Trackball repair

[RamrodHare]

So, I picked up two CX22 Trackballs the other day. I tested them, took them apart and looked everything over. Neither of them is working right in joystick or trackball mode. The cursor does move, but only in short jumps and never goes very far before bouncing back. I don't know anything about working on them and honestly don't want to put forth the effort. What I'd like to do is ship both of them to someone who can repair them, keep one for their self, and ship the other back to me. (I'm in Greeneville TN). If anyone is interested, let me know. I've been trying to get a working trackball for a while now and this makes four of them I've gotten that didn't work. I would just offer to pay someone to fix them, but I don't have the extra money.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Which ROMs did you use for testing?

[RamrodHare]

I tried Centepede and Missile Command, from the set of trackball roms I downloaded here on AA.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Are you sure you tested the correct versions? Your cursor movement seems to indicate that you might have tried the wrong ones.

Edited January 3, 2020 by Thomas Jentzsch

[RamrodHare]

Just checked again, it's the correct ROMs. I'll try some different games later. With the trackballs in joystick mode, they have the same issue while trying to navigate the Harmony menu. I also tried them on two different consoles, just to be sure it wasn't a console problem.

[RamrodHare]

I tested  them with all of the trackball games I have on my Harmony cart and it's the same result with each.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Then I am afraid they are broken. Or just need a good cleaning.

[+Nathan Strum]

Can you open them up and take pics of the inside? Could be the optical sensors are dirty, or the encoder wheels are loose, bearings are worn, trak-ball or bearings are greasy, etc. There are any number of physical problems they could have, without it being an electronic component.

Edited January 4, 2020 by Nathan Strum
Because editing is fun! Wheeee!!

[RamrodHare]

I've had them apart and they were really clean, from what I could tell. I can take them back apart tonight and snap a few pics.

[RamrodHare]

I haven't had time to take any pics. I was just wondering if the encoder wheels (I think that's what they are called), should be shiny or kind of a dull gray color?  These seem to have a rough dull gray finish. I didn't know if that could be an issue or not.

[+Nathan Strum]

28 minutes ago, RamrodHare said:

I haven't had time to take any pics. I was just wondering if the encoder wheels (I think that's what they are called), should be shiny or kind of a dull gray color?  These seem to have a rough dull gray finish. I didn't know if that could be an issue or not.

As long as the holes in them are clear of dust, the wheels spin as the ball is rolled, and the holes line up with the optical sensors, the surface doesn't matter. Their sole purpose is to block or pass signals.

[DragonGrafx-16]

I repaired my trackball but it's a Wico. I cleaned and reset the control chip and went nuts rolling the ball and it started to work like normal.