Rick Dangerous Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Hi Folks, In the midst of trading and extra Jaguar and games for an AV modded 5200 and some stuff (finally joining the 5200 brotherhood!) One of those items includes a track ball controller. I just want to be fair and make sure i'm giving the individual credit for its current market value. As far as I know it works, and does not include the box and manual. I thought I saw one on epay for $50 recently, but there is also one with a box for a BIN of $150, so i'm not sure what the value is? Any tips would be much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tron Unit Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I just got one with a box and instruction booklet in fairly decent condition for $70. Depending on the condition I'd say in the $45-$60 range loose is pretty fair. One suggestion though, clean it up first with alcohol wipes, a toothbrush and polish it with some Armor All wipes to give it a like-new shine. Will help it sell better. Ones that look used and dirty I would pass by when I was looking for one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 I just got one with a box and instruction booklet in fairly decent condition for $70. Depending on the condition I'd say in the $45-$60 range loose is pretty fair. One suggestion though, clean it up first with alcohol wipes, a toothbrush and polish it with some Armor All wipes to give it a like-new shine. Will help it sell better. Ones that look used and dirty I would pass by when I was looking for one. Thanks! Very helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+wongojack Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I got a loose one for $20 plus shipping about a year ago from a member here. However, I am an excellent negotiator . . . Meaning, I bought other stuff from that guy before to build up enough karma to get what I would consider to be a pretty good deal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigO Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Sounds like I should dig my box of dead ones out of the attic and get them working. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I know this topic is a couple months old. But there are 2 in the wild in my area. One sold at a movie trading company for $40. The ball is dirty and the console is in decent shape. And at Game Over video games for $25. Which is pretty low. I was always debating on if I want to purchase a trak ball for the 5200. And only a dozen games are compatible with it. Centipede and Missle Command are the best ones for it. The fire buttons look cheaply made. I heard there are jitter problems after later usage from lots of playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Run, don't walk and get you a 5200 trackball!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[d2f]Iggy*SJB Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 I know this topic is a couple months old. But there are 2 in the wild in my area. One sold at a movie trading company for $40. The ball is dirty and the console is in decent shape. And at Game Over video games for $25. Which is pretty low. I was always debating on if I want to purchase a trak ball for the 5200. And only a dozen games are compatible with it. Centipede and Missle Command are the best ones for it. The fire buttons look cheaply made. I heard there are jitter problems after later usage from lots of playing. That's usually from the wheels that read the ball's movements being dirty. Take it apart and give them a decent cleaning. You'll be surprised at the results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted April 12, 2015 Share Posted April 12, 2015 For any newbies to the Trak Ball... It is VERY easy to clean. Just take it apart and remove all the bits and clean them. Soap and water for the ball, A little fine steel wool for the rollers, etc. Assuming the harness isn't jacked up, the Trak Ball should work perfect after a good cleaning. It is one of the best made controllers of all time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) Run, don't walk and get you a 5200 trackball!! That's usually from the wheels that read the ball's movements being dirty. Take it apart and give them a decent cleaning. You'll be surprised at the results. For any newbies to the Trak Ball... It is VERY easy to clean. Just take it apart and remove all the bits and clean them. Soap and water for the ball, A little fine steel wool for the rollers, etc. Assuming the harness isn't jacked up, the Trak Ball should work perfect after a good cleaning. It is one of the best made controllers of all time! Well, I took your guys advice and just bought one now. There were 2 in there for sale. Happy to add this to my collection. Atari was using the slogan think big back in '82 and '83 lol. I will take It apart, clean the ball with soap and water, add some armor all to the top shell. And I'll test it out later. Edited April 15, 2015 by Retrogamer81081 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Well, I took your guys advice and just bought one now. There were 2 in there for sale. Happy to add this to my collection. Atari was using the slogan think big back in '82 and '83 lol. I will take it apart, clean some soap and water on the ball and top shell, let it dry, add some armor all to the shell. And I will test it out later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRaider Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) I do not recommend using Armor All on any of these Classig Gaming Systems or their additional components. First off it does not clean the surface nor does it repair any blemishes or physical marring of the system or controller. All that Armor All does is leave a nasty film on the system or controller which only temporarily hides any marring or other damages to the plastic. If doing this prior to posting for sale, then it is being done to deceive people as to the true condition of the item. I can easily spot items being sold that have had an Armor All type product applied to it and I just laugh and steer clear of said item, though I feel pity for whatever sucker buys it thinking they picked up some "needle in the haystack" item. I have attached photos that I took of a few of my personal systems which I cleaned myself meticulously (without disassembly) using a toothbrush, fine boar hair brush, lots of Q-tips and several high quality microfiber towels and Formula-409 (which I have now replaced with my own homemade concoction). Not a drop of Armor All or any product similar to it has touched these systems not will they. I will hopefully get around to photographing my Atari 5200 Trak-Ball Controller, then post them up in this thread. Edited April 15, 2015 by RedRaider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I do not recommend using Armor All on any of these Classig Gaming Systems or their additional components. First off it does not clean the surface nor does it repair any blemishes or physical marring of the system or controller. All that Armor All does is leave a nasty film on the system or controller which only temporarily hides any marring or other damages to the plastic. If doing this prior to posting for sale, then it is being done to deceive people as to the true condition of the item. I can easily spot items being sold that have had an Armor All type product applied to it and I just laugh and steer clear of said item, though I feel pity for whatever sucker buys it thinking they picked up some "needle in the haystack" item. I have attached photos that I took of a few of my personal systems which I cleaned myself meticulously (without disassembly) using a toothbrush, fine boar hair brush, lots of Q-tips and several high quality microfiber towels and Formula-409 (which I have now replaced with my own homemade concoction). Not a drop of Armor All or any product similar to it has touched these systems not will they. I will hopefully get around to photographing my Atari 5200 Trak-Ball Controller, then post them up in this thread. I just use armor all for a quick shine. But not for cleaning the item. I was told by a lot of people for this method. I took it apart and blew all the gunk of 32 years inside of it, greased the bearings, cleaned the cue ball with soap and water, took off the circuit board for the buttons and placed the top shell in soap and water, let dry then use armor all cloths for a shine , then put it back together. It works awesome. I thought the trak ball controller was overrated at first, but I really enjoy it. Awesome for Missle Command. Only negative is the fire button feels flimsy and an awkward touch to it. But I am happy to iinvest in this. It's roughly the same size as an Atari 7800. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I know this topic is a couple months old. But there are 2 in the wild in my area. One sold at a movie trading company for $40. The ball is dirty and the console is in decent shape. And at Game Over video games for $25. Which is pretty low. I was always debating on if I want to purchase a trak ball for the 5200. And only a dozen games are compatible with it. Centipede and Missle Command are the best ones for it. The fire buttons look cheaply made. I heard there are jitter problems after later usage from lots of playing. Dan Kramer - the creator of Atari's home Trak-Balls - will be happy to provide you info on how to fix the jitter. Ask him over at Facebook. You can find him in the Atari Museum, Atari 7800 ProSystem, and Trak-Ballers groups. The buttons on the Trak-Balls work and don't suffer from the same issues as the buttons on the regular 5200 Joysticks. As for Trak-Ball games compatibility, there's Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command, Pole Position, Galaxian, Super Breakout, RealSports Tennis, Xari Arena, Space Invaders, Defender, Pengo, RealSports Soccer, RealSports Football, RealSports Basketball, and Tempest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Dan Kramer - the creator of Atari's home Trak-Balls - will be happy to provide you info on how to fix the jitter. Ask him over at Facebook. You can find him in the Atari Museum, Atari 7800 ProSystem, and Trak-Ballers groups. The buttons on the Trak-Balls work and don't suffer from the same issues as the buttons on the regular 5200 Joysticks. As for Trak-Ball games compatibility, there's Centipede, Millipede, Missile Command, Pole Position, Galaxian, Super Breakout, RealSports Tennis, Xari Arena, Space Invaders, Defender, Pengo, RealSports Soccer, RealSports Football, RealSports Basketball, and Tempest. Thanks! Apparently I no longer use facebook and don't have an account anymore. Other than that the trak ball works awesome!! Bought it a couple days ago at a Movie Trading Company. 2 of them were for sale. And had a 25% off coupon for any used item. It was $40, so I only had to pay $30 plus tax. Not bad considering the insane prices they go for these days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperboy Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Glad you picked it up and are enjoying it, it's a fantastic piece of hardware! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Dangerous Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 My trackball rocks! Totally makes many a game on the 5200. A solid piece of equipment to be sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
correagonzalez Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I've only played it with with centipede and it awesome, my only complaint is the size but other than that is really good 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutsy Doodleheimer Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I've only played it with with centipede and it awesome, my only complaint is the size but other than that is really good It is great with Centipede! Do yourself a favor and get Missle Command for the 5200. You will not regret it. Best game played with the Trak Ball controller. It is perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800 Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 Well, I took your guys advice and just bought one now. There were 2 in there for sale. Happy to add this to my collection. Atari was using the slogan think big back in '82 and '83 lol. I will take it apart, clean some soap and water on the ball and top shell, let it dry, add some armor all to the shell. And I will test it out later. I use regular PLEDGE furniture polish on all my stuff, except the TB. I wouldn't want to get any wax on the ball. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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