Nice one - however i would find it more usefull if the trackball could be used to controll the mouse cursor - would that be possible to change by software? (I havnt ever tried a mighty mouse)

//M

Dominic wrote:

But i am very upset with that clicking noise...No way to resolve that? :\

Yup. It's easy enough to fix - the mainboard has a speaker on it, and it could just be desoldered.  And yes, for me multitouch is a pain.  With this, I can have the left hand moving the mouse around the page and clicking while the touchball is used to quickly scroll up/dn - I thought a lot about this before doing it. 


@Darfgarf - Like they say - to each his own.  For me, this is a much wanted feature.

@m.klinge - I'm not sure if you can change this in software. I'd imagine it is possible if someone knows how to write drivers.

deejayspinz wrote:

Dominic wrote:

But i am very upset with that clicking noise...No way to resolve that? :\

Yup. It's easy enough to fix - the mainboard has a speaker on it, and it could just be desoldered.  And yes, for me multitouch is a pain.  With this, I can have the left hand moving the mouse around the page and clicking while the touchball is used to quickly scroll up/dn - I thought a lot about this before doing it. 


@Darfgarf - Like they say - to each his own.  For me, this is a much wanted feature.

@m.klinge - I'm not sure if you can change this in software. I'd imagine it is possible if someone knows how to write drivers.

Hmm ok - thats too sad for me atleast

//M

the ball seems to use the 8 pins for sending the same info as the the ball in an older mechanical mouse. why not just use the IC's from an old mouse and make yourself a PCB to shrink it's footprint. the trackball from the mighty mouse should work much the same except for the uni directional "click" that it offers. you could set that as the third button or "wheel" click feature wich would swap the ball between scroll and cursor control.

actually... now that i think of it... i might have to try that

Last edited by RandyLude92 (2009-07-01 7:17:49 pm)

RandyLude92 wrote:

the ball seems to use the 8 pins for sending the same info as the the ball in an older mechanical mouse. why not just use the IC's from an old mouse and make yourself a PCB to shrick it's footprint. the trackball from the mighty mouse should work much the same except for the uni directional "click" that it offers. you could set that as the third button or "wheel" click feature wich would swap the ball between scroll and cursor control.

actually... now that i think of it... i might have to try that

You may be right.   This trackball uses 4 Hall Effect sensors. They all share a common gnd and 5V, then each transmits its unique signal, so its really just a matter of tapping into the 4 signals for each sensor.  I tried this with a newer wheel mouse, but it was all for none.  Newer mouse = IR send/receive (which should just show varying voltage). Problem is, I am not sure what the output of the Hall Effect sensor is. My initial research indicated it should be similar - 5V going in, when the magnetic wheel turns it disrupts the magnetic field of the sensor and changes the voltage passing through it. As
the trackball turns the sensors should cycle from somewhere around 1.2 V to 5V (rapidly).   

BTW - not all 8 pins are for the ball. There are 2 GND's (one is not used), 4 for the Hall Effect signals, 1 for 5V and 1 for the ball click action.

Anyhow, Im ok with having to fit the Mighty Mouse in the underside..  until I have another hack to fit there!

Last edited by deejayspinz (2009-07-01 7:12:35 pm)

Perhaps i could cut some corners and fit one of those inside instead in order to control the mouse as i would like

Edit: The sad thing is that they dont ship out of japan >.<

Edit2: Oh well TrackBallWorld has one quite semilar - however this has a lazer pointer in it and that would only take up space... And im not sure if it would be able to swich between "mousing" and scrolling like the other one :S

//M

Last edited by m.klinge (2009-07-02 7:06:12 am)

deejayspinz wrote:

I thought about that unit as well, but the price was too high (for the ones I found).  Also, if you scroll down the page, it says that there is no "Scrolling Hardware", so not sure it allows you to switch between mouse movement and scrolling (and it does not come with software either).  If you are thinking of doing the same as I did, there are a few Mighty Mice on Ebay right now going for pretty cheap.

Well right now i think the MM takes up too much spece id rather use for anything else

//M

gtisingh wrote:

I like youre mod a lot, but there are areas on the touchpad the right hand verticle strip ... that you can enable within the utility, that will allow you to use it as a scroll bar. You can also use the bottom strip to scroll horizontally.

Yes, I am aware that the touchpad has these features, but I still wanted the scrollball feel and ability to rapidly scroll.   I guess I should add a bit of personal clarification here - I am the type of person who has to take everything apart to figure it out and will sometimes go through (what others may perceive as) longer more drawn out means to achieving an end - like this hack.  Many may be happy with simply using the mouse externally - not me.  Its the challenge of the hack for me.. and the risk I guess.

@deejayspinz,
you've been given honors
http://www.dammitparker.com/index.php?t … 1&pb=1

and engadget is all over it too.

Knusperkeks wrote:

Wow, really cool mod!

Are there other trackballs with the same function, but with a smaller control board?

Yes see the links in one of my earlier posts

//M

@sparkee - In terms of dismantling the mouse, Google "apple mighty mouse clean" - there are a number of instructions and UTube vids that show it. Essentially, you have to crack a bottom ring off the mouse (yes, its glued on).  Once that is done, the rest is easy.

how do u connect the trackball to the eeepc? i've got an internal usb hub will that do?

i just want to use it for scrolling, i've got a touchscreen for navigation; will i have to use additional buttons for scrolling? what software will i need to install?