel issues... never stopped using it. Been using the same design for half my life now 💦
My favorite device as well, this specific model. I think Logitech has ceased manufacture of this model in favor of more modern iterations, but for some of us (who have worn out our older ones) there is no equivalent. Those high prices are probably for new old stock. I wish they'd bring it back.
I love the thumb version... Logitech stopped making the corded Trackman Wheel and the price of used ones shot up. Luckily after a bit Sanwa stepped in with some near-clones
i have worked through three of these and worry about when they are not available anymore.
Cleaning with a toothpick around the buttons is a good thing to do and a brush where the ball sits every few weeks is worth it to clean out the "window". I also velcro it to the laptop table i use to keep it where it should be
2:58 That little square reminds me of that window an optical mouse uses to watch your desk. Now I want to know if I can hack a one-buck wireless mouse into a wireless trackball.
as someone that games and uses a trackball i have to say that i generally enjoy it, but every time i tell another Gamer that i use a trackball they laugh at me
Don't be ashamed. Human slime is just a factor of working on peripherals. Some of my first repairs was mine and my friends gaming mouse. The human slime factor is gnarly on them all.
If you want to lubricate the ball instead of WD40 you can use White Mineral oil. You have to do it outside of the mechanism and remove excess (I recommend the baggie and a little bit of oil. Mineral Oil doesn't have the same smell and when it gets on a compatible ball it doesn't mess with the optical sensors.
I have that trackball except mine is white. Still use it.
When I first got it years ago, my dad tried to use it as a mouse (flipped it over).
The closest thing to a bang in 2yrs was a hotdog. Where did the wee puffs of smoke closely followed by 'oops'. If it doesn't go bang no angry pixies.
Interesting. I have two of those exactly similar trackballs. I got them long time ago from one of my previous workplaces. They were about to be scrapped, and I saved them :)
The Kensington expert version is great while it lasts, but they seem designed to fail after about two or three years. Usually the main button stops registering clicks occasionally. I think the plastic button molding is just barely long enough to press it down, and the plastic wears over time so they can more money from you.
Awesome Video Big Clive🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
I bought a trackball (a thumb one) hoping to keep my minor RSI from getting worse, and it somewhat helped but it put a lot of strain on my thumb instead of my wrist/forearm. I ended up alternating between it an a vertical mouse, which worked fairly well. I bought a thumb one despite knowing it would be less ergonomic because it's basically the only way to get a trackball with a scroll wheel for less than like $100 (and those tend to have rather odd scroll wheels that may not be clickable, which is also an issue) and that was an absolute requirement for me. Unfortunately, my cat threw up on it and I never did disassemble it to clean it, so I've been using just the vertical mouse for a couple years, and honestly it kind of sucks for a bunch of reasons. And the buttons are wearing out now too. So I'm gonna have to get a new mouse/trackball soon regardless, and I'm not looking forward to it because the 'ergonomic tax' or whatever you wanna call it is quite significant.
Another ball type human interface device would be the Space Ball made by Labtec and often used with workstations such as those made by Silicon Graphics form the late 80's