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[closed]One-Trak: Teach your 5200 Trak-Ball New Tricks


BigO

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Play Atari 2600/VCS Trak-Ball enabled games with your 5200 Trak-Ball controller.

 

One-Trak adds functionality

Switching between platforms is as simple as unplugging or plugging in a cable, outside of the controller.

Plug into the configuration cable to play 2600 games, unplug the configuration cable and connect the original cable to the 5200.

 

One-Trak is easy to install

One-Trak requires no cutting, no soldering, no wiring, no drilling: your CX53 remains as Atari produced it.

The installation is completely reversible. The most permanent change is a 1" square adhesive pad affixed inside the controller.

 

Pick your protocol

The configuration cable is currently available in two styles

· Quadrature encoded: Gray code, compatible with ST mouse signals

· Direction+Clock: same as CX22 trackball signals

(Personally, I prefer the quadrature encoding as it lets you navigate the Harmony cartridge menu)

 

$25.00 + shipping.

(Currently shipping to U.S. addresses only)

 

Available while supplies last.

PM me if you're interested.

Edited by BigO
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Pictures of the mod? I can do that when I get home tonight.

 

EDIT: I put some on my "interest check" thread while I was still in the refinement process. Let's see if I can link those on my phone...

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/247242-interest-check-5200-trak-ball-mod-to-play-2600-tb-games/?do=findComment&comment=3411997

Edited by BigO
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  • 2 weeks later...

I may be able to make more at some point, and I want to tinker with some additional adapters, but I've used up my initial batch of parts. It's not economical to order the parts in qty of 1 or 2.

It'll probably be a month or so before I get unburied from a new work assignment.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I recently purchased an Atari bundle and it came with a CX22, but it doesn't work right. No output for up/down movement and the fire buttons aren't very sensitive. Repair is low on my project list right now.

 

Or I can look for a CX53 as a replacement if I can find a bargain.

 

I have little interest in the 5200 system, but does the CX53 offer any benefit over the CX22 in regards to game play of the new Trak-ball version of 2600 games?

 

Just being able to switch to grey code and use it with the Harmony multicart may be enough of a perk...

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I have a CX22. I prefer the overall feel of using the CX53. It may just be the size. I find the CX53 easier to manage. I don't sit on the floor with the controller in front of me like I might have 40 years ago. Sitting in a chair with the controller in my lap, the CX53 is more stable feeling.

 

It could just be that the CX53 is what I got used to first.

 

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who was first familiar with the CX22 and then got a CX53.

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Hey Big O, any chance this could be adapted for use with a personal computer? I'd love to be able to play the Sonic arcade game the proper way.

I'm not much of a PC gamer so must plead ignorance: what options are there for connection?

 

The one obvious option that comes to my mind is emulating a mouse. I have done that by feeding the quadrature encoded signals provided by the mod cable into a (somewhat scarce)USB ball mouse circuit in place of the native mouse encoders. The trackball is relatively low resolution, but maybe if mouse acceleration and game/emulator settings allowed for it, that setup would work for you.

 

One caveat here, I had to use an external power supply to get this to work reliably. The USB didn't seem to supply enough power but I just worked around it rather than take the time to do any real investigation.

 

Brief demo - using the CX53 as PC mouse: http://atariage.com/forums/gallery/image/16061-nowwhat/

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I have a CX22. I prefer the overall feel of using the CX53. It may just be the size. I find the CX53 easier to manage. I don't sit on the floor with the controller in front of me like I might have 40 years ago. Sitting in a chair with the controller in my lap, the CX53 is more stable feeling.

 

It could just be that the CX53 is what I got used to first.

 

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who was first familiar with the CX22 and then got a CX53.

 

I see what your saying.

 

The CX53 is quite a bit larger than the CX22, and it looks like there is some weight to it.

 

When I opened the CX22 box, I was thinking that it is a little on the small and lightweight side.

 

The repair for my CX22 will need to wait until I finish a few higher priority projects, so maybe i'll get to it towards the end of the year.

 

And I am always on the look out for more bargains, so I might get lucky and find a deal on another CX22 or a CX53

 

My last deals were a semi-working Channel F for $10 and an Atari bundle for $40 that included a console, joysticks, paddles, driving controllers, CX22, touch-pad, and a bunch of games.

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I'm not much of a PC gamer so must plead ignorance: what options are there for connection?

 

The one obvious option that comes to my mind is emulating a mouse. I have done that by feeding the quadrature encoded signals provided by the mod cable into a (somewhat scarce)USB ball mouse circuit in place of the native mouse encoders. The trackball is relatively low resolution, but maybe if mouse acceleration and game/emulator settings allowed for it, that setup would work for you.

 

One caveat here, I had to use an external power supply to get this to work reliably. The USB didn't seem to supply enough power but I just worked around it rather than take the time to do any real investigation.

 

Brief demo - using the CX53 as PC mouse: http://atariage.com/forums/gallery/image/16061-nowwhat/

 

I was thinking mouse emulation myself. Actually, I did attempt to build a trackball using the components from a PC mouse. It uses similar technology... the ball rolls on rollers, the rollers turn gears, the teeth of the gears interrupt beams of light created by diodes. The problem is, I used a Sega Sports Pad for this experiment, and it... how do I put this gently? I can't... it sucked ass. Maybe the teeth of the gear weren't fine enough, or maybe it was just an inferior product, but it took almost Herculean effort to get any movement out of the damned thing. I attempted to play the Sonic arcade game while talking to friends on Skype, and one remarked that it sounded like I was furiously masturbating. Adjusting the sensitivity helped, but not nearly enough.

 

Has anyone had experience with the Sega Sports Pad? It seems like a solid product, at least outwardly. I've heard bad things about it, though.

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I recently purchased an Atari bundle and it came with a CX22, but it doesn't work right. No output for up/down movement and the fire buttons aren't very sensitive. Repair is low on my project list right now.

 

No output for Up/Down could be as simple as one bad channel on the 339 chip. But, it could be the optical encoder which would be significantly more work to address (though, still not a big deal). It could be somewhere else down the line, but that's where I'd start.

 

If you haven't seen this, you might read through it. Having the included troubleshooting information might change your mind about doing the repair:

http://www.atarimania.com/documents/Atari-CX22-Trakball-Field-Service-Manual.pdf

 

I agree about the fire buttons. They're kinda sad on my CX22 as well. I may rig up some other switches in there if I happen to finish all of my other projects. (Yeah. Right.)

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No output for Up/Down could be as simple as one bad channel on the 339 chip. But, it could be the optical encoder which would be significantly more work to address (though, still not a big deal). It could be somewhere else down the line, but that's where I'd start.

 

If you haven't seen this, you might read through it. Having the included troubleshooting information might change your mind about doing the repair.

 

I agree about the fire buttons. They're kinda sad on my CX22 as well. I may rig up some other switches in there if I happen to finish all of my other projects. (Yeah. Right.)

 

sorry, you didn't post any links, but there is a thread in the 2600 forum that I posted the service manual. Doesn't look terribly difficult. I want to finish my Ultimate Paddle project, and one other project that is behind schedule before I work on my CX22.

 

But I may bump the CX22 up in the schedule so I can enjoy the new versions of the trak-ball games.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/213294-cx-22-trak-ball-repair/?p=3727814

 

Working late and busy weekends is keeping me from having the time needed :mad:

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